The Chosen [IC/PG-16]

[Andx]

Reinaan listened with an innocent fascination as Lindow explained something of the Abyss Seekers to him. It sounded like they were heros. Keeping the world safe from dangerous evil witches and what not. It impressed the boy that his fellow Chosen was part of such a group but then it only maked sense a spirit might be attracted to a group of strong fighters. After finishing the discussion he returned to packing the camp's supplies onto the various mounts' backs. Kloqah was sure loaded up good. The Draken took a moment to secure his own belongings at the front of the load, taking extra care to fasten his new special sword safely into place. Despite his energy his body was very much wearing out and he didn't want to make any unneeded exertions. So to avoid having to flail his arms aroudn pointlessly, he forwent putting his jacket or any other kind of clothing on for the trip back.

 

The boy led Kloqah along as there was no conceivable way for him to ride the lizard with the load she was carrying. Both of them were tired and still not fully recovered from the injuries sustained. The sun, which the Draken had originally enjoyed on his scales, had never ceased to beat down on them and he was about ready for some sort of variation in the temperature. Regardless they trudged on. The trip was quiet thankfully though that never stopped the boy from staying on guard for the group. Had something attacked he would not have had any ability to deal with it but regardless he had to keep watch.

 

Eventually the tired and battle worn group arrived again at the village. The people must have been keeping watch for them on the horizon for the entirety of the people seemed to be gathered to the central market. There was a tense silence as the group produced the bandit leader's amulet and declared the task complete. All at once the city burst to life with cheers and other happy noises. They embraced one another and shouted for joy as the money and supplies along with information on the food storage location were revealed. The Elder offered a proper place for them to stay the night and warned them of a place where the sand sharks gathered.

 

Despite being tired, the energy throughout the town seeped into the boy. Reinaan was reminded somewhat of the village wide feasts of his home. While moving about absent mindedly the boy didn't notice as he walked into a girl. More specifically he walked into her chest and immediately panicked and backed up apologizing. "Sorry! I wasnt watching where I was going and-" he began but the girl only giggled. Reinaan had no way of knowing her exact age but this was a seventeen year old human girl from the village.

 

"I watched you guys fight the bandits here. Especially you. I knew you'd be able to do it." she said while making extremely awkward eye contact with the Draken. Extremely awkward in that Reinaan had no real idea of what was happening here and no human he'd met thus far had ever acted quite this strangely. Before he knew what was happening the girl moved in on him and touched her lips to his own. The boy's body tensed then relaxed as it processed panic and then pleasure. But then there was something in his face. What was it?

 

The boy reeled back in disgust as the girl's hair had been touching him. She laughed as he backed up. "I didn't think you'd be so shy." she said as she very obviously examined the boy's fully exposed body from top to bottom. The girl made sure to say he was really cute and told him where she lived saying he could come by any night if he was feeling lonely. The boy simply gulped in discomfort with regard to the whole situation as the girl moved out of sight into the crowd. He stood there in a stupor until Kloqah who had been nearby the whole time approached and knocked the boy to the ground face first with a huff.

 

"H-hey what's the big idea?!" he yelled as he got back up. The mount shot him a face that said he knew what the big idea was. Reinaan concluded that females of all races and species confused him. A group of kids of varying ages, including some of the young men who had served as makeshift guards, approached the lizards next. They seemed interested in Kloqah in particular.

 

"A lizard rides a lizard?" one asked laughing. "How'd you steal one from 'em?" one of the older boys asked. Reinaan was being swarmed with similar questions and wasn't at all ready for the large social situation. But it did remind him of when he had been very young, too young to hunt. When hunting parties came in he would demand stories from them around the fire. Now it was his turn he realized, and the idea puffed his chest. With Kloqah having been deloaded Reinaan jumped up and stood on top of her saddle to get above the crowd a bit.

 

"Gather around and Reinaan the mighty dragon of Blagos and his Chosen companions defeated the desert bandits!" he called out with gusto. It caught the attention of a lot of the people in the vicinity and soon a large crowd was gathered around in circles around the boy atop the bandit lizard. Many wondered what a Draken was doing here, how the mount had been stolen from the bandits, and some of the more motherly figures wondered who let this boy run around without clothes on. But all the noise was hushed as the boy began his tale. His apprehension was gone for now he had only the glory of the hunt to share.

 

"Long we traveled through the desert, the sun beating down on us the whole way. But Kloqah's outsanding sense of direction" he began, pointing to his mount as he named her, "we soon came upon an encampment. Dozens of tents, spread out across the desert floor. We knew it was the place. For sitting out in the open was a monster the size of three men! Sitting upon a throne of skulls!" he said, adding what flair he could to the tale. The people gasped at the thought of a hulking monster sitting on human bones. "The bandit chief himself was waiting for us! His men sprung forth from beneath the desert sands to attack us by surprise! But we were too fast for them! They could not stand before the Earth Chosen commanding the sand itself against them, or the Thunder Chosen calling down lightning from the heavens! The Monster knew we were a force to be reckoned with and soon released a falcon into the air, to call all his forces to him. But the Nature Chosen is an archer without peer! She shot the messenger out of the air without blinking an eye!"

 

The people were amazed at these warriors who could command the elements and an archer that could shoot a single bird out of the air so quickly. Children were excited by the tale, some completely captivated, others calling it stupid. "Still he felt himself our superior. He looked me in the eye and taunted me saying he could slay a dragon with only his bare hands! With my spear and my mount I charged as fast as she could carry me, when to my surprise the man lunged out with his sword! Barely escaping death I jumped to the ground as my mount retreated. A duel for the ages began as the Thunder Chosen and I the Fire Chosen began attacking the monster. His sword strokes shook the earth and our attacks did little to stop him. The Water Chosen had sent a mighty river to carry him away but his amulet had turned the waters aside! It had to be done without magic! As we fought his strength only grew. With his sword he sliced the end of my spear off, leaving it as nothing but a stick. But!" he said looking out for the various guards of the town who themselves had only had pointed sticks to fight with before today. "A true hunter needs nothing more than a pointed stick! With all the might of a dragon I thrust the shaft into his back and the beast howled in pain!" The guards seemed caught up in the tale now, amazed that their feeble weapons might actually be effective in the hands of a master.

 

"Without a weapon I wrestled with him for what felt like forever as the Thunder Chose attempted to attack him. But still the monster continued fighting us. He would throw me off only for me to get back on to claw or bite him. Try as he might he could never keep the both of us off for long! In need of a weapon I found on the ground a simple sword. And with it I began to fight back! He had the Thunder Chosen in prime position to kill but I leapt in and slashed at the man's neck!" he said as he waved his hand with a swoosh noise. The audience gasped in response. "Still he continued. Leaving the Thunder Chosen to focus on the mighty dragon before him I knocked him to the ground! His monstrous strength had failed him! And so with this blade," he said as he drew the sword he had slain the man with from its sheath, "I plunged metal through his heart! The beast was slain!" he called out with a roar that was immediately echoed by the crowd with a renewed cheer and shouts.

 

The crowd loved it, however fluffed up Reinaan's role in it was. A chant went out, huzzah for the fire dragon. Reinaan stepped down from Kloqah's back only for those who had listened to storm him and want to shake his hand or just touch some part of him in general. He was invited to eat and drink with many a man and several more women approached who while not as direct as the first seemed similarly odd to him. Still there were other families who brought their sons to him, hoping to inspire their children to be brave and strong like the Draken before them. Needless to say, it was all going to the boy's head as if the story wasn't evidence enough. These people felt like family to him now after the story though. They all wanted to know his name, where he was from, what it was like to be one of the Chosen or even just what it was like to be a Draken. He had a run of questions asking him why he didn't wear clothing or armor to which he had a simple reply. More than any armor or weapon, "A hunter can only rely on his own body!" he said cheerfully. It impressed several who heard it and may or may not have caused a streaking incident or two among some of the more drunken men looking to emulate him.

 

Regardless, he was being treated like a hero and he was eating it up. The crowd whisked him away from the other Chosen to every activity going on in the celebration. When they'd get him back was anybody's guess. Whenever the party died down most likely. Kloqah seemed irritated and settled nearby the group's other mounts while Ziiyol hovered about aimlessly. The fire spirit was incredibly overstimulated from all the happiness around her, and Reinaan's telling of the fight in particular had her beyond excited. She wasn't even sticking very close to her Draken, just simply trying to take everything in. The exhausted Draken certainly showed no signs of stopping any time soon though. If the others cared to move about the town and join in the fun they might have a chance at catching him for a moment.

[Alaina]

As the group made their way back to the city of Oasis, Ryia could truly start to feel the exhaustion kick in. While most of her wounds, or at least the major ones, had been tended to it did nothing to alleviate the fatigue from having a constant flow of adrenaline throughout the day. Furthermore, the sand was not an easy to traverse terrain and the sun beating down on her metal clad body did not help either. They had managed to eventually reach the city, where the air felt heavy with tension. As the group walked forward, she could feel the gazes of the townsfolk upon them and she could feel the anticipation slowly build and build. However, as the amulet was showed, cheers erupted, leaving the girl a bit shocked at first but feeling relieved all the same. As the Elder congratulated them, the girl felt a sense of pride and joy wash over her, taking it in all the people they had just helped what they had actually done for them. As the Elder then told them to keep some of the gold, the girl seemed a bit shocked, not even considering that they'd gain a material reward from this and said, "o-oh, thanks. Thank you." The girl bowed respectfully towards the man, and then listened to the man's words of warning. 

 

When the group had finally split off, the warning in their heads and the celebration in the crowd, the girl saw the Water Chosen deep in thought and walked over to her. "Um," the girl started, "are you uh, worried about the sharks?" The girl wasn't sure how else to follow this up but said, "I'm uh, not really that great with magic and, yeah. Is this- um, that kind of stuff common? The glowing stone from earlier, I mean."

[Sethera]

The party was pretty great. Gilly couldn't stop eating, the food was just too delicious, everything was so delicious, it felt as if there were an explosion taking place in her mouth. Granted, that was always how it was when she ate. Honestly, she just could not understand how people could not be enthusiastic about eating, or food in general. Or at least, not enthusiastic enough.

 

The halfling did listen to Reiny boy tell his story, but she couldn't help but interrupt with tales of her own valorous deeds, as there was a notable absence of any mention of herself or Hob...or Snowy. She stuck her tongue out at the dragon boy afterward, though her annoyance was forgotten when she saw yet more food she hadn't tried.

 

As the party started to hit its stride, Mute Girl seemed to get tired. Well, she was a wimp anyway, so it wasn't a huge deal. However, the elder seemed to take that as indication that they were all tired, as he immediately apologized. "We have more empty buildings than we used to these days." The somber thought seemed to break the elder a bit from the gaiety of the others, though he made sure none beyond the Chosen heard those words.

 

"Ah, before you make a decision if you wish to rest, I owe you something. I told you I had some information that could help. It's not much I'm afraid but perhaps it will come in handy. To the east there is a location you should avoid. I will mark on a map the location as exact as I can. For in that area there were sightings of a large gathering of Sand Sharks. Vicious predators, who usually travel solo. I'm unsure why this group is acting so unusually but it would be dangerous to enter their territory."

 

Mute Girl nodded in thanks, while Mr. Lindow scoffed. Gilly couldn't help but agree. "A true hero never avoids dangers, but walks bravely into them!" she proclaimed, jabbing a thumb into her chest, shoulders rolled back in pride.

 

Hob had accompanied Gilly for the most part during the party, but not before he baaed one last time at the Water Chosen, satisfied that she was all right for now. Snow had retreated into the halfling's bag, feeling oddly melancholy. They had won, but many had almost died, and a couple had indeed died on this trip through the desert. He could only hope they wouldn't be next.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres didn't quite like the attention that she was getting. It felt....wrong, somehow. She wasn't supposed to be celebrated like this, was she? The mage couldn't place her finger on what the issue was but she felt herself slipping away from the crowd, mentally.

Though it seemed that most of them were more focused on the more energetic of their group. Both Reinaan and Gilly were getting more and more people around them, praising them and asking for stories. Gilly in particular was getting many people apologizing for their assumptions that the Halfling wouldn't be able to cut it.

 

As Keres found herself falling into what was essentially a daydream, Ryia approached her.

"Um," the girl started, "are you uh, worried about the sharks?" The girl wasn't sure how else to follow this up but said, "I'm uh, not really that great with magic and, yeah. Is this- um, that kind of stuff common? The glowing stone from earlier, I mean."

 

Keres wondered what the girl was so nervous about. Perhaps Keres was intimidating? Or maybe Ryia was secretly an enemy who was really bad at hiding her nerves? Of course she didn't think this but she couldn't help but have her imagination wander for a while.

 

"Old magic. Strong magic." She finally responded. Control magic was something that hasn't been seen in years. It's dangerous, difficult to perform, and too easy to abuse. The council had long since outlawed its practice. Though there are only a select few who were even able to do it in the first place. The fact that this shark was controlled by someone meant they were dealing with something dangerous.

 

She looked at Ryia, noticing how exhausted the girl looked. "Remove armor." She said bluntly. It would do no good for Ryia to suffer heat stroke due to wandering around the city with all that armor on. Even if they were putting the sun shield up over the city it still would be too warm for the Earth Chosen.

 

With that said she headed for the building that they were allowed to sleep in. She was getting worried again that the group had so quickly split apart when this celebration started. So, she decided, whenever everyone returned to the building, or if it seemed that everyone who planned to return did so, she would ask them a simple question. "Where are you from?"

 

[spoiler=OOC]Okay so basically keep doing what you're doing, try and post several times if you're interacting. Also get any responses from Keres if any of you speak to her before she leaves. But at some point make sure to note if you're going to the Chosen's building and if you do go there, respond to Keres's question. Doesn't have to all be in the same post.

 

[Alaina]

Ryia was a bit off put by the Water Chosen's answer. The thought that someone was controlling the sand sharks in the desert already was unnerving, but to be due to some kind of powerful magic was an entirely different issue in of itself. And as it was, she had no idea how much power would need to command one, let alone many, to begin with. The Earth Chosen seemed to mimic her conservation partner's prior daydreaming when she was caught off guard by the girl's blunt statement. "What?" Clearly surprised, the girl began to stammer a bit before realizing her attention was being drawn to her armor. The sweat she felt across her skin, the weight of the metal, the fatigue in her arms. It all pointed towards signs that her body was telling her that she would only get more exhausted the more she wore it. Realizing this, the girl said, "oh. Right. Um, yeah. Good - good call. I'll uh - yeah." With that, the girl made her way towards the building they were given for the night. While she was wearing clothes underneath, it still felt awkward to rid herself of the armor in front of others, and thus made sure to be out of public view as she got into something more comfortable. 

 

Once that was over with, the girl had gone to enjoy the festivities, as best as one with her social capabilities could at the very least. She had merely meandered about, eating what food had been set about and watching the people themselves celebrate. From time to time, the girl would be thanked by the locals for what she had done, though some seemed to have a very exaggerated idea about what  the scope of her powers and she wasn't sure where they had gotten it from. All the same, any advances to have demonstrate her magic or to speak with her more privately would be politely, if not awkwardly, turned down. It didn't take long for the girl to get worn out, both from the social gathering and the day's events, and she had eventually retired to their building. 

 

Eventually, other Chosen had showed up there as well, presumably to rest as well. As they all settled in, the Water Chosen had asked a question. A bit surprised by the suddenness of it, Ryia looked towards everyone else, then back to the girl, a bit unsure where it was coming from. All the same, she seemed first to respond as she said, "well, I'm um, from Haven. Well, Naporia, on Haven. Um," the girl paused for a bit. She wasn't entirely comfortable going into any more specifics as to where she was from, slightly afraid what the others would think out of habit and just finished saying, "it's a um, nice place. But yeah. Where are you all from?" 

[Sethera]

Gilly puffed out her chest at all the praise people were heaping her, plus apologizing for thinking...she couldn't cut it? What, did they have slush for brains? She, the awesome, amazing, stupendous, Gilly the great, not cutting it? Hah! That was a laugh. Well, at least she showed them just how wrong they were.

 

Then people started talking about where they were from and the halfling jumped up soon after Pinky finished saying she was from some poor place or something. "I'm from the snowiest place on earth!" she shouted for them all to hear. "The Bor Mountains, and it's part of why I'm so awesome. You have to be awesome to live in a place like that."

 

Snow rolled his eyes. "I wonder if living on those mountains froze your brain cells," he muttered to himself.

 

Hob baa'ed.

[Andx]

The young Draken was really living it up, at least as much as one could given the meager means of celebration available to the people. It didn't stop the villagers from putting their heart and soul into things. Those eager to meet their heroes up close escorted the Fire Chosen around, inviting him to sit and eat with them. The people would break out in songs which was strange for the boy. Humans seemed to have some strange quality to their voices that let them sound beautiful when they sustained sounds. Reinaan of course didn't know their songs nor had he ever really tried to sing before. But the energy was infectious and many of the children were eager to teach their new lizard friend how to sing them. The boy was hesitant but after enough encouragement he agreed and tried his best to match the pitches and say the words he was given.

 

To say the least it wasn't exactly pretty. But the Draken did prove to not be utterly tone deaf. It was a good laugh for all involved. Try as he might, Reinaan could not keep fighting the fatigue of the day forever. And so as the festivities started to slow, he too took a moment to stand to the side, lean up against a wall and take a breather. From a ways off he caught sight of her. Her being the girl from before who had made an advance on him. She was with a group of friends but the two made eye contact briefly, eliciting a smile from the girl. The boy knew what he was feeling. Something about the girl had stirred his urges. The long lived race of Drakens did not need to constantly be reproducing but when the drive to mate came it hit them hard.

 

Thankfully Ziiyol came just in time to distract the boy before the feeling got to intensify much. "You know the others are gathering in the home provided for us. It might be wise to sit with your comrades for a time." she said, strangely making no comment on her partner's obvious fascination with the human girl. Reinaan broke his gaze and turned to his partner.

 

"Yeah... think I'll do that." he said in response. The girl would weigh on the back of his mind regardless. The two drifted through the town to where Kloqah had sat waiting. She seemed grumpy but moved when Reinaan asked her to. The group made their way to the home the elder had offered where the boy secured the mount for the night. He removed his own belongings and brought them in with him as the rest of the Chosen gathered. The Water Chosen had prompted conversation, asking each where they came from. He had been wanting to ask something similar to a lot of them so this sounded like a good chance to get to know the group better. The boy sat as Ryia was the first to respond.

 

Some town in Haven she said. The Draken didn't have much of an idea where it was but it sounded nice if only because the girl said it was. That said she wasn't really describing anything and he was going to press the girl for details of what was around and all that but an excited response came next from the Ice Chosen. Gilly excitedly declared the Bor Mountains as her home and claimed it to have the most snow of any place there was. Reinaan didn't much care for snow when it came to his home. But still the idea excited him if only because of the common experience he and the girl shared.

 

"Wow you live in the mountains too?! You must have pretty strong monsters there too. My village is in the north part of Blagos, the place with the huge volcano! There's a bunch of us fire Draken living there in the caves and mountains. It's really pretty and the ocean isn't all that far away either. There's lakes and trees and all that all over the mountains too. And anywhere you go in the caves you can find magma chutes from the volcano! I'd probably be looking for a new magma chamber now for my coming of age ceremony if Ziiyol hadn't shown up. But the elders said this would do in its place since a spirit had picked me and stuff." the boy said, answering Keres' question in the process of reacting to Gilly. Thinking of home normally would have been a bittersweet feeling for the boy but right now he couldn't get images of the village girl out of his mind. He shook his head a bit to try and make himself focus back in on the group.

[Hälō]

"well, I'm um, from Haven. Well, Naporia, on Haven. Um," the girl paused for a bit causing Lindow to arch an eyebrow. "it's a um, nice place. But yeah. Where are you all from?"

 

He still found himself sitting in the corner of the room, his eyes closed as he quietly listened to the other Chosen speak. In truth he wasn't very curious about any of their pasts, but it was never a bad thing to learn about the people you'd be traveling with.

 

"I'm from the snowiest place on earth!" It was Gilly's voice that caused the man to open his eye. "The Bor Mountains, and it's part of why I'm so awesome. You have to be awesome to live in a place like that." Studying the halfling with a neutral expression, Lindow couldn't help by wonder how someone like her had managed to survive such an hostile environment. 

 

"Wow you live in the mountains too?! You must have pretty strong monsters there too. My village is in the north part of Blagos, the place with the huge volcano! There's a bunch of us fire Draken living there in the caves and mountains. It's really pretty and the ocean isn't all that far away either. There's lakes and trees and all that all over the mountains too. And anywhere you go in the caves you can find magma chutes from the volcano! I'd probably be looking for a new magma chamber now for my coming of age ceremony if Ziiyol hadn't shown up. But the elders said this would do in its place since a spirit had picked me and stuff." The young Draken was next speak, and it was a miracle that he hadn't bitten his tongue after excitedly spewing all that information. 

 

Lindow gently scoffed to himself. This boy was the most talkative Draken he had ever come across...

 

"Izlaton." Lindow added his on point of origin with a hint of disinterest before moving on to what he felt was more important. "Whilst we're all together we should also discuss what we know so far about our mission and even our powers... because as of right now it seem's we haven't been given the whole story, and our battles will only get harder from here."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres nodded along as the group, sans Anis, who had yet to arrive, told them more about where they're from. They truly were from all over the place, weren't they?

 

To Ryia, Keres asked. "Are you a soldier?" The city the Earth Chosen is from was one of the council's strongest. And thus it had a large amount of military might. She wondered if Ryia might have some more insight than the rest to the workings of the council. It could help if they ever found themselves in trouble like back at the tower. Keres couldn't shake the unease about that place. It wasn't somewhere that had many happy memories for Keres, so it was natural for her to distrust those who control it.

 

Gilly's response came as a bit of a surprise. Sure, there were Halfling villages in the mountains but they usually were more...sturdy folk than normal. Then again Gilly certainly has endured more than most would think possible. "Have you ever seen the Dragon?" She asked. Rumor says that there was an ancient dragon living on the mountain. None had seen it recently though...The thought reminded her of what the bandit had written. But, no, that Dragon left the volcano within their lifetime, it wouldn't be the same creature.

 

Reinaan's response was the least surprising. His race seemed to have very specific areas they frequent. Though, he did bring up something Keres had wondered. She had talked quite a lot today and her throat was getting a workout. So she settled for "Age?"

 

Lindow's response was even less surprising for her. She had seen him there, after all. Keres was ready to talk about her own home, however, Lindow brought out another topic.

 

"Whilst we're all together we should also discuss what we know so far about our mission and even our powers... because as of right now it seem's we haven't been given the whole story, and our battles will only get harder from here."

 

"...Whole story doesn't exist." Keres said carefully. "Chosen...are myths, legends...Details unknown. Except." She coughed, drank some water, and continued. "maybe to the Seers."

The Seers, even less known about them, years ago they all shared the same vision. Spirits choosing warriors to save them from the greatest threat the world had ever known.

 

This is when Flux chose to show himself. "Even I don't know what I am, isn't that weird? Before coming here we were all part of a hivemind, all I know is I'm supposed to help my Chosen save the world. I didn't actually exist until I came here!"

[Andx]

Reinaan had been caught slightly off guard by Keres' one word question asking about how old he was. It made sense in the context of bringing up the coming of age ceremony he just hadn't expected that particular fact important to her. Maybe the Water Chosen knew something of Draken. Then she might also know he's short for his age if he were to tell her. "I'm forty-eight years old, forty-nine in a few months..." he said trailing off. He couldn't leave it at that of course or she'd probably start thinking of him as a shrimp. "B-but some Draken have late growth spurts, even at like fifty-five." he said mumbling a bit. Thankfully Lindow's question and Keres and the Water Spirit's responses were something else to think about. Maybe they'd all forget about it and move on. Ziiyol hummed softly at his side, seemingly uninterested in the conversation but she was taking in every word.

 

"I never knew much about the Chosen or spirits before Ziiyol appeared." he began his contribution to the topic. "But I've had a few weird dreams lately. I can't remember what exactly happens in them when I wake up. But I know it's about the Chosen and the spirits. Has anyone else had anything like that?" he concluded with his question to the others. If it was just him he could pass them off as nothing more than dreams. But if it was a group wide phenomenon then there was something to them, something he needed to figure out. There was definitely something that they weren't being told. Or perhaps like Keres had implied, there was simply no one who knew to tell them. Regardless Lindow was right. It felt unwise to continue without even knowing the full details of their task. Reinaan looked to his partner hoping she had something to add but the fire spirit knew the question before he spoke.

 

"What the Water Spirit said is true of me as well. I as this being did not exist prior to meeting you Reiny. I have only vague impressions of what being with the other spirits was like. Certainly nothing I could put into words and nothing that would be helpful to our task." the spirit said as she placed her arms on Reinaan's back and rested her head about her wrists. The warm sensation was soothing but only served to remind the Draken of a very different heat growing within him.  The Fire Chosen rubbed his eyes a bit with one of his hands, hoping to focus back in again.

[Alaina]

After the Earth Chosen had spoken her piece about where she was from, the Water Chosen had made her question about the girl's occupation. "No, no I wasn't anything like that." The girl didn't really go into any more specifics as the others seemed to begin sharing their stories about where they were from. As they did though, something struck out to her. The ice chosen, from the snowy mountains. The fire chosen from the volcano. She didn't know much about Izalton at all, but a thought occurred to her. "Um, Ackrin," the girl thought to the spirit. "Does Haven have some kind of connection to the earth, or something?" 

 

"There is dirt there, is there not?" 

 

The girl blinked, unsure of how to actually respond to this, before saying, "yes?" The spirit didn't elaborate any further on it. The girl didn't press any further as well, not sure if he was making some kind of joke or being serious. All the same, she looked back to the group as Lindow seemed intent on getting to the bottom of whatever mystery this whole Chosen business was. As the Water Chosen spoke about the origin of the Chosen, it seemed that the spirits themselves didn't quite know what was going on. The girl merely added, "I, I haven't hidden anything with what I can do. Before becoming a chosen I um, wasn't really talented with magic or, really even knew the first thing about it, before becoming a Chosen. And Ackrin just kind of well, appeared, without explaining much of anything."  The Earth Spirit appeared by the girl's side as she said this, merely nodding. As it was asked if anyone had any strange dreams, the girls face seemed to become a bit more nervous twiddling her fingers a bit, before raising her hand to answer the draken's question. 

 

Without saying anything else, the girl put her hand down, and listened to the other spirits talk about  their own existence. The Earth Spirit nodded towards them saying, "it is true. We had no shape and could not feel, at least in anyway that is describable with your words. While this feeling of being is different for us, it is not to say we are wholly individual."

[Sethera]

"Wow you live in the mountains too?! You must have pretty strong monsters there too. My village is in the north part of Blagos, the place with the huge volcano! There's a bunch of us fire Draken living there in the caves and mountains. It's really pretty and the ocean isn't all that far away either. There's lakes and trees and all that all over the mountains too. And anywhere you go in the caves you can find magma chutes from the volcano! I'd probably be looking for a new magma chamber now for my coming of age ceremony if Ziiyol hadn't shown up. But the elders said this would do in its place since a spirit had picked me and stuff." the boy said, answering Keres' question in the process of reacting to Gilly.

 

"Have you ever seen the Dragon?"

 

"Yeah they are pretty strong, though I'm a lot stronger, if I do say so myself," Gilly puffed out her chest in pride. "And your place sounds pretty cool too though your mountains sound a lot hotter than ours," she observed. "We have a coming of age ceremony thing too, though! I never got to take mine either, but the way Ma described it it was pretty dangerous. Maybe it was mountain climbing! Mountain climbing is really dangerous, Hob could tell you, cuz he used to--" her voice was cut off by said sheep, baa'ed a protest in her ear.

 

"Okay, okay, sorry Hob," the halfling grinned sheepishly. "And dragon? Hmm, nope, never seen it! I've heard of it though, but I think it's probably dead or sleeping by now."

 

"Whilst we're all together we should also discuss what we know so far about our mission and even our powers... because as of right now it seem's we haven't been given the whole story, and our battles will only get harder from here."

 

"...Whole story doesn't exist." Keres said carefully. "Chosen...are myths, legends...Details unknown. Except." She coughed, drank some water, and continued. "maybe to the Seers."

 

"I never knew much about the Chosen or spirits before Ziiyol appeared. But I've had a few weird dreams lately. I can't remember what exactly happens in them when I wake up. But I know it's about the Chosen and the spirits. Has anyone else had anything like that?"

 

"Dreams?" Gilly tilted her head to the side. "I have those all the time. Sometimes I dream I'm chasing a carrot, or eating a pie, or stuffing myself full with roast quail. Yummy!" she rubbed her stomach. Her face scrunched up in thought soon afterward. "But uhh...I think I might have had a weird dream or two lately. Oh yeah, how could I forget?!" she bounced on her heels. "I made a new friend! A dreeeam friend! But uhh, don't really remember what we were talking about," her face scrunched up even more, before brightening. "And as for what I can do? I can do all kinds of things! Like stab bad guys!" she struck what she considered to be a noble pose.

 

Snow himself remained silent as the other spirits talked, his expression giving nothing away.

[Hälō]

"...Whole story doesn't exist." Keres said carefully. "Chosen...are myths, legends...Details unknown. Except." She coughed, drank some water, and continued. "maybe to the Seers."

 

Lindow simply nodded at this. He wasn't expecting to come to any serious revelation from this conversation, and wasn't too surprised that nobody the group had any concrete information, not even the spirits...

 

However, the talk of strange dreams instantly caused his ears to perk, and his gaze danced around the face of his fellow chosen as they confessed to also having strange dreams.

 

So he wasn't the only one, huh?

 

"I've also been visited multiple times by a friend..." He said thoughtfully. In truth he had always suspected that he wasn't the only one, but this was certainly more amongst the group than he expected. Could they have been visited by the same woman? Or were there multiple forces at work here...

 

"Though I do remember a little bit of our talks." His fox-like gaze flickered to Ryia and rested on the girl's face for a long moment. There was no way of knowing which of the group were lying about how much they actually remembered, but this girl in particular certainly seemed to be reluctant to talk about the matter. 

 

"She's the one who taught me about the ability to permanently merge with the spirits..." He chose the wording quite precisely. "Permanently merge" sounded much better than "devour" or "consume" after all...

 

"And in the last meeting, she was careful to mention that I should be weary of some of my current company." Lindow's tone was oddly causal as he observed how each chosen reacted to his words. 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres settled into her spot on one of the beds. She had her notes out once more and was writing down information as it came. She seemed to be retreating a bit into herself as they continued. Her eyes lost some of their focus as she simply focused on what they were saying instead of the actual world around her.

 

So Reinaan was indeed quite young. Which explains some of his mannerisms. She wondered if the military-esque attitude that the Draken she had met was due to being taught it in adulthood or if it was due to the Templar.

 

She had expected Gilly's response about the Dragon, though part of her couldn't help but have hoped that Gilly would say something outlandish like she rode the Dragon. Keres was relieved to hear that, though. When they went to the Bor Mountains she didn't want to have to deal with a Dragon of all things.

 

Keres's head perked up at the mention of dreams. It seemed that everyone here had some kind of similar dream experience, except... "I had no dreams." She mentioned briefly. What could that mean?

 

Lindow's last statement made her nervous, though her face didn't lose its passive expression. He had closer contact with...whoever this was. And they convinced him to be suspicious of the group. Would he target her since she didn't have the same dream? Perhaps she shoudn't have said anything but they were all sharing everything...

 

Keres went back to her notes, writing down what vague information they had. A woman. Coming through dreams. With knowledge about the Spirits. Whom everyone barring Keres saw. Presumably.

 

"Mysterious." Keres said vaguely.

 

"You wouldn't absorb me, would you, Keres?...I wonder what being absorbed feels like...."

 

The Water mage looked at Flux, shaking her head. She wouldn't do that. It was the opposite of how she learned magic was supposed to work. That Lindow was able to do it at all was...unorthodox.

[Andx]

The others had been having dreams like Reinaan. It was a comfort to hear there was something real to them but other than Lindow the other Chosen seemed to be in the same boat as him. They couldn't remember much of what had happened. But Lindow remembered more. Something about permanently merging with the spirits. Something about the idea seemed familiar and frightening at the same time. Ziiyol was alive, he couldn't think of just ending her existence forever for power. It wasn't right. The Draken was troubled when Lindow said the woman in his dream warned him of the others in the group, only for it to be followed by Keres saying she hadn't had any dreams. Maybe something was off with the Water Chosen and that's what the man had been warned of. She was a witch after all, and people like Lindow made a living off of stopping such dangerous people. But something tried to tell him to be careful of the Thunder Chosen too. It must have been Ziiyol's odd reaction to the duo at the tower influencing his thought. He shook it off as he viewed Lindow as a brother after their hunt together.

 

"I don't like that someone can talk to us in our dreams and won't explain what's going on. Or that they're telling us not to trust each other." Reinaan began in response. "We have to be able to trust each other. Especially if we're going to fight anything like that bandit, or stronger." he said looking to the others. He had to wonder if they could trust any of them. Gilly was honest and straightforward but not reliable in a battle, Lindow seemed shady but the boy wanted to trust and follow him, Keres and Ryia both seemed very nice but were so quiet he couldn't gauge much about them, and Anis wasn't even here but didn't seem to like him when she was around. But he wanted to focus on the victory of the day, not start doubting the people he was traveling with.  Ultimately the thoughts that had been distracting him took center stage on his mind as he pondered.

 

The boy stood from his spot on the floor by one of the beds, his course of action already decided by the thoughts. "I'll... be back in a bit." he managed to say to excuse himself from the group's company. He put nothing or nor took any of his possessions with him. He merely stepped outside into the night, if one could call it that. The cover to the village was up providing a reprieve from the light and heat of the sun. The village had settled from the festivities earlier and the few that did walk about left the boy to himself. Reinaan walked slowly to the place he'd been shown earlier. Another house it was, though as the Elder had mentioned there were several empty homes. No doubt this was another of them the girl had pointed him to. He knocked at the door and in a moment there she stood. Their eyes met, saying all that he was there for in an instant though there were other more obvious signs. The girl smiled and invited him inside. There was nothing but the most primal of urges driving the boy's thoughts and actions now and the girl was more than ready to facilitate it all. He said he would be back in a bit to the other Chosen but that bit would prove to be the whole of the night until he had exhausted his desire.

 

His spirit had followed him of course. Invisible to the girl and ignored by her partner, Ziiyol hovered about, captivated at the strange new flames her chosen produced. Though quite frankly, she didn't think any of it would prove particularly helpful to their mission. It didn't seem like it was going to be conducive to him resting and recovering from the battle either. How like a flame Reinaan could prove to be, dancing however and with whomever he wished. Everything about it was very odd indeed she concluded and so she waited about on the roof of the building admiring how the village's cover could stop the brilliant flame that was the eternal sun of the desert. 

[Alaina]

As the group had all seemed to be receiving dreams similar to hers, the girl seemed to seem somewhat surprised at what Lindow had to say about his dreams. It was true that she had also had strange dreams these past few days, and one of they had to deal with the spirits. And while she couldn't remember much in way of details of her own, there was definitely something odd about what Lindow was describing. The girl seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, only to look back to the Water Chosen to hear that they didn't have any dreams of their own. It was clear that all present company, bar the Water Chosen, had had some kind of dream. All that left was the Nature Chosen, who clearly hadn't accepted any deal present based on the still living snake spirit. 

 

While still a bit lost in her own thoughts, the girl noticed that the room had fallen mostly silently, and there seemed to be an understandable feeling of tension. Probably because of this, the draken boy excused himself for the moment. The girl, too, didn't like feeling this sense of unease, and she wasn't sure what they could gain from betraying each other. All the same, the off feeling was not something that Ryia was able to shake and continued to persist. Ackrin, on the other hand, seemed entirely unmoved by this whole situation. The girl looked to the spirit, who returned her look before disappearing. While she felt a sense of unease, the girl didn't quite know how to get rid of it, nor did she know what to say in light of recent events. And so, she instead kept to herself, mulling over all that had happened. 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres watched as Reinaan left. It seemed suspicious that he would leave right after Lindow's accusation. But was it too obviously suspicious? A spy would be much more calm, if there was one.

This was all going off the idea that Lindow was correct that there was someone suspicious here. When he was the most suspicious.

Perhaps the Draken was just uncomfortable with the situation.

 

Keres decided she'd go to bed. She was drained entirely. These past couple days had more interaction than she'd had for years and she needed some time to process it.

The Water Chosen moved to the farthest area of the room and lay down, slipping quickly into a dreamless sleep.

-----------

It would be several hours before the group woke up once more and, from what they were told, it was early morning. Keres was groggy, her hair a mess, as she woke up and blinked the tiredness out of her eyes. It took her several minutes to become aware of where she was and, once she was, she hurried to make herself more presentable.

After finding her boots, which weren't where she had left them, she left the building to get food for their breakfast.

note

They met with the elder later in the morning, noticing that the entire town seemed to be down for the day, and he informed them that he would be sending a group of guards, now armed, to the bridge to secure the food that was apparently there. He thanked them again for their help and urged them to be careful.

"I don't have anything more I can give to you, but know you are always welcome to come back here any time. Once we send word of our situation I'm sure we'll get more help."

 

After they left the city, Keres checked the map that the elder had given them. The area where the sharks were was still several days away. She nodded and rolled up the map. "To the sharks?" She asked, though she thought it was the obvious choice.

[spoiler=OOC]Finish up anything you wanted to do in the city, decide among yourselves where to go (getting info if needed) and then move on. Depending how you want to interact this may take a couple posts from me before the next major event.

 

[Andx]

A single yawn caught the Fire Spirit's attention as she had been lazily staring up at the now open to view sky from the roof of an usually empty home. Reinaan was stirring from the sleep he had finally found late into the evening before. The boy stretched out his arms and legs on the simple bed and attempted to stretch his tail but it was rather sore and stiff from the less than graceful landings during the battle the day prior. He slowly sat up in place, there was no one else to be seen. The girl had left some time into the evening, no doubt to sneak back to her family or something to that effect. Despite the fight with the bandits and the continuous exertions late into the night, the boy felt refreshed and calm. Though there was a touch of sadness to it. He'd been taught many times that mating was an expression of genuine love reserved for good friends. He'd experienced it several times already in his village but with Draken he knew and trusted. What he had done with the village girl the night before was nothing of the sort. There was no connection, they didn't even know each other. He'd let his urges consume him. But still, the physical and mental relief was greatly appreciated.

 

"The others are probably worried about you you know." Ziiyol said suddenly appearing at her partner's side. The boy was a bit alarmed, taking a moment to process what had been going on around recent events. The details of the Chosen and their quest and the party and such filled in though the specifics of their conversation were a bit hazy still. "While you were brilliant, I do hope your flames are satisfied for the time being Reiny. Burn as you will but we've still a mission to complete" she teased. Reinaan didn't retort for a moment but realized something.

 

"Ziiyol were you... watching?" he said perplexed as to what his spirit meant.

 

"Hearing would be more accurate Reiny." she giggled in reply. Reinaan took a moment to again appreciate the fact that this spirit was going to constantly be around him.

 

"Well look, just don't go cooking up some crazy version of what happened for the others. I can talk for myself on where I was and what I was doing." he said and the spirit simply nodded. The two departed the home and despite his usual lack of shame the boy felt somewhat relieved few if any were up and about the village at the moment. The Draken meandered slowly about the village in the direction of the home he had been supposed to stay the night at. He was trying to think about the conversation from the night before but it proved difficult given what had been dominating his thoughts. He recalled focusing long enough to share things but then getting caught up in everything again. Though he didn't have long to think about it all. He was at the home the other Chosen had stayed the night in but before he could get a good look at it he was knocked flat onto his back.

 

Alarmed, the boy jumped back up and turned to see Kloqah, who had swept the Fire Chosen's feet with her tail. She seemed irritated and curled back up to continue resting after huffing at him. Confused, he focused back on the house. He hoped he could slip back into the home before the others woke up but it was not to be. For right as he reached for the door it opened in front of him. The two took a moment to realize who the other was before Keres of all people broke the ice.

 

"Got lost?" she questioned in a neutral tone. He couldn't gather if she was being playful or distrustful.

 

"N-no I was just... taking care of a distraction. I meant to come back sooner. But things didn't go that way." he replied, uncertain how direct he wanted to be about all of this.

 

"Is it dangerous?" came the Water Chosen's next question.

 

"Dangerous? No it wasn't anything like that. I was just..." he trailed off, uncertain how to proceed here. If he didn't say something soon Ziiyol was prone to an outburst that wouldn't help anything. The girl produced a pen and paper before responding.

 

"Just what?" came the question, prompting him to continue. He took a deep breath and decided there was little point to prolonging the exercise. He recalled enough of the night before to know he himself had said they had to be able to trust each other.

 

"There was a girl who approached me at the party. And I couldn't get it out of my mind so I was... mating with her last night. It wasn't going to just go away and I'd put you all in danger if we got into a fight and I couldn't focus." he said and then got quiet and tried to look away. The girl was busy writing but seem unaffected though she was staring at him as well.

 

"Will this urge be a problem?" was the question finally.

 

"I-it shouldn't be for a few months at the very least. I'll be smarter about it I promise." he said, unsure why a subject he comfortably discussed with his village was so awkward with this human girl.

 

"Okay." was the simple response as the girl stepped around the boy and pointed inside the house. "Getting food. Rest."

 

"Right... thanks." Reinaan said, not sure what to make of it all. Was Keres concerned or trying to get every piece of information she could so he couldn't surprise her? Regardless he shuffled inside to where the other Chosen were stirring and moved over to his belongings still neatly piled together. He pulled his jacket out and quietly slipped it on though without zipping it up of course. He felt better that he hadn't kept the previous night a secret from the Water Chosen and hoped they'd be able to really trust each other soon. He sat on the bed he had been intended to sleep in the night before and quietly watched and waited for the group to be ready to eat and later make their way to the Elder. Though he was very well ready to speak with the others if they wanted to talk.

[Alaina]

With the morning having come, the girl had woken up. Getting out from where she had slept had proven to be a difficult task, for as she was definitely refreshed from the sleep she had gotten, her body still sore from the battles they had gone through yesterday. As such, she had stayed lying down for quite awhile longer than normal, though had a confused feeling about merely relaxing as she was now. The girl was not entirely sure what she should be doing at the moment. For the past few days, each moment had felt as though it was filled with a pressing sense of urgency, one that she needed to made sure was resolved as soon as possible. And while their direction was clear, and it was certainly an urgent manner to be aware of, the girl didn't feel quite the same dread or rush, and thus wasn't quite sure how about to go her day just yet. Though, she figured that would be solved once everyone else was awake. As she had settled these thoughts, though, she was alerted more by the sound of the door opening and a conversation that she couldn't quite make out.

 

Getting up properly, the girl drowsily stood up and let out a yawn, before approaching the door. Seeing both the water and fire chosen speaking with each other, she merely watched as the former had left, going into town. Looking at the fire chosen she said, "oh, good morning Reinaan." This was punctuated by another yawn. It took a few moments for the girl to realize that the draken had not actually stayed the night with them, and was merely coming back now, for what reason on either account she wasn't really sure. All the same, she was a bit concerned as it seemed, what she presumed to be, a troubled expression on his face. "Did you get a good night's rest?" She figured if the draken was plagued by the dreams they had discussed yesterday, it would be a good idea to talk about it sooner rather than later. 

[Andx]

The Earth Chosen seemed tired as she greeted Reinaan with yawns interrupting her sentences. Maybe she wasn't much of a morning person. It was a hard feeling for the Draken to identify with given he was usually raring to go whenever he was conscious. He raised a hand slightly and weakly waved at the hello then wondered how much to share with Ryia after she asked if he'd slept well. Hiding information after sharing it all with Keres didn't particularly feel right but perhaps the girl didn't need the full details. The Water Chosen had taken it all rather well but then perhaps Keres wasn't the ideal standard to use for judging typical human reactions to things. The people he'd spent the time of the party with all seemed much more outspoken and emotion-driven.

 

"Well uh, you know, when I got to sleep it was alright." he replied while scratching at the back of his head with the hand he'd waved with earlier. "Sorry if I worried you by not coming back last night. I wasn't planning on spending the night with her but time wasn't exactly my focus... How were things here?" he said curiously as he looked around. Still no sign of the Nature Chosen. They were probably going to leave sometime today or early tomorrow at the latest. He hoped the woman would show up soon since even if she didn't seem to like him, the boy hated the thought of leaving someone behind.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres took a bit longer than she normally would have to get the food. She was thinking about what Reinaan said. She didn't know much about that particular aspect of Draken culture and biology. Was that usually how they handled such things?

She wondered at the fact he found a stranger for it. She was grateful he didn't try anything but was it against Draken morals to lay with companions?
Keres naturally was curious about many things but perhaps this was a subject she should avoid. She wasn't interested in such a thing so pondering it would only lead to more confusion.

 

On her way back from getting food she found out where Anis was resting for the night. She felt bad that the woman felt she had to stay away from the rest of them but it wasn't as though she didn't understand how that felt. Keres informed her that they were to set out soon and continued on towards their temporary home.

 

Most of what she had were fruits from various cacti but she did also manage to get some dried meat, from what she wasn't sure, for the Draken boy.

 

She entered and noticed Reinaan talking with Ryia. Not wanting to intrude she simply moved to a table and unloaded the food, which was difficult due to her arms being entirely full, and arranging them so it'd be easy to sort through.

 

She grabbed a bit of cactus and, eyeing it warily, took a bite.

Not entirely pleasant, but it'd do.

Keres looked back towards Reinaan and Ryia, curious as to what they were discussing, but she kept to herself still, wondering when the rest would awaken.

[Hälō]

Lindow's eye slowly opened at the sound of Keres placing food on the table. Though this wasn't the first time he had be awoken this morning, this noise was one that actually warranted investigation.

 

As he silent brought himself up to his feet, the witch-hunter glanced around at his fellow chosen. Last night's conversation had certainly added a new dynamic to the group, and Lindow found himself eager to see if the mysterious woman's warning would hold true or not. Though the thought that this was an attempt to cause inner conflict within the group was also present... but if this woman were his enemy, then why would she aid him in absorbing the spirits? What did she gain from it?

 

He pondered this whilst stalking over to the table of food. Plucking up a star shaped fruit, Lindow studied it's peculiar form for a moment before shifting to sit at Kere's side on the table's edge. "Do you think the spirits I've devoured are still... present?" He spoke in a low casual tone before bitting into the fruit's bright yellow surface. "I was thinking... if our "dreeeam friend" were to turn out to not be so friendly, what could she possibly gain from teaching me such a neat little trick?" Lindow paused to take a bite and allow Keres to digest the implications of what he was saying. The fruit was pleasantly sour.

 

Swallowing his mouthful, Lindow smirked ever so slightly and glanced about the air around the two. "Water Spirit, do I have any Thunder, Light, or Darkness on my face?" He said jokingly before switching to a slightly more serious tone. "Can you sense anything of their presence ?"

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

It appeared Lindow was the first to come to get the food she brought. She had expected the simple smell of food would have awoken Gilly but the girl seemed to still be asleep.

 

The man sat on the edge of the table, in an attempt to assert dominance?

"Do you think the spirits I've devoured are still... present?" He spoke in a low casual tone before bitting into the fruit's bright yellow surface. "I was thinking... if our "dreeeam friend" were to turn out to not be so friendly, what could she possibly gain from teaching me such a neat little trick?"

 

Asking such a thing...it was macabre in full. Keres wasn't sure how to answer. The Chosen were a singularity. Nothing like them really existed. Though all other instances of people being merged in some way with Spirits, few as they were, weren't the most pleasant thing.

 

As she thought about it, the man seemed to grow impatient for he asked for Flux.

"Water Spirit, do I have any Thunder, Light, or Darkness on my face?" He said jokingly before switching to a slightly more serious tone. "Can you sense anything of their presence ?

The Water Spirit had been staring at the cactus fruit. Or, Keres assumed they were staring. Given they had no eyes it was hard to tell. It seemed Flux didn't notice the question. Instead they turned to Keres. "Look, that fruit, it's a different color than the rest. I wonder why that is!" The voice quivered in what Keres had learned was excitement.

 

The water mage glanced over at the table. Sure enough, one of the fruit was a bit off colored. She didn't think it meant anything, from what she knew, but it was a curiosity. Though Flux's response seemed a bit much.

After a few seconds, Keres answered Lindow's question. "Not as they were. Just energy if anything. Don't know why. What more can you tell me?" She had no information about this person after all.

 

She glanced at Flux. "I don't think Flux heard." The spirit moved to Keres's side and made itself visible.

 

"What now? Oh, you, hello. You're the shattered one right?"

[Alaina]

The girl was relieved to hear that Reinaan's night had gone over well, merely saying, "oh, well, that's good to hear." As the draken asked about what happened in the house, the girl glanced around before looking back and saying, "nothing, not much. After you left it was uh, just kind of quiet and yeah. We, um, just went to sleep after that." The girl wasn't quite sure how to continue on after that, but noticed that Lindow was awake as well, and that Keres was back now. Giving a short wave to the others, she said, "oh, good morning you two, as well," not picking up on the conversation between them. Looking at their group, noting who was and wasn't around, the girl was quite surprised how soundly the usually energetic halfling could sleep, as well as worried about where the Nature Chosen was. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Not joining the others?"

 

"I'm fine being here. Ileca needs me more now anyway."

 

Away from the rest while they happily interacted with each other, Anis and Shirin were conversing with each other as they watched over a sleeping Ileca. Earlier Ileca started to slow down a lot before passing out, and Anis found out of quite a few wounds that her partner never told her about. Those wounds had been dealt with now, but at the same time, it was a reminder that the two of them really were living close to the end now.

 

"Ileca is an old bird. A Kukurubo like her would've been lucky if they could hit 20, but Ileca's still very healthy even now despite of her age. Probably could give the rest of her herd a run of their money even now."

 

"That's why she really wanted for you to be a Chosen?"

"Perhaps. She did say that she wanted to go to places that she never saw, eat things that she never ate, all together with me. Or maybe she just wanted us to die together by going here."

 

"You sure about that?"

 

"it's not like I'm long for this world either. We'll just see how far we can go until we can pass on and join the others." Anis paused for a moment. The image of her husband and chidren passed through her, as well as the rest of her tribe. Herd of Kukurubos beng guided through the plains, and a younger her meeting with Ileca for the first time. Those images from her past brought a smile on her face.

 

"In that case, go join the others. I'll watch over Ileca in the meantime. If you're not long for this world, isn't it a good time for you to make new memories rather than living your old ones?" Shirin slithered away from Anis' side and later coiled itself near Ileca. Anis wanted to say something in response to the snake spirit at first, but seeing how it looked at her, Anis merely responded with a nod and a tired smile before getting up and leaving.

 

Even at her old age, Ileca was still interested in trying out new things like using a sword. Perhaps Anis should follow her footsteps too.

 

---