[M] The Legion's Chosen: The Prophecy of Melissa and Xander

[LunaEclipse]

The cold shook in his body, crawling through his veins and joints like frozen snakes trying to find a place to coil up in slumber. His feet dangiling in the air as he hung there. He couldnt concentrate with the un subsiding pain and his feet unable to find support in his darkening eyes to get him up on the branch he crashed onto fully. Unable to move he just layed there as the storm that ruined his wings battered upon him fiercly than before, battering the trees around him so that all that he heard was the rustiling of leaves, chattering branches, and wet filled winds that kept chilling his sunken cheek bones. 'C-cant...Move...' His thought words moaned as he weakly moved his arm to grab hold of the side of the thick branch he laid upon, but before he could grasp it, his arm fell loosely over the side as his ebbing mind slipped into the darkness; His Grandfather's voice still talking to him as he did in their home...

"You need to leave now before its too late! The Malmorphs know we are here Xander, and you must leave! Take the bag and go!" The old man shoved the bag roughly into my chest. His balding head turned with his long white ponytail flowing behind as he was turning to slam himself back into the door as the shrilling screeches on the other side began to get louder. "Go to the Swamps of old and find the Elder Seer..." He grunted at the last part as the slamming on the other side knocked him away for a split second. "What about you?!" I questioned him, a slight fear made its way out from my throat as I inched myself into the hidden trapdoor. His elderly face turned back at him with a small smile. "Ill find you when its over, but you must leave-!" A claw shattered through the door frame and lashed out at him. Jumping away he manuevered himself away from the hole but kept pressure on the door.

Xanders memory seemed to darken in his shrouded dream with his heavly weighed eyes blink in his eyelids. Almost fully rising with his arms wobbiling. "Grand...Father..." He croaked before he gave in and let himself fall into a unyeilding slumber.

[Juneberry]

The rain just kept falling through the branches, soaking the leaves of the single flower adorning her red head of hair. Large eyes squinted shut from the power of the water pouring through the forest, hands trying to block the water, but instead getting soaked to the bone like marinating meat. As she walked along the usual routes she did to get from her gathering area to her home, Melissa found herself caught off guard by a noise. She put her hand on a tree to see where it was coming from.

"That man is badly hurt!" She responded quickly to the vision given to her by the trees. The soles of her feet, which were covered in a wet dirt mixture that seemed to have some rocks and debris included, began to tap the ground endlessly as she rushed in the direction told to her by the forest. She found the man when he was in slumber, causing her to drag him home. Once there, she started a very tamed fire in the center of her tree house, trying to find the proper herbs to help heal his pain from throughout the jars in her home.

[LunaEclipse]

A sudden pain in his side unglued his eyes open as he jolted upwards into a sitting position. The pain worsened slightly, but he ignored it as he glanced around the room feverishly until his eyes caught onto the red haired woman. "W-What...?!" He murmured backing up into a shelf that was filled with herbs. Knocking several bottles over, he stumbled with his wings flapping frantically out of shock. Until his wing throbbed suddenly. Wincing, he let out a pained yelp and dropped back into the bed.

(Sorry, I went blank... >_<;')

[Juneberry]

"Don't move around so much, your wing's broke. It'd be bad if you manage to dislocate anything else. Besides, those bottles aren't easy to come by." Melissa smiled over at him as she finished working some herbs together.

The herbs were made into a liquid base and put into a sipping bowl, which she then brought to him. "Here. The herbs I put in this will help the pain and generally help to boost the healing process. Also, try to stay closer to the fire so you don't catch a cold. You were out in the rain at its worst and still need to dry. I don't have any spare clothes for you, so I can't do much there."

[LunaEclipse]

Looking at her first, he lowered his head to the substance in the clay bowl and cringed his nose. The smell was so bitter that he inched himself back slightly. Before he was about to take it, he let his eyes wonder around at his new surroundings with an absent frown. 'A house in the middle of the Everwoods...?-' His thought changed back to her and looked at the cup once more. With a small nod, he took it from her and starred at it for a long moment. The contents were liquid, but there was moss peeking up from beneath the surface with floating orange chunks. With a shudder he raised it to his lips and choked it all down at once. Grimancing at the after taste he wiped his mouth with his arm to get the access off his face. "...Thank you." He managed to say after awhile.

[Juneberry]

"It's really not a problem." Melissa smiled gently, watching him drink the concoction. "I've tested this stuff on myself, so I know the way it works. You get used to such things after a while." She watched his face with curiosity, eyes glancing over his features with a wary glaze. "What were you doing out in that storm anyway, if you don't mind me asking? You're welcome to stay until you feel better or 'til the storm ends. But don't you know it's dangerous to be out in a storm like that? You could get seriously sick."

[LunaEclipse]

He blinked at her a moment. "I was..." He paused thinking about the night before but only brought up images of him laying high in the tree in the pouring rain. "I am...not sure." He said fretfully, shaking his head numbly. "What was I doing...?" He questioned himself quietly, looking downward at his feet.

[LunaEclipse]

[[He'll remember something in the next post.]]

[Juneberry]

"Well, it's neither here nor there I suppose. You'll remember in time." Melissa walked towards the wooden shelving again, getting some water out of a jar and putting it into the clay bowl. She took another bowl and did the same, then carried both towards the stranger. "Here. The water is fresh, so it should help clear your taste buds a bit." She was smiling as she took a sip of her own water, putting her bowl down. "My name is Melissa, by the by. What's your name?"

[LunaEclipse]

His eyebrow's narrowed slightly still thinking. "Its Xander.." He replied to her, taking the bowl thankfully. "Xander Laviathin." He looked at the water inside before drinking several sips of it to soothe his throat. At that moment he felt a twinge in his head that caught him off guard.

'...take the bag and go!' The man shoved a heavy brown hide bag into my chest...

Wincing, he stood up and looked around somewhat frantically. "...That bag...It was important." He said aloud, but the bag he had seen didnt appear to be there. "Melissa, where did you find me exactly...?" Xander asked her uneasily.

[Juneberry]

"Bag? I don't recall seeing a bag when I found you... You were unconscious near the trumpet mushrooms by one of the older oak trees. You looked like you'd fallen through a lot of foliage from up above. Since it was near my house anyway, I was able to get you here pretty easily." She looked at Xander curiously. If there was a bag she hadn't noticed, it would likely still be there. "Tell me what the bag looks like and I can get it for you if you'd like. I know this area better than anyone, I reckon."

[LunaEclipse]

"I should go with you-....Nngh!" He grabbed at his side when he attempted to stand. Sitting back down, he shook his head worriedly. "Its uh...Its a brown hide bag," he bit his lip trying to remember what it looked like but nothing seemed to be coming back to him. "Its very old and looks like its been stitched together alot."

'Why cant I remember whats inside...?!' Xander thought gruffly to himself.

He looked up at her pleadingly. "Please...This bag MUST be found...I may not remember whats inside, but its important that no one touches it but myself. Understand...?"

((Got to send you a PM first before you post D: ))

[Juneberry]

"No need to move a muscle, sir. I can find a brown bag easily even in the rain. Hide itself sticks out a lot compared to the brush. It should be where I found you, right? So I shouldn't have much problem finding it. Just wait here for me." She smiled with a wave before dashing out of the household. Her footsteps were fleeting and swift, even against the heavy rain outside.

From the direction she was going, she could get a glimpse of something- not hide, nor even the color of hide, but rather something clearly metallic. As she got closer, she noticed it was clearly rusted over, but seemed rare and expensive, like gold. It was shaped like a box, and it seemed to call out to her- even though she heard nothing in particular. She knelt to look at it curiously, then noticed the hide bag.

She ran to the hide bag, but tripped on the brush, much to her own surprise. The cube just barely touched her exposed knee when she hit the ground, but it definitely made impact- enough so to leave a mark. When she picked up the bag, something caught her attention. A voice, coming from no particular direction. It called itself Legion, and it called out to her even with name. When ordered, she picked up the cube and stared at it. "I sure hope this isn't what I wasn't to touch..."

She noticed the hide bag empty, and the cube into the bag to ask about it when she got back. When she returned, she sighed. "Your bag was empty when I found it, but I found an interesting artifact nearby. A crusty cube, looked expensive. I figured I'd show it to you to see if you recognized it. However if it is what you were looking for...I tripped and touched it, so I'm afraid I missed our promise." She glanced at him as she held the bag out. She heard the voice again, causing her to cover her head. "I think I'm going crazy... I keep hearing a voice calling me, saying its name is Legion..."

[LunaEclipse]

That name made him widen his eyes wth a slight horror. Grabbing the bag, he felt a dull throb in his hands and gasped as a chill shivered down his spine. A overwhelming wave of rememberance made him tighten his grip on the bag and shook his head."This is not good...Not good at all." He went to stand up, but leaned on the bed post to stabilize himself. "That was my only task to handle. 'Keep the artifact safe' and I failed. How could this have happened?" He questioned himself before spinning to her. "You are in danger-!" Standing up he grabbed at her shoulders. "Listen to me. There are things after its properties so we cant stay here."

[[Im sorry the post was bad. >_< ]]

[Juneberry]

"That isn't...the real 'artifact' per say." Melissa noted, covering her head as she began to relay words spoken to her by the voice of Legion. "He's saying, 'my voice will guide you to the true relics. Follow the glade only seen in moonlight's fair blessing. Your bath will be lit from there.' The glad only seen in moonlight's fair blessing...I wonder..."

She thought about it carefully. "There's a clearing in the northern part of the forest. That clearing is full of Moon-Drop flowers. Moon-Drop flowers grow best in bright moonlight and glow at night to light the way for travelers. Could he mean we need to go there?" Her eyes were filled with a haze, and she didn't seem to comprehend the pressure on her shoulders. "I don't know what danger you mean, but I think it might be best to start by going to the clearing. It's not hard to find, so I can lead the way. But you must be careful of your footing."

She pulled herself away, and began to push herbs galore into a bag, along with some general utensils. "This area of the forest is known as a maze, but if you follow me, I can lead you there without hassle. But be careful of your footing, because some of the plants seem to have a liking for tripping and attacking people."

[LunaEclipse]

Xander starred at her with his arms crossed and nodded. Thinking, he fingered the small pendant he wore about his neck worriedly. 'It may not be the real artifact...but the malmorphs know that it has awakened...' His eyebrows narrowed slightly at the thought of those ghastly things. They were nothing but hollow shells that followed the Architect's will to spread the disease with control like a field fire and destroy everything. Xander couldn't recall the Architect's whole plan...But it was something that needed to be stopped.

[Juneberry]

"Do you need anything before we depart, Xander? It'd be best you tell me what you need now before we leave the safety of home, after all." Melissa smiled to him easily, still fussing with some of the things she needed to keep with her as she spoke to him. As she finished, she tied the bag in which her possessions were stored and used a rope to make a handle, creating a satchel to put over her shoulder. "Let's get going whenever you're ready. The rain tends to slow people down, so it'd be best if we gave ourselves time."