(July) Prompt #3 - Playing With Fire

[Chat Noir]

The third prompt of July is the phrase, Playing With Fire.

[Chat Noir]

If you have any questions about how to participate in this event, please visit the rules (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=63004) thread or PM me (http://role-player.net/forum/member.php?u=27079).

Happy writing!

[Higurashi]

((Sure. Why not.))

I was asked once, that of the pains, 'which was the worst?' The one that asked me this never clarified as to what he meant in regards to 'the pains'. For all I know, it really never had any meaning at all. Something told from the moment he'd started to speak that he'd take any meaning the phrasing would contain to his grave. I suppose that really should have been obvious to me even before that. The location really should have warned me. A lonely bridge over a small ravine in the middle of the woods. That's where he chose to blow his brains out, leaving me only able to watch and live with the results.

Days afterwards seemed to turn grey. He'd not been the best friend or even a particularly nice person. If I'm honest (though not to speak ill of the dead) he was a scumbag. Somewhere between middle school and adulthood he had simply given up on trying to grow into maturity. Every moment in his presence was an experience in arrogance and crass jokes. In spite of that, life had somehow seemed... larger with him around. There was really no telling how he'd ended up like that. His parents had been decent enough, as was our neighborhood. In fact, it was quite possible that the whole town was straight as a board. Even so, the twenty year old child that was my best friend turned out more twisted than a corkscrew.

I think he made the news one time for being the first kid to smoke pot in our Highschool for forty years. It had made me a little sick, seeing the absolutely distraught expressions of his parents while he was taken away in the police cruiser. My own parent's had wanted me to stop hanging around him for a while before that. Afterwards, they sure as hell weren't letting me anywhere near him. Not three days later my friend's dad came to our door, about to break into tears. That was the first and only time I've ever seen a man get down on his knees and beg. He begged hard enough to shame a kicked puppy; and he was begging to let me remain friends with his son.

I've never quite understood why he did that. My mom accounted for it by 'parental love.' I'm not sure about that... but if its true, I'd be more confused that I already am. No one has ever called me a 'good influence.' Since I gained the ability to identify myself as an individual, I've always felt myself to be average. I'd had many of the same worries and achievements of most other kids. I'd pulled the same stupid stunts and fought with parents that only intended good for me. Yet still there'd been a full grown -man- prostrating himself to try and keep me and his son friends. (When I say man, I mean Man with a capital M. The kind of guy who could break cinderblocks with his bare hands and discuss politics a few minutes later. Fit both physically and mentally.) To be short, it had scared the crap out of me, seeing that.

Only two months after that, I was sitting in the back of a police cruiser while they dragged my best friend's body out of a crevasse. They didn't accuse me of murdering him or anything of the sort. I guess they just needed to keep ahold of me as a witness until they sorted it all out. My friend's parents were nearby. I couldn't bare to look at them, to see that kind of grief so close in relation to my own. My own parents were... somewhere. It wasn't that they didn't care about me. Rather... my dad had a thing, a set of rules for 'Men'. The capital M kind. One of these was: "In every Man's life, there will be problems that he needs to sort out on his own."

Things had been kind of rough ever since then. The police finally came to the conclusion that it'd been a suicide. My friend's parents had taken the loss really hard and ended up moving out of town to get away from it. The community tried its best to sweep any trouble under the rug and act like nothing had happened. Unfortunately, I became part of that trouble that they wanted to hide. It had suddenly dawned on me during my highschool graduation. While waiting my turn to get a diploma, all I could think about was how my friend would be sitting next to me if he were still here. Instead there was some classmate I hardly knew.

Maybe I'd been some kind of good influence before, but after that I'd turned sour. I didn't do anything drastic like jump up on stage and tear my diploma to shreds. It made me look just a bit forgetful at the time. That was because when I recieved my diploma, I tried to walk off stage without shaking my principal's hand. He actually tapped me on the shoulder as I walked past, more or less forcing me to acknowledge him. Walking back down the stage's steps, I thought I could feel his hidden glare boring into the back of my skull.

As my parents and I walked out the front door of the school; something made me stop and turn around. Standing with her back against the door frame was the Girl. As she stared on past me while chewing some bubblegum, I couldn't help but think that the slight breeze across her auburn hair looked like the flicker of a newly kindled fire.

[Chat Noir]

“Hmm,” I heard Preach murmur as she looked from one candle to another.

“What are you doing?” I asked, coming to stand behind her. Looking over her shoulder I took note of the distinct lack of difference between the two towers of wax.

“I'm trying to figure out which of them will burn the best.”

I raised my eyebrow at her. “Does it really matter? They look exactly the same to me.”

She turned and stared at me, a wild look in her eyes, before grabbing my shoulders and shaking me like a crazy woman. So, you know, she was acting like herself.

“OF COURSE IT MATTERS!” she shouted into my face.

“Alright, alright, geeze, you can stop throttling me.” I grabbed her hands and pulled them off of me. “I'm just gonna, like, leave.”

“Yes, go. Get Nastia, I require her assistance.”

“With... burning things?”

“Yes! Now, shoo.”

I rolled my eyes but dutifully left to find Nastia.

[Juder]

Play With Fire

As long as she could remember, Violet had been in love with fire, even after the accident that had led to the removal of all four of her limbs. In fact, that was probably the reason the accident had happened, despite the fact that her family members were adamant that this was not because of her pyromania and was just because something in the house had short-circuited or blown a socket rather than something being set off with a match. Other people, though, looked at her differently ever since then, and she knew what they were all thinking: That this wasn’t just an accident, and Violet had set her own house on fire just to watch the show. Maybe they were right, and she was nothing than another firebug that needed to be stopped.

It had all started when she was five years old, and her parents had lit a fire to heat up the house in wintertime because their heating system had gone haywire many years before. Her mother had sat in front of the fire, showing her and her sisters neat tricks and how to play cat’s cradle with a loop of string, but then it hadn’t been the flames Violet had been looking at; it had been the flames, and if they’d noticed then, it hadn’t shown. Perhaps they were just good at hiding things like that, or they really didn’t.

Most likely, they had noticed a few years later after they’d taken her to a couple of flame shows and she’d filched some matches, which were unnoticed until late in the evening when she gathered a few flammable things (paper, gasoline, etc.) and then started a bonfire in the school playground. She’d gotten expelled for that, and her parents had given her a scolding that she would never forget as long as she lived. Then, she’d started seeing child psychiatrists and they’d all told her the same thing: play with fire and you’ll get burned, like she would just stop.

She’d kept her head down for a while then, because she was still a little kid and heard rumors of the Chokie, a little closet where they locked naughty little children in for the night, but it wasn’t too long before even that wasn’t enough to stop her. She’d still keep a box of matches into her room and sneak off into the woods to set little fires, even though her family had told her that she would be severely punished if she was ever caught. Little children had minds of their own, and so did her case of pyromania.

Her older sister had found her on Christmas Eve in the woods, but she’d kept quiet so that Violet didn’t get in trouble and let her off with a simple warning: she wasn’t to sneak off into the deep woods ever again, or else she’d tell their parents and she’d get a scolding like no other. Whether that worked or if it was just my admiration for my older sister or that she’d actually gotten through to me, I didn’t go into the woods for years. Her parents had assumed she’d made some miraculous change in her behavior after all.

Still, she’d never outgrown it, and she’d even colored everything she owned in the colors of flames: Red, orange, and yellow, or even blue for the hottest flames of all, ones she even dreamed of at night. She’d colored her hair like flames and even made them spike up, and gotten colored contacts that were red with small flecks of orange, made to resemble sparks or something of the sort. She was twenty-four now, and although the law had seemed to forget her obsession with fire, the world on the streets never had forgotten about it, instead they’d buried it.

That was when she’d gotten caught in the act of playing with fire, when the flames had retaliated against her and her life had gone up in flames; she’d accidently dropped a match and it had fallen onto some highly flammable cleaner, and the fire had spread so quickly that she’d been trapped in the middle of her own mess. Violet had called the fire department, but by the time they’d pulled her out, all of her limbs had gotten badly burned, and she’d been in excruciating pain for the rest of the month. Weeks later, they’d told her she couldn’t keep the arm.

Apparently, it had gotten infected, despite the antibiotics they’d made her take, which apparently couldn’t stop the infection (which she thought was bullshit, wasn’t that what antibiotics are for, to stop infections?) and they’d amputated both of her arms and half of both of her legs, replacing them with a bionic arm. She felt like a robot, walking out with her electronic limbs. Maybe she was Mister Roboto, with parts made in Japan, or one of the Cybermen. Either way, she was just as much of an outcast and just as hurt as she’d been before.

Now, they’d put her in rehab, because the state had seen her as too much of a danger to herself or others to live by herself at the current moment. Which was funny, because it wasn’t like she could light a match without a real arm, right, because the fingers were too big and she wasn’t going near fire any time soon, at least not to play with it anyway. Then rehab should be real easy for you, miss, they’d said, making her bust out laughing as she agreed to go for eighteen months in order to get her life back on track.

Now she was still sitting there, being examined by a bunch of do-gooders with degrees, and she was getting absolutely nowhere. Just as she’d thought, they weren’t helping, and they were only making her want to get out of her more, making her so desperate that she would do anything to get out. Even so, she knew she couldn’t bear to leave and have people look at her like she was crazy.


Those children shrinks were right. You play with fire, you really do get burned.

[Kylie]

When I was a child my parents told me not to play with fire, for I would get burned.

I listened to them of course, they are my parents, after all. If only they knew that the matches wouldn't end up being my problem. It isn't my physical health they should worry about, it's my mental health that needs mending. To be completely honest, I am a wreck mentally, but hey, at least those matches didn't burn my skin. I mean, how could they burn my skin when the fire isn't on me, but inside of me. They thought that they could protect me from fire by telling me not to mess with it, so I didn't touch anything related to fire from that day on, but what if I told them that fire touched me. What if I told them that fire was playing with me, with my soul?

It wasn't my fault, Dad, I didn't light a match to start this one. I swear, Mom, the fire is inside of me, please help me.

This fire was not started by a mere match, no this fire is different, it's fueled by the darkness within me. My deepest, saddest, most despairing thoughts are the culprit behind this fire, and it is slowly burning any hope of happiness in my life. It's burning all of the good left inside of me, leaving me to deal with the bad. I'm struggling to breathe with all this smoke. I'm struggling to see past these flames. I'm struggling not to scream at the pain it's leaving in it's wake. If I don't put it out soon it will win, but I can't put it out alone.

Mom! Dad! I desperately need your help. How have you not noticed the smoke wafting around me? How have you not noticed that I smell of the char from my burned soul? How have you not noticed that your beloved daughter is dying right in front of you?

This fire threatens to burn me alive, consume me into it's darkness, take me to hell with all of the other tortured souls, and I can't find a way to stop it. No one will help me, no one will notice that I'm in pain. The only thing I can do is sit by and watch my happiness slowly wither away, until it is nothing but ash.

No one can see that I am dying inside, they're too oblivious to notice the heat radiating off of me. I've tried telling them that I'm in pain, but I keep choking on the smoke of what is burning inside of me. I don't know how I am going to escape this fire. Someone save me, I've lost myself in the flames and I can't find my way back.

I listened to my parents when they told me not to play with fire, so why did fire decide to play with me?

[Mihkul]

Let’s Play

Would you really like to play with me? Do you just have that deep-down desire to try your luck, like maybe jumping from a barn roof to see if you hit that haystack? Before you decide let me tell you a little about myself.
Legends say that early man discovered me, maybe from a lightning strike or something. But, if the truth were known, I have existed since the beginning. Many suggest I came from Hell and I can’t argue that point at all. I can only say that I’ve always been here and always will be here. No, I’m not some god that should be worshipped as many people have done before. I should be respected, though
I was there in the Garden of Eden as a behind-the-scenes character but when man was expelled I was there…a flaming sword was what they said, guarding a tree. I was there when Moses was a mere goat herder, calling to him from a bush. While Nero played his fiddle I danced through his city. Body after plague-infested body was fed into my hungry jaws during the Dark Ages.
I’ve played in every major city of the world…London…Moscow…Amsterdam…Constantinople…New York City…Boston…the list is unending. I destroyed Chicago, although it was the cow that got the credit. I levelled Atlanta, yet it was General Sherman that got the mention in the history books. I climbed the World Trade Center and filled the air with my exhaled breath on the Persian Gulf.
Man foolishly takes credit for controlling me but I am under no man’s control. My appetite is so great that when I devour all that is there I simply move on. I cannot be extinguished and lie in wait in a glowing ember, waiting for the conditions for me to awaken and eat again. No man can create me because I already exist. He may feed my voracious appetite or he may move me from place to place. He may use me for his purpose yet he is unknowingly serving my purpose. He uses me to cook his food yet I savor the drippings as the trickle into my fingers. He may use me to warm his lodgings while filling my belly with his fossil fuels.
I belch the dark clouds of my polluted breath into the air, poisoning every living organism in the world. It eats the atmosphere above, warming the planet with my warmth. I leave a charred trail in my aftermath as a reminder of my power. This is not arrogance, only fact.
They call me an element along with the wind, the earth, and water, yet I am more powerful than all of these. I can scorch the earth into something unrecognizable. I can boil the waters until they whisper away in a vapor. And my heat can change the course of the winds, bringing a blasting breeze of heat with it.
I hope that doesn’t change your mind and you still want to play. Forget those old wives’ tales about if you play with fire you will get burnt. I won’t hurt you…..much!

[Celix]

As he moved expertly through the crowded vestibule, flames scorched through the air and burned the earth clinging mist that filled the room. He listened to the people in their luxurious clothes talk of their daily lives and the happenstances of the lands and people they were in charge of. The north was still experiencing a cold winter and heavy snows which impeded the miners from shipping their goods from the mountains to lowlands but kept them trapped and therefor making long term profit for the Lords. The few from the south were also experiencing strange weather that beat their ships against the shores and sent many souls to the depths but raised a few new nobles to power through the art of scavenging these sunken ships and reclaiming the goods that were lost to the depths. The only ones who seemed to not be suffering from the peculiar changes of weather were the Lords and Ladies surrounding the middle of the kingdom which provided the trade and crops for the kingdom’s whole.

Sadly no matter how much Arkas truly cared for the people of the kingdom he knew he could do nothing. His skills were not placed in the magic of the world, or the bureaucracy of the government. The closet he came to any field was the work he accomplished with his words to the fire of this world. He was one of the few who could speak to the flames and make the bend to his will. When he was young many of the magic users tried to train and test him but his voice was not the same as the magic they used and was of no use to anything except the beautification of flame. And yet he wished he could do more. The longer he listened to the spoiled upper class the more concerned he became for all of the realm but since there was nothing he could do he continued to speak to the flame since so few others gave him the time.

As the nights activities droned as normal Arkas fell deeper and deeper into the flames voice and soon banished the world around him. The flames voice was not as a gutted human voice but much softer and sweeter. It was because of this sweet voice that it took Arkas so long to realize that the rest of the room had come to a halt and he truly didn’t understand until the voice of the fire turned from sweetness to a hiss.

Once his spinning flames came to a halt and sizzled out, with no smoke, he was able to focus once more on his earthly surroundings. At the head of the hall, where the king was to sit, stood three tall figures shrouded in darkness. Something about the darkness was unnatural to Arkas and scared him, as well as angered him. They were identical black cloaks with two long swords on each hip.

As the emotions passed his earthly senses returned and the jagged words could be processed once more. The leader of the three was emitting a slow deep growl while the other two were clicking and making accompanying sounds. After Arkas stopped focusing on one at a time and instead on all three the individual voices became one and a singular voice could be made out.

“…cannot stand against our power. Our master is greater than any you have here. If you bow now you will gain wealth and power in the new world but if you defy us then you will be crushed. You have until the next moon to make your decision and join us, fore when we return we will return with our swords.”

A high pitch scream ripped at the walls and the guests clawed their ears to make the sound cease and leave their consciousness. The doors to the hall burst open as the heavily plated guards forced their way in to attack something that was already gone and beyond their power. The room was in an uproar for the rest of the night as the guards tried to calm and get the story of what happened. Depending on whom you talked to there were three or there were a hundred. On and on it went until Arkas was finally able to give his testimony and leave past the shiny guards and cowed magic users.

Arkas was sure to go straight to the castle gate and into the surprisingly active city. With each tavern he passed he heard more and more retelling of the tale that had occurred early that night and the closer he came to his abode the more outlandish they became. The guards were on heavy watch and he was stopped three times before he was finally able to make it to his quiet section of the city. Ever window had its hatches latched and the candles were all extinguished for the night.

He was finally able to heave a sigh of relief when he closed and latched his heavy oaken door behind him. He stood against the solid door for a moment before he spoke to the flame to illuminate the dark room. The fire place roared to life and the few coals that were still smoldering in their braziers. Instead of seeing the cozy vacant room a small figure sat at his only table in the house.

“You are home late now aren’t we?” The soft voice of a woman filled his ears with the statement.

“Hello Lachesis. It’s been a long time.” He tried to stay calm as he started towards the kitchen cabinets for some tea.

“Indeed, it has been a long time. How has your time in the castle been treating you, besides the late nights of course?” She spoke without removing her cowl.

“It’s been treating me just fine. The pay is good and I can live a nice quiet life like I’ve always talked about. How has the north been treating you?” He said without turning back to face her.

“It could be better but to be quite honest it made me a little cold.” She said with very little emotion or volume.

“How can Lachesis ever be cold, you’re the strongest fire talker alive in the world.” Arkas scoffed at her.

“Well to be truthful to be able to hold that title you have to be alive.” She in barely in a whisper.

Arkas spun to her and watched her lower her cowl. Instead of the normal bright face it was replaced with a pale bloodless face and dull flat eyes.

“The north isn’t as quiet as it used to be Arkas.” She finished with a poor attempt at a smile.

[Soulio]

“Reports show that this fire follows the same MO of several other fires spread throughout the state. Judging by the source of the flames, officials have now determined that these seemingly “normal” fires are the work of at least a single arsonist. However, they say that there could be many more, due to several fires erupting all at once across the state. If you have any information on whom these arsonists are, please call this number.”
A masked man chuckled, the metal of the mask making it seem all the more frightening.
The policemen and firefighters are beginning to finally figure it out. Took them long enough… The masked man thought, his head craning to the side.
Behind him on a computer, there was another masked person, this time a female, making a list of possible places that would soon perish to the flames of anarchy.
At a small square table, two more masked men played a poker game, occasionally looking back at the TV and laughing.
These were the Flames of Anarchy.
They burned down buildings in an elaborate way, so that in some fashion, the fire would leave the Anarchy symbol. It was, at least to them, beauty and freedom. Anarchy was freedom, because there were no rules to follow. And that in and of itself, was beautiful.
4 Months Later
“Captain, we found em.” A newly recruited Police Officer said after storming into the Captains office.
“Found who?”
“The arsonists!” He said, excited. The captain, not one to stall, grabbed his coat and dashed out of his office, the new recruit following close behind.
“Where are they?”
“45th and Kolper, sir!”
A few squad cars were already waiting, each carrying two officers. The Captain jumped into the recruit’s vehicle, and off they were, to finally get their hands on these troublesome arsonists. They had been on the loose for too long, and their fires had already taken fourteen lives and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage repairs.

Meanwhile, the Flames of Anarchy were busy setting up their next great fire. After setting this apartment complex on fire, any falling piece of wood that was aflame would fall on top of the adjacent houses, which were currently being surrounded by gasoline and other fire accelerants.
“Are we ready to go, everyone?” The leader of the group said, his mask changing his voice.
“I believe we are, capitan…” Another said, laughing.
“Excellent. Start the show… The officers should be here any minute now.”
The female struck a match, and tossed it over to a line of gasoline, where it slowly began to make its way toward the apartment complex. This would be their best fire yet.
“Sister of the Flame, we a grateful of your sacrifice. Once we achieve anarchy, your sacrifice will not be in vain.” The leader said, pulling the female in for an embrace.
“Of course. Without this sacrifice, the filthy Order Keepers would eventually figure out our glorious plan. I know my duty, and this is what it is…”
Without a word, the three others disappeared into the night, leaving the female on her own to watch the glorious flames lick at the building.

3 Hours Later
The female was now currently unmasked, revealing a soft face, green eyes and brunette hair. But her eyes gleaned with an insanity that made even the captain take a step back in concern. Inside her room, she could do nothing but wait for the interrogation to begin.
Soon enough, it began.
“Tell me, why do you do what you do?” The interrogator asked, a video camera aimed at the female now known to the officers as Miranda Lopher.
“Because this is how anarchy begins. With the flames of liberation and freedom, Anarchy can begin, and wipe out those that try and instill Law and Order.”
A few notes were jotted down, and another question asked.
“We know you are part of a larger group. Is the mask for anything? And what is this group’s name?”
“Of course. Without the masks, then we would know whom each other looks like. Not only that, but Anarchy has no face. It is faceless, which is why it is against order. And the Flames of Anarchy will fulfill their duty, and create anarchy.”
Another question asked.
“How did this ‘Flames of Anarchy’ group meet?”
“Through similar interests. Anarchy called us together to fulfill her wishes. To do her bidding. We are but pawns in her game.”

Soon after, Miranda was taken into a holding cell, and the officers reviewed the footage, some of them visibly shivering at her insanity.
“So we’ve gotten only one piece of the puzzle. And why did they leave her behind? Unless it was a plan to do so.” The captain thought out loud, hoping that someone would be able to answer his questions.
No one did.
“Alright, we need to figure out their next move. If we can do that, then we can put an end to this insanity and make sure that the community knows that they are safe, and that this arsonist group is now out of the game. Is that understood, everyone? ”
“Sir!” All the officers shouted in agreement.
“Excellent. We’ll show them how to play with fire…” The captain said, leaving the room.
All the officers left the room, and made their way back to their desks, where they began to figure out where the Flames of Anarchy would strike next. The biggest issue with that was that the buildings were always random. There was no rhythm to the way they selected a target.
All they did was play with fire, and then use said fire to destroy in the name of anarchy.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way. And the captain was dead set on finding where these anarchists were, arresting them, and taking them down for the deaths and destruction that they caused in their wake.
“I’ll find you lot… And I will make you all pay… Play with fire… and you’ll be burned…”

[Juicesir]

He stood upon the bridge, arms tucked behind his back. There, just coming out of the velvet folds of space, loomed a small point of light now coming closer. An untrodden land on the edge of the system; the last planet he would ever likely see.

"Hey, Red." Rhedegulsin'hwenedglaw was his preferred human transcription of his name, yet none of them had ever particularly mastered its pronunciation in common parlance and exchange. He had long ago surrendered himself to this fact, giving in to their nicknaming him 'Red'. He turned to greet the familiar voice.

"Young Brenton, what brings you to the bridge?" A small, irked look came over the stubbly face of Eric Brenton. Eric often would retort to his prefix of 'young' that he was one of the older humans and the leader of them to boot, to which Red had always responded by saying that compared to himself, Eric was still quite young. Today, however, Eric held his tongue and the retort was never sounded.

"It's about the plan," the human said, approaching Red's side. Compared to him, the human was miniscule. Where Eric was of above average height for his species, Red was somewhat small. Yet still he towered over the human at nearly thrice the height. "The others are... nervous."

"I think it is quite well thought out." Red turned to gaze out of the command window, the point of light growing infinitesimally larger with each passing moment. "You and your ilk are to descend upon the planet and begin your new life, while I lead the fleet away from your location."

"Yeah, it isn't us we're really concerned about." While Eric often spoke in a jovial tone, this one was quite serious. Red continued to gaze forward.

"I made my choice long ago to help you all. You know this has to be the way."

"I know." Eric said, defeated. "They just don't. You've done so much for us. Just..." he tapped Red's legs, which forced his gaze to turn to the human. There was sorrow in his eyes, immense and barely withheld. "...say goodbye to Sally, at least?"

Red looked hard into Eric's face. He had always often thought that Eric was the sort of human that he would like to be, were he ever to be reincarnated as such. Strong, smart, and with shocking red hair, Eric was the best qualities of his species.

"I haven't always been kind, Eric," he began, but Eric waved him off.

"Oh shut up. Just come on down and give her a hug or something." Eric gave a wry grin. Red laughed, and it sounded like the beating of drums. As they strode out, Red said something about the propensity for his species to refrain from physical displays of affection, to which Eric again told him to shut up.

The trip to the ships hangar was long for Red and Eric, due in part to Eric's short strides. The vessel had never been intended for their kind, with their yielding frames and weak structures. It was a wonder they had survived as long as they had. Red's kind had always had it easy. Chitinous skin like the bark of trees, wiry arms and legs, and a lack of need for oxygen all made his species expertly predominant back on the homeworld. It was obvious that they had always been destined to be the apex species on their planet, but how the humans had managed it had always been a curiosity of his.

Still, they proved to be hardier than most had first thought, as Eric's wheezing was a testament to now. Strolling down the corridor, they walked in silence. Two entities who had finally reached an understanding.

The hanger was enormous, even by its creators standard designs, and easily held the tens of thousands who now inhabited it. Little shacks and bits of rope and cords had made it into a makeshift city of sorts. Within the confines of this ship, they had started their own society. Red had often wandered their little streets observing the day to day minutia and habits they had developed on the ship. Bartering, lending, games, trials. Such trivialities. And yet it gave them hope.

He could never begrudge a species which held to hope so fervently as they.

They reached the elevator that would take them down to the ground level of it all. As the titan and the human were lowered down, Red observed the whole mass of the humans packing up everything. "Everyone's pretty excited, gotta say." Eric sounded bright with these words.

"The prospect of new colonization is always an invigorating one, I have found." Eric gave a sidelong look at Red, who did not smile. "Which is to say... it's pretty good." A smile cracked along Red's face, and Eric chuckled, shaking his head and looking back down at the ocean of movement.

Exiting the elevator, they strode what would have been considered the main street of this makeshift interstellar settlement. But the little shacks made of plied metal sheets from the floor were now gone, and the running children were helping their parents put everything together. Above it all, above the bustle of it, stood four huge ships, only one of which that was now being boarded. The humans were taking everything that they could with them.

A proximity warning beeped suddenly over the loudspeakers. "Dool blanyedar fin digwardant," it said in Red's tongue. The humans that were near to him gave him a look. Even Eric seemed suddenly worried. A reassuring smile cracked over Red's face, and he shook his head. It was a motion humans often used to dispel worry, he had found, and the panic that they all seemed to be close to feeling was momentarily put to rest. "It is not them," he said, "we are close to our destination."

Chatter broke out, excitement giving way to renewed purpose, and those around him once again set about the task of packing up their lives. Cloth and tool, pet and toy; all were being herded and helped onto one the four remaining shuttle vehicles. Red looked down to Eric. "Where is Sally?"

Eric put his wrist to his mouth and spoke over his communicator. "Sally, come on over to the main elevator for a second. Tell Mr. and Mrs. Cheng it's alright." He put it a little bit away from his mouth, and the two of them waited for a response.

"Comin'!" was all that came through the speaker in response.

Eric chuckled. "She'll be here in a moment." They waited. Skipping down the main thoroughfare could be seen a blonde little girl, only an adolescent. She broke into a run when she saw Red.

"Red!" She shouted and, with a sprint, launched herself onto his leg as was their custom. "Missed you. Why ya gotta be up on the bridge all the time?"

"It is would be improper for me to not be stationed where I could have the greatest control and opportunity-"

"He's just got a lotta stuff he's needed to do, honey, no big deal," Eric said, cutting Red off. Sally slipped from Red's leg, and he knelt down to her level to speak. Her look of happiness turned quickly to sadness.

"Why aren't you coming with us?"

"Sal-" Eric began.

"It's fine, Eric." Red sat upon the ground. "Child... I need to lead my people away from yours for as long as I can. That requires me to stay aboard this ship."

"I know..." Sally said, her head drooping. Red took one of his seven fingers and put it gently under her chin, lifting it back up to face him. She was crying, but she smiled at his gesture. "I'm gonna miss you." Pushing his hand away, she ran to his chest and hugged it, barely reaching his sides. It surprised him for a moment, but then he put a hand upon her back.

"And I you."


The ship was shuttle was boarded. It was an amazingly tight fit, but they would only need to stay upon it for a short while. The point of light was now a huge planet rotating a lonely star. It was off all the beaten paths his people usually trod, a barren world devoid of water, which would never arouse suspicion. His kind would never suspect the humans to be able to survive on such a place. At least... Red hoped they wouldn't.

Eric and he stood at the mouth of the boarding dock to the shuttle. Eric was looking at his feet. "Well old friend..."

"I'm not your friend, human." Menacing and with a rumbling growl, he spoke the words in the same inflection that he had first spoken them to Eric, long ago when they had met. Such different circumstances they were in now. Eric laughed at this, and stuck out his hand.

"I know you can't really shake, but..."

Red offered a finger, which Eric grabbed. "For you, I'll make an exception." Eric nodded, and smiled grimly, then turned. "Eric..." He stopped, and turned. "There is one more thing I must give you." Reaching into his deep pockets, Red withdrew a small sphere, about the size of a human fist that was clenched. It seemed made of an unknown metal, and glowed a bright blue. Eric's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"To my people, this is our most sacred weapon. But to you, it shall be my gift." Nodding, he motioned for Eric to open his hands, which Eric obliged.

"What... what is it?"

"Take it under ground, and cast it into an open place." Red stood again. "It is... a seed. Of sorts. Where for my people it means devastation, for you it shall be salvation." Eric nodded.

It was the hardest thing in the world to watch the shuttle depart, to see Eric's and Sally's face streaming with tears as they and the rest of the humans waved goodbye. Red could not shed tears, but the sadness still tore at him like an open wound. Slowly, even more slowly than he had done so with Eric, he walked to the bridge of the ship.

By the time he had gotten there, he could barely make out the shuttle on the planet's surface. As he navigated the ship away from the planet, he brought online a remote camera that was transmitting from the shuttle. He could see the humans disembarking, watch them look at the sky of this world with wonder. It was the first planet Sally had ever been on, he realized, her being so young.

He wished he could have been there.

As the signal faded from the viewing camera, he saw a bright flash of blew. Just before it cut out, he witnessed a surge of water rushing towards where the shuttle was, people jumping and throwing their hands in the air. He thought he spotted a red-haired man and a blonde haired girl hugging. Then, the feed cut out.

It was century and a half before the fleet caught up to him. A grand chase he had led them on, but his fuel cells had finally given out. They bypassed his shields, deflected the carrier's weapons, and quickly boarded his ship. He was there, waiting, when they came for him.

Before words could be spoken, or weapons fired, he pressed a button. Hundreds of the little blue orbs of the kind he had once given Eric dropped from the opened ventilation shafts and smashed against the floor. Water burst forth with concussive force.

As the burning fire of the water dissolved his skin and that of half the fleet's army, he smiled, and thought of little barren world that now was home to humanity.

[Chat Noir]

I watched Preach enter the room with a sullen expression on her face. With a curious furrow of my brows, I sucked up the last of my vanilla milkshake (the best kind around, in case you were unaware) and moved over to her.

“Preachy Pie, what's going on? Why're you so bummed girl?” I asked as I tossed my empty cup in the garbage next to her. “And why are you hanging out next to the garbage. That's pretty gross.”

“It's Ana!” she wailed, sinking to her knees. I didn't know why she did that, dramatic effect maybe. Regardless, it was dumb, because now her face was right next to the garbage, and knowing the heathens of RPA, well, it was anybody's guess what was now keeping my old milkshake cup company.

“What about her, what happened?” I queried. The last time I had seen her, I'd told her that her presence was required by Preach herself. “Weren't you guys hanging out, burning candles together? Having a séance, summoning the dead, casting a spell or whatever it was you guys did?”

She glared at me. “You can't summon the dead with a candle, you idiot. You need way more stuff than that. And yeah, we were, but then... but then... well, we maybe accidentally started a fire. Like, it wasn't a huge one or anything, but some stuff – I guess it was irreplaceable? - got burnt to a crisp and, well, Nastia got in trouble for it. It kind of was her fault though, I mean she was the one waving the candle around while laughing maniacally...”

“Oh really,” I replied dully. I wasn't so sure Nastia was the one waving the candle around. Preach was kind of known for being unstable, though nobody really said that to her face. What? She's unstable, you'd be a fool to talk shit about her where she could hear you!

“Yeah, and it was Merry's so Ana got the boot.”

“The boot?”

“Yeah, Merry sent her to boot camp.”

“What does boot camp have to do with anything? Shouldn't she have gone to an asylum if she was waving a candle around like a wacky inflatable tube man?”

“The heck's a wacky inflatable tube man?”

“You know, one of those... uh, wacky inflatable tube men things? Ugh, whatever, it doesn't matter. She was waving a candle around like a crazy, so why'd she get sent to boot camp?”

“I don't know, you'd have to ask Merry, I'm not the one who made that decision. BUT ANA'S GONE!!”

I found her random bouts of melodrama to be lacking in entertainment so I hmmed and left her to get more acquainted with the garbage can. It didn't really look like she'd been planning on getting up any time soon.

I was off to find Merry and ask her about the whole Nastia-boot-camp situation.




Instead of finding Merry, however, I ran into Juni who was scampering around after a small fluffy kitten. It was pretty cute. The cat, not the scene in front of me.

“What are you doing, Juni?” I asked loudly from the doorway. I'd stopped to get another milkshake, so I slurped it obnoxiously while I waited for her to respond.

She glared at the slurping noises and lunged after the kitten. She just barely missed, and the animal scurried underneath a chair.

“Dammit, what are you slurping that damn thing for?”

“Funsies, what else?”

“Well stop, you're making it harder to catch my baby!”

“Why do you have to catch it? Shouldn't it just come to you?”

“Are you trying to say I'm a bad mother?!”

I gave her an affronted look. That wasn't what I was saying at all!

“No, of course not, I just thought that if it wanted to spend time with you it would come to you right?”

“I refute your logic on the grounds that you're dumb.”

“Okay, so that's valid... obviously.”

“Of course, it even has the Nazgul stamp of approval, see?” I was shocked to see her whip out a piece of paper with a stamp on it. Upon close inspection, it was rather easy to see that it was a yellow thong, though it looked a bit dirty. Typical Nazgul. Guess the new mods forgot to do his laundry... or wait, would that even matter? It was a stamp, not the real thing. Well, whatever.

“I guess I'll have to have a talk with Nazgul then... speaking of having a talk with an admin, have you seen Merry around? I guess Nastia and Preach were playing with fire and Nastia burned something valuable that was Merry's so she's going to boot camp?”

“Oh yeah, I heard about that. Yeah, Merry's in her castle using V for target practice. She's pretty upset about whatever it was that Nastia burned.” She shrugged and stuffed the paper back in her pocket.

“Alright, thanks.” I slurped once more before jumping out of the room. I really didn't need Juni's wrath targeted towards me.




I entered Merry's throne room and saw her throwing drinking glasses at V who ran from one end of the room to the other. They shattered when they hit the floor, leaving a mess everywhere which I was sure Merry would have V clean up later if she didn't knock him out first.

“Yo, what's up?” I asked, drinking slowly from my third milkshake. Those things were addictive, what can I say?

Merry glared at me, but did cease throwing cups at V. He bent over and breathed heavily. “Ana has upset me,” she said primly, before tossing the cup she was holding at V who yelped and jumped away at the last second. Merry didn't reach for another glass.

“That sucks. So you sent her to boot camp then?”

“Yes, I did, but I should've done worse.”

“Right, boot camp has nothing to do with being a pyromaniac!”

“That is not what I said.”

“So, what'd she burn anyways?”

Merry's face crumpled and she sniffled a few times. Uh oh, guess it was really important.

“She burned my favorite heels,” she said in a solemn tone.

I gawped at her for a second before shouting in outrage, “BUT THOSE SHOES WERE PERFECT!”

“I KNOW!”

“OH MY GOD AND ALL YOU DID WAS SEND HER TO BOOT CAMP?”

“I know, I'm really too nice.”

“I'll say.” I slurped more of my milkshake. V was oddly quiet, but not too oddly quiet that I actually wanted to start a conversation. Now that I knew what happened to Nastia I was content to go home and take a nap. So I did.

“I'm gonna go. Try not to give V a concussion, Merry. I'll need him later for something important!” and with that I left to the sounds of breaking glass.

Man I loved RPA. And naps. Naps were the shit.

[Naraness]

After a few terrifying moments, the tunnel was alight one more. But this time it was much more than a simple spark, this time there were flickers of flame dancing from the creature’s mouth. The young dragon seemed rather amused, and he lifted his muzzle towards the ceiling only to spray fire upon the air.

“Hey, hey! Stop that.” The woman said, easing her way over. “You’re going to light yourself on fire, you are.” Her voice had a slight Scottish lilt to it. “Now what are you doing down here, huh?” She asked, a strangely motherly yet frightened tone in her voice. “Fooling around with fire, and scaring me to death, you are.”

At this, the little dragon’s head seemed to fall, and darkness closed in again as the fire went out. “Here, hang on…” She said, pulling a scrap of old cloth off of her shirt. “It’s torn up anyway. Now why don’t you light this on fire so we can see, huh?”

With a little yelp of excitement, the young wyrm gushed a belch of flame on the scrap of cloth, and it was instantly alight. “Och! Now don’t light me on fire!” The lost adventurer exclaimed in an exhasperated voice as she extinguished a flame from her boot. “We do not play with fire, hear me?” In the light of the burning cloth, she could see the creature’s face as it nodded quickly.

It was now quite apparent that it was just a baby.

“Are you lost?” She asked curiously, sitting down. The woman supposed that they had a few minutes of light left before the cloth was burned up completely.

The dragon nodded its head, and the woman sighed. “Yeah, I am too. It’s bloody dark down here, ain’t it?” Again, her little companion seemed to agree. “Well I’m sure we can get out… Right?” It was suddenly painfully clear that the dragon was no longer paying attention to her. As all children did, it was… Amusing itself. She watched as it blew little sparks into the air and watched them float down, it’s eyes slight crossed.

“Huh.” She mused, thinking to herself. Well… Things just got a little bit more complicated.

[Omac]

Everything around the small house was burnt or still on fire, it all looked so dead. I looked to my left, to Nancy who looked at like I was out of place. Which I was. Just a few hours earlier I was in a luscious forest battling against a robotic penguin, but now I was in a burned down woods without sign of life. Except there was these pitch black birds with wings made out of fire flying around, breathing flames that just doomed this habitat even more.
I had my backpack on my back, but I made sure my staff was safely in my hands. I had to be ready to fight as Nancy explained that this area was filled with monsters all serving their master, the fire elemental, Pip. I wasn’t prepared to take on such a powerful enemy, but then again I wasn’t much ready for Fudge either and I prevailed there. Still, I think I need to learn to use my new body’s abilities.
“Are you ready, Omac?” Nancy asked though I could tell she found me awkward. It must be hard serving a master for so long only to have him switch bodies with the king of the kingdom. I wondered if JJ was having the same problem. “This place is dangerous, so we need to tread carefully,”
“Honestly? I’m a little scared,” I gripped my staff, “I don’t have much experience with monsters. I can’t help, but wonder if my self-aware sword was the only reason I was able to beat Fudge? I don’t really know how to fight…”
“Then we shall teach you. Let’s find a monster to show you how to defeat it. You should ready your staff and be warned, this won’t be easy,” Nancy explained pointing to a small pig with a speck of fire on it’s tail, “That is a creature that is perfect for starting out with. Be warned though, playing with fire is dangerous,”
I slowly made my way over to it, pressing the button at the top of my staff to extract the blade at the end of it. I moved fast trying to jab it deep into it’s chest, but I missed and then it ran. I could feel my pocket like it was on fire. Before I could look down I noticed my grey tee-shirt turning a dark red color.
Suddenly, I had the feeling to run and upon doing so I was moving at lightning speed. Everything around me was like a blur as I ran trying to catch up to the creature. I jumped mid-run and laughed my blade into the creature's backside. I couldn’t stop running so I simply ran around it until I felt an increasing amount of pain as I increased speed. All at once I came to a sudden stop, noticing my shoes looking more burnt than before. The color in my shirt went back to grey. I might have to be careful with this ability.
I took my staff out of the creature and slowly made my way back to Nancy. That’s when I tripped making my backpack fly over me and letting its materials slide out. I must not have zipped it up. I quickly put everything back inside, making sure I didn’t leave anything out. That’s when one of those birds with the burning flames landed in front of me. I slowly pulled out the bird cage and moved slowly towards the bird. It seemed to have a hurt wing, unable to fly away, so it was easy to capture it in the cage. I zipped up my backpack, slid it back in my back, then carried the cage with my free hand.
Nancy shook her head as I brought back the bird, “I asked you to take out a pig and you come back with a bird. This may be a good thing though, we might be able to trade it in for some rare items. There is a shop not far from here,” she took it from me, “It seems that you know how to fight better than you thought, at least with creatures that can’t fight back. We’ll need to find a better target so-” but she was cut off by something truly, terrible.
A bird like the one in my cage landed in front of us except it was double our size. It’s beak plucked itself down before us, digging into the ground, before coming up to breath fire into our faces. Nancy jumped in front of me taking the majority of the burns, but everyone knows that cyclops are immune to fire. The bird was angry that it couldn’t hurt me and get to what I figured was it’s child we captured.
“Let it go!” I announced, “Nancy, release the bird,”
“No, I’m sure we could sell it for something pretty high up. This is your chance to take to take on something power. Use your staff, Nat said it was fireproof,”
I didn’t have time to object so I slid into view and dove my staff into the bird’s left wing. It screamed out in agony as it dove it’s beak towards me. I moved to the left only in the nick of time. In that moment I got cocky and danced back and forth before attempting to shove my weapon into it’s neck. Things didn’t go according to plan. It caught my staff in it’s mouth then spit it out to the left of it and flung it’s beak down into my chest. I started flashing bright red and fell to my knees.
Nancy jumped over me and punched the beast in it’s face. She saved me! But, then the bird flapped it’s wings and bounced Nancy into a burning tree. It turned to face her before borrowing its beak into her leg. I couldn’t bare to watch so I got up, grabbed my staff, and ran up towards it hoping to take it by surprise. But, then it turned towards me and I didn’t have much of a chance to take it down. I threw my staff out of fear hoping that it would at least not hurt Nancy. Then the staff flew through the air and into the bird’s throat. It shook its head until my staff fell out then flew away.
Nancy came over to me, unable to walk quickly with a chunk of her leg missing. “I can’t take you in this condition. We’ll have to head back to the house and switch me out with Nat. It’s not your fault honey, don’t think that, but now I’m too hurt to walk you all the way to Pip and back. Even if I could get you there I wouldn’t be much help,” she put her hand on my shoulder, “What’s on your mind?”
Nothing much, just that I’m to blame. If I can’t save JJ.. or Nancy.. How am I supposed to save an entire kingdom?!

[ArtisticVicu]

The lute strings sang under his fingers and the words of some song fell from his lips without him being overly aware of what exactly it was he was performing. The common space was full, though, and there were people singing along or chatting happily with companions and strangers so he figured he was in the clear with paying more attention to the people than his music.

Bodies were constantly moving throughout the space so the figure entering shouldn't have drawn his eye as they had. Many here wore hoods for whatever reason but this figure seemed off to him. None of the other patrons noticed. Heck, the figure cut right through a talking pair and the duo didn't so much as blink at the figure. This way and that the figure weaved and this way and that he tracked their progress till the figure was sitting at the table he had claimed for himself, a pretty metal bowl on the table for tips. It had a decent amount in it. He hoped it was enough to leave him a few gold richer when he paid the owners for putting up with him.

He let the little gaunt end and the room erupted into cheers. He grinned and tucked the lute away as one of the staff came over bearing a tray of food. He hadn't ordered and he certainly hadn't seen his new companion order anything either.

"Well played, minstrel," the young dwarf offered, placing the food on the table. Apparently someone was buying him a meal because he had already eaten what he had paid for a few hours ago. "Seems the room took a liking to ya." As if to solidify the point, a few patrons darted in and dropped a few coins into the bowl. He caught sight of the glint of gold and was humbled as much as he was grateful.

He offered the dwarf a smile. "I have you and yours to thank for that. Let your ma know I'll get the coin separated out and to her before I'm done here."

The dwarf nodded, offering a quick, "Will do," before heading to the kitchen.

He turned to his new companion, arching an eyebrow at them. "Meal from you or a different admirer, Soren?"

The figure smiled, tugging the hood back and away. He belatedly realized the cloak was wet. Must have started raining. "Good to see you too, Verena."

He grinned. "Hey, I didn't order any of this." Soren chuckled, low and deep. Verena's gaze flickered over the other, taking in the changes the years had done. Vey still had a head of red hair, skin still darker than what he remembered of veir father's, but what softness that had been there making the other's lack of gender obvious wasn't there. "Presenting more male nowadays?"

The amusement left Soren's expression and he gained a shrug as an answer. "Makes it easier to get by most of the time."

He frowned, watching as Soren closed off to him. His pulse quickened and for a fleeting moment fear gripped his soul. "Soren." He didn't gain the other's gaze like he had hoped and he reached out, grabbing at their arm. "Soren," he repeated. Those amber brown eyes finally focused on him. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"A lot. Most of it not good."

His heart fell at that. "Ah, Soren." He shook his head, removing his touch. "You should have said no when I reached out."

Soren shook his head in turn. "It's nice remembering what I can of the times before the bad. Besides, it sounded like you really needed the help."

"I would have asked for help elsewhere but when I had heard of what you've been doing, I had hoped you'd come with company."

Another shake no. "We were in the middle of serious business that, in the end, turned to being safer that I came alone. I've got ways to reach out to them if we need assistance or when I'm heading back." Soren fixed him with an accusing look. "It hadn't sounded like it would need much force. We're just going after some kid, yeah?"

"An Aarakocra so age isn't really something we can go off."

"An Aarakocra."

His gaze flickered across the room before he nodded towards a patron not far off. "Winged. Looks more like a bird than a human. The winged human two tables to the left is an Aasimar."

"Hmm." It took a moment for Soren's gaze to return to him. "So we're going after some Aarakocra. Why?"

Verena leaned back in his chair, cup in hand. "I owe Zerros a favor and his wife's family owns this inn. They had sent this Aarakocra - Artemis, if I'm remembering correctly - off on some courier trip but haven't seen a single feather of him since. He's somehow a friend of the family despite him only having been here because of the caravan he was riding with. Caravan leader is a family friend, apparently."

"Why send us in and not the city guard or something?"

Verena arched an eyebrow over the rim of his cup. He let his chair fall back onto four legs as he put the emptier cup down. "You don't know much about the town we're in, do ya?"

Soren arched an eyebrow. "Wouldn't be asking if I did."

Verena grinned. "Town's built on the Black Market," he explained, voice low to the point where Soren was forced to lean closer; "quite literally in some areas. Place is an intense maze of buildings and back alleys despite it's small size. Most things are tall because the surrounding lands are extremely fertile for crops and no one wanted to encroach on the farmlands but the number of people coming and staying kept increasing. So, they built skyward."

"Quite literally how?" Soren asked equally quiet.

"There's some hidden history here but from what I've overheard, there'd been a city in the area. A massive city. Something had happened that came in and not only killed everyone who lived here but also sank the city beneath a good layer of earth. What remains of that city has created a cavern system that's almost like catacombs beneath our feet and it houses a lot of the Black Market for the surrounding areas."

"So we're infiltrating this Black Market and freeing an Aarakocra that, what, looks like an eagle?"

Verena shook his head. "A barn swallow. It's a small blue and copper colored bird with a forked tail. Unusual in these parts from what I've been told. Supposedly Artemis is from the southern continent."

"Hmm." Soren leaned back, crossing his arms. "When do we leave then?"

"Do you need to rest?"

"No. I had camped not too far off so the walk was easy. I'm good to go whenever."

"Cool. Let's finish eating then and I'll go get my things and drop off what I owe to June."

Just over an hour later they found themselves beneath the city. Verena's tail was wrapped tightly around Soren's belt only because Soren had warned him about the high possibility of getting burned holding onto veir wrist. They were standing in the shadows of a tunnel that crossed the one they needed but there were people there talking. Verena crouched closer to the ground as the voices got louder, Soren pulling back to as far as Verena's tail could reach before following suit.

The duo they had been waiting on walked by without even noticing too caught up in their conversation. Verena didn't recognize the language and he didn't ask if Soren did.

Deeper into the maze they went, finding that it wasn't just one level when the floor caved in under Soren's feet. Verena was yanked in after vem. They came across stairs that led another level down.

An unusually warm hand gripped at his tail and he froze, suddenly alert, but the only thing that happened was Soren getting close and whispering into his ear, "Next left. Should lead us somewhere." He frowned back at Soren, who shrugged. "I'm running off of a hunch of what I remember of the upper levels. Just go with it."

Verena raised both eyebrows at that but followed Soren's words. He took the next left and followed it, keeping straight when Soren made no move to correct his direction.

Somewhere was right. Verena found the tunnel ending at a door and the amount of noise coming from beyond it proved Soren's statement lacking. With a quick glance back at his companion, Verena opened the door enough to see.

The room beyond was massive compared to what they had been traveling through. The room itself was two levels high and the noise beyond didn't echo horribly like it should have. Crates, cages, and containers filled the space of varying sizes. Bodies were moving everywhere, whether it was moving freight about or simply walking through. A few bodies were stagnant here and there but attentions were nowhere near the door he and Soren were at.

"Damn," Soren hissed, as Verena closed the door. "Ideas?"

"One. But I don't know how useful it'll be."

"Try me."

He started digging through his pack. "I know a spell, concentration based that I can hold for about ten minutes. Let's me see and hear what's going on around the target. Only," he pulled out a copper tinged down feather and tucked it into his braid for safe keeping before he went back to digging, "I haven't had the chance to get a focus for it yet."

"What kind of focus?"

He looked up at Soren, "A crystal ball or a silver mirror, the expensive kind. Like, at least 1,000 gold pieces expensive kind." He went digging again. "A holy water font would work too but I have neither a font nor that amount of holy water."

A water skin bumped his arm and he stared at it, bewildered, before looking up at Soren again. The other shrugged. "Endless supply of holy water. A gift from a friend blessed by Silvanus and enchanted by the Fae Queen. There's only one other like it and I am to return this to said friend as soon as I'm heading back to my company."

His hands wrapped around the water skin in shock. Standing abruptly, he uncapped the water skin and pressed the opening against the palm of his hand. He flipped the whole thing over and let magic do the rest.

The change in perspective was jarring but he had sight of a small Aarakocra with a coppery toned off white chest, blue feathers rich around the copper red feathers of the face and throat. The stout wings and deep forked tail were black from the underside. He bristled at how the small being was strung out, stout wings flat and open wide against the bars of some cage, tail clamped open. Nothing appeared clipped yet, which was a blessing in its own right, but it was clear there had been some rough treatment already.

He shuddered feeling Soren's hand on his tail and it took him a second to get both sensory inputs to agree. It turned into where his focus went, like one was a window with a scene and the other was the stage performance before him. The sounds stayed. Soren's expression was worried as he met veir gaze. "I'm ok. I can split it, be here and there but I have to focus to see one or the other. The sounds will blend but I can keep quiet. I can move. The spell will follow Artemis if he's moved."

Soren nodded. "What do you see?"

Verena turned his focus back to Artemis and looked around. "Cage with thick bars. I can see through them, see the room beyond. I'm trying to see if there's anything significant in the area I can use to get us there."

The perspective was horrible and even when he moved the spell to the edge of the spell's tether, he still couldn't make anything significant out.

The roar made him jump but it was faint when he came back to Soren, eyes wide as adrenaline shot through him. "Artemis is in a cage close to that sound. We'll have to just run in and head for it. I should recognize the area when we get close enough but I don't have anything else to lead us with."

"Stay close then."

Another roar tore through the space as Soren opened the door. What had been a room of organized and calm action was now utter chaos. There were bodies running all over the place, creatures throwing their voices to the noise of the space, and Verena stumbled after Soren when the other took off at a run. For a moment, his heart leapt into his throat. Someone was bound to stop them.

But Soren was running straight towards the roars, body thrumming with determination so potent, Verena could make it out from behind him and he realized what Soren was doing. No one was going to bother them as long as he followed Soren's silent lead.

He cut the spell when he gained sight of Soren from the cage's perspective. He overtook Soren, coming to the edge of the cage as another roar erupted into the space. They were at the back wall of the large space but there was an open doorway next to Artemis's cage. Beyond it was a short hallway or tunnel that opened into a different space. He could make out the flicker of firelight.

"A dragon," Soren spoke for him. He met Soren's amber brown eyes and the other grinned at him. "No better distraction than their own merchandise. How good are you with locks?"

Verena blinked. "Depends. Am I trying to be stealthy?" Soren gave him a bewildered look and he rushed, "I know a spell - Knock. It's well named as it gives off a very loud knock sound when it unlocks something. I've got enough magic to use it on all of Artemis's bindings and cage but it won't be stealthy."

Another roar drew both their gazes and Verena caught the mischievous grin out of the corner of his eye. "Time it with the roars. We should be fine."

Verena moved into place, asking, "And if the roars stop?"

Soren's right hand ignited. "I can make sure they don't."

Verena sent him a worried look. A roar ripped through the space and he almost missed the chance. The cage door unlocked as a loud knock blended with the roar. Verena's heart was in his throat. "Soren, I don't think that's a good idea. We're already in the pan. No need to go playing with the fire, too."

Soren laughed. "Ren, playing with fire is in my blood. It's who and what I am." Another loud roar, another knock as the lock on Artemis's tail came undone. The Aarakocra didn't even twitch from any of the sounds around him. "Just get the kid to safety."

Soren took off down the hallway at a quick pace. Verena's tail flicked anxiously behind him, waiting. Four- no, five more locks and they could leave. He just hoped Soren could get either long enough roars or the right number for him to get Artemis out of there.

Screams suddenly echoed down the hallway but the bellowed roar was far louder and he managed two locks with the two loud knocks within it. His heart clenched. "Please be careful, Soren," he muttered to himself, hands running over the Aarakocra looking for injuries as he waited for the next roar. "I don't want to exchange your life for his."

Another roar, only one lock.

"It wouldn't be fair."

[HoneyHeart]

Displaying some writings from the writing prompts archives was a great idea! I hope it will continue! Brava!