:::sits alone in Lia's bedroom, watching the child sleep, little arms wrapped so tightly around the teddy bear, and both of her favorite blankets, the ones given her by Lyrias and Alterio, and begins to write:::

I have had no encounters with my Uncle at all today. I dont even know how he is. I am forever coming in late, and leaving very early. Im sure he knows I have been here, the guards will tell him if he asks. I just dont want to argue with him around the children. They have all been through so much as of late.

::sighs as she thinks about the letter left for Taelie at the grotto::

I hope he understands. Lia...I cant leave her. I just simply cannot. I can no more abandon the child than I could abandon myself. I love Taeliesyn with all my heart...but, I cannot bear to be seperated from Lia. He has his own demons to deal with. He is searching for his brother, and he hasnt been here in a long while now. Perhaps its best this way. He is free now to search for his brother for as long as he wishes. There are no ties, or bonds to hold him to this Isle anymore.

::sighs as she thinks about her own past::

All I have wanted since the death of my birth family is to have another...a group of people who would be my new Family. I found that here..and I cherish it more than anyone could know. I know there are sacrifices to everything...everything has its price. I just wish this price werent so steep. But, it is one that has to be paid to remain near to Lia. I promised her I would not ever leave her, and I meant it. I meant it with all my heart.

:::thinks silently, as her gaze falls on the sillohuete of the cherubic angel lying amidst the brocade, and sheets, before writing again:::

Perhaps there is yet a way to reconcile things with Uncle Alterio. I only hope that it isnt too late. Gods, how much I love that man. Lacking several things in my life, it seems he has stepped up and filled them. I just adore him...he is truly, even though I am 128...my Knight in Shining Armor. No matter the things done...the rules imposed...I still love him. He is my Uncle. I have been through too much with the Carazzi Family to allow even one of them to turn their back on me now.

::quickly scrawls one last line before thinking and devising:::

I have to make this right....

~Lyrias~

:::she sprinkles sand upon the pages of her journal, leaves it open, stands, and crosses to Lia's bed, kissing the child's forehead, then turning, she closes the journal and tucks it away::

--Journal Entry, 25 October, Lyrias Dreams

~~blinks, trembling as she reads the letter from her brother Anthony. tears start to form in her eyes, as she pulls out a iece of parchment, pausing to think for a moment before she begins to write. letting his words ubdo her new strength in a matter of seconds, turning her back into that scared, trembling little girl unstead of the young woman she is~

Dear Anthony,

~pauding to wipe away the tears~

I have left instructions with the guards, if you show he is to give you any amount of money you wish. Take it Anthony, take it all. If that is all I am to you, is just someone to take from and threaten so you can continue on with your business, then take it all. But please do not harm Ben. Please Anthony. Or do not harm me, just leave it all be. You now have what you wish for.

~drops the quill on the desk, rising to blow the ink dry as she hands the letter to the guard, along with all her gold pieces. she looks up to him, tears falling as she lowers her eyes and walks away. making her way out of the manor with a small bag of clothes, and back to the small room at the bakery.

--Journal Entry, 25 October, Alianna Carazzi

*sits sidesaddle upon Aero watching the evening sun set, her journal in her lap, letting the cool breeze from the ocean wind blow thru her hair, dredging up memories of a life she never knew*

I find myself lost in thought quite often of late, seems my quest has brought me no nearer to the utimate goal. I get up at an unholy hour, and stroll about the Isle in search of any clue as to Anna's whearabouts, eat but perhaps one meal a day, and then return to the Pleasuredome by night. How lonely this is starting to become.

*sighs looking out over the ocean, allowing the mist to cool her skin*

This place is lovely though, I dare say if not for finding Anna, i would enjoy perhaps staying here upon a more permenent basis. I have checked into some housing, however tis to early to consider anything permenent, but does seem reasonable enough, for something small, nothing fancy, I do think i'd rather enjoy an ocean view though.

I have used most of my gold traveling here,and paying those crazy bards for information, thus, my funds are sorely limited, how odd it is to worry of such things as I nae had to before, *sighs* Thus i have sent scroll to the paper in search of work. Mayhap someone will have a need I can fill, allowing me to earn my keep about this Isle. I fear I will need much more then i have acquired to continue upon my search.

I have head that on the morrow there will be a rather intersting fashion show in the dome, I have glimpsed of the wears that are to be shown, and I had to blush...Such private apparel!!!

However, i must admit in all honesty, that i find some of it rather fetching, I suppose tis just the woman in me, however i could nae sooner wear such out in full view, then i could bathe within the dome!!! I would surely die of embarassment.

My friend Rosalyn seems to be settling in well these days, she has taken to associations with many of the patrons about, I am glad to see she is making friends, tis hard when one is new. I have been wondering more and more of her quest lately though, alas she still has yet to tell me.

Oh, I discovered today a rather interesting bit of information, that i shall even hold from you at this moment. But I will say it involves Sir Val. There is much more to him then meets the eye, and while i can nae say for sure what it is, i surely know there is something there that i need to further explore. I watched him start a fire this eve outside the dome, and i quietly stepped into the doorway to watch. He Knew! I just senced that he knew i was there! He didnt even turn about, so I greeted him quietly, allowing mother wind to carry my voice to him, I had to be sure you see, and he answered me, almost in the same mannor! There are certain things i nae feel comfortable with about him yet, however the fact that he knew of my presence, and answered in almost the same mannor set me to thinking.

*holding back a yawn*

Tis time for me to get back to the Inn now, tis growing later, and the rumors of sharken still linger on, and as i have no escort but Aero here **pats her horse lovingly** However i must write of my one remaining concern, This amulet I received before beginning my travels...**touching the red broken stone, held about her neck with a strip of leather** It begins to glow, and warm at the strangest of times, for no apparent reason. Sometimes tis bright, sometimes tis dull, but i nae understand it. M'lord Calhin spoke of it as a finders or finding stone, said that mayhap the stone glows when its rightfull other half is near. He seemed to feel that perhaps Anastasia has the other half and whence the two cross paths they glow. Oh, if it were only that simple, if only this amulet was the key to finding my beloved sister, however I have learned manythings in life, and one is that nothing comes easy, so i suppose i would just have to wait and see, I pray tis nae some evil lurking about waiting for the chance to find a relation to the Clemont name.

*closes her journal, and nudges Aero off in the direction of the Inn*

--Journal Entry, 25 October, Lady Charquin

I havent had to much spare time to write anything the last few days. Ive have been kept pretty busy at the Boutique, filling orders and checking inventory. I was at 'dome for a while last eve. I havent heard of any sharken attacks the last few days. But im sure they arent gone..and will show up when we least expect it.

Things with Val are going great. I really care a lot about him. Dont like him having a brat stick though. Ah well, I dont think i have to worry about him actually using it. And our relationship has moved on to ...well we dont have separate rooms now. I just hope I dont hurt him like i seem to hurt everyone else I love. The Children and Alterio for instance. Now the children are apart. Alterio has Mia and i have Alkane. Alkane misses Mia desperately, they have never really been apart since they were born. Lyrias tells me Thirlia is doing pretty good now. She spends a lot of time with her. Im very glad because thirlia needs her.

Well thats all i have time for right now. Maybe write more later or tomorrow.

--Journal Entry, 25 October, Vixen Blade

::Grooming for this evening, something that would take the average man, what, maybe thirty minutes, has become an all-afternoon affair for him. Shaving precisely with his new shark's tooth held on a fine piece of thin steel, he takes the extra care not to nick himself. Choosing his new dark silken blend tunic with the light trousers, he calls to Felina to have his boots prepared. As he waits for them to be shined, he pours a rye and gathers some thoughts.::

The girls approached me about holding a fashion show in the Pleasuredome this eve. Why not, I told them I will not do anything but look..::chuckles::. It will be nice to attend an event without having to trip over myself to help out with it. Just a patron, an onlooker..Sometimes I like that. Indeed.

Perhaps I'll see a new face this eve, hopefully a lovely face that can help fill the void in my bed. And ::smirks:: with any luck, not a face that emits whines or demands payment for services rendered. Getting tired of the whores, and am looking forward to the next catboat coming in with the new ones. But that's not for another month or so.

::Hears Mia arguing with someone, well, Mia always argues with someone:: I'm glad Vixen's found her stride, her new beau is someone I approve of, with what little I actually know about him. I considered sending one of the guards to shadow him, do some checking up..Reason being that I've learned he's sharing Vixen's home, and I do not want a dangerous man round there, particularly with my young son on those premises..but I have finally begun to accept the fact that Vixen will do what Vixen wants to do, and also what she feels she needs to do. I doubt she'd knowingly invite, say, a murderer in the house, but if that happened, she could likely handle herself.

::Calls to Paul after some thinking "Send five new guards over to the adjacent property and have them patrol the perimeter"..smirks to himself, but commends himself for not ordering them to intrude the house. He's shown restraint, a rarity.::

I'm still rather furious at that woman.."Mother". BAH. I had one mother and SHE was more than enough with whom to deal..she's been gone awhile now, what, six months? And just as HER nagging began to die down to a dull roar in the back of my mind, here's this new woman getting huffy with me. Can you imagine? Then...Bah, Dan and Mags flanking her like hired bodyguards? I was not the instigator in that confrontation and, whilst I would not ever nor did I ever strike my own mother after she struck me, I have no qualms regarding flattening this woman if she cannot respect the fact that I did nothing TO her, nor did I initiate any contact with her. And if it means tussling with Dan, Mags, or Dan AND Mags, I will do what I must. I still can't believe the old hag struck Lawrence ::the guard who got hit with the staff across the knees:: He went to speak to her, to order her to stop following us, and that's how she answered. Then lunged at me. So aye, I struck back. No remorse or regret, though. Some think that women should never be hit..but what about these daft ones who come at you with a weapon, unprovoked? They likely need to be strung up and beaten. Well..::Looks at the sundial:: Time to see that Cook is getting the childrens' meal together, and then I must start heading down to the Dome. I heard of a Maid's uniform..I'd like to see it firsthand.

::Leaves the book open in an effort to speed the ink's drying::

--Journal Entry, 25 October, Sir Knight Carazzi.

~Val groggily wakes up in the middle of the night and stumbles to Vixen's desk in her office...that is where he is sleeping at the moment, after last night...and he scribbles down this poem, or even possibly a song.~

Waiting, for you
patiently, hoping your ways might change

Bleeding, for you

now, I guess I'm hoping
but I'm slowly coping
Don't take this for what you see, cause it could be worse

I want to know how flying feels
sweeping over the lush fields
never before have I felt this way
but right now, it takes all that I can to stay

Waiting, for you

Bleeding, for you

Everything we had is gone
Something new must come up strong, now
I feel that I belong
And I trust you
And I love you

Waiting, for you

Bleeding, for you

Breathing, for you

And that's why I'm slowly dying here
Can't you see that's my least of fears

~Val reads over it, a tear spilling onto the parchment. He rolls up the poem and stuffs it into his pocket, and falls back to sleep.~

--Journal Entry, 25 October, Valyndor Lyndrae