Nef Ia part 3

[Asila]

Even after he was sure he had her attention, Malevolos gazed into Saeria's eyes and stole a few slow-flowing moments. He felt that he should say something to her before his spirit enveloped hers, before he showed her what he could not adequately express by word alone. But what? She seemed so cheerful now, as though she had already forgotten the terrible news that threatened to tear him apart. If he told her what he wished her to know, his phrasing may only confuse her.

Better to let her see, so that she may understand. He closed his eyes, and let his awareness flow through him and into her through their joined hands. Much like he had on that first night he had had her in his care, when he had used his demon's ability to read and manipulate the spirit of others in order to determine what was wrong. He pulled her way from the waking world with all it's confusion, drawing her into one of the last safe recesses of her failing mind and manifested as a cross between the human she could most easily relate with and the dragon he believed himself to be. The effect was much like that of his demon form, with the gently curving horns pointing back from his forehead and large leathery wings folded behind him. The difference was that his eyes were calm, their natural warm red in color instead of the damaging blazing orange, and the scales of his wings were a cheerful, iridescent raven black. Most astonishing of all was his expression. The slight smile worn on his lips, the compassion and enduring strength gleaming in his eyes.

This was the Malevolos of a different, less painful reality. One he could create.

He drew Saeria into his embrace, and as he began to speak, everything around them slowly changed. A realm of gentle night, inhabited by soaring trees and a single building of delicate architecture, and lit by orbs of eternal flame that cast glimmering reflections on the perfect mirror of still water, slowly took shape around them. "Listen carefully, Saeria, and remember this even if all else fades. Here, in your mind, I can guard you forever. Whatever your fate will be, you will not be lost." With this assurance imparted, he returned them both to their physical bodies with plenty of time to catch the arrival of Sceatto and Pan.

Strangely enough, he felt no fear when darkness gathered in the sky above. With the two scenarios that had most concerned him acknowledged and solved, he could face whatever came with a level head. Fortunately, it was help, not trouble. He waits to see what would come of their arrival.

Ellina had chosen to spend her time fixated on Lief. Initially, the possibility that he had known this Sceatto hadn't awakened her curiosity. He had lived for so long that it didn't come as any great surprise to her to realize Lief may know him. Her grandparents had always seemed to know everyone everywhere, and they were young in comparison. But his behavior now was so peculiar. It had her wondering.

When he sat next to her, she looked at him for a moment. She wanted to ask him what was going on, but his strange behavior gave her pause. So she looked to looked to Evening, a natural behavioral expert, and arced a questioning eyebrow. The wolf girl only shook her head and shrugged. Ellina sighed silently. So much for that idea. She'd hoped for at least a hint of some sort. However, without a lead and feeling too edgy to confront Lief directly, she could only pass her time by toying with blades of grass and watching her vision blur in and out of focus.

When the sky turned black above them, she found herself on her feet so fast she couldn't remember deciding to stand in the first place. Her instincts were always so much more efficient than her conscious mind, and she was still gun-shy over intimidating shadowy manifestations. So it was no great surprise to her when she wound up some feet back and behind a tree. Embarrassing, but not surprising. As soon as she realized her error, she paced back forward to be near Lief, angry with herself and blushing.

Luckily, one of the arrivals had cat ears and a tail. Which meant that she was fascinating enough to distract Ellina from seething over her own stupid behavior for as long as she remained awake. "Oh, wow, she's beautiful..."

Evening seemed to share Ellina's interest, because she said softly "What is she?"

((If anyone has questions about Molly's enigmatic behavior, only Molly can answer. Pester him, not me!
As for post length... ))

[Seven]

((Whoa..."This was the Malevolos of a different, less painful reality. One he could create." That line just seems really surreal to me. Maybe because I've been going to a philosophy club, and we've been debating things like 'identity' and what's real and what's not real--if we are real. The way that you phrased that line really struck a chord with me. But I want to see if I got Molly's enigmatic nature and his 'solution' straight. He said that he could always guard Saeria 'here.' Does that mean that regardless of what happens with her disease, should he not be able to save her, he would essentially just keep her soul in this sort of "Matrix" like reality (you've seen the Matrix, right? If not, it's just a false reality I'm referring to), with a sort of false him, one that would essentially be him roleplaying himself, rping an idealized version of himself?
...
That's wicked awesome. I need to go debate reality again now. ;D))

In her distorted mind, reality and the created realm Malevolos had made for her were not separate entities. Illusion was just as much real at this point, and though the dream-world of a beautiful night was inconsistent with the daylight she had been bathing in just moments before, it did not occur to her that one world was real and the other was not. If anything, the dream-world was more of a reality to her than reality itself. For one, it felt as though her mind made more sense in this world. Just as in dreams, we cannot understand the nature of our dreamselves, in reality, she could not understand her nature either. Understandably, she felt freer here, as her mind and body had not shifted into this world, just her essence.

And she felt happy still. So happy she might have cried. Before her stood the beautiful dream rendition of her lover, and she knew, if she desired, she could speak approach him and speak to him and possibly even make sense. But she didn't feel she had to. Smiling brightly up at him, she strongly felt that she could communicate with him on a far deeper level than words could ever dream to articulate just with her wispy form and emotions.

When he began to speak, she pipped down, listening to him carefully. She had been a student once, and more so a listener in life. She took careful note of his words, knowing not to ever forget them.

~**~

When Saeria awoke from her dream-reality, she realized she was crying. In a sudden motion, she flung herself off the couch and into Malevolos' arms again. She really didn't want to be on a couch anyways, if it meant any unnecessary distance, after all. Moments after, when the black whole approached, she would stare up at it curiously. It was such a strange sight, she could only contemplate which of her two worlds was real, and which a dream?



Sceatto, a wingless man dressed mainly in green, lightly floats down as soft as a feather from the quickly diminishing black hole in the sky, holding his wife's hand as he does so, so she won't crash into the ground. He smiles at his darling, and teasingly says. "Oh, I'm used to you not helping, remember?" He laughed, then paused awkardly. "That was a joke--please don't hurt me." He grinned broadly, and had a handsome youthful expression on his maturing face.

"Nef! Darling---my god, it's been a whole..." he sucked in air between the clenched teeth of his smile, "five days. God it's been so long," he continued to joke. "And Ank, Usha," --this time, his feet did hover above the ground a bit, as if shocked caused it, "you two are growing up much too fast!" He tisked, crossing his arms, as if this were some terrible crime. All in all, he and his wife looked nothing like Nef and her girls. In fact, despite the strange powers, he was obviously a human.

He pipped down though, once Nef began explaining the reason she called him here, through dimensions. Sceatto, looking a tad bit more serious now, glanced over at the slightly ornery dragon and the insane girl. His eyes, a strange combination blue-speckled, brown, softened as he watched them, as if in the instant, he had understood the whole history of the two.

Yet, there were more distractions to be had. The distraction began with Pan's questioning Lief.

~**~

Lief had gracefully rolled his feet when Sceatto and Pan had arrived. Seeing the black hole had been enough to confirm his suspicions, and suddenly, he didn't feel in the slightest anxious anymore. He just felt...joyful. It had been much too long, after all, and he grown to believe that he would never cross path with such friends again. When Ellina and Evening had mumbled to themselves about Pan, a strange voice came from beside them, which was familiar, but considerably younger and somewhat odd sounding.

"Don't be fooled, she is quite human--just one who has been touched by a fey." Where Lief had stood moments before now stood a boy no older than 17 with fairfax hair, green eyes, a soft face, and thick black rimmed glasses. It was the form that he had introduced himself to Ellina as, 'Crevan Todd,' the form he held for 100 consecutive years do to his curse.

"Is this more familiar, Pan, Sceatto?" Lief smiled both endearingly and with a great deal of amusement.

"Lief!" Sceatto this time came clear off the ground, smiling excitedly.

"It's been too long, Sceatto, Pan. Fourteen years to be exact." Lief bowed his head deeply, in the polite fashion he had learned. Sceatto, being a good westerner in most all respects, ignored the bow and took the kitsune by surprise by glomping him. It really did stun Lief, as Sceatto was a good deal faster and stronger than him, but he managed to pat back, despite the fact that Sceatto had hugged around his arms and not beneath them.

Sceatto snickered softly. "Sheesh Lief, time has been treating you well. You don't look a day over 17!" He laughed, and then Lief laughed too.

"I suppose...this would be more appropriate. "This time, he shifted the form to resemble the same person, but as a 31 old instead. Sceatto looked him over, then nodded.

"I take it you've had your curse lifted?" Lief nodded in response, then his eyes glanced tellingly to Ellina.

"Oh!" Sceatto pipped in interest, then floated over to Ellina. "How do you do, Miss? Miss Ellina," he corrected himself.

Lief cleared his throat, knowing the dragon hybrid would not be pleased with all this tom-foolery when he beloved was dying. Thankfully, he knew he needn't say anything to convey the message. So before Ellina could even hope to give proper response to him, Sceatto was already buzzing off like a bee towards Malevolos and Saeria.

Landing lightly on his feet, Sceatto continued to smile, though it was once again of a softer tone than the grinning Cheshire Cat that made him so distinct. "Hello," he said casually. "My name is Sceatto. Sceatto Rei, I'm going to do what I can to help you. " His voice was so amiable, that even though Saeria wasn't sure what was going on, she unburied herself from Malevolos to look up at him, then smile. It made Sceatto grin a little wider. "You must be Saeria...and you must be Malevolos, right?" he looked to the dragon for confirmation.

"If you would allow, please let us be seated before one another," he indicated between himself and Saeria.


As Sceatto moved off to handle Saeria and Malevolos, it struck Lief to apologize to Nef, and thank her as well. Shifting back into the more natural form of a half-fox as he walked towards Nef, he smiled and bowed his head. "Nefertari," he grinned. "Thank you for everything...My sincerest apologies as well. I really should have recognized you earlier. Now that I look at you, and hearing you call Sceatto 'Uncle,' really puts it beyond a doubt: you're the daughter of Isis and Shiku, aren't you? I know your family well." Such good times. "How are your parents anyhow?" he asked sincerely curious to hear what had become of the uncanny human lord of Hell and the strict general who advised, then married him.

[Pan]

Pan gives her husband a side ways look as she makes fun of her, but it quickly leave as she laughs. But she, just as quick as her husband jumps onto Leif as well. "LIEF!!!! ITS BEEN TO LONG!" she shrieks in happiness. She lets go of him acting like she was 18 again. "what have you been up to Lief?" Pan doesn't even take notice of the dragon and his lover, however she does fall quite when Lief speeks to Nef.

Nef stares at Lief for a few moments and say in a solem voice. "My father is dead, my brother heats me, and I don't know what, my mother thinks of me." She say as her face become like a blank canvice, detaching her self from feeling the pain again.

Ank and Usha both laugh at Sceatto as he talks to them but when he terns to face Saerie Ank pipes in. "I think I could be a little help to you uncel sceatto, if you need it. As you can see my-" Usha buts in. "Ass hole of a father." "Has poisond this poor human, is there anything you can do to save here?"

[Asila]

((This is such a late reply, but I wanted to say that you pretty much read everything in Molly's paragraphs that was there to read, Seven! You're so much quicker on the uptake than I would be under similar circumstances! Now, I would just like to say that I have a collection of spin-offs related to your take on the idea (though distinctly different), but now doesn't feel like the time to recount them. I'd rather have Molly choose for himself exactly where he thinks he will take this as he gets time to brood.))

Malevolos held Saeria close while he waited for Sceatto to approach him. His thoughts had fallen oddly silent, and he could only assume that this peculiar peace of mind, if such unusual silence could be classified as such, was due to the alternate reality he had just assembled as a safety net. Everything would work out in the end. He could not lose.

Remembering Saeria's dear expression when she had flung herself into his arms only moments ago, he knew that the relief of having the burden his worry for her had driven down on him removed had given him more strength and presence of mind than he had had in months. However, patience was lacking as always, and if Lief hadn't reminded Sceatto of his purpose here when he did tensions would have peaked again. But disaster was averted by Sceatto's timely approach, and Malevolos, for all his irritation, was more respectful to this potential savior than he had been to any other in the group. His gaze was a mix of measured calm instead of annoyance, dignity instead of pride, when as he nodded his head in answer and took all suggestions without a battle.

He released Saeria so that she may sit before Sceatto as asked, but remained close. He may be a silent observer for such delicate proceedings, but he would not be a distant one.

****

"...touched by a fey." Ellina could resist neither the wry smile that crept onto her face or the tension that gleamed through her eyes. Maybe it was the exhaustion that caused her emotions to speak so eloquently, but now found her mind as tainted by wry sarcasm as her expression. If only her fey captors had gone so easy on her when her path had crossed theirs.

But as soon as her mind could collapse into such negative reflection she felt guilty over it. It was unfair to think so harshly of a race of beings. They were not evil. She didn't really believe anyone truly. So why did she sometimes judge so harshly? For my own protection, she thought, immediately answering her question. Because I know I'm prone to trusting too much, and am too easily wounded to allow myself such luxury.

There. Now that that reaction was taken care of, she could focus on the lively conversation between Lief and the buoyant Sceatto. And in truth, it was hard to dwell on anything while they were so cheerful! Her expression quickly softened and she even relaxed, lulled by the energy felt by such an endearing reunion between two friends. When Sceatto turned to her, she did manage to say a bright "Very well," before he flitted off in Saeria and Malevolos' direction. She blinked, thrown off slightly by the sudden dismissal even though she realized it was for the best. The dragon's stare had certainly become uncomfortable...

But then she wasn't thinking about Malevolos' discontent any longer, for Lief and Nefertari's new conversation had taken a distressing turn and she was feeling anxious and uncertain once more. She felt she should say something, soothe the poor girl's distress in any way she could, but she hesitated. This Shiku seemed to have been a friend of Lief's if his tone when addressing Nefertari had been any clue, and such news would prove a blow to him. Basically, she didn't know who to comfort first. Yet she felt she must do something, so she moved in close to Lief so that he could sense her concern and said to Nefertari "I'm so sorry about your father, Nefertari. I know everything must be hard for you right now; I had to go through the same thing when I was younger. But how could your family ever hate you?"

[Seven]

"Actually, Ank...I knew you were going to ask about such a thing...." Sceatto said to the girl he considered his niece, without taking his eyes off from Saeria, who had glided down from Malevolos' arms to sit before him. Though Sceatto was speaking to Ank, he was still intently focused on his preparations for what he was about to do. Or rather, what he was scanning. It was a very shallow infiltration of the girl's mind, just so he could see the main problem without falling entirely into a trance. He could feel how her mind had been so terribly scrambled, and what he feared was true: this insanity was merely a symptom of Daemon's poison. Saeria watched the two strangers with a curious expression of confusion--she didn't understand what was about to happen, or who she was dealing with, or what the two strangers were talking about. Sceatto, however, tore his strangely speckled eyes off the young girl to glance up at Ank. He offered her a sympathetic smile.

"Ank, you're such a sweet girl. So mature too, even for someone with rapid growth aging. I appreciate your offer dear, but, I was actually going to tell you....Don't." He shook his head. Since coming here, in his mind's eye, he had already foreseen a few of the events that would occur after he and Pan would leave. This group of unfortunate people would follow Nef and her girls into the abyss of Hell, their only support being Nef and the girls as they would be forced to take on the First Prince of Hell. And he knew there would come a time when Ank would be tempted to attempt what he would be doing now. Sceatto returned his focus to Saeria, the blue speckles in his eyes becoming seemingly brighter, and then the blue overcame the brown entirely. He held out his hand, which stopped a foot away from her face. "Ank...I am about to decrypt this girl's mind. What I am doing...is a very, very difficult procedure, not because changing a mind is difficult in itself, but because the mind is so complex. What I am doing, you, whose powers are increasing exponentially every day, already have the ability to do this. But I am telling you not to because you are still much too inexperienced to attempt an operation this fragile. Listen to me carefully Ank; later on, do not try to unscramble a person's mind, as you could do irrevocable damage."

Sceatto withdrew his hand, his eyes closing as he let out a heavy sigh. When he looked back up, gazing up at Malevolos now, his eyes were their normal color once more. "I am afraid the situation is unfortunate, Malevolos, but I am glad that you all called me here before anymore time passed. You see, the insanity is only a symptom of this disease, as you may already know. So, though I can use my ability to fix the symptom before her mind deteriorates entirely, it would only be a temporary fix. What would happen is this: I can unencrypt her mind, and for that while, she will seem to have been cured, but do not be mistaken. As more time progresses, she would become weak again, and her mind would begin to fade again, bit by bit. But without this temporary fix, she would have surely been gone in a few days.

"Again, I can continue fixing her mind, and I can even help alleviate some of the other symptoms with healing--it would not bother me to do this indefinitely whenever she worsens, but eventually, you would still lose her the poison. My psychometry cannot remove it; it is too greatly dispersed throughout her body. She will need Daemon's antidote..."


~***~

At the news of Shiku's death, Lief's eyes widened slightly. With his peripheral vision, he glanced at Sceatto, the man who had been blood brothers with the deceased in question. Lief too had been Shiku's friend, yes, but another question also plagued his mind....but he pushed it aside for now. The fox bowed his head solemnly, a sign of respect to the grieving daughter of the Overlord of Hell. "My sincerest condolences, Nefertari. I am so sorry for your loss." He raised himself up slowly, a look of sympathy on his face and his own sorrow. "I knew him when he was young--your father was a good, brave man." Lief didn't understand the premise of Shiku's death, or what Nef meant in saying that the rest of her family hated her. But his keen intuition from what he was sensing from Nef's words and actions told him Nef was blaming herself, and that possibly, her family might have been blaming her as well. Why would that be? Had there been an accident, for such a healthy, lively man, to die relatively young? Lief's expression softened, as he offered Nef a comforting pat. "Your father was never afraid of death, and never wanted anyone to be sad for him. He would have wanted you to be happy, in any case. And...I agree with Ellina. I can't imagine that your family truly hates you..."

So the seer of souls was dead? That meant...
Lief glanced behind him, his ears twitching as he caught the last of Sceatto's words. As Sceatto began to trail off, Lief turned around, looking at his old friend. Questions--which Sceatto sensed--boggled his mind. As rude as it might be to leave Nef, he couldn't helpt but wonder about Sceatto now. So after a moment of staring, Lief finaly spoke.

"Sceatto, Keeper of Time, should I say, if Shiku has died, then...how is it that you are still here? Weren't you and him part of a triad, meant to live your lives concurrently?" Lief asked, taking a step forward, as though fearing the kneeled man might disappear at any second. Again, Sceatto let out a heavy sigh, his eyes glossing just slightly at the memory of his late best friend.

"The Keeper of Time is dead, I am afraid. For this lifetime, at least," he said vaguely. He looked over his shoulder, cracking a weak smile. It was clear that he too was at a deep loss, and so, trying to explain the matter, which revolved around that loss, was difficult, and his voice soft. "It was not necessary that I die immediately, or even soon. We all took extra measures...put them in place...in case of an event such as this happening, so that we wouldn't all have to commit seppuku," he said almost in hateful irony, "the minute one of us passed." Sceatto stopped looking over his shoulder, instead turning as he looked down at the ground in front of him. He was suffering, truly, but he managed to regain his composure, trying to return to his light-hearted stance. Lief watched, feeling entirely heart-broken at this point. "It's okay Lief," Sceatto said again, this time with a bright smile. "But it is unfortunate...." he continued. "Because of Shiku's passing, I am afraid that I have been forced into an early retirement, and as a result, I have lost most all of my abilities as the Keeper of Time."

Sceatto looked back over to Saeria, who's expression had become dazed and confused. He then looked up to Malevolos, almost meaning to explain himself. "As the Keeper of Time, it was my duty, with the other two, to help keep balance in all the worlds...to enforce some....rules. Clearly, Daemon has broken one of those rules, by directly interfering with a human life in such an inappropriate manner. Your loved one's condition would not have been such an issue then--I would have been able to help more, using some of my magic to literally reverse the situation. Or if I could not, then Shiku could have surely handled it...his powers, after all, directly dealt with the people. But now...." he looked away, perhaps upset, or even disgusted, with his limitations. "...now I cannot interfere with such matters concerning the after-worlds. Even venturing into them is supposed to be prohibited to me." It was difficult for a person who had so often played the archetype of a 'hero' to be told he could no longer do anything. "I am so sorry, but I will still try to help as much as I can." He paused for a moment. "Shall I...go ahead?" he asked, in regards to decrypting Saeria's mind.

[Pan]

Ank eyes Sceatto for a moment when he speeks to her. "All right uncel... I give you my word as an angel that I will not do the mind unscrabeling." Usha looks at Sceatto her head cocked to the side. "Sceatto if you are so worried about Ank messing up why don;t you teach her? You said it yourself that she is capobel of it..." But both girl fall silent as they lison to sceatto speek.

Pan slowly walks back to the husben and sits down next to him on the ground. Her fluffy black cat tail twiching behind her. she lays her head on his shoulder as he speek knowing that he is upset about the death of his best friend.

Nef stares in horror at Sceatto. "You mean there is nothing you can do?! We have to get Daemon to give us this antidote?!" She shreek at him. she balls her hands into fist, so tight that her nail cut into her skin and she being to bleed. "This... This is all my falt...." She say tears staring to form in her eyes. "I... I got my father killed and now because of it... sceatto can't help this poor girl."

Usha and Ank bother look at thier mother. "Mom you're hurting your self..." ank say in a quite voice.

Nef doesn't even look at her. "Because of my past life... Shiku is daed... she... she said a word that can not be uttered in Hell with out it causing a monterous storm... Shiku died saveing some of hell's soulgers... and its all my felt..." She closes her eyes. "That why my brother heat me and I don't think he is ever going to forgive me... and now... and now you are telling me Sceatto that we have to get Daemon to give us the antidote?" She stomp her foot on the ground and she being to yell. "THERE IS NO WHY THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN THIS GIRL IS GOING TO DIE!! DAEMON WILL NEVER GIVE US WHAT WE NEED!" Her knees give out as she falls to the ground crying. "I can't do anything right! And I don't know what is going to happen to Ia!"

Pan jummps at Nef sudden yelling. She gets up from her spot and walk over to Nefertari. "Hey."

Nef looks back up at her tear flwoing down her face and blood dripping down her hand. "What?"

Pan bends down and place a hand on her shoulder. "Nef you will find a way I just know it. You feel like you are week right now and I can see why, but you can't keeping beatting yourself up over it. Nef if you give up now this girl will die. Your bother will come around Nef you just have to be strong."

Nef looks at her. 'but I don't know how anymore when ever I try to be... Daemon just bring me down."

Pan looks at her again a smile on her face now. "Nef, that is his jod he is a devil. They live for tormenting others. You have to be strong you have to not be afried."

Nef blinks at her. "how...how can I do that?"

Pan give her a wink. "let me tell you a little poam I heard a long time ago it will help you: One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.


Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.



When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.


He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.



He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.


This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:


"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."



The LORD replied:


"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

Pan smiles at her. "Be not afraid child for he is with you and he is carring you Nef."

Nef stars at Pan new tears staring to form in her eyes. "Is... Is this a test?" she ask in a vary soft voice.

Pan nodes her head smiling at her. "I believe so Nefertari."

Nef stand back up again looking at sceatto and the others. "All right... when sceatto is done here... me and the girl will have to go back to Hell I will try and find a way to get the antido from Daemon... some how...."

[Asila]

Malevolos watches Saeria watch Sceatto and Ank, wondering what she would think of them if her mind was as whole as it was when he'd first encountered her. She'd no doubt have dozens of questions, that befuddling girl with the insatiable intellect. And of course, the objects of those questions would have been confronted by every one. The dragon smiles faintly, almost imperceptibly, as he remembers the day he met her. Then the rare expression immediately fades. Had he known that his acquaintance would inflict such ill fortune upon her, would he have turned her away? Or, had he known he would come to love her, would he have fled and spared them both the traumatic outcome? And if he had known all that would occur, would he have even been surprised? Misfortune was his lot in life, after all. It only made perfect sense that misfortune would also claim the lives of all involved in his. His eyes grew dark, blackened by the guilt that had plagued him so loyally through the past months.

So caged was he in this sense of blame that he had assigned himself that he didn't even feel irritable with Sceatto and Ank for the quick conversation that brought what he would have deemed unnecessary pause to Saeria's healing treatment. He even waited with relative patience while Lief spoke to Sceatto of the loss of his counterpart, even though the knowledge that time for Saeria in her current condition amounted to mere days filled him with terror. And even though the knowledge that, had this Shiku lived, Sceatto would have been able to save Saeria entirely from her fate had his gaze smoldering once again with frustrated rage that Nef's outburst only fueled further. He was so disgusted with the boundless cruelty rained down on this world by twisted fate! His every muscle coiled, as though intending to lash out at even an intangible foe, but he composed himself in order to give Sceatto permission to begin.

"I understand the intricacies of the operation you intend to perform, and I realized you are limited in what you can do. However, if you can return to her a number of days that would have otherwise been stolen I can not refuse the chance for her to live. Help her, if you can." His every word was solemn and tinged with the gratitude that was not present in his phrasing. Sceatto might not realize, but for offering to save Saeria he had gained the dragons life-long loyalty. Of course, Malevolos would never admit to such a thing out loud. He would not risk having the offer seen as a weakness or taken advantage of, but the pledge remained even if it was only tangible to him.

He tilted his head to Sceatto in a gesture of respect and stood, slowly pacing a close circle around Saeria as he waited for an outcome. His restlessness was a result of internal conflict. He knew now that he would have to confront Daemon for the antidote. There was no other way to keep Searia in this world. But how, exactly, would he choose to proceed?

It was then that he caught Nef's spoken decision to take Saeria to hell in order to get the antidote from Daemon herself. He came to a halt, turning to face her. "I will not allow you to take Saeria to hell with you." He said coolly. He allowed a pause between that proclamation and his follow up statement so that Nef would know just where she stood in his eyes; she was not a worthy guardian of his beloved Saeria, and no one took from him any person under his protection. Then he bared a slim white sliver of his teeth in a fierce smile as he continued. "Not unless I will be the one to champion her."

****

Ellina cast her gaze to the ground, powerless to do any good within this wave of sorrow. Her endurance was already failing, but without a defined hope to rely on or a mission to undertake she just couldn't keep herself engaged. And with everyone around her suffering so much...and with no way to...

She closed her eyes, trying once again to gather what remained of her strength. But there was just nothing left to regroup. Her thoughts drifted further and further from her grasp...

A hand closed on her arm and she flinched, her eyes flying open as she gasped in fright. But her wild gaze only found Evening. She breathed a sigh of relief. "You're such a ghost," She spoke the words fondly, but softly. She didn't want to interrupt another conversation. "I lost track of you. You startled me."

Evening smiled. "You were swaying." She spoke just as softly as Ellina had, but her tone was amused. "Why won't you sit down for a while?" Ellina opened her mouth to respond, but Evening continued with "Before you collapse."

Ellina laughed softly. This time, her quietness was a result of her tiredness and not her desire to keep to the background. "Will you stay near me?" Even as she asked the question, she was surprised to hear the words. She never expressed such desires. She must be more tired than she thought to speak so trustingly. But Evening only smiled and nodded. Ellina slowly slid to the ground, cautious of her exhaustion-skewed balance. She pulled her legs up against her chest, crossed her arms on her knees, and lay the side of her face on her arms as she watched Evening sit beside her with far more grace than she had managed. Ellina smiled. "Where are your demons, Evening?"

"I don't know" The wolf girl sounded relieved. "They took off when Ank tried to stop Malevolos."

Ellina closed her eyes. "That's good. If only they would...stay away..."

Evening glanced at her friend, but didn't say anything for fear of keeping the exhausted girl awake any longer. It was strange, how she tired. There was no weakness in her body. Evening hadn't seen any feebleness in her muscles as she lowered herself to the ground. Nef had returned her physical strength. But once she strained her mind it was hard for her to recover.

The werewolf had been idly watching her friend as she considered such a strange state of being, and so she was startled in turn when she abruptly found Ellina's eyes staring back into her own. "Travel to hell?" She said sleepily, and Evening rolled her eyes. So she had been listening to everyone and hadn't fallen asleep at all. Evening turned to gaze at the group. "That's the way it sounds."

[Seven]

((My apologies. This post is crap, but basically, so much happened that I am unsure on how to address it all without 1) neglecting something, 2) messing up the chronological order of events.))

To Ank and Usha's comment about why can't Sceatto just train Ank, he replied, "Because it is an extensive process that would require that you not only learn about every process of the mind, but every possibility of the mind. It isn't mere psychic training to master control--it would take far too long to learn, especially now for such limited time."

Both Sceatto and Lief watched Nef's frustrated cries with looks of regret. Lief remained silent, as it hardly seemed his place to interfere, being a stranger in Nefertari's life, and Sceatto might have interceded, but his wife beat him to the chase. As he listened to her words, he smiled gently.

However, things were moving quickly, as could be seen, as no sooner had Nef proclaimed her renewed effort to help when Malevolos disagreed. Of course he would, Lief noted. He as well would not have trusted a complete stranger to care for his most beloved. Add that to the fact that Malevolos was a testy and arrogant dragon. But when Malevolos indicated that he intended to travel to Hell (which was as good as saying that the fiery dragon would be in Hell, if not that same day), Lief's eyes widened fractionally. No no no no no. That couldn't be a good idea. They would be in hell. Not just the land of the dead, where no living creature is supposed to venture, but the land where spirits are eternally tortured. Daemon's territory. They would have no advantage--for clearly, as Lief could see, Nefertari and her daughters, though Princess of Hell, had no power either--and the pair would just end up floundering.

Lief made the mistake of glancing Ellina's direction. He did it subconsciously without thinking simply because he knew that if Malevolos and Saeria were going to risk their lives venturing in hell, she would want to go too. She was reckless and foolhardy like that. Just like when she had attempted to storm Malevolos' manor to save Evening. Well, now their opponent would be infinitely stronger. However, Sceatto, still seated on his knees, seemed unfazed by this proclamation. The man nodded solemnly.

"I believe that is a good idea," Sceatto agreed. He had predicted so much. Then he looked between Malevolos and Nefertari. "Cliched or not, it will be good for you to work together. You will both need all the support you can receive."

Lief wanted to protest. This wasn't logical at all! Granted, now that he remembered Sceatto and his old days, he recalled no one at the Dog Demon Inn had ever behaved logically. Even if Sceatto spoke with a cool head and seeming logic, he knew how entirely reckless the man was as well. That's how the hero-ing types always are. "Wait," Lief finally said. "Wouldn't it be better if we attempted to bring Daemon here instead? To not deal with such a powerful opponent on his home ground? It seems unwise...." Lief trailed off, then looked to the uncomprehending Saeria, the catalyst of all this chaos. "Besides...if I do recall," Lief turned back to Sceatto. "Is it not true that Hell is unbearable for most all living humans? That the average healthy human would die in Hell rather quickly? Saeria is in a weakened condition--how could she withstand Hell's climate and not perish sooner?"

Sceatto flashed his Cheshire Cat grin. "I can prepare a spell for her, to protect from all of Hell's physical elements. It is not so uncommon, Lief...though I can understand your worries." Lief silently wondered if Sceatto was inferring that he was cowardly just because he had never been and still wasn't as reckless as the others. Sceatto blinked, meeting the fox's eyes, then started to laugh. To which, Lief narrowed his eyes slightly, one eyebrow raising. Damned psychic! Still, he remembered the old trick for keeping Sceatto out of his head...

"Gah!!! Stop that Lief!!!" Sceatto immediately reacted, slamming his eyes shut as if that could somehow stop the onslaught. The fox smirked. "Besides, I meant no offense," Sceatto added in. "But in any case, it is the only way. Daemon would not care to venture up here. He has no reason to, and no desire. "

"So there is no other choice?" Lief asked. Sceatto shook his head.

"I'm afraid not."

Lief fell silent. Now he was lost in thought. Left to his own devices, Sceatto looked back at Malevolos and then Nefertari. "I do believe that you can succeed. Daemon is not infallible." He then turned back to Saeria, his eyes closing.

As with all masters in a craft, Sceatto made it look easy. There were no glowing displays of light. No massive surges of power. No, it wasn't that Sceatto made it look easy. There was simply nothing to indicate that anything was happening at all! Saeria simply stared a the man's face, looking a little baffled. She was entirely tempted to crawl over and poke him, he was so silent. However, right when she began to seriously contemplate that idea, something did happen. The childish expression left her face. All expression left her face and her eyes dazed out with an entranced quality. She made not a sound. And then, after another moment, they widened fractionally. And suddenly, without the slightest warning, the mind-numbed expression broke, the girl shuddering with some final chills before she snapped out of the trance entirely. Still, she was silent, an the slightest expression of horror dawning on her face. She looked up and looked around. Everything was too surreal--it felt as though she had just awoken from a dream. She could remember everything now that she had forgotten once in her madness--she even remember everything from her time of madness, though the memories seemed somehow difficult to understand, again, like a dream. Somehow, it was hard having her mind so suddenly shifted.

Saeria could feel what felt like all of her emotions welling up in her, her eyes becoming glossy. Without knowing quite why, she understood that the stranger in front of her had managed to restore her. She stared back at him and he offered her a gentle smile. It was too soon for her to be able to smile yet herself, but she was no less grateful as she nodded her head. "Thank you, sir..." He returned the nod, indicating to her to go on. There was a flicker in her eyes, and she suddenly turned around, staring up at a set of crimson red eyes. Now that she felt fully conscious, she could feel how weakened she was, but she still forced herself up. when she rose, she took Malevolos's hands in her own just before bringing him to into an embrace. She held him, a strictly solemn air to her as though she understood clearly how fleeting this moment could and mostly likely would be.

"Malevolos," she murmured. That single word, which was meant only for his ears despite being in company, was both implicitly a word of gratitude and a confession of love, from only the quiet, but sincere tone of her voice. Eventually, she slowly pulled away to face the others. "Ellina, Evening, Lief..." She looked weak and sounded likewise, but she still forced a small smile to her lips. "Thank you as well."

"Don't force yourself so much," Sceatto said quietly. "You guys are going to need your energy for the upcoming trip."

Saeria wanted to tell him to not give the others any funny ideas. She didn't want them to travel to hell and to risk their lives on what she saw only as a meaningless cause. She was about to open her mouth to argue this, when something cut her off.

"I would like to come as well," Lief said, stepping in.


((Okay, i think I'll stop there, as I don't want to start arguing with myself at 3:33 in the morning.))

[Pan]

Usha and Ank both look at each other and Sceatto tell them that he can't train ank. Ank looks back at the ground as she mutters. "What am I going to do now? i know at some point in time my powers are going to get out of hand... What as I going to do them." But Ank fall silent as she watches the scene unfold in front of her and her sister.

Nef's jumps back as Malevolos snaps at her. "Ok fine you can come!" Her heart droops though as she hears that there are more people who want to come. "Wait for one second!!! We all can't go down there! Its going to be hard enough getting Malevolos and Seira down there and now you all want to come with?!" She shacked her head and she crosses her arms. "I just can't see how we are going to do this, it going to be very hard." Nef watch as Seira regains her mind and goes to the man she loves.

Pan can't help but hug her husband from behinds. "AWWWW! They are just so cute together!!" She kisses Sceatto on the cheek. "Even thought your powers are week right now it was very sweet of you to help them out sceatto."

Nef shakes her head again. "This is all getting a little out of hand, I want to help you all out but i just don't see how we are going to get away with bring all of you down to hell."

"I think I might be able to help in that"
Nef quickly trun around to look up into the trees, A woman with black skin, purple hair, and green eyes looks down at her. Nef give a gasp as she points up at her. “You! You are that women from the market! The one that gave me that necklace.”

The women jumps down from the tree and lands infront of nefertari her hand resting on her hip. “Yes I was but I did not for see that all of this.” She indicates to the others around Nef. “Would happen.”

Nef’s eyes narrow as her hands ball up into fist. “Why would you want to help me?”

The woman give a little laugh. “Well I have over heard every thing that has been going on here and I do feel bad for you Nef L
loseing your father because of that necklace I gave you. I want to make it up to you.”
Nef gives a laugh now. “Ha! Why should I trust you?”

The woman narrowes her eyes now. “Because I might be the only one that can help you get all of your little friends into Daemon’s house. I manged to snick in and steal that necklace right out from under his nose, and I have been here quite a while with out any of you knowing it.”

[Asila]

Malevolos relaxed in Saeria's embrace, the tension draining from him as though his every molecule sighed in relief. His wings and horns disintegrated upon that bone-deep sigh, returning to him his facade of humanity. "At last, you have returned to me whole. I have been..." He paused, his voice stalling on what for him was an uncomfortable admittance. Especially so now, considering the crowd. He tightened his arms around her and tilted his head down so that he could finish the sentence as words whispered into her ear, "...so very afraid for you."

He lifted his head to glare irritably at the cat girl when she stated her opinion considering their attachment for one another...and found his attention drawn to Ellina and Evening as they sprang toward him. Ellina, of course, leading the way. On her own, the wolf girl had sense enough to give him space, but this other one...

He straightened, gazing into Saeria's eyes. "Your friends are very happy to see that you're feeling like yourself again." He smiled at her; a real smile, warmed with love but sharpened fetchingly with amusement. He moved aside just enough to let the girls pounce, keeping a hawk's eye on them to make sure they didn't get carried away in their exuberance. His fear may have ebbed, but he was still very concerned for Saeria. As he rightly should be.

Ellina hugged her friend tightly. Evening followed suit, so that the three of them were locked into the embrace until the werewolf let go. "Everything has been so dull while you've been quiet." Evening murmured, speaking first.

Ellina nodded, resting her head on Saeria's shoulder. She didn't want to let go yet. Not that she had any choice in the matter, with Evening still clinging to them both. "Everyone's been feeling pretty down. And I've been bored to death. I just haven't had the heart to squabble with your villain since he's been so concerned about you." Ellina pulled back, grinning at Saeria. Evening released them both, half amused by that comment and half horrified that Ellina would say something like that with Malevolos so close to them. She glanced quickly at the dragon, but his expression was unreadable. Well, that was fine, as long as it wasn't violent. Her glance returned to her friends.

((This is all for Saeria, so I'm going to have Seven post her response before I can acknowledge everyone else. Sorry, Pan! I'm screwing up the posting order. ))

[Seven]

Sceatto took no mind of Malevolos's slight annoyance, happily tilting his face towards his wife as she kissed him. He knew that Malevolos had misunderstood Pan's intent in any case, as he smiled up to Pan afterwards. "Thank you darling."

Malevolos could feel Saeria's lips forming into a smile against his skin, her arms embracing him just a little tighter. She felt as peace now, his words and slight apprehension in this situation making her feel a little giddy and amused. There would be things that she had to say, many things, built up after many months, and things to do, but not yet. Later, when she had him alone...

Of course, he then released her, that devilishly charming grin on his face, as he left her in the hands of her friends. Everything was really too wonderful. Even though she hadn't been cured, it felt as though nothing in the world could be wrong. She turned to face her friends, hugging them both tightly. For a second, grinning to herself, she thought of falling into the old joking stand by of 'You're suffocating me!' but she rather not ruin the quaintness of the moment with a joke, even an old one. Her grinned widened, if possible, at the remarks about boredom. She outright laughed about the comment about not being able to torment her poor villain. "My sincerest apologies. I'll try to be more amusing from now on," she teased. "But don't torment my villain too much, yet at least. I have a lot of catching up to do on that myself."

However, the happy moment was interrupted by this new mysterious stranger. Lief, Sceatto, and Saeria all turned from away from what they were doing to watch her, and in that respect, her conversation with Nef. Sceatto couldn't read her mind, meaning she was probably wearing some sort of anti-telekenetic device, like the items he fashioned for his friends not too long ago. Saeria seemed a bit nervous about the stranger. She wanted to mention that she STILL didn't think that any of them should go venturing into hell--especially for her sake. But it was Lief who spoke up first.

"My lady, if it is our trust that you desire, then perhaps an introduction might be in order? It is, after all, so very difficult to believe someone who's name you do not know." The analytical fox was interested, but skeptical.

[Asila]

((All right, it's time for a clean slate. I'm feeling over-whelmed, so I'm going to keep this very basic for now and control the snowball effect when it starts to take hold. Instead of letting it take over.))

Now everyone was focused on the conversation between this new stranger and Nef.

"How is that possible?" Ellina said out loud, to no one in particular. "How could anyone watch us this entire time without any of us realizing?" She glanced at Evening, but she seemed equally startled. A glance back at Malevolos revealed that he was focused very intently on the as-of-yet-nameless new arrival. The way any predator will when it is sizing up an opponents strength and attack probability.

Well, there was nothing to do but look back and wait for this revelation to make sense of itself. So she did just that.

[Pan]

The woman smile as she jummps out of the tree adn bowes to them. "you may call me Khalida."

Nef eyes her and places her hands on her hips. "So you want to help us... what do you want out of it you sound like some one for hire to me."

Khalida smiles at Nef and shakes her finger. "Normal yes I would ask for money but this... i knew of Shiku and how grate he was and I was traind by Isis." She slwoly sinks to her knees and lays in a bow before Nef. "Please Princess Nefertari alow me to help you and your friends."

Nef looks at the others. "what do you all think?"

[Seven]

Immediately, Saeria pipped up. "How do we know she's not a spy from Daemon?"

"Well, she apparently knew Nef before Daemon found out about Nef's past life," Sceatto said, forgetting that the Saeria and her group wouldn't know what he was talking about. However, that seemed to matter little to Saeria's argument.

"Still! Maybe that's all the more reason! Maybe Daemon knew that Nef knows that person, and since then, has bribed and hired her!" She was skeptical. And paranoid. She had been prior to this whole debacle, and the fact that Daemon had already gotten them once wasn't helping those traits. Crossing her arms, Saeria looked at the strange woman.

"No offense, but we simply have no reason to believe you. How do we know you're just not going to make things worse for all of us by turning on us? You've mentioned some sweet things, but that's just all ethos with no logos. Appealing to emotion and not logic."

((meh, sucky post.))

[Asila]

Ellina's eyebrows tilted downward as she listened, increasingly puzzled by this Khalida. There was a story here, and being apart from it she couldn't even begin to fathom how the pieces fit. The moment Saeria spoke her last line, she jumped in with a question of her own.

"We can't make an informed decision when we don't know what's going on. So, what happened?" She looks to Nef. "How do the two of you know each other, and why does Khalida make you so uneasy?"

Her questions held an ulterior motive. She wanted to listen to this Khalida speak so that she may analyze her expressions, both facial and vocal. She wanted to get a some kind of set impression on Khalida, whether good or bad. There would surely be some sign in her speech that would give Ellina cause to lean in one or the other direction.

Malevolos' alert pose shifted subtly to one of impatience. Once again, these individuals were loosing precious time to needless deliberation. For how long did they expect him to endure this nonsense? Hell was not so hard to find.

Evening edged further away from Malevolos. The seething negativity he always seemed to project in times of stress was making her skin crawl.