SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SirAlexTheFirst: The vague strands of light that awoke Aria continue to filter through her window. It is early in the morning, and the day outside looks clear.

AndrewRogue: *she wipes at her eyes ineffectually, for some reason the tears failing to halt despite the way the dream was beginning to fade from her mind*

AndrewRogue: *even as the moments and seconds and hours and days and weeks and months vanished... she knew something was gone, something was missing*

AndrewRogue: *something deep in her heart... emptiness?*

AndrewRogue: *shaking her head as she pulled her nightgown up to wipe her eyes, she knelt down beside her book and picked it up, turning it over*

AndrewRogue: *her eyes ran over the page as she knelt there, recalling where she had been to try and ease her mind*

AndrewRogue: *it was the part where Sir Throkk had spoken with Astaroth, and despite Astaroth's demon kinship, the way they formed a bond of friendship*

AndrewRogue: *she smiled weakly, another small sniffle coming*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Chronicles of the Warriors of Hope. A present to you from Tarin, long ago, when you were young and first told him you wanted to be an adventurer.

AndrewRogue: *she sighed as she dog-eared the page, that dream having fallen by the wayside between her schooling and...* "Oh..." *she looked out at the sun again. Her summer job.*

AndrewRogue: *she laid the book on her bed, drying her eyes* "I still... do have to do that."

AndrewRogue: *she pulled off her nightgown and threw it on the bed as well as she pulled her closet open, riffling quickly through all she had to find her uniform*

AndrewRogue: *Mister Giabanni had been kind enough to give her a job as a waitress at Daryl's Retreat. She ate there enough and he knew her well, so it just took a little pleading*

AndrewRogue: *And an oath that she wouldn't drop things*

AndrewRogue: *she brought her arm back across her eyes as she found the proper shirt and skirt. This wasn't the time to be upset over... over dreams*

AndrewRogue: *she hastily dressed herself. She wanted breakfast today.*

AndrewRogue: *she started for the door, but stopped, twisting as she hit herself with her palm. Silly... silly dreams. They were ruining her* "Shoes..."

SirAlexTheFirst: The room is silent, almost uncannily so. No birds are singing today, no children shouting outside, just the daylight.

AndrewRogue: *she found them tucked under her bed, wondering if maybe it was earlier than she thought. She quickly put them on and laced them, doubly so, a lesson she had learned her first day*

AndrewRogue: *The silence was odd... but maybe it was just a lazy day. Or maybe a holiday she'd forgotten? She combed her hair quickly, for a brief moment surprised it was long enough to tie the ribbon, which she had invariably

AndrewRogue: found in her hand, into it, making a neat bow. She'd... had short hair? Why was she thinking she cut it?*

AndrewRogue: *she took a long moment to collect herself, wondering why names were flitting in her head. She needed to eat.*

SirAlexTheFirst: There comes, then, a brief knock upon your door, the first sign of anyone else alive this morning - and with it your mother's voice.

SirAlexTheFirst: Muffled through the door, she asks "Aria? Honey? Time to wake up, if you want some breakfast before work! I made muffins for you!"

AndrewRogue: "I know Mom! I'm up!" *she idly leaned over to twist the handle and open the door* "Thank you though!" *she checks the skirt... the shirt... apron in her hand...* "Ack! Nametag!"

AndrewRogue: *she scanned the drawer desperately...* "Ah!" *she let out a sigh of relief as she found it under a ribbon, gray like his ey... his eyes?*

SirAlexTheFirst: You catch a glimpse of your mother's hair as she descends the stairs, humming, and the slight, sweet smell of blueberry muffins fills your nostrils.

AndrewRogue: *And a scarlett one like that man's clot... She shook her head. Her hands were shaking as she tried to pin the tag on* "Ow..." *she finally managed to affix it, accidently jabbing herself once*

AndrewRogue: *a final check of her dress... and a final, almost forlorn glance at the bed. Why did she want to return to it so much? Why did it...* "This is silly... its a bed." *she quickly went downstairs... or at least as quick

AndrewRogue: as her unsure feet allowed her."

AndrewRogue: "Good morning Mom!" *she said as she jogged into the kitchen*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Good morning, Aria! Did you sleep well?" Jessica giggles as she brings you some muffins, topped with butter, and eggs. "Nice to see you out of bed so soon."

AndrewRogue: "Ah... I slept all right." *she smiles weakly* "Thank you for breakfast though. Ah... I'm not running late then?"

SirAlexTheFirst: She kisses the top of your head before sitting down to eat herself. "Nope, you're right on time. Unlike a certain sleepyhead who hasn't come down to breakfast yet!" She ends with a playful yell.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Grrrrmfgl." You hear a door creak open, and Tarin, unshaved and bleary but well-rested, shambles into the dining room. "Good morning, darlings."

AndrewRogue: *her smile faltered slightly... why did it feel so strange at the table? Why did the mention of her Dad bring a pang in her chest?* "Ah... good morning Dad!"

AndrewRogue: "Did you two sleep all right?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Father pats you heartily on the back as he retrieves food for himself. "Yep. Big day coming up for me, we're supposed to close the Whittyre account today at last."

AndrewRogue: *she blinks for a second* "Whittyre account?" *that... she had been there? Hun... Za... Au... ... A desert. Right. Whittyre was a desert. That's why she remembered it being so hot. Great big desert.*

SirAlexTheFirst: This news brightens your mother's smile still further. "Well, good. I'm glad they're getting their business settled down here. Just think - marvelous things could grow in that desert someday soon."

AndrewRogue: *her appettite is even worse than usual. Apparently it wasn't hunger that was bothering her stomach. Mention of that place... was that what was making it worse? No. That was silly. Maybe she was getting sick.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Tarin quickly picks up on this. "Are you feeling well, Aria? You're not eating much - and you're up early." Jess stifles a chuckle.

AndrewRogue: "I'm... fine. I guess maybe I went to bed too late last night. Just a bad..." *she pauses awkwardly, that word seeming unfitting* "Just a dream."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh?" He gives you one of those parental looks. "Do you want to talk about it?"

AndrewRogue: "I don't... I don't know. I can't really remember it well. I... think there was a man in it. He was silly and a screw-up but he tried SO hard to do the right thing, even if he did screw up. And there was another

AndrewRogue: strange man. He looked funny, but he had a great heart and insisted on honor, despite his claims he had none. And a priest of Luthien... and these... these people from another world who wanted something. And this dwarf who

AndrewRogue: was a wonderful cleric! And so many others... and things... lots of things happened. Bad things and good things."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Hmm." Tarin nods, thoughtfully.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Sounds like... life."

SirAlexTheFirst: He says no more, eating breakfast in silence. Mother doesn't comment either.

AndrewRogue: *she finishes the little she can in short order* "Thank you for breakfast Mom. My shift runs until this evening, but I'll definitely be back in time for dinner!"

SirAlexTheFirst: She nods, a bit absentminded. "All right, honey. Try and... have fun!"

AndrewRogue: *she forces a smile* "Of course! And you should get cleaned up Dad, don't you have work today?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Arr, mateys! Me's got the super accountant shower of speed!" Tarin jokes, getting up to partake of just that. "You don't have to come home for dinner, remember. I know how young'uns are these days." *wink*

AndrewRogue: "Well... Ash did say she was having some friends over for the evening. She even invited me too!"

AndrewRogue: "So maybe I will do that."

AndrewRogue: *She... didn't get invited out like that a lot. People thought she was silly, always lost in her fancies and tripping over her own feet*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Whatever you like, dear. We trust you." Your mother gives you a firm hug as you're preparing to leave.

AndrewRogue: *Except the... She really wasn't that popular at school. A joke really. Kevin had laughed so hard when she fell down the stairs. No one had even given her a hand...* "I know. THank you." *she returns the hug*

SirAlexTheFirst: And so to work?

AndrewRogue: *Aria quickly vacates and heads off to work, her mind all a whirl as she walks*

AndrewRogue: *she jogs, hoping the motion will help calm her down. Besides... it helped her stay trim. Not that she needed it with the way she ate.*

SirAlexTheFirst: The streets are all very quiet today, subdued even. Though there are a few people walking, they hurry and do not look around, perhaps feeling the chilly breeze a bit much.

SirAlexTheFirst: Conditions are much the same at Daryl's Retreat. There are only a few customers, and they're already being waited on by the morning shift.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs. It feels so empty... But she tosses her apron on and heads to the kitchen to get a registar and wait for some tables to open*

AndrewRogue: *her minds drifts as she waits... Life felt so... so empty. She felt disconnected... alone...*

AndrewRogue: *she leans up against the wall tiredly* "Why?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Sorry?" Jem, the manager, glances at you.

AndrewRogue: "Ah? Nothing Jem. Just a little off today."

AndrewRogue: "How're you though? You look great as ever."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well, join the club," he mutters. "Everyone seems a little bit off today. Just one of those days, I guess."

AndrewRogue: "Ah. I'm... I'm sorry Jem." *she looks abashed and quickly looks for a table to wait*

SirAlexTheFirst: There are none... and for the next hour, there will be none.

AndrewRogue: *she spends the next hour just drifting about, daydreaming, thinking on faces and names that do not seem to belong in her mind... wishing some friends were on shift*

SirAlexTheFirst: Jem eventually sighs and tosses his register in the air. "I give up. Nobody's coming in. Aria, go take the day off and cheer up somewhere, you've been positivly moping for the last hour."

AndrewRogue: "You sure Jem? It... might pick up come afternoon. I don't want to get in trouble if you guys get swamped..."

SirAlexTheFirst: He sputters. "It's like a big glomping mass of despair and gloom in here. And outside. Nobody is coming in here today. And besides, you're not gonna do a good job waitressing when you're so distracted."

AndrewRogue: "Right Jem. I... just fill in some extra hours somewhere for me." *she sets the registar and apron down, stuffing the nametag into her pocket, wondering what she is going to do... maybe go look at the fountain in

AndrewRogue: front of the guild. It always cheers her up. Its... it... She shakes her head* "Its pretty."

SirAlexTheFirst: Jem raises an eyebrow at you talking to yourself as you leave, but says nothing.

AndrewRogue: *she jogs faster than normal. Something is really, really bothering her. She can feel tears starting to build again.* "What is wrong with me today?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Where are you going?

AndrewRogue: *She wants to see the fountain in front of the Main Building of the Mage's Guild*

SirAlexTheFirst: Again, there are few people around, and nobody but you in front of the Guild. All the better to let you admire the fountain.

AndrewRogue: *she climbs up onto the rim to let her stand close to the water, and feel the mist intermingle with those foreign tears as she stares at the carved figures in the center*

SirAlexTheFirst: It's a very simple design - a single female angel, cast in brass, in the center of the fountain. Water streams from the air around her, in a testament to the magic of the builder, and she seems to move, to look at people sometimes.

SirAlexTheFirst: Not today, though. Today she just looks out at the world, surrounded by the faceless yet human figures around her feet.

AndrewRogue: *Aria steps a little closer to the edge, trying to get the magic to work again, the statue to inspire her like it always did. And then her left foot slips off the side and she falls ungracefully into the fountain, her right

AndrewRogue: side slamming into the edge as she goes into the water*

AndrewRogue: "Dammit!" *she cries futilely, her clothes dripping as she sits up. She wants to swear... her white shirt... white ar... white shirt...* "Dammit." *its more subdued*

AndrewRogue: *she tries to clamber out* "Hunter, gimme a hand PLEASE?" *she holds her hand out... and is almost surprised to find no one there to take it*

AndrewRogue: *the name feels so foreign on her lips... why did she ask him to help?*

AndrewRogue: *She can feel a sob attempting to burst forth, but she squelches it and pulls herself out of the fountain, soaked and cold and alone*

AndrewRogue: *she pulls off her shoes... they had been wonderful leather with a slightly warm lining... the water probably ruined them*

SirAlexTheFirst: It looks like they're all right, actually.

AndrewRogue: *she gives a slight sigh of relief for small miracles. She pulls them off along with her socks to attempt to wring them out, as well as free as much water from her skirt and shirt as she can without removing them*

AndrewRogue: *but its still a long walk home like this... Ash's house is around here though.* "I'm sure Leata... NO. I'm sure Ash will let me dry off and borrow a shirt or something..."

AndrewRogue: *she shakes her head. Why is she confusing people she knows?*

AndrewRogue: *she adjusts her shirt best she can to keep it from being too clingy and goes to see if Ash is home*

SirAlexTheFirst: After a long wait, Ash opens the door, giggling. "Well, hel-LO there, - Aria? Aria! Um, hi!"

AndrewRogue: "Ah... hello Ashley." *she looks slightly embarassed*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Hello... Aria.. um, can I help you? You look kinda... wet..."

AndrewRogue: "I... slipped and fell in the fountain. Could I... could I use your bathroom to dry off? And... maybe borrow a shirt?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, sure." She points down the hall. "Right that way, around the corner, second door. I'll toss in a shirt for you, and you can leave when you're ready."

AndrewRogue: "Thank you. Ah... were you still having some friends over tonight?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Umm... probably not, come to think. Leigh and I are having some quality time tonight. And right now." She giggles again.

AndrewRogue: "Ahhh..." *she turns slightly red* "I-I'm sorry to interrupt. I'll be just a minute, really. Thank you." *and she hustles by*

AndrewRogue: *and makes her way to the bathroom as commanded, trying to avoid dripping on the floor*

SirAlexTheFirst: A few seconds later, the door opens a crack, and Ash tosses her shirt in to you. "There you go, Aria. Have a good evening, and don't worry about the shirt - I've got plenty."

AndrewRogue: *and once there, she will briefly stip down and dry herself, switching shirts in the process* "Thanks Ash..." *she sounds... well... she tries to sound not horribly disappointed*

AndrewRogue: *once completing her change, she will quickly slide out of the house, not wishing to bother anymore and looking towards the sky to guess the time*

AndrewRogue: *she had no idea what she was going to do this evening... Why did she feel so alone?*

SirAlexTheFirst: It's only noon, or shortly after.

SirAlexTheFirst: The sun's shining brightly and warmly. It's merely being counteracted by the chilly air and constant breeze. At least that helps you dry out some more...

AndrewRogue: "Will this day never end?" *she's almost disappointed she had skipped out on work as she shivers slightly, the partially wet skirt and shoes not helping much. She reached in her pocket to find a few bills and

AndrewRogue: coins, the remains of her last payment* "I... I know. This'll make me feel better." *and she gets the wonderous idea to go to Mister Drowa's... a pet-shop a few blocks east near the shopping district*

AndrewRogue: "I'm sure this will make me feel better. Sure." *she sounds like she's trying to reassure herself*

SirAlexTheFirst: Mr. Drowa's Pet Shop

SirAlexTheFirst: Sorry, we're CLOSED! Try Back Later!

AndrewRogue: *that is almost completely crushing to her today... he'd had the most beautiful cat. Its name was... Jolt? She sighs again* "Dammit this sucks. What is wrong with everything today?"

AndrewRogue: *Nothing was right. Nothing. The whole world felt empty, and she most of all.*

AndrewRogue: *she was lonely... why?*

AndrewRogue: *This is how it was every day for her... a couple friends who said hi, the people she knew from hanging around stores... and all the people who laughed when she did something like fall in the fountain or nap in class*

AndrewRogue: *she sagged down against the door, bringing her face to her knees. What was missing? Why was this so different?*

AndrewRogue: *she hugged her legs, crying.* "I... I'm stronger than this..." *Love*

AndrewRogue: *That's what she was missing. Love. But why... WHY did it feel so acute? So sudden?*

AndrewRogue: *she loved... someone*

AndrewRogue: *someones*

AndrewRogue: *They were there in her mind, in her heart, engraved in her soul...* ~Who are you?~

AndrewRogue: ~Why can't I remember you?~

AndrewRogue: *No helping hand on her shoulder, no help to dry her tears... but she KNEW they were supposed to be there*

AndrewRogue: *And she was supposed to be there to share them, to reciprocate them*

AndrewRogue: *she forces herself to her feet, realizing how stupid she must look, sitting there. She...* "Home. I'll just go home. Maybe someone will come by... maybe John-Allen. He gets bored sometimes..."

AndrewRogue: *she wipes her eyes clear of tears again and returns home*

SirAlexTheFirst: Home?

AndrewRogue: *That word... doesn't sound right the way her footsteps take her. The place where she sleeps... where here parents live and raise her... but not home.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Where, then, is home?

AndrewRogue: *Home is...*

AndrewRogue: *Home is where her loves are...*

AndrewRogue: *Its where she feels happy... where she feels safe... where she knows she is with the people who care about her...*

SirAlexTheFirst: So you go to your house.

SirAlexTheFirst: Mother looks up as you walk through the door, surprised. "Aria! Did you get off work early? And where's your uniform?"

AndrewRogue: "Ah... they didn't need me today. And its here." *she holds up the bundle of wet clothes*

AndrewRogue: "I... need to go hang it up."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh." She blinks a couple times. "Here, give it to me and I'll run it through the laundry tonight."

AndrewRogue: "Ah... thank you. I'm... probably going to be here tonight. Ash had to cancel her plans."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, honey..." she lays down the uniform and hugs you. "Talk to me, sweetie. Why are you so sad today?"

AndrewRogue: "I... something just feels so wrong."

AndrewRogue: *she lays her head against her mom's shoulder as she begins to cry* "This isn't where I'm supposed to be."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Is that dream you had still bothering you? Or is it something else?"

AndrewRogue: "I don't know... I know I shouldn't feel like this! This is all wrong! Everything! I need to be somewhere else!"

AndrewRogue: "Not here... I have no friends... no purpose..."

AndrewRogue: "All anyone ever does is mock me or laugh at me... There was somewhere... There were people who cared about me just like you and Dad, and I cared just the same about them. This isn't it!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Your mother just holds you, having no idea what to say.

AndrewRogue: "It was all so real..."

AndrewRogue: "I died for them."

AndrewRogue: "I loved them more than life itself."

AndrewRogue: "And I would do anything for them."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Aria..." Jess whispers. "Oh, Aria. That was a dream. It wasn't real. But you'll find people like that someday, or they'll find you. Just wait and hope."

AndrewRogue: "It wasn't a dream! It was important! It... it was as real as the way I walked to work and fell in the fountain and the way I'm standing here!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Finding no words, Mom just shakes her head.

AndrewRogue: "Don't look at me like that!" *she steps back* "I've seen that look before... like I'm crazy, like I'm a lunatic."

AndrewRogue: "I... I need to take a nap."

AndrewRogue: "I was up too late last night."

AndrewRogue: "That's it. That's why I'm so worked up."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I don't think you can jump back into dreams, sweetiepie. It doesn't work that way." She shakes her head sadly.

AndrewRogue: *she smiles a little forlornly* "Maybe not... maybe so. But... it'll make me feel better. Just sleeping for a little while. A thirty minute nap."

AndrewRogue: "Then I'm sure the sun will be bright again. And maybe John-Allen will want to go see a show tonight or something."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Take a nap, then. Maybe we should go do something tonight, as a family? We'll talk later."

AndrewRogue: *she nods weakly as she walks on by and heads up to her room, taking the book and lying it on her nightstand before laying down and clutching at an adorable stuffed wolf... a child's toy. A birthday present when she was five. She

AndrewRogue: still kept it around. She still talked to it when no one else was there to listen to her, and when she was sure no one wanted to listen to her.*

AndrewRogue: *images danced in her mind as she shut her eyes- People, places, things... names flitted in her mind to match the pictures*

AndrewRogue: *she whispered them to it, clutching it to her chest*

AndrewRogue: "Is it silly to want a dream that seemed so real Kacey?"

AndrewRogue: *the memories flowed to her as she lay on the bed*

AndrewRogue: "Is it silly to want to do all that with all the pain and suffering that comes with it?"

AndrewRogue: *she rolled onto her back and let him rest on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling*

AndrewRogue: "It..."

AndrewRogue: "It was worth it."

SirAlexTheFirst: The room fades out, back into dreamland.

SirAlexTheFirst: And, indeed, you see someone you recognize.

SirAlexTheFirst: H? Hunter.

SirAlexTheFirst: He's smiling, walking towards you.

AndrewRogue: *she looks dazed, trying to sort out which memory set is which* "Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He walks up to you, reaches to embrace you.

AndrewRogue: "What are you?"

AndrewRogue: *tears fill her eyes. Dream or reality? Her mind doesn't know.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Grabs your neck and gives a snap with his hands, squeezing your windpipe and trachea shut. The pain brings with it a wealth of sensations, chief among them reality, that you have returned to whence you came and Hunter is there!

SirAlexTheFirst: And you are being killed by him.

AndrewRogue: ~Hunter?!~ "Grk?!"

SirAlexTheFirst: He just smiles, squeezing harder. "Go ahead. Keep pointing that gun at me. It doesn't matter anymore. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me from killing you here today."

AndrewRogue: ~What are you doing? What is... what's happening? Where?~ "GRK!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Give me a Listen check.

*OnlineHost*: AndrewRogue rolled 1 20-sided die: 1

AndrewRogue: ...

AndrewRogue: (CoC?)

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter growls something in response, but you can't even hear it as your senses begin to fade as quickly as they came. Your own heartbeat fills your ears, and cotton starts to cover your eyes.

AndrewRogue: How about them tucked kicks?

SirAlexTheFirst: Are you kicking?

AndrewRogue: I think I'm tripping him and getting the hands off my neck. Clearly something is wrong.

SirAlexTheFirst: Go right ahead.

*OnlineHost*: AndrewRogue rolled 1 20-sided die: 10

AndrewRogue: That hits Hunter's touch AC.

SirAlexTheFirst: Probably does, at that.

AndrewRogue: 20 total

SirAlexTheFirst: Opposeds?

AndrewRogue: Yeah

*OnlineHost*: AndrewRogue rolled 1 20-sided die: 16

AndrewRogue: 21

*OnlineHost*: SirAlexTheFirst rolled 1 20-sided die: 1

SirAlexTheFirst: 1ish.

AndrewRogue: I think its follow-up attack time as both hit the ground.

AndrewRogue: And bashing his arm would be a good option.

*OnlineHost*: AndrewRogue rolled 1 20-sided die: 12

SirAlexTheFirst: It would be. However, you are still being held up by Hunter.

AndrewRogue: 22

AndrewRogue: (Hunter isn't that much taller <.<)

AndrewRogue: ~Hunter... why... what is this?~

SirAlexTheFirst: You kick him, swipe his legs - you've felt Hunter's strength before. He should fall. But he doesn't; your kick is weak and bruises his shin, nothing more.

SirAlexTheFirst: It comes to you, very clearly, that something is terribly, horribly, wrong here.

AndrewRogue: (Is Aria equipped?)

SirAlexTheFirst: Your guisarme has fallen to the ground.

AndrewRogue: Does she have the rest of her stuff?

SirAlexTheFirst: Your white armor is affording you no protection from his hands on your neck.

AndrewRogue: Rings of Blinking would.

SirAlexTheFirst: They would.

SirAlexTheFirst: They aren't. A dull, ethereal nothingness is all that answers your call for magic, for telepathy, for your bonds to your friends, to any sort of help.

AndrewRogue: I'm asuming that implies I don't have that or its inactivatable.

SirAlexTheFirst: Even for your own muscles.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter's hands, those hands you've felt embracing you gently, squeeze with rage, and things break that should not be broken, things broken only before by the ground outside Whittyre.

SirAlexTheFirst: A searing pain envelops your head, then your entire body, and disappears as you awake in a cold sweat.

SirAlexTheFirst: Kacey's paws fall away from your neck as you awake.

AndrewRogue: *she gasps for breath, shaking her head* "Wh-what is happening to me?"

AndrewRogue: "No!"

AndrewRogue: "That wasn't right."

AndrewRogue: "Something was wrong with that."

AndrewRogue: "That... that wasn't the Hunter I knew."

AndrewRogue: "He would NOT have done that me if he knew it was me. Ever."

AndrewRogue: *she gently picks up her plush and looks at it* "How did you get up there anyway. Making me dream things like that?"

AndrewRogue: *she sets Kacey down on the bed and sits up against the baseboard* "That wasn't right. Something was wrong with it. Wrong with Hunter."

AndrewRogue: *she puts a hand to her head* "M-maybe I'm losing my mind."

AndrewRogue: "That was... that was too real."

AndrewRogue: "A dream? No... I died."

AndrewRogue: "But... if that was real... then what is all this? And if all this is real... then what was all that?"

AndrewRogue: "Am I... dead?"

AndrewRogue: *she sounds dazed as she tries to sort realities*

AndrewRogue: "This... this can't be the real world... Can it?" *she looks at some sort of timekeeping device*

SirAlexTheFirst: Knock, knock, softly. "Aria? Are you feeling better?"

SirAlexTheFirst: 7 PM. The sun is beginning to set outside.

AndrewRogue: *Long nap* "I... don't know. Maybe I'm just stressed."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Would you like to go out and do anything tonight?" Tarin's voice drifts through your door.

AndrewRogue: "Y-yeah. Sure."

AndrewRogue: *she wipes the cold sweat off on her blanket, her mind racing*

AndrewRogue: *she rolls out of bed and opens the door*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Any idea as to what?"

AndrewRogue: "I... are there any shows down at the promenade tonight?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I'm not sure, but I'd think there would be." Tarin opens the door a tiny crack. "Would you like to come out and join us?"

AndrewRogue: "I... no." *she runs a hand through her hair, pulling the ribbon free*

SirAlexTheFirst: "No?"

AndrewRogue: "What did I do last week? What is today for that matter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Today? It's October 33rd. Last week you worked out your shift at Daryl's and spent a lot of time with that adventuring group that was around town."

SirAlexTheFirst: Dad laughs nervously. "Is everything all right in there?"

AndrewRogue: *she remembered that... but that wasn't last week.*

AndrewRogue: *Or was it?*

AndrewRogue: "Why? Why didn't I go with them?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Why didn't you go with them?"

AndrewRogue: "I wanted to. Why didn't I?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "May I come in?"

AndrewRogue: "Door's unlocked."

SirAlexTheFirst: The door opens, and Tarin steps inside and sits down on the bed beside you.

SirAlexTheFirst: "I thought that's what this might be about..." he starts, then stops.

AndrewRogue: "Have you ever heard of a family called the Sopkos?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "... that was why, actually. You can't remember?"

AndrewRogue: "What?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "We talked about going out adventuring, and what could happen. Then, the next morning, you were reading the paper with me, looking for articles on adventurers..."

SirAlexTheFirst: "There was one about Hunter Sopko, up and coming, dashing young man, rich, engaged, working for the Yarovan adventuring..."

SirAlexTheFirst: "You don't remember any of this?"

AndrewRogue: "What happened to him?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "He fudged an inspection of a bridge, and it collapsed, killing his mother and several others, and he got fired, his fiancee left him, and nobody heard from him since."

AndrewRogue: "His fiancee... was Leatanna Scarlett?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Tarin nods.

AndrewRogue: "That article... its wrong."

SirAlexTheFirst: He says nothing.

AndrewRogue: "He gets set-up with a bunch of people to guard a man named Called."

AndrewRogue: "Called gets killed by Hummers."

AndrewRogue: "He eventually ends up with a dwarven Cleric named Jerriford."

AndrewRogue: "A man named Nash."

AndrewRogue: "And elf named Jacynth and his lover Adora."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Jacynth and Adora?"

AndrewRogue: "You've heard of them?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Aria, I think you're getting confused with stories and reality here." Your father looks genuinly concerned. "Jacynth and Adora were criminals who were caught and executed yesterday."

AndrewRogue: "No. That's wrong. They weren't... What's your job?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I'm an accountant, I work for Mr. Dela Rosa downtown."

AndrewRogue: "Rosa has a daughter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Tarin's concern is starting to die down, now. He simply answers your questions honestly and calmly.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Mr. Dela Rosa doesn't have a daughter. I don't think he has any family that I know of."

AndrewRogue: "Where did I learn self-defense?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "You haven't learned any actual fighting techniques, unless the adventurers taught you a couple."

AndrewRogue: "They just talked to me... they didn't teach me anything. I shouldn't know how to do this... when did you get me Kacey?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "For your fifth birthday."

AndrewRogue: "Why is my name only Arianna?"

AndrewRogue: *her questions are starting to come faster as she runs a hand through her hair, staring at... who knows really. Maybe her own mind's eye*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Because of an absurdly overcomplicated story that begins with Great-great-great uncle Marv and... " Tarin sighs. "No, that's a story I used to tell you."

AndrewRogue: "Lanathan."

SirAlexTheFirst: "The real reason is that there is no reason. As far back as I can trace our family, we've only had one name per person."

AndrewRogue: "What is the name Lanathan?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "...hm?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Tarin reaches over your lap to the nightstand and picks up the book there, holding it in front of you.

AndrewRogue: "A descendent of Lanathandar."

SirAlexTheFirst: "It's the name of a cleric who was very angry, and couldn't decide what he believed in."

AndrewRogue: "And its not mine."

SirAlexTheFirst: Tarin nods. "Not yours."

AndrewRogue: "...maybe I'm just coming down with a flu." *her line of questioning ends suddenly*

AndrewRogue: "I... I clearly need to go back to bed."

AndrewRogue: "I'm probably catching a chill from that silly fountain."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I... don't know...." Tarin looks concerned once more. "Going to bed is what seems to have prompted all this..."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "I can't simply not sleep. And if it really is me getting sick, not sleeping will make it worse."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Were you.." .... "Do you..." Tarin begins to speak a few times, but stops. Finally, he decides on "Are you sure you don't want to do anything tonight?"

AndrewRogue: *She knew something was wrong. None of this was right. She couldn't be making this all up... changing all these people. She was imagining something... but what? Which was real?*

AndrewRogue: "No. I... really just need some time to think."

AndrewRogue: "I'll be good as new come tomorrow. I have the day off."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Aria... I love you. So does your mother. You don't have to be an adventurer, or a Lanathan, or be pursuing some great purpose for people to love you." Tarin just bursts out with that.

SirAlexTheFirst: It's the first time you've ever seen him look and sound truly afraid.

AndrewRogue: "I know that. And I know the both of you love me no matter what choices I make or what stupid things I do."

AndrewRogue: "Even if you rant and rave at me and condemn the choices I make."

SirAlexTheFirst: Tarin nods in agreement. "Anyone decent will love you no matter what. You don't have to prove anything to anybody. Remember that... please? Daughter?"

AndrewRogue: "There is one thing I always have to prove."

SirAlexTheFirst: "No."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles in the most honest manner in... days? Weeks? Months? Years?* "Yes there is. I must show them that I love them just as much."

SirAlexTheFirst: Tarin blinks, and smiles at you, then gets up and quietly leaves.

AndrewRogue: *Hunter wasn't just some man from a paper. Jac and Adora weren't faceless criminals. Vincent wasn't just a buisness partner to her dad. She knew them. Each and every one. Body, heart and soul*

AndrewRogue: *she hugged Kacey gently and set her on the nightstand. She missed her a lot when she went away. If she did.*

AndrewRogue: *then she paused... and took it back*

AndrewRogue: *staring at it, thinking of the way she had fallen asleep with it atop her*

AndrewRogue: *she laid out comfortably on her side and pulled the covers up over her*

AndrewRogue: *she held Kacey close and kissed her, and looked at a marred stitch pattern*

AndrewRogue: *saw the matted fur*

AndrewRogue: *She wasn't as perfect as she remembered*

AndrewRogue: *But she was still hers. And still so dear to her. She could always count on Kacey to try something. And it always helped out if she took an active hand in letting Kacey help her*

AndrewRogue: *And she could always smooth her fur, or with a little help restitch a seam if it was necessary. She tucked Kacey close to her chest and wrapped her in a gentle embrace*

AndrewRogue: *One would prove real. One would prove false. Either way... she knew what she felt. Names ran through her mind. The people precious to her. The people of her dream... or was it her reality?*

AndrewRogue: *Her parent's, her friends, her loves...*

AndrewRogue: *she softly closed her eyes, and squeezed Kacey once more* "I KNOW you love me."

AndrewRogue: "And I love you."

AndrewRogue: "Hunter."

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AndrewRogue: *and once more the morning sun appears and bathes her body in the pale gold of morn. She hugs Kacey tightly before she stretches out. She did feel better. She felt happy. She smiled. She knew what she wanted to do.*

AndrewRogue: *No. That wasn't right. She knew what she had to do. She picked Kacey up, humming an odd song to herself as she walked to her closet*

AndrewRogue: *she dressed quickly, worn jeans and a t-shirt, and then the gray and scarlet ribbons both in her hair to bind it*

AndrewRogue: "I'll make it work." *she grinned as she located her bag and stuffed a couple various articles of clothing in there... along with her savings*

AndrewRogue: *she gently laid Kacey atop the articles of clothing* "I'll be with you again soon, and all the while, you'll be here with me." *she chuckled. Deja Vu. It felt like she had done this before. Because she had.*

SirAlexTheFirst: It's quite early in the morning. The sun has barely risen, and like yesterday, the air is chilly. There is no breeze yet, though.

AndrewRogue: *Or she hadn't. Either way. She was doing it now. They were going to object strenuously, but she was going. She wanted her answer. And she'd get it.*

AndrewRogue: *she examined all that she had. It was so different. No book this time. And much lighter. Because of how little it actually mattered in the end.*

AndrewRogue: *she slung the pack over her shoulder, still smiling, as she opened her door and went downstairs*

SirAlexTheFirst: The house is quiet; your parents aren't awake yet.

AndrewRogue: "Ah well." *it was easier this way. She could always come back if she needed. Her parents were there too anyway. Nonetheless, she will hastily scrawl out a note reading- 'Going out for a while. Should be back later. Love

AndrewRogue: you. Aria.*

AndrewRogue: *She wasn't quite sure how it would work, as she walked out the door. But she was going to do it. She needed to see something first though. A name stuck in her mind. And she will jog briskly to the teleporters.*

SirAlexTheFirst: The teleporters are open 24/7, and there is, as usual, a small crowd of early morning commuters and travelers there. Few of them speak to each other, although a few nod at you.

AndrewRogue: *she smiles brightly at them, but otherwise ignores them*

AndrewRogue: *she waits patiently in line, humming happilly to herself*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Where to, ma'am?" The attendant barely glances at you, seeming half-awake.

AndrewRogue: "Asgard please!"

SirAlexTheFirst: He nods. "Step in."

AndrewRogue: *she nods back and does so*

SirAlexTheFirst: The world wavers, and changes to a slightly different teleporter building, this one covered in murals on the walls.

AndrewRogue: *she hops out. She needed to see something before she really got started. She grinned. I wonder if... She turns to the nearest person.* "Excuse me, sir?"

SirAlexTheFirst: The businessman glances at you. "Yes, young lady?"

AndrewRogue: "Could you help me out? The Church of Gabriel: its down the street, and up several blocks. Then I turn east go past the barracks and there it is?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes, that sounds about right. Would you like me to take you there?"

AndrewRogue: "Nope! Its just where I knew it was! Thank you sir!"

AndrewRogue: *she hums and practically skips along in the directions towards the Church of Gabe*

AndrewRogue: *she takes Kacey from her bag and grins at her* "Do you think he's here?"

AndrewRogue: "It would be neat if he was. And I'm sure he'll help." *she nods. Hours, days, weeks, months... she'd have them back*

AndrewRogue: *and she'll go up the stairs of the Church of Gabriel and head inside once she arrives. She needed to speak with a Cleric.*

SirAlexTheFirst: A middle-aged man in a green and white frock approaches you as requested. "Aye, madam?"

AndrewRogue: "Ah. I'm not sure you are the man I wanted to speak with. Is there a Brother or a father or a something Joseph here?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He contemplates this, rolling back his eyes for a moment. "No, I'm afraid I don't know any clergy here by that name. Do you need help finding somebody?"

AndrewRogue: "Yes actually!" *she grins* "Several persons. Can you do that for me?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Very well, very well. Come on in and sit down." He moves inside an office; the gold plate on the door reads "Pastor Keith Gravesmill".

AndrewRogue: *she does as asked, lying Kacey in her lap*

AndrewRogue: "Have you been here long Pastor Gravesmill?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Quite a cute puppy you have there." He smiles at you, answering "Not really, only about four years. Now, how I can help you with finding these people?"

AndrewRogue: "Thank you!" *she lays an elbow on his desk* "I know that Clerics like yourself have some really, raelly powerful magic. Don't you have spells to find people?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes, we do. Can you tell me anything about who you're looking for?"

AndrewRogue: "Yes! There's a few people though. Do you think you'll be able to try them all?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He pauses, curiously, then nods. "Yes, I think so. Please, go ahead."

AndrewRogue: "First I want you to find Hunter Sopko, the man who was in the news a little while ago. A member of Yaravon Trade Corporation." *she counts off on her fingers* "And then I'd like to know where Isawa Zao-Lot is. He

AndrewRogue: is a member of the Phoenix Clan in Nagukor. The location of Verity and Aurelia Liadon, if they even exist, would be nice too. They might be lovers or married or something. Aurelia is an elf at least. And..." *she looks

SirAlexTheFirst: Pastor Gravemill arches his eyebrows. "If they even exist? I'll do my best..."

AndrewRogue: thoughtful* "Maybe a man named Bandon too. I think he's a Priest of Luthien. Or maybe not here. Oh! And a Jerriford Stublin! He's a dwarf and should be a Cleric of Tiyrael. Or a warrior."

SirAlexTheFirst: Closing his eyes, the pastor begins to pray softly.

AndrewRogue: *she waits very quietly, whispering in the most hushed of tones to Kacey* "We'll see how much is real and how much isn't."

SirAlexTheFirst: After three or four minutes, he looks up at you, sadness evident in his eyes. "Miss, ah... none of those people are.... real, except for Hunter Sopko and he's..." He shakes his head.

AndrewRogue: *she grins* "Dead? Missing?"

AndrewRogue: *her expression falls* "Or is it something worse than that?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Missing, and he... doesn't want to be found."

AndrewRogue: "Aw. Now that's a shame. I really want to find him. You REALLY can't tell me where he is?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I'm sorry..." he shakes his head. "I've no information on him. He was in the papers, but... well, I don't know. He might have... died, or perhaps he just doesn't want to be found by anyone."

AndrewRogue: *she clicks her tounge* "Now that's all wrong."

AndrewRogue: "OH!"

AndrewRogue: "One more person!"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes?"

AndrewRogue: "A girl named Arianna."

SirAlexTheFirst: He nods, and sets to pray once more, but stops almost instantly. "Why, that's you, miss!"

AndrewRogue: *she chuckles* "You're good."

AndrewRogue: "Is there anyone better than you?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "It's not a question of better, I'm afraid. The spells either locate someone... or they don't."

AndrewRogue: "Shucks. That sucks, huh Kacey?" *she leans back in the chair thinking. Reality was wrong. And it bothered her so much.*

AndrewRogue: "How about Leatanna Scarlett?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Dutifully, he prays once more, for a bit longer than last time, then opens his eyes and replies "There is a lady by that name in Perenolde right now."

AndrewRogue: *she grinned* "Any more than that?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "A bit, but, I must confess, you've quite piqued my curiosity. Might I incquire as to why you're looking for these people?" he asks, hesistant.

AndrewRogue: "No real reason. Just solving a tiny problem."

AndrewRogue: *she stands up, tucking Kacey under an arm, and bows slightly towards Pastor Gravemill*

AndrewRogue: "Thank you very much for all your help! Maybe I'll see you again in some context."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I... well, no, I don't see. Is there any other way that I can help you with this problem, would you like to talk about it perhaps?"

AndrewRogue: *she waves him off* "Nope!"

AndrewRogue: "This is a problem I have to fix alone."

AndrewRogue: *she'll walk out the door* "Because everything else IS the problem."

SirAlexTheFirst: Gravesmill seems to accept this. "Good luck, then, young lady."

AndrewRogue: "Have a good day!"

AndrewRogue: *and she goes out, and goes on her way back to the teleporters*

AndrewRogue: "Now this isn't fair. Everything has changed so much."

AndrewRogue: "But I'll get back the way it needs to go. Let's see if she misses you."

AndrewRogue: *Its just like that cave, where nothing at all was right.*

AndrewRogue: *But this time I'm going to fix it. Such a shame none of them are around...*

AndrewRogue: *and upon arriving back at the teleporters, she will wait in line appropriately* "To Pernolde?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes, milady." And you are whisked there.

AndrewRogue: "What do you think? He seems to be the only constant. So maybe they are still where they should be." *and she will jog over towards the upper class district to seek out the Scarlett household, if its where it should be*

SirAlexTheFirst: The houses here are different than in your dream - much more modest, smaller, not so upper class at all. Where you remember Lea's being, there is only a grocery story.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs exasperatedly* "This is just getting annoying."

AndrewRogue: *But she heads in anyway. Her stomach hurts. She will locate a cookie and bring it up the the fron counter* "Hello!"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Hello. Half-dollar for that, please?" The young elven waif acting as cashier gives you her best trademark smile

AndrewRogue: *she rustles about in her pack for the appropriate coins, noting she probably should have organized her bills and coins and what not. She finally extracts the appropriate change and holds it out* "Excuse me, do you know

AndrewRogue: if a Leatanna Scarlett lives around here?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Lea?" She starts to make a face, but quickly regains her composure. "Yeah, I know where she lives. 246 Lowell Street, right around the corner from here. You looking for her?"

AndrewRogue: "I was close. Yep."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I hear she's working a lot, but you might catch her getting up." The cashier then turns to her next customer, giving you a good view of her shoulder in the cold air.

AndrewRogue: "Thanks a bundle!" *and she will indeed hustle towards the specific address. She didn't want to miss her*

AndrewRogue: *and upon arriving, she'll knock on the door*

SirAlexTheFirst: The house so indicated is... small. Not very high-class looking; in fact just the opposite. Your knock is not answered for almost a minute.

AndrewRogue: *she waits. Another lost minute or ten doesn't matter in the grand scheme*

SirAlexTheFirst: At last, a hand opens the door a crack. "Yes?"

AndrewRogue: "Are you Miss Leatanna Scarlett?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes. Who are you?"

AndrewRogue: "I'm Arianna. You really should know me, but I bet you won't."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Never heard of you. Don't pull this big-timer shit on me in the morning. I'm gone, y'hear?" The voice you hear sounds not at all like the Lea in your dreams, much shriller and angrier.

AndrewRogue: "Like I thought. Nothing is right. You aren't REALLY Leatanna."

AndrewRogue: *she shrugs* "But that doesn't matter really. Do you know what happened to Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: The door almost slams in your face - but is caught at the last second, and the hand pulls it back a tiny bit.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Who are you?" Lea's voice - not Lea's voice - quavers with fear now.

AndrewRogue: *she politely slides her foot to a point where the door can't quite be slammed with ease* "May I please come in Lea? I promise I don't mean anything bad. I'm just trying to fix my life."

SirAlexTheFirst: The door stays where it is. As does the voice. "No. Tell me what you know about Hunter. Right now. Where is he? What did you do to him? Do you even know anything about him?"

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "Well this is a drag. I know a lot about him, but its probably all wrong." *she hugs Kacey just below her chest* "You love him a lot though. Just like I do. Its tough to explain really. But that is

AndrewRogue: why I came here. I hoped you'd know where he was."

AndrewRogue: "Finding him would solve a lot of problems. And not just mine."

SirAlexTheFirst: The door opens, fully.

SirAlexTheFirst: An elven girl stands there, with pale, almost albino skin, freckles covering most of her face, and glasses which she knocks askew wiping tears from her eyes. "What do you mean, you loved him a lot?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Her voice is almost breaking./

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't move the foot quite yet* "Hello Lea! You're a lot prettier than you are." *she sighs* "Its really, really, really tough to explain."

AndrewRogue: "But you are Leatanna. But you are not. And I'm trying to fix that."

SirAlexTheFirst: Lea says nothing, listening to you.

AndrewRogue: "And when you were Leatanna, you worked at Yaravon Trade Corporation."

AndrewRogue: "And Hunter loved you very much, but he ran away after the bridge thing."

AndrewRogue: "And then he got involved on a whole stupid thing and he met you again in Asgard. And you left him there."

AndrewRogue: "But you met him again! But I'd fallen in love with him too. And it was horribly awkward because he loved us both."

AndrewRogue: "And then things went all wrong."

AndrewRogue: "I died. Reality broke."

AndrewRogue: "And poor Hunter is really in trouble."

AndrewRogue: "All of them are really."

AndrewRogue: "But you were happier."

SirAlexTheFirst: She whispers, "I don't care whether you're some crazyfuck girl he was cheating on me with or a hallucination or someone trying to blackmail me. Either tell me where Hunter is, kill me, or get the fuck off of my porch."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "Now that's the Leatanna I know! But no, he would never ever cheat on you. But that's the problem. I only have one guess where Hunter is. I was hoping maybe you knew where he was for sure."

AndrewRogue: "Oh well! Guess we have to try again Kacey. I'll see you again when I make everything right again Lea!"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Tell me. Right now."

AndrewRogue: "Weeeeeell... if she does exist, than maybe he's back in Whittyre with Miss Mab."

AndrewRogue: "Because that's where he was when he killed me. That room she locked him in."

SirAlexTheFirst: Lea stares at you for an instant more, then mutters "Crazy fucker." And shouts "MOM! THERE'S A CRAZY LADY ON THE PORCH AND SHE'S SCARING ME!"

AndrewRogue: *she clicks her tounge and walks off* "Figures."

AndrewRogue: *she'll finally start munching on the cookie, finally starting to look worn out as she walks on back towards the teleporters*

AndrewRogue: "Everything is all wrong. But that's why I have this strong will or whatever Nellix said, ain't that right? I'll fix this and bring my dreams back. And make everything all right again."

AndrewRogue: *that does give her an idea as she walks back towards the teleporters. Probably won't work considering everything else is broken...* ~Neeeelix! Are you not listening to me anymore either?~

SirAlexTheFirst: Nothing answers you.

AndrewRogue: *she tosses Kacey up in the air and catches her and goes to the teleporters. This was getting annoying. But she had to do it.*

AndrewRogue: "Oh well. As long as I have you here I know the things I hold precious are real, ain't that right?"

AndrewRogue: *she will reach the teleporters again and she shall again request a trip* "Whittyre?"

SirAlexTheFirst: The attendant frowns, surprised. "Whittyre? Really? Um... where?"

AndrewRogue: "The city."

AndrewRogue: "In the desert."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Lady, there's no city down there that I know of. Just desert. Town might be the word you're lookin for.. but, okay, I guess. Which to-er, city did you want?"

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "So difficult. But I don't care. Do you have a list?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Only places with service right now are Shelocta, Round Rock, and Evrainstown."

AndrewRogue: "This day will just keep going... let's start with Evrainstown!"

AndrewRogue: *she grins* "Sounds like a neat town."

SirAlexTheFirst: "All right, all right." Shaking his head, the man flips the switch, and a sudden blast of heat hits your face.

SirAlexTheFirst: The teleporter you've arrived at is a very small building, made out of wood and metal - you can see the construction even now, and there are no people in sight.

AndrewRogue: *she blinks dazedly, unused to that as she extracts herself from the teleporter. Whittyre wasn't supposed to be hot like this. But it was in the desert.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Through the windows, you can see a blazing bright sun heating an open wasteland, and that doesn't change when you exit the building.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs and looks at Kacey* "This is just getting more and more wrong. But I guess if I have to hunt every square inch of the surface of Amaryllis to get things back, then I will." *and she does indeed exit the building

AndrewRogue: wondering what this dream town looks like*\

SirAlexTheFirst: A dirt road leads down from here to a quaint-looking town, mostly made of low buildings of stone and mud. Wood seems to be something of a luxury.

AndrewRogue: *she has the decency to look annoyed at the way things were arrayed* "Whoever is doing this to me..." *she bites off the complaint. Whining wouldn't fix it*

SirAlexTheFirst: Everything is terribly hot, even though it still seems to be early in the morning. In contrast to everywhere else you've been in the past couple of days, this town is bustling with all sorts of people.

AndrewRogue: *unsure of where to start this time, she will take some time to wander around the town... see the people... see the places... find one of those little hints of things she knew were true*

SirAlexTheFirst: Most of the folk you pass at least nod to you as you pass, and many wave and say "Hello!" or "Good morning!"

SirAlexTheFirst: They're uniformly dressed casually, yet hardly uniformly dressed, and look more diverse than anyplace you've ever been.... as well as much more earthy and simply.

SirAlexTheFirst: *simple.

AndrewRogue: *Well now that's different! She isn't used to that, and she politely returns their gestures. There are some similarities but... a church. Or a big building where lots of people worked. One of the two. That's what she needed*

SirAlexTheFirst: None of the buildings seem very much larger than the others, but there is a church of Tiyreal near the center of the town.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs. Not really what she wanted, but it would suffice*

AndrewRogue: *the heat was wearing her out. Or maybe she was simply exhausting herself*

AndrewRogue: *She really couldn't tell*

AndrewRogue: *she goes forth to the Church, and again seeks out a Cleric to speak with*

SirAlexTheFirst: The interior is not very grand, but it seems people have done their best to paint the walls, similar to what you saw in the Asgard teleporters.

SirAlexTheFirst: One man only stands inside the building, and eagerly approaches you as you enter. "Good morning! I am Father Lucan, I do not believe I have seen you here before?"

AndrewRogue: "Nope. Or maybe I have. Who knows?"

AndrewRogue: "But how are you Father Lucan?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I am very well this morning, very well indeed, and yourself, madam?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He quickly pulls forth a chair from the rows facing the altar, and motions for you to sit. "May I get you some water, perhaps?"

AndrewRogue: "Well enough. A little tired. But hey! I'm in good spirits and ready to face down the world."

AndrewRogue: "And sure."

AndrewRogue: *she takes the seat, smiling*

SirAlexTheFirst: He dashes to the back of the room and procures a glass from a cabinet, bringing it back to you filled with crystal-clear water. "And what may God do for you this morning?"

AndrewRogue: *she accepts it thankfully, not having realized how thirsty she was. Blasted heat.* "He can help me fix my world. Or maybe tell me where someone is. I wouldn't suppose Throkk or Glaysa visit here much, do they?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Their spirits have not been seen here, no. Who may God help you find, miss..?"

AndrewRogue: "Arianna. Or Aria. Whichever."

AndrewRogue: *she plays idly with Kacey's ears as she thinks* "Hmmm... is there perhaps a woman named Mab you could find for me? She and I... did not get along well."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I have not heard of a lady by that name in this town, no, though I am sure there are several so named in the world. Tell me about her, please?"

AndrewRogue: "How to best describe her... she went by the title Miss Mab. And she was a very bad person and she wanted to do some horrible things to me I think. She was with a friend of mine last I knew."

AndrewRogue: "I think that maybe she had something to do with Sakhmet."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Ahh.. this Miss Mab sounds like a muchly evil woman, indeed. I will certainly see what I can do - let us pray together."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "All right Father Lucan."

SirAlexTheFirst: So saying, Father Lucan bows his head and mutters words you can barely understand for a long time. The words are rhythmic, and fill you with a sense of peace and acceptance.

AndrewRogue: *she closes her eyes and sets the glass down, holding her plush tightly as she listens*

SirAlexTheFirst: At last he puts a hand on your shoulder. "Daughter of God, I am told that there is no such person who has gone by that name and that description. The evil ones in our times are known to God..."

SirAlexTheFirst: "He would certainly tell you if there was such a vile creature. But.. it would seem to me that you are perhaps mistaken? Why do you think this lady has dealings with the Evil One?"

AndrewRogue: "Just a guess from what happened when I met her. Its a long and difficult story to explain, and none of it is real until I can make it real again anyway."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Ahh, not real? A dream, perhaps?"

AndrewRogue: "A dream indeed."

AndrewRogue: "But it was the truth."

AndrewRogue: "And now all this is the dream."

SirAlexTheFirst: The Father's forehead creases into a mass of wrinkles as he frowns in concern. "Dear daughter, is it right to say that such dreams are real, when they make people into monsters?"

AndrewRogue: "A monster is a monster no matter how you clothe it. Is it right to say this dream is any more real when it brings despair and hopelessness to those who were better satisfied?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Look around you. Am I not here? Are we not sitting in the church, in Evrainstown? Is it not morning? Dear daughter, there are dreams, and there is reality. We tell them apart because we return from the dreams."

AndrewRogue: *she chuckles softly* "But to which is the one that I return Father? Which one is real and which on is a dream? A few days ago I was... hmm... was it a double shift I was working at Daryl's? But that same day I was

AndrewRogue: elsewhere, the city of Pernolde, in a strange tryst with one whom I love."

AndrewRogue: "Just as I hold Kacey against my chest now, Hunter shattered my neck in whatever foul manner had possessed him"

AndrewRogue: "Tell me... I can feel every pang now of love and friendship that doesn't exist here."

SirAlexTheFirst: "And yet," the priest observes, "you are here, alive, your neck is not shattered, and you hold a very sweet stuffed animal."

AndrewRogue: *she chuckles* "And yet, how do I know I am?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "If you cannot trust your own senses, what can you trust, then? Look around you, smell the earth, taste the water, feel the ground beneath your feet. Magic can fool the senses for a time, but not like this."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Love and friendship - I am sorry you do not feel they are here for you, but I assure you they are. I love this land, I love my wife, I consider you a friend even though I have barely met you, Lady Aria."

AndrewRogue: "Then who is to say you are not as real as they are Father Lucan? Whittyre feels more real than the rest of the world."

AndrewRogue: "Why is the rest so cold and empty?"

AndrewRogue: "It was Whittyre that was like it."

AndrewRogue: "Maybe this is what is supposed to be there."

AndrewRogue: "And you are just as real as Hunter and Zao and Jerri. Its just the rest of the world lying to me."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Maybe, child, maybe. Perhaps God is trying to show you something, to show you that the world is not really that cold. Perhaps you are just not looking in the right places?"

AndrewRogue: "Of course I'm not." *she grins*

AndrewRogue: "Otherwise I would have found my answer by now."

AndrewRogue: "But my answer is hiding. And I think its here somewhere."

AndrewRogue: "But he's doing a real good job and it bothers me."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Hmmmm. Is there any way I can help you find this answer? Do you even know what you are really looking for?"

AndrewRogue: "Nope! But I know who I want to find, and I think he's the answer to my quandy of reality and dream and what I feel."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Who do you want to find, then?"

AndrewRogue: "The man named Hunter Sopko."

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "But despite being one of the few I know who's real, he seems to have fallen off the face of the world."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Perhaps I can help, then." Father Lucan repeats his earlier process, and once again, a feeling of inner peace and warmth fills you.

AndrewRogue: *she closes her eyes and again listens*

SirAlexTheFirst: When his chanting finishes again, he sighs. "Dear Daughter, he is alive and well - but he wishes to be alone, to be away from the world. I am at a loss - it is a sin against him to tell you where to find him."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yet you are struggling, struggling hard with your dreams and your sadness. I need no spell to find that in your countenance. It is a sin against you to leave you alone."

AndrewRogue: "Then it would be wrong of me to ask of you to tell me where he is Father Lucan. But you need feel no such burden with me. You have at least provided to me the knowledge that the object of my search does exist."

SirAlexTheFirst: "He does. But if you are still going to try to find him, I must warn you - he may not be the Hunter Sopko you have dreams of."

AndrewRogue: "Of course not. Like no one and nothing in this world is. Or perhaps he is the Hunter I am dreaming of, a parody of the real Hunter. Dreams and Reality... if you feel the same in both, then how are they different? Which

AndrewRogue: one is the dream, which one os the reality? If you die while you dream, do you awake, and if you die while you wake, do you dream?"

AndrewRogue: "If I could feel the dream just like I can feel this chair, this heat, this air... then who is to say what is real or what is not?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I... do not know." He bows his head. "I know only what I feel, and I feel that this is real."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "Yes. And I know only what I feel."

AndrewRogue: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

—SEGMENT MISSING—

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

AndrewRogue: *Aria sighs. Whatever was going to happen... it was going to be a lot harder than she had wanted. But she knew that in the end it would be worth it. She just had to keep her hopes up.*

AndrewRogue: *the pack on her back felt strangely heavy though. Father Luncan was right in some ways. Even if this was a dream... she knew her parents still loved her. It would be wrong to hurt them like this. There were s

AndrewRogue: till a couple less drastic ideas she could use first. She hugged Kacey tightly, seeking the feeling of the entire plush. She could FEEL it and she KNEW it was real. And because she KNEW it was real she knew that...

AndrewRogue: that they were real too.*

AndrewRogue: *she walked back towards the teleporter. She'd go back to Gelendar and then go see if maybe there was any news about Hunter. And then she'd buy a book. It gave her an excuse for why she was out* "That's a good

AndrewRogue: idea, isn't it Kacey?"

AndrewRogue: *and with that, she returns to the teleporter shed*

SirAlexTheFirst: There still aren't any people there. Merely a shed, and a small metal booth.

AndrewRogue: *she'll step into the booth thing*

SirAlexTheFirst: Upon doing so, you reappear in the Perenolde teleporter building from whence you came.

AndrewRogue: *she returns to the man at charge at the desk* "To Gelendar?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He raises an eyebrow at you. "Back from the desert, huh? Sure thing, hop on in."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "Thank you!"

AndrewRogue: *and she does so*

SirAlexTheFirst: And you're back in your home city.

AndrewRogue: *Aria idly glances at a clock/sun/timekeeping device to see what time it is*

SirAlexTheFirst: Still rather early, about 11.

AndrewRogue: *she takes a moment to think. There was a bookstore over in the shopping district... and there'd been a newstand right around there, right? She sighs. Her memory was beginning to frustrate her*

AndrewRogue: *But nonetheless... she heads in that direction. If it wasn't right by it, it was pretty near.

AndrewRogue: *

SirAlexTheFirst: Your memory turns out to be correct after all - the bookstore, the newstand, all the shops are right where they've been for... well, not forever, but long times.

AndrewRogue: *she's thankful at least something turned out. She approaches the man tending it* "Hello!" *and she will quickly browse the various periodicals to see if there is a mention of Hunter*

SirAlexTheFirst: He nods to you. "Morning, Aria. Looking for something?"

AndrewRogue: "Just looking for news. Hey, did anything mroe ever come up about that Mister Sopko?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Sopko... oh, that poor kid? Nothing in the news. They can't find him. Sad story, that one..."

AndrewRogue: "That's... that's a real shame. Nothing at all?"

SirAlexTheFirst: The owner shakes his head. "Nope. What's got you interested in him?"

AndrewRogue: "Just an interest I've had for a long time."

AndrewRogue: "Its a real sad story what happened to him."

SirAlexTheFirst: "A long time, huh? Did you know him or something?"

AndrewRogue: *she nods*

AndrewRogue: "At least... I think I did."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, goodness." He shakes his head in astonishment. "Well, the tabloids have stories on him, of course, but they're just making things up. I don't recall reading anything remotely reliable on him since last week.

AndrewRogue: "Do you still have any tabloid stuff left?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, always. But I wouldn't bother yourself looking at them if I were you, especially if I knew him..."

AndrewRogue: "It doesn't hurt to look anyway." *she smiles*'

SirAlexTheFirst: "You sure? Aria, these things just make their stories up and tell people what they want to hear. It.. might hurt you, actually..."

AndrewRogue: "I know. But I also know Hunter. There's always the off-chance they might somehow get something right, and I can't afford to miss that chance Mister Stevens."

SirAlexTheFirst: "That's how it is, eh? Well... as long as you don't get your hopes up..." He dips beneath the counter for a moment, and comes up with a light armful of tabloid. "Look on through these. Good luck finding him!

AndrewRogue: *she digs out several bills and coins and hands them over* "Thank you." *and she stuffs them as best she can into her bag*

SirAlexTheFirst: Mr. Stevens waves your money back. "Don't need to pay me for these, Aria. Just be careful, and keep your brain working."

AndrewRogue: "I will." *and she will trot on over to the bookstore briefly and, quite literally, grab a random title to buy*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Chronicles of the Warriors of Hope?

AndrewRogue: *she looks at it for a moment and blinks* "Well... that was... that was silly of me." *she stops for a moment and flips through it anyway wondering if it was the same edition*

SirAlexTheFirst: It seems to be, but there are a few slight changes. The cover has a gold trim border, a few of the chapter titles are different...

AndrewRogue: *she sighs as she puts it up. Another thing that had changed*

AndrewRogue: *she reaches for elsewhere, this time grabbing a book that hopefully wasn't one she owned*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Raising of Amaryllis Flowers?

AndrewRogue: *she grits her teeth slightly. This was turning out harder than it normally was. She sets the book back, tucking Kacey under her arm. And this time she grabs for a book on a fiction shelf.*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Herald of Zakarum?

AndrewRogue: *she glances at the description briefly. She... couldn't recall this one. New maybe?*

SirAlexTheFirst: Fairly new, seems like your run of the mill novel about paladins, love, and fighting.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs. Good enough. She shifts her pack to dig out the money she needed and takes it to the front counter to purchase it.*

SirAlexTheFirst: The clerk barely glances at you, rings the book up, and that's that.

AndrewRogue: *she tucks that under and arm with Kacey and she'll return home, humming to herself*

AndrewRogue: *and upon arriving home, she will let her parents know she has returned* "Mom! Dad! I'm back!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Nobody answers you.

AndrewRogue: *Well now that is odd... she will look around the house to see if they are around and just didn't hear her.*

SirAlexTheFirst: And they don't seem to be home, either.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs and at least goes to look whether it looks like her note was disturbed*

SirAlexTheFirst: It's still there, but written beneath, in your mother's handwriting, is

SirAlexTheFirst: Have a good day, dear. I've gone shopping and out with friends - back tonight! - Mom

AndrewRogue: "Well..." *she slumps slightly as she looks about the empty house. It was... pretty close to the last thing she wanted to see. She will drag herself upstairs and unpack, tossing the tabloids onto the bed and returning her

AndrewRogue: clothes to their drawers and hangers. Then, with a resigned expression, she seats herself and Kacey on the bed and begins to read for Hunter related news.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Surprisingly few of the tabloids actually have anything regarding Hunter.

SirAlexTheFirst: Of the ones that do....

SirAlexTheFirst: Matricidal Trader Flees Father's Wrath!

SirAlexTheFirst: Young Romantic Kills Self, Mother After Engagement Broken!

SirAlexTheFirst: Sopko Family Heir Spotted in Wildlands!

AndrewRogue: *she frowns at that one. She knows tabloids are just supposed to be made up stories... but... She takes the time to read that article*

SirAlexTheFirst: Werecat Scandal Forces Young Man Into Hiding!

SirAlexTheFirst: The article in question is really rather mild for a tabloid. It greatly plays up the mystery surrounding the death of Mrs. Sopko and the events between Hunter and Lea, and ends with "Artist's renditios

SirAlexTheFirst: of young Sopko as spotted in the Wildlands of Penobscot by children!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Which is a short photospread of a shadowy figure in some nondescript trees, leering over a frightened-looking band of small children.

SirAlexTheFirst: It says nothing about where in the WIldlands this was, or the names of the children, or any specific information.

AndrewRogue: *she tears that article out and folds it up, setting it under her pillow. Provided that was all of them, she will toss the rest of the tabloids into the waste bin and then lay out with that new book for a few moments, her

AndrewRogue: mind racing, and allow herself to drop into a nap after a few pages*

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~? Or more?

AndrewRogue: (More. 10-15 minute power nap to help clear her mind)

AndrewRogue: *after a scant few minutes, she sits up, her stomach growling in protest. Apparently the cookie was not enough for her this morning. She stuffs the article into her pocket and goes downstairs and makes herself a sandwhich

AndrewRogue: , simply tossing the various lunchmeats and veggies they possess onto it. She didn't really care what was on it. She just wanted to eat. And think. The Wildlands... how dangerous were they again?*

AndrewRogue: *her appetite diminishes rapidly into the first few bites, and her eating slows. That's how it always was. It was only midday though... maybe she could follow up on this and see if she could substantiate anything. She

AndrewRogue: finished the sandwhich, placing it in the sink before she returned upstairs to grab Kacey. She doubted she'd actually try to hike into the Wildlands today but... she went downstairs to see if that sturdy staff was still

AndrewRogue: in the closet.*

SirAlexTheFirst: It is.

AndrewRogue: *she takes it and then returns to the kitchen to amend the note- Got back. Feeling a lot better today. Decided to go out for a hike and get some fresh air. Back tonight.*

AndrewRogue: *she looked at the note regretfully. This was probably another wild goose chase and she'd be back sooner. But still... she wanted it so much to be the actual case. Of course she wanted him to be THE Hunter too... but

AndrewRogue: ... it would be something to find even A Hunter, wouldn't it?*

AndrewRogue: *wish Plush of Support, Sturdy Staff and Tabloid Article in hand, she sets out for the teleporter again*

SirAlexTheFirst: Where to this time?

AndrewRogue: "Penobscot please!"

SirAlexTheFirst: The attendant nods and asks "What city?"

AndrewRogue: *she falters a bit* "No... big capital city?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Big capital city? In Penobscot?" She glances up at you. "Do your parents know you're traveling out there?"

AndrewRogue: *Aria laughs weakly for a moment* "Apparently... apparently my geography has been getting neglected." *and she turns on heel and walks out embarassdly. Not knowing where in Penobscot to start would be a problem...

AndrewRogue: She sighs. Square one again. She thought a central city would be a great place to start... Her feet carry her as she is lost in thought. If this was really Hunter though... she couldn't miss a chance... Her footsteps guide

AndrewRogue: her to where the Church of Christ was/had been. Maybe Nellix, or at least one of his rare folllowers, would speak with her.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Had been, in your dreams, for there is nothing there now save a sculpture.

SirAlexTheFirst: A spire, one might say, or a pillar, of crystal, rises from the ground in the small lot between businesses.

AndrewRogue: *she blinks for a moment or two. That... that couldn't be right. She had been sure... She runs a hand through her hair, getting frustrated as she finds an unfamiliar ribbon tied in it. She walks up to the sculpture to examine

AndrewRogue: it closely*

SirAlexTheFirst: It stands about ten feet high, immaculately smooth and clear, yet pulsing with lines of inner light. At the top, there is a section missing, or perhaps the tip extends up and bends over itself.

SirAlexTheFirst: The very apex comes to a sharp line, and two sea-green gems are inset on either side of the top section, creating a net effect of a head gazing downwards, perhaps of some birdlike creature.

SirAlexTheFirst: The tip of its beak, and indeed the facing of the entire sculpture, is not level with the street - it faces it at a slight slant, to the south but a little bit westwards as well.

SirAlexTheFirst: The area around this monument is clear, with verdant green grass growing. Not a weed in sight, though there are several flowers.

AndrewRogue: *she looks about for a plaque of something identifying the odd statue*

SirAlexTheFirst: There is none.

AndrewRogue: *she stares at it. And she stares at the odd way it sits*

SirAlexTheFirst: It almost seems to stare back at you...

AndrewRogue: *she matches the gaze of the eerie statue* "And why are you here?"

AndrewRogue: "The Church of Christ is supposed to be."

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "But I suppose you can't answer that."

SirAlexTheFirst: Regardless of if it can or not, it doesn't.

AndrewRogue: *she looks at the way its beak is tilted and then giggles. It was a horribly blatently stupidly insane sorta thing.*

AndrewRogue: *but she looks at it again, and at its odd facing, and at its oddly staring eyes that had the magic the fountain had lacked*

AndrewRogue: *And she starts walking in the way its pointing.*

AndrewRogue: "Isn't this stupid Kacey?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Kacey, like the statue, doesn't answer you, and there is nothing in particular where the statue is pointing. Just a coffee shop, and more streets beyond that

AndrewRogue: *she laughs weakly* "Who would have guessed it wouldn't lead anywhere."

AndrewRogue: *she takes a seat over at the coffee shop and leans back, wondering why that statue bothered her so much. She'd seen something like it before... hadn't she? It was... at Sithicus. The Palace of Ice...*

AndrewRogue: *Aria stands up suddenly and begins rushing back towards home, and upon arriving back, she will hastily dig out a map of Amaryllis. It was silly... stupid... storybook stuff...*

AndrewRogue: *But dammit, that's what she had grown up on*

AndrewRogue: *Aria looks at the map and quickly draws an X on a spot in the wildlands. She wasn't sure... maybe she was just making up answers for herself... She would try anyway though... But first...*

AndrewRogue: *she stuffed the map back into her pocket. She was probably making this all up, answers to comfort her... She quickly makes her way back to the teleporters* "To Asgard please?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Bamf.

AndrewRogue: *upone arrival she turns to one of the workers* "Excuse me... which way is it to the Temple of Light?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He looks at you in the manner which the other attendant did when you asked to go to "Penobscot".

SirAlexTheFirst: "It is the grandest structure in the center of the city. Simply follow the roads and keep it in view - it is impossible to miss."

AndrewRogue: "You'd be amazed." *but she hustles out and follows his instructions to get there*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Temple of Light is as the man said, and as you remember it. And a little bit more.

SirAlexTheFirst: Even as you're approaching it, through the crowds of people coming and going to worship, to take in the marvel, or whatever they're doing... you can match the area up with your dream almost perfectly.

SirAlexTheFirst: Just take that corner off of the temple, and put a crack in that window...

AndrewRogue: *Aria gazes about at it. It was impossible... she hadn't been here before... right? This was just like the place in Hell... it was impossible for her to have duplicated it perfectly... right? She countinues gazing... matching...

AndrewRogue: avoiding shaking with eagerness or fear or something...*

SirAlexTheFirst: There's even a small collection of crosses outside the cathedral. The graveyard is slightly larger than you remember, but not by too much.

AndrewRogue: *she controls herself carefully, not wanting to start shaking in the middle of the Temple as she walks up the aisle. It HAD to be real. This... this meant it HAD to be.*

AndrewRogue: *her eyes vaguely cast to where Nellix had been standing, the place he had sat, the place where she had been lain down when he had accepted that she was her...*

SirAlexTheFirst: Nobody's standing there at the moment, and there are people with their heads bowed in prayer in those pews.

AndrewRogue: *she walks to the very front of the Temple to look at the stained glass window, one of the first things she had scene. Her heart pounds in her chest at the dr... NO. At the memory.*

SirAlexTheFirst has left the room.

SirAlexTheFirst has entered the room.

AndrewRogue: *and then... she will seek out a priest or priestess or someone*

SirAlexTheFirst: There are quite a few of them around.

SirAlexTheFirst: Looking for just anyone?

AndrewRogue: Preferably someone higher up or any faces that look oddly familiar.

SirAlexTheFirst: Both of these traits come together in the priest wearing the most bling bling, as it were. He is an old man, grizzled and dignified, and gives you the same feeling of calm that Brother Joe did in your dream.

SirAlexTheFirst: Or memory?

SirAlexTheFirst: "Welcome, Arianna of Gelendar. I am Father Kain." He bows to his knees. "How may I be of assistance to you?"

AndrewRogue: *she blinks* "H-how do you know my name?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "God has given me the gift of seeing into the hearts of those who approach him without malice." He bows his head, then stands again.

AndrewRogue: "You... can see into my heart?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I can. I see that you are devoted to goodness, and loyal to your friends even unto death. I see that you have come here seeking answers, and, perhaps, already found some just by being here.

SirAlexTheFirst: This brings joy to my heart. So I ask, now, what may I do to serve you?"

AndrewRogue: "I... why am I here? This place its... its just like I remember it."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Your parents have brought you here before, when you were young. As to why you are here - well, that is my question. What answers are you seeking?"

AndrewRogue: "No. That can't be it. That wasn't when I was here before. I can't even remember that..."

AndrewRogue: "I... I... is this really my life Father Kain?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "In what sense do you mean that?"

AndrewRogue: "You can see into my heart... what's their Father. You see I'm loyal to my friends unto death... that I'm devoted to... but... Here I'm just some common girl..."

AndrewRogue: "What is going on with me Father Kain? Why can't I remember what is real and what isn't?"

AndrewRogue: "Where is... where is Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Father Kain takes some time before replying.

SirAlexTheFirst: Then he holds your hand, if you will let him, and speaks.

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't stop him*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Lady Arianna, you always have been, and always will be, just a common girl. Yet you are also a warrior, a paladin in your own right, a defender of honor and your dear friends.

SirAlexTheFirst: Heroes are not mythical figures with purposes and emotions higher than anyone else - they are human, just like you and I. Being 'just a girl' does not make you any less, or any more, of a champion. Your heart knows.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter Sopko, the young man you seek, is in fact here. I will show you to him shortly, if you wish. He came here in sorrow and has refused most help, but is seeking his own way to redemption.

SirAlexTheFirst: As for what is real - what do you think is real? If you can feel in a dream, walk, talk, live in one - then you are in reality, you have made it so. Most people cannot do this. Even as they dream, they know they are dreaming.

SirAlexTheFirst: You say you can, and I feel you may perhaps be right. But there is one true reality from whence your soul originated, wherever it may be now.

SirAlexTheFirst: Even when the dreamers have left their dreams, I think the dreams may perhaps remain, even remain real. But there is a base the dreamers return to, eventually. What this base is I cannot say.

SirAlexTheFirst: Perhaps it is this reality, perhaps not, and perhaps there is yet another truth that is beyond my ken."

SirAlexTheFirst: He looks towards Aria, to see her responses.

AndrewRogue: "What are dreams Father?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He smiles. "I do not know."

AndrewRogue: *she is quiet for a long moment* "Do you think its possible to somehow return to a dream you have left Father? Or... perhaps wake up from a dream in which you have been trapped?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "The latter, most assuredly. The former... I would also think so, though the prospect seems dangerous."

AndrewRogue: "I... Hunter is really here?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "He is indeed. Would you go to him now?"

AndrewRogue: "I..." *she swallows... she's not quite sure of what to make of his words. Of dreams. Of reality. Of anything. Is this Hunter even Hunter? It didn't matter. She wanted... she NEEDED to see him.*

AndrewRogue: "Yes. I-if he'll see someone."

SirAlexTheFirst: "He claims he will not, but I will make him see you. You seem to know him, although you have never met him." Father Kain bows to you again.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Please, follow me?"

AndrewRogue: *she nods uneasily*

AndrewRogue: *Eager? Worried? Upset? Excited?*

AndrewRogue: "Y-yes Father Kain."

SirAlexTheFirst: The Father leads you off into the side offices of the temple, and downstairs to the priests's quarters, and finally down to the rooms of those staying at the temple. All along the way are fabulous works of art and wonders.

SirAlexTheFirst: Not even a majority of these are devoted to Tiyreal in particular - they are all about the ideals of good, in any form they may come.

SirAlexTheFirst: At last the Father stops, pulls a key out of his robes, unlocks a certain door, and enters, announcing "Hunter Sopko, you have a guest."

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't hesitate, she doesn't wait... Now or never. She steps in behind Father Kain.*

AndrewRogue: *and she looks upon the man named Hunter Sopko*

SirAlexTheFirst: And Hunter is there. The Hunter you know. Dressed in simple acolyte's robes, but Hunter nonetheless.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter looks at Father Kain, surprised. "I thought I asked you not to accept visitors on my behalf. I... I don't even know this girl. What's going on?"

SirAlexTheFirst: And, to you, "And who are you? Madam?" He awkwardly drops to one knee with a sidelong glance at the priest.

AndrewRogue: "I... my name is Arianna."

SirAlexTheFirst: He gets up again, and grins sheepishly. "Sorry, I guess that was kinda rude. I still have no idea who you are, though."

AndrewRogue: *she keeps her expression calm as she can... This meant there had to be something to it. This was the man she had known...* "I... I had hoped otherwise, but I didn't expect you to."

AndrewRogue: "So why did you come here Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He blinks, trying to keep a neutral expression, though he also shoots another glare at Father Kain. "I'm sorry, but I really can't answer that. In fact, I'd really prefer to be left alone here."

AndrewRogue: "Father Kain... may I please speak alone with him?"

AndrewRogue: *its not a demand or even harsh... just a gentle plea*

SirAlexTheFirst: Father Kain was about to say something, but nods instead. "Most certainly." He withdraws and closes the door behind him.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter looks even more annoyed at this, almost downright angry, and cuts the neutrality. "Okay, what the he- well, what's going on here? Who are you?"

AndrewRogue: "I doubt this means anything to you, but I'm Aria." *she sighs softly* "And I'm a girl who loved Hunter Sopko and would do anything to keep him, and all my other friends, safe."

SirAlexTheFirst: He stares, trying to figure this out.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Is that some sort of threat?"

AndrewRogue: *she shakes her head* "Not in the least. Its... tough to explain Hunter. Dreams and reality... suffice to say that there was a Hunter Sopko I knew closely. A silly man who tried to always work so hard to make things

AndrewRogue: work out or do the right thing. He wasn't fearless... and maybe he was still running from something... but I loved him anyway." *she spreads her hands wide* "And then I woke up. My 'dream' was gone."

AndrewRogue: "But you really don't care what some silly girl has to say, do you?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "No, not really. If you actually knew me and loved me, and aren't as crazy as you seem, then you know I was engaged, to someone who isn't you, and whom I still love very much."

AndrewRogue: "Leatanna Scarlett."

SirAlexTheFirst: "So, you do know..." he starts to smile, but then it fades. "So why are you here?"

AndrewRogue: "I'm honestly disappointed in you Hunter."

AndrewRogue: "She was a mess when I saw her."

SirAlexTheFirst: "And that's why I left her. I love her, and her father loves me, and my family's money, but she wasn't so hot on things. Then I... killed my mother... and, well. I'm not going to subject her to that."

SirAlexTheFirst: He frowns at you. "Saw her? Were you bothering her?"

AndrewRogue: "Which was why she was crying and demanding to know where you were Hunter?"

AndrewRogue: *she blatently ignores the question*

SirAlexTheFirst: "..."

AndrewRogue: "So Hunter... you aren't going to subject her to the pain of being with this disgraced you? Who cut the bridge out from under the caravan?"

AndrewRogue: *One who

SirAlexTheFirst: "I didn't cut it out... but yeah." He nods, all the while giving you an icy glare.

AndrewRogue: "You said you killed your mother though."

SirAlexTheFirst: "It was my job to inspect the bridge and make sure that it was safe to cross. I inspected it, approved it, and it wasn't. Now will you please get out and leave me alone?" He sighs.

AndrewRogue: "You always said that too. And you know what? No one ever found out what was wrong with the bridge."

AndrewRogue: "It should have held."

AndrewRogue: "But it didn't."

AndrewRogue: "Is that your fault?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Of course they haven't found out why, it's collapsed now, and who really cares?" Hunter shakes his head. "Look, do you have a point to coming in here or not?"

AndrewRogue: "I wanted to see if my dreams were real. Why are you here Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I wanted to spare Lea the pain of being married off to me, and spare my father the pain of having me around. And the Yarovan fired me, so I had no place to go anyway."

AndrewRogue: "And now you just sit in this room? Alone? Seeking atonement?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I work here, as an acolyte. Not very well, but I'm learning."

AndrewRogue: "Who are you trying to spare the pain for Hunter Sopko?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "What?"

AndrewRogue: "You say you want to spare Lea the pain of being married to you. Is that really what you are trying to do?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "YES! No, I do not secretly hate her and am in love with you. Yes, you are insane."

AndrewRogue: "Maybe I am insane." *she chuckles ever so weakly* "I probably am. But at least I'm not a coward Hunter Sopko. You don't even deserve that name. At least Hunter tried to face his problems. You? You're just going to

AndrewRogue: run away and pretend they don't even exist. Tuck your tail between your legs because you can't deal with it. Tell me why the hell she answered her door crying and wanting to know so badly where you were."

AndrewRogue: "You don't really love her."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Probably because her father started beating her for letting me disappear. I want to kill him when I get out of here... but there's nothing I can do right now."

AndrewRogue: "Oh?"

AndrewRogue: "Why not?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Because I'm here."

AndrewRogue: "And why are you here?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I already told you that. Why are YOU here?"

AndrewRogue: "Because unlike you, I was willing to work for my love. I was ready wander into the Wildlands, scour every inch of Amaryllis to find Hunter and my friends, proof that it wasn't all a waste." *she steps forward to close

AndrewRogue: the distance between them* "And instead I find you. A coward." *she clenches a fist tightly* "You say you love Lea? You don't even know the first meaning of the word. You talk about wanting to spare her the pain

AndrewRogue: of being married to you. Then you brush off her tears as her father's beatings." *her other fist clenches as her voice takes on a dangerous tone* "Where are you then Hunter? If you can so casually dismiss that as her

AndrewRogue: father beating her, were the hell are you? You claim you love her, but you shut yourself away in here? Lock yourself up and hide? I don't care if you think I'm crazy. This isn't love. Love is being willing to put EVERYTHING

AndrewRogue: out for the person you love. I was willing to crawl out of Hell. I was willing to sacrifice my body and my life for love! What are you willing to do? You're willing to sit in this room and idly comment on how Lea's father

AndrewRogue: is 'probably' beating her! I wanted a confirmation of my dreams, some sign of my world, MY Hunter. And I find you."

SirAlexTheFirst: He nods, finally seeming to understand.

SirAlexTheFirst: "So, you're some psycho stalker who fell in love with me for God knows what reason, probably in less than a week, but never actually did anything about it until now, and are getting your dreams about me shattered."

AndrewRogue: *WHAM*

AndrewRogue: *And WHAM is clearly translated as a very angry girl, punching a very stupid man, very hard*

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter takes the punch square on, staggering backwards. He coughs a bit.

AndrewRogue: "WE are leaving Hunter Sopko."

SirAlexTheFirst: "We? There's nobody else with you!"

AndrewRogue: "There's going to be. You."

SirAlexTheFirst: He starts laughing, spitting up a bit of blood on the floor and rubbing his jaw.

AndrewRogue: "And we're going back to Pernolde."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Don't call it love, then, call it whatever you like, but I love Lea enough to keep away from her. I've been dating her for years, and I guarantee you she doesn't love me."

SirAlexTheFirst: "All that junk you just said is true. Two bad choices, and I made the one better for myself. All right. But it's my choice to make, and I'm staying here."

AndrewRogue: *she looks like she's ready to hit him again* "Fine. You really want to stay here?"

AndrewRogue: "You want to let the crazy girl go Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He coughs again. "Get out of here, back to whatever fantasy dreamland you've been living in, and forget I exist. You'll be happier that way."

AndrewRogue: "And you'll be satisfied to know that I'm going straight back to Pernolde?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "You live there?"

AndrewRogue: "No." *she smirks* "Leatanna lives there."

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter steps forward, and his fist steps up. There's a SNAP noise, the world grows dim, your legs go limp, and as things focus again you are aware of two things.

SirAlexTheFirst: One, you are now leaning back against the door; two, the most blinding pain you have ever felt is currently inhabiting your skull and jaw.

SirAlexTheFirst: Ever felt here, at least.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter growls, "So help me God, if you do anything more to Lea I will hunt you down and strangle you with my bare hands. Is that clear?"

AndrewRogue: "You've done it before." *she brings a hand up to wipe the blood from her mouth or wherever that shot landed. She really can't bring herself to stand up fully* "Where... where was this bravado when you said 'Oh its

AndrewRogue: probably her father beating her?' Now... now that you have a target you think you can just punch and be done with you can act like a man?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter steps over you and opens the door. "Get out of here, and don't come back, whoever you are. Don't tell anyone I'm here, and don't bother Lea."

AndrewRogue: "You don't deserve that respect." *she pushes herself up from the ground* "If you don't want Lea knowing exactly where you are, and being personally guided here if she wants to come, I recommend

AndrewRogue: you hit me harder."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Get. Out."

AndrewRogue: "I'm done with you. But she deserves to at least be happy. Maybe she'd be able to dump you better knowing that you are here, locking yourself away."

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't even move towards the door*

AndrewRogue: "What a brave lover you are. You should be thankful I don't intend to harm her the way you are setting me back free into the world."

AndrewRogue: "Hitting me and then threatening to strangle me with my bare hands AFTER I do something to her."

AndrewRogue: "Then opening the door to let me walk out."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I don't kill people for no reason."

AndrewRogue: "Good for you. Neither do I. I'm glad you can see such a logical case as let me walk out to do whatever the hell I want, or threaten to kill me AFTER I do something to her."

AndrewRogue: *threaten to do something

AndrewRogue: "An empty threat when you won't even walk out to stop the problem in the first place."

SirAlexTheFirst: "So..."

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter closes the door.

AndrewRogue: *being that she never walked out...*

SirAlexTheFirst: "So you want me to kill you now, because you keep threatening to do something with Lea? That will make me a man in your eyes?"

AndrewRogue: "No. Being a man would be going to her and making sure no one can do something to her. I see you are awfully defensive over a girl five years younger than you. What happened to those beatings her father you brought up? Killing

AndrewRogue: me sure won't fix it if he accidently goes one step too far with her."

AndrewRogue: "Being a man would be going out and being her gods damned love and protecting her."

SirAlexTheFirst: He snorts. "Listen to yourself. You're so far gone that you still haven't figured out I was joking about her father. Not that I think he wouldn't... but Lea can take care of herself better than that."

AndrewRogue: "Can she? She can protect herself better from a grown man then a teenage girl?" *she wipes at the blood again. Talking was killing her at this point* "If you were joking about her father, than why was she crying? Why

AndrewRogue: was she so desperate to know where you were that she stopped to listen to a crazy girl who was looking for him? Why was she so happy to threaten me if I didn't say where you were?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Better? No, not better. She'd kill you too if you tried anything funny. And she was probably crying because she cares about me. Not loves me, but cares, one person to another. Ever stop to think about that?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "As far as they know, I've gone missing and may be dead, so of course she's concerned, and more than happy to threaten you if you started talking like you knew where I was. Which you probably did, since you're a psycho...

SirAlexTheFirst: He shakes his head. "Just leave already. This is getting pathetic, I don't know how you got the Father to let you in here. Probably took advantage of his old soft chivalrous heart and played up the love story, right?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He corrects himself quickly, "No, better yet, how did you even know I was here? Maybe he let you in just because you found me out. Well, either way."

AndrewRogue: "No Hunter Sopko, the only pathetic thing here is you."

AndrewRogue: "And I knew you were here because I got guided. Crazy or not, it worked."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Did it?" He shrugs. "Doesn't seem like you found the person you were looking for. Whatever. Get out."

AndrewRogue: "I'll be back in less than an hour Hunter."

AndrewRogue: "Or... maybe just Lea will."

SirAlexTheFirst: He doesn't answer, just opens the door again.

AndrewRogue: "Or maybe I'll just stand here and see which one of us gives up first. Its not like I have anything to look forward to at the moment."

SirAlexTheFirst: "And I have more?" Hunter smirks. "Get out yourself, or get thrown out when the Father comes back. I can wait."

AndrewRogue: *she grins* "Sure you do. You have somebody you knows cares about you."

AndrewRogue: "Although.... to be honest... you aren't worth it."

AndrewRogue: "Lea might be a lot happier if I told her you were dead. Or that you had abandoned her for another love."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes, she would be. That's why I've been keeping this a secret, so they'd think I probably went out into the wilderness and was dead."

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter nods. "I know she deserves better than me, otherwise I would have gone and married her when I had the chance. So, are you going to leave now?"

AndrewRogue: "You are a selfish, inhumane, intolerable bastard. No she doesn't deserve better, because you are what she wants."

SirAlexTheFirst: "She wants a selfish, inhumane, intolerable bastard?"

AndrewRogue: "She wants a Hunter Sopko she knew and saw and loved/"

AndrewRogue: *she seats herself against a wall* "Does no good for me to leave until evening anyway. It'll be easier to find her at home."

SirAlexTheFirst: "You're forgetting that she doesn't love me." Hunter sighs and walks out of the room.

AndrewRogue: *she forces herself up despite the fact she's practically blind with pain and follows him* "Then why not take the 15 minutes to go see her and set her mind at ease?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I will. Just not yet. The whole mother killing thing needs a while to settle down. Now, are you going to leave, or do I have to get the Father?"

AndrewRogue: "So you're going to wait until its convenient for YOU to go set her mind at ease?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yep. That a problem for you?"

AndrewRogue: "Yes. It is."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Too bad. My choice, not yours. Get going."

AndrewRogue: "Learn to respect the word love before you use it."

AndrewRogue: "And its not going to be your choice. Its going to be Leatanna's since you are the one who doesn't care about her."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I do care. I care very much, and I'm doing what I think is best for her and letting her make her own choices on what to do in life instead of being forced into a marriage by her family and my hormones."

SirAlexTheFirst: "If you, in all your creepy stalker glory, were able to find me here, she could too, if she chose to look hard enough."

AndrewRogue: "No. She couldn't."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, and speaking of which, you're still a creepy stalker. Get away from me already, all right?" Hunter looks to see if you do.

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't move. Her head hurts and she's tired of everything*

SirAlexTheFirst: ".... fine. I'm getting the Father. Ridiculous how you think you can come in here and start talking about Lea and what kind of person I am when you've never even met me before." He strides quickly up the hallway.

SirAlexTheFirst: And will round the corner and be gone, unless stopped

AndrewRogue: "I know you and Lea far better than you will ever know." *she simply follows him in a slightly staggering manner. Blinding headaches don't help a lot. I'd go away if you simply agreed to meet with Lea."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I already told you, I will!" He looks back at you, exasperated. "Just... not now. It's too soon. And you don't know me at all, we proved that earlier when I turned out to be a bastard and you were disappointed.

SirAlexTheFirst: "

AndrewRogue: "Why should YOU be allowed to choose when Lea can be comforted Hunter? And I know you all too well. You just fail to live up to what you can be."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Doesn't everyone? We can't all be badass space pirates, or warriors of hope or whatever. And I get to choose when the comforting - which is doubtfully necessary to begin with - involves me having to do something."

AndrewRogue: "Yes, everyone can. Admit it Hunter Sopko. You just want time in bed with Lea."

AndrewRogue: "If it were otherwise, you would put her feelings before yours."

SirAlexTheFirst: He starts going down the hall again. "That's preposterous. I love her, at least by my definition of love. She just liked me for the sex."

AndrewRogue: "And what is your definition of love? Whenever she has enough energy to keep going?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I do place her feelings above mine. You keep assuming that she loves me back, but I'm telling you, that's not the case. She'll be much happier finding and marrying someone she does actually love, instead of just likes in bed

AndrewRogue: "I don't care if she loves you back. The fact that she stood there and cried and demand to know where you were was enough to tell me she at least cares."

SirAlexTheFirst: "And it's not right that I should satisfy her whims now when it'll cause her unhappiness later on." With that, Hunter sprints up the steps, and will be gone.

SirAlexTheFirst: Unless Aria can overcome massive uppercut pain and chase him.

AndrewRogue: *she's done much more dramatic things in dreams. She'll keep up until she passes out on the floor* "And... and how do you know she will be unhappy later?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Because if I show up on her doorstep now, there'll be a huge fuss and she'll want to marry me!" he shouts back.

AndrewRogue: *she's starting to pant pretty heavily. Massive head pain does not equal good for running* "And... why... would she want... to marry... you?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Because she and her whole family want my money, and they think that's the only way to get it!"

AndrewRogue: "Do you... really think... she only... wants your... money...?" *blood trickles down her lips* "Its a... disservice to one... you... claim... to love... Have you... ever considered... facing it and talking...

AndrewRogue: to her?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I did!" You can barely hear him now as he's literally beginning to run, and a couple of heads are poking out. "She said that was a good enough reason to get married!"

AndrewRogue: *she'll pick up her pace to match him, her eyes half shut with the pain of her exertion* "And you... don't think... in that time... she could have... gained feelings...?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Considering that it was two days before the accident? No!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Father Kain grabs your arm and helps support you, as Hunter is now several floors up and gone.

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

AndrewRogue: *Aria sighs. Whatever was going to happen... it was going to be a lot harder than she had wanted. But she knew that in the end it would be worth it. She just had to keep her hopes up.*

AndrewRogue: *the pack on her back felt strangely heavy though. Father Luncan was right in some ways. Even if this was a dream... she knew her parents still loved her. It would be wrong to hurt them like this. There were s

AndrewRogue: till a couple less drastic ideas she could use first. She hugged Kacey tightly, seeking the feeling of the entire plush. She could FEEL it and she KNEW it was real. And because she KNEW it was real she knew that...

AndrewRogue: that they were real too.*

AndrewRogue: *she walked back towards the teleporter. She'd go back to Gelendar and then go see if maybe there was any news about Hunter. And then she'd buy a book. It gave her an excuse for why she was out* "That's a good

AndrewRogue: idea, isn't it Kacey?"

AndrewRogue: *and with that, she returns to the teleporter shed*

SirAlexTheFirst: There still aren't any people there. Merely a shed, and a small metal booth.

AndrewRogue: *she'll step into the booth thing*

SirAlexTheFirst: Upon doing so, you reappear in the Perenolde teleporter building from whence you came.

AndrewRogue: *she returns to the man at charge at the desk* "To Gelendar?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He raises an eyebrow at you. "Back from the desert, huh? Sure thing, hop on in."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "Thank you!"

AndrewRogue: *and she does so*

SirAlexTheFirst: And you're back in your home city.

AndrewRogue: *Aria idly glances at a clock/sun/timekeeping device to see what time it is*

SirAlexTheFirst: Still rather early, about 11.

AndrewRogue: *she takes a moment to think. There was a bookstore over in the shopping district... and there'd been a newstand right around there, right? She sighs. Her memory was beginning to frustrate her*

AndrewRogue: *But nonetheless... she heads in that direction. If it wasn't right by it, it was pretty near.

AndrewRogue: *

SirAlexTheFirst: Your memory turns out to be correct after all - the bookstore, the newstand, all the shops are right where they've been for... well, not forever, but long times.

AndrewRogue: *she's thankful at least something turned out. She approaches the man tending it* "Hello!" *and she will quickly browse the various periodicals to see if there is a mention of Hunter*

SirAlexTheFirst: He nods to you. "Morning, Aria. Looking for something?"

AndrewRogue: "Just looking for news. Hey, did anything mroe ever come up about that Mister Sopko?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Sopko... oh, that poor kid? Nothing in the news. They can't find him. Sad story, that one..."

AndrewRogue: "That's... that's a real shame. Nothing at all?"

SirAlexTheFirst: The owner shakes his head. "Nope. What's got you interested in him?"

AndrewRogue: "Just an interest I've had for a long time."

AndrewRogue: "Its a real sad story what happened to him."

SirAlexTheFirst: "A long time, huh? Did you know him or something?"

AndrewRogue: *she nods*

AndrewRogue: "At least... I think I did."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, goodness." He shakes his head in astonishment. "Well, the tabloids have stories on him, of course, but they're just making things up. I don't recall reading anything remotely reliable on him since last week.

AndrewRogue: "Do you still have any tabloid stuff left?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, always. But I wouldn't bother yourself looking at them if I were you, especially if I knew him..."

AndrewRogue: "It doesn't hurt to look anyway." *she smiles*'

SirAlexTheFirst: "You sure? Aria, these things just make their stories up and tell people what they want to hear. It.. might hurt you, actually..."

AndrewRogue: "I know. But I also know Hunter. There's always the off-chance they might somehow get something right, and I can't afford to miss that chance Mister Stevens."

SirAlexTheFirst: "That's how it is, eh? Well... as long as you don't get your hopes up..." He dips beneath the counter for a moment, and comes up with a light armful of tabloid. "Look on through these. Good luck finding him!

AndrewRogue: *she digs out several bills and coins and hands them over* "Thank you." *and she stuffs them as best she can into her bag*

SirAlexTheFirst: Mr. Stevens waves your money back. "Don't need to pay me for these, Aria. Just be careful, and keep your brain working."

AndrewRogue: "I will." *and she will trot on over to the bookstore briefly and, quite literally, grab a random title to buy*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Chronicles of the Warriors of Hope?

AndrewRogue: *she looks at it for a moment and blinks* "Well... that was... that was silly of me." *she stops for a moment and flips through it anyway wondering if it was the same edition*

SirAlexTheFirst: It seems to be, but there are a few slight changes. The cover has a gold trim border, a few of the chapter titles are different...

AndrewRogue: *she sighs as she puts it up. Another thing that had changed*

AndrewRogue: *she reaches for elsewhere, this time grabbing a book that hopefully wasn't one she owned*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Raising of Amaryllis Flowers?

AndrewRogue: *she grits her teeth slightly. This was turning out harder than it normally was. She sets the book back, tucking Kacey under her arm. And this time she grabs for a book on a fiction shelf.*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Herald of Zakarum?

AndrewRogue: *she glances at the description briefly. She... couldn't recall this one. New maybe?*

SirAlexTheFirst: Fairly new, seems like your run of the mill novel about paladins, love, and fighting.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs. Good enough. She shifts her pack to dig out the money she needed and takes it to the front counter to purchase it.*

SirAlexTheFirst: The clerk barely glances at you, rings the book up, and that's that.

AndrewRogue: *she tucks that under and arm with Kacey and she'll return home, humming to herself*

AndrewRogue: *and upon arriving home, she will let her parents know she has returned* "Mom! Dad! I'm back!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Nobody answers you.

AndrewRogue: *Well now that is odd... she will look around the house to see if they are around and just didn't hear her.*

SirAlexTheFirst: And they don't seem to be home, either.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs and at least goes to look whether it looks like her note was disturbed*

SirAlexTheFirst: It's still there, but written beneath, in your mother's handwriting, is

SirAlexTheFirst: Have a good day, dear. I've gone shopping and out with friends - back tonight! - Mom

AndrewRogue: "Well..." *she slumps slightly as she looks about the empty house. It was... pretty close to the last thing she wanted to see. She will drag herself upstairs and unpack, tossing the tabloids onto the bed and returning her

AndrewRogue: clothes to their drawers and hangers. Then, with a resigned expression, she seats herself and Kacey on the bed and begins to read for Hunter related news.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Surprisingly few of the tabloids actually have anything regarding Hunter.

SirAlexTheFirst: Of the ones that do....

SirAlexTheFirst: Matricidal Trader Flees Father's Wrath!

SirAlexTheFirst: Young Romantic Kills Self, Mother After Engagement Broken!

SirAlexTheFirst: Sopko Family Heir Spotted in Wildlands!

AndrewRogue: *she frowns at that one. She knows tabloids are just supposed to be made up stories... but... She takes the time to read that article*

SirAlexTheFirst: Werecat Scandal Forces Young Man Into Hiding!

SirAlexTheFirst: The article in question is really rather mild for a tabloid. It greatly plays up the mystery surrounding the death of Mrs. Sopko and the events between Hunter and Lea, and ends with "Artist's renditios

SirAlexTheFirst: of young Sopko as spotted in the Wildlands of Penobscot by children!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Which is a short photospread of a shadowy figure in some nondescript trees, leering over a frightened-looking band of small children.

SirAlexTheFirst: It says nothing about where in the WIldlands this was, or the names of the children, or any specific information.

AndrewRogue: *she tears that article out and folds it up, setting it under her pillow. Provided that was all of them, she will toss the rest of the tabloids into the waste bin and then lay out with that new book for a few moments, her

AndrewRogue: mind racing, and allow herself to drop into a nap after a few pages*

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~? Or more?

AndrewRogue: (More. 10-15 minute power nap to help clear her mind)

AndrewRogue: *after a scant few minutes, she sits up, her stomach growling in protest. Apparently the cookie was not enough for her this morning. She stuffs the article into her pocket and goes downstairs and makes herself a sandwhich

AndrewRogue: , simply tossing the various lunchmeats and veggies they possess onto it. She didn't really care what was on it. She just wanted to eat. And think. The Wildlands... how dangerous were they again?*

AndrewRogue: *her appetite diminishes rapidly into the first few bites, and her eating slows. That's how it always was. It was only midday though... maybe she could follow up on this and see if she could substantiate anything. She

AndrewRogue: finished the sandwhich, placing it in the sink before she returned upstairs to grab Kacey. She doubted she'd actually try to hike into the Wildlands today but... she went downstairs to see if that sturdy staff was still

AndrewRogue: in the closet.*

SirAlexTheFirst: It is.

AndrewRogue: *she takes it and then returns to the kitchen to amend the note- Got back. Feeling a lot better today. Decided to go out for a hike and get some fresh air. Back tonight.*

AndrewRogue: *she looked at the note regretfully. This was probably another wild goose chase and she'd be back sooner. But still... she wanted it so much to be the actual case. Of course she wanted him to be THE Hunter too... but

AndrewRogue: ... it would be something to find even A Hunter, wouldn't it?*

AndrewRogue: *wish Plush of Support, Sturdy Staff and Tabloid Article in hand, she sets out for the teleporter again*

SirAlexTheFirst: Where to this time?

AndrewRogue: "Penobscot please!"

SirAlexTheFirst: The attendant nods and asks "What city?"

AndrewRogue: *she falters a bit* "No... big capital city?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Big capital city? In Penobscot?" She glances up at you. "Do your parents know you're traveling out there?"

AndrewRogue: *Aria laughs weakly for a moment* "Apparently... apparently my geography has been getting neglected." *and she turns on heel and walks out embarassdly. Not knowing where in Penobscot to start would be a problem...

AndrewRogue: She sighs. Square one again. She thought a central city would be a great place to start... Her feet carry her as she is lost in thought. If this was really Hunter though... she couldn't miss a chance... Her footsteps guide

AndrewRogue: her to where the Church of Christ was/had been. Maybe Nellix, or at least one of his rare folllowers, would speak with her.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Had been, in your dreams, for there is nothing there now save a sculpture.

SirAlexTheFirst: A spire, one might say, or a pillar, of crystal, rises from the ground in the small lot between businesses.

AndrewRogue: *she blinks for a moment or two. That... that couldn't be right. She had been sure... She runs a hand through her hair, getting frustrated as she finds an unfamiliar ribbon tied in it. She walks up to the sculpture to examine

AndrewRogue: it closely*

SirAlexTheFirst: It stands about ten feet high, immaculately smooth and clear, yet pulsing with lines of inner light. At the top, there is a section missing, or perhaps the tip extends up and bends over itself.

SirAlexTheFirst: The very apex comes to a sharp line, and two sea-green gems are inset on either side of the top section, creating a net effect of a head gazing downwards, perhaps of some birdlike creature.

SirAlexTheFirst: The tip of its beak, and indeed the facing of the entire sculpture, is not level with the street - it faces it at a slight slant, to the south but a little bit westwards as well.

SirAlexTheFirst: The area around this monument is clear, with verdant green grass growing. Not a weed in sight, though there are several flowers.

AndrewRogue: *she looks about for a plaque of something identifying the odd statue*

SirAlexTheFirst: There is none.

AndrewRogue: *she stares at it. And she stares at the odd way it sits*

SirAlexTheFirst: It almost seems to stare back at you...

AndrewRogue: *she matches the gaze of the eerie statue* "And why are you here?"

AndrewRogue: "The Church of Christ is supposed to be."

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "But I suppose you can't answer that."

SirAlexTheFirst: Regardless of if it can or not, it doesn't.

AndrewRogue: *she looks at the way its beak is tilted and then giggles. It was a horribly blatently stupidly insane sorta thing.*

AndrewRogue: *but she looks at it again, and at its odd facing, and at its oddly staring eyes that had the magic the fountain had lacked*

AndrewRogue: *And she starts walking in the way its pointing.*

AndrewRogue: "Isn't this stupid Kacey?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Kacey, like the statue, doesn't answer you, and there is nothing in particular where the statue is pointing. Just a coffee shop, and more streets beyond that

AndrewRogue: *she laughs weakly* "Who would have guessed it wouldn't lead anywhere."

AndrewRogue: *she takes a seat over at the coffee shop and leans back, wondering why that statue bothered her so much. She'd seen something like it before... hadn't she? It was... at Sithicus. The Palace of Ice...*

AndrewRogue: *Aria stands up suddenly and begins rushing back towards home, and upon arriving back, she will hastily dig out a map of Amaryllis. It was silly... stupid... storybook stuff...*

AndrewRogue: *But dammit, that's what she had grown up on*

AndrewRogue: *Aria looks at the map and quickly draws an X on a spot in the wildlands. She wasn't sure... maybe she was just making up answers for herself... She would try anyway though... But first...*

AndrewRogue: *she stuffed the map back into her pocket. She was probably making this all up, answers to comfort her... She quickly makes her way back to the teleporters* "To Asgard please?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Bamf.

AndrewRogue: *upone arrival she turns to one of the workers* "Excuse me... which way is it to the Temple of Light?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He looks at you in the manner which the other attendant did when you asked to go to "Penobscot".

SirAlexTheFirst: "It is the grandest structure in the center of the city. Simply follow the roads and keep it in view - it is impossible to miss."

AndrewRogue: "You'd be amazed." *but she hustles out and follows his instructions to get there*

SirAlexTheFirst: The Temple of Light is as the man said, and as you remember it. And a little bit more.

SirAlexTheFirst: Even as you're approaching it, through the crowds of people coming and going to worship, to take in the marvel, or whatever they're doing... you can match the area up with your dream almost perfectly.

SirAlexTheFirst: Just take that corner off of the temple, and put a crack in that window...

AndrewRogue: *Aria gazes about at it. It was impossible... she hadn't been here before... right? This was just like the place in Hell... it was impossible for her to have duplicated it perfectly... right? She countinues gazing... matching...

AndrewRogue: avoiding shaking with eagerness or fear or something...*

SirAlexTheFirst: There's even a small collection of crosses outside the cathedral. The graveyard is slightly larger than you remember, but not by too much.

AndrewRogue: *she controls herself carefully, not wanting to start shaking in the middle of the Temple as she walks up the aisle. It HAD to be real. This... this meant it HAD to be.*

AndrewRogue: *her eyes vaguely cast to where Nellix had been standing, the place he had sat, the place where she had been lain down when he had accepted that she was her...*

SirAlexTheFirst: Nobody's standing there at the moment, and there are people with their heads bowed in prayer in those pews.

AndrewRogue: *she walks to the very front of the Temple to look at the stained glass window, one of the first things she had scene. Her heart pounds in her chest at the dr... NO. At the memory.*

SirAlexTheFirst has left the room.

SirAlexTheFirst has entered the room.

AndrewRogue: *and then... she will seek out a priest or priestess or someone*

SirAlexTheFirst: There are quite a few of them around.

SirAlexTheFirst: Looking for just anyone?

AndrewRogue: Preferably someone higher up or any faces that look oddly familiar.

SirAlexTheFirst: Both of these traits come together in the priest wearing the most bling bling, as it were. He is an old man, grizzled and dignified, and gives you the same feeling of calm that Brother Joe did in your dream.

SirAlexTheFirst: Or memory?

SirAlexTheFirst: "Welcome, Arianna of Gelendar. I am Father Kain." He bows to his knees. "How may I be of assistance to you?"

AndrewRogue: *she blinks* "H-how do you know my name?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "God has given me the gift of seeing into the hearts of those who approach him without malice." He bows his head, then stands again.

AndrewRogue: "You... can see into my heart?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I can. I see that you are devoted to goodness, and loyal to your friends even unto death. I see that you have come here seeking answers, and, perhaps, already found some just by being here.

SirAlexTheFirst: This brings joy to my heart. So I ask, now, what may I do to serve you?"

AndrewRogue: "I... why am I here? This place its... its just like I remember it."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Your parents have brought you here before, when you were young. As to why you are here - well, that is my question. What answers are you seeking?"

AndrewRogue: "No. That can't be it. That wasn't when I was here before. I can't even remember that..."

AndrewRogue: "I... I... is this really my life Father Kain?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "In what sense do you mean that?"

AndrewRogue: "You can see into my heart... what's their Father. You see I'm loyal to my friends unto death... that I'm devoted to... but... Here I'm just some common girl..."

AndrewRogue: "What is going on with me Father Kain? Why can't I remember what is real and what isn't?"

AndrewRogue: "Where is... where is Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Father Kain takes some time before replying.

SirAlexTheFirst: Then he holds your hand, if you will let him, and speaks.

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't stop him*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Lady Arianna, you always have been, and always will be, just a common girl. Yet you are also a warrior, a paladin in your own right, a defender of honor and your dear friends.

SirAlexTheFirst: Heroes are not mythical figures with purposes and emotions higher than anyone else - they are human, just like you and I. Being 'just a girl' does not make you any less, or any more, of a champion. Your heart knows.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter Sopko, the young man you seek, is in fact here. I will show you to him shortly, if you wish. He came here in sorrow and has refused most help, but is seeking his own way to redemption.

SirAlexTheFirst: As for what is real - what do you think is real? If you can feel in a dream, walk, talk, live in one - then you are in reality, you have made it so. Most people cannot do this. Even as they dream, they know they are dreaming.

SirAlexTheFirst: You say you can, and I feel you may perhaps be right. But there is one true reality from whence your soul originated, wherever it may be now.

SirAlexTheFirst: Even when the dreamers have left their dreams, I think the dreams may perhaps remain, even remain real. But there is a base the dreamers return to, eventually. What this base is I cannot say.

SirAlexTheFirst: Perhaps it is this reality, perhaps not, and perhaps there is yet another truth that is beyond my ken."

SirAlexTheFirst: He looks towards Aria, to see her responses.

AndrewRogue: "What are dreams Father?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He smiles. "I do not know."

AndrewRogue: *she is quiet for a long moment* "Do you think its possible to somehow return to a dream you have left Father? Or... perhaps wake up from a dream in which you have been trapped?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "The latter, most assuredly. The former... I would also think so, though the prospect seems dangerous."

AndrewRogue: "I... Hunter is really here?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "He is indeed. Would you go to him now?"

AndrewRogue: "I..." *she swallows... she's not quite sure of what to make of his words. Of dreams. Of reality. Of anything. Is this Hunter even Hunter? It didn't matter. She wanted... she NEEDED to see him.*

AndrewRogue: "Yes. I-if he'll see someone."

SirAlexTheFirst: "He claims he will not, but I will make him see you. You seem to know him, although you have never met him." Father Kain bows to you again.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Please, follow me?"

AndrewRogue: *she nods uneasily*

AndrewRogue: *Eager? Worried? Upset? Excited?*

AndrewRogue: "Y-yes Father Kain."

SirAlexTheFirst: The Father leads you off into the side offices of the temple, and downstairs to the priests's quarters, and finally down to the rooms of those staying at the temple. All along the way are fabulous works of art and wonders.

SirAlexTheFirst: Not even a majority of these are devoted to Tiyreal in particular - they are all about the ideals of good, in any form they may come.

SirAlexTheFirst: At last the Father stops, pulls a key out of his robes, unlocks a certain door, and enters, announcing "Hunter Sopko, you have a guest."

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't hesitate, she doesn't wait... Now or never. She steps in behind Father Kain.*

AndrewRogue: *and she looks upon the man named Hunter Sopko*

SirAlexTheFirst: And Hunter is there. The Hunter you know. Dressed in simple acolyte's robes, but Hunter nonetheless.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter looks at Father Kain, surprised. "I thought I asked you not to accept visitors on my behalf. I... I don't even know this girl. What's going on?"

SirAlexTheFirst: And, to you, "And who are you? Madam?" He awkwardly drops to one knee with a sidelong glance at the priest.

AndrewRogue: "I... my name is Arianna."

SirAlexTheFirst: He gets up again, and grins sheepishly. "Sorry, I guess that was kinda rude. I still have no idea who you are, though."

AndrewRogue: *she keeps her expression calm as she can... This meant there had to be something to it. This was the man she had known...* "I... I had hoped otherwise, but I didn't expect you to."

AndrewRogue: "So why did you come here Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He blinks, trying to keep a neutral expression, though he also shoots another glare at Father Kain. "I'm sorry, but I really can't answer that. In fact, I'd really prefer to be left alone here."

AndrewRogue: "Father Kain... may I please speak alone with him?"

AndrewRogue: *its not a demand or even harsh... just a gentle plea*

SirAlexTheFirst: Father Kain was about to say something, but nods instead. "Most certainly." He withdraws and closes the door behind him.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter looks even more annoyed at this, almost downright angry, and cuts the neutrality. "Okay, what the he- well, what's going on here? Who are you?"

AndrewRogue: "I doubt this means anything to you, but I'm Aria." *she sighs softly* "And I'm a girl who loved Hunter Sopko and would do anything to keep him, and all my other friends, safe."

SirAlexTheFirst: He stares, trying to figure this out.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Is that some sort of threat?"

AndrewRogue: *she shakes her head* "Not in the least. Its... tough to explain Hunter. Dreams and reality... suffice to say that there was a Hunter Sopko I knew closely. A silly man who tried to always work so hard to make things

AndrewRogue: work out or do the right thing. He wasn't fearless... and maybe he was still running from something... but I loved him anyway." *she spreads her hands wide* "And then I woke up. My 'dream' was gone."

AndrewRogue: "But you really don't care what some silly girl has to say, do you?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "No, not really. If you actually knew me and loved me, and aren't as crazy as you seem, then you know I was engaged, to someone who isn't you, and whom I still love very much."

AndrewRogue: "Leatanna Scarlett."

SirAlexTheFirst: "So, you do know..." he starts to smile, but then it fades. "So why are you here?"

AndrewRogue: "I'm honestly disappointed in you Hunter."

AndrewRogue: "She was a mess when I saw her."

SirAlexTheFirst: "And that's why I left her. I love her, and her father loves me, and my family's money, but she wasn't so hot on things. Then I... killed my mother... and, well. I'm not going to subject her to that."

SirAlexTheFirst: He frowns at you. "Saw her? Were you bothering her?"

AndrewRogue: "Which was why she was crying and demanding to know where you were Hunter?"

AndrewRogue: *she blatently ignores the question*

SirAlexTheFirst: "..."

AndrewRogue: "So Hunter... you aren't going to subject her to the pain of being with this disgraced you? Who cut the bridge out from under the caravan?"

AndrewRogue: *One who

SirAlexTheFirst: "I didn't cut it out... but yeah." He nods, all the while giving you an icy glare.

AndrewRogue: "You said you killed your mother though."

SirAlexTheFirst: "It was my job to inspect the bridge and make sure that it was safe to cross. I inspected it, approved it, and it wasn't. Now will you please get out and leave me alone?" He sighs.

AndrewRogue: "You always said that too. And you know what? No one ever found out what was wrong with the bridge."

AndrewRogue: "It should have held."

AndrewRogue: "But it didn't."

AndrewRogue: "Is that your fault?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Of course they haven't found out why, it's collapsed now, and who really cares?" Hunter shakes his head. "Look, do you have a point to coming in here or not?"

AndrewRogue: "I wanted to see if my dreams were real. Why are you here Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I wanted to spare Lea the pain of being married off to me, and spare my father the pain of having me around. And the Yarovan fired me, so I had no place to go anyway."

AndrewRogue: "And now you just sit in this room? Alone? Seeking atonement?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I work here, as an acolyte. Not very well, but I'm learning."

AndrewRogue: "Who are you trying to spare the pain for Hunter Sopko?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "What?"

AndrewRogue: "You say you want to spare Lea the pain of being married to you. Is that really what you are trying to do?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "YES! No, I do not secretly hate her and am in love with you. Yes, you are insane."

AndrewRogue: "Maybe I am insane." *she chuckles ever so weakly* "I probably am. But at least I'm not a coward Hunter Sopko. You don't even deserve that name. At least Hunter tried to face his problems. You? You're just going to

AndrewRogue: run away and pretend they don't even exist. Tuck your tail between your legs because you can't deal with it. Tell me why the hell she answered her door crying and wanting to know so badly where you were."

AndrewRogue: "You don't really love her."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Probably because her father started beating her for letting me disappear. I want to kill him when I get out of here... but there's nothing I can do right now."

AndrewRogue: "Oh?"

AndrewRogue: "Why not?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Because I'm here."

AndrewRogue: "And why are you here?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I already told you that. Why are YOU here?"

AndrewRogue: "Because unlike you, I was willing to work for my love. I was ready wander into the Wildlands, scour every inch of Amaryllis to find Hunter and my friends, proof that it wasn't all a waste." *she steps forward to close

AndrewRogue: the distance between them* "And instead I find you. A coward." *she clenches a fist tightly* "You say you love Lea? You don't even know the first meaning of the word. You talk about wanting to spare her the pain

AndrewRogue: of being married to you. Then you brush off her tears as her father's beatings." *her other fist clenches as her voice takes on a dangerous tone* "Where are you then Hunter? If you can so casually dismiss that as her

AndrewRogue: father beating her, were the hell are you? You claim you love her, but you shut yourself away in here? Lock yourself up and hide? I don't care if you think I'm crazy. This isn't love. Love is being willing to put EVERYTHING

AndrewRogue: out for the person you love. I was willing to crawl out of Hell. I was willing to sacrifice my body and my life for love! What are you willing to do? You're willing to sit in this room and idly comment on how Lea's father

AndrewRogue: is 'probably' beating her! I wanted a confirmation of my dreams, some sign of my world, MY Hunter. And I find you."

SirAlexTheFirst: He nods, finally seeming to understand.

SirAlexTheFirst: "So, you're some psycho stalker who fell in love with me for God knows what reason, probably in less than a week, but never actually did anything about it until now, and are getting your dreams about me shattered."

AndrewRogue: *WHAM*

AndrewRogue: *And WHAM is clearly translated as a very angry girl, punching a very stupid man, very hard*

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter takes the punch square on, staggering backwards. He coughs a bit.

AndrewRogue: "WE are leaving Hunter Sopko."

SirAlexTheFirst: "We? There's nobody else with you!"

AndrewRogue: "There's going to be. You."

SirAlexTheFirst: He starts laughing, spitting up a bit of blood on the floor and rubbing his jaw.

AndrewRogue: "And we're going back to Pernolde."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Don't call it love, then, call it whatever you like, but I love Lea enough to keep away from her. I've been dating her for years, and I guarantee you she doesn't love me."

SirAlexTheFirst: "All that junk you just said is true. Two bad choices, and I made the one better for myself. All right. But it's my choice to make, and I'm staying here."

AndrewRogue: *she looks like she's ready to hit him again* "Fine. You really want to stay here?"

AndrewRogue: "You want to let the crazy girl go Hunter?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He coughs again. "Get out of here, back to whatever fantasy dreamland you've been living in, and forget I exist. You'll be happier that way."

AndrewRogue: "And you'll be satisfied to know that I'm going straight back to Pernolde?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "You live there?"

AndrewRogue: "No." *she smirks* "Leatanna lives there."

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter steps forward, and his fist steps up. There's a SNAP noise, the world grows dim, your legs go limp, and as things focus again you are aware of two things.

SirAlexTheFirst: One, you are now leaning back against the door; two, the most blinding pain you have ever felt is currently inhabiting your skull and jaw.

SirAlexTheFirst: Ever felt here, at least.

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter growls, "So help me God, if you do anything more to Lea I will hunt you down and strangle you with my bare hands. Is that clear?"

AndrewRogue: "You've done it before." *she brings a hand up to wipe the blood from her mouth or wherever that shot landed. She really can't bring herself to stand up fully* "Where... where was this bravado when you said 'Oh its

AndrewRogue: probably her father beating her?' Now... now that you have a target you think you can just punch and be done with you can act like a man?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter steps over you and opens the door. "Get out of here, and don't come back, whoever you are. Don't tell anyone I'm here, and don't bother Lea."

AndrewRogue: "You don't deserve that respect." *she pushes herself up from the ground* "If you don't want Lea knowing exactly where you are, and being personally guided here if she wants to come, I recommend

AndrewRogue: you hit me harder."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Get. Out."

AndrewRogue: "I'm done with you. But she deserves to at least be happy. Maybe she'd be able to dump you better knowing that you are here, locking yourself away."

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't even move towards the door*

AndrewRogue: "What a brave lover you are. You should be thankful I don't intend to harm her the way you are setting me back free into the world."

AndrewRogue: "Hitting me and then threatening to strangle me with my bare hands AFTER I do something to her."

AndrewRogue: "Then opening the door to let me walk out."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I don't kill people for no reason."

AndrewRogue: "Good for you. Neither do I. I'm glad you can see such a logical case as let me walk out to do whatever the hell I want, or threaten to kill me AFTER I do something to her."

AndrewRogue: *threaten to do something

AndrewRogue: "An empty threat when you won't even walk out to stop the problem in the first place."

SirAlexTheFirst: "So..."

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter closes the door.

AndrewRogue: *being that she never walked out...*

SirAlexTheFirst: "So you want me to kill you now, because you keep threatening to do something with Lea? That will make me a man in your eyes?"

AndrewRogue: "No. Being a man would be going to her and making sure no one can do something to her. I see you are awfully defensive over a girl five years younger than you. What happened to those beatings her father you brought up? Killing

AndrewRogue: me sure won't fix it if he accidently goes one step too far with her."

AndrewRogue: "Being a man would be going out and being her gods damned love and protecting her."

SirAlexTheFirst: He snorts. "Listen to yourself. You're so far gone that you still haven't figured out I was joking about her father. Not that I think he wouldn't... but Lea can take care of herself better than that."

AndrewRogue: "Can she? She can protect herself better from a grown man then a teenage girl?" *she wipes at the blood again. Talking was killing her at this point* "If you were joking about her father, than why was she crying? Why

AndrewRogue: was she so desperate to know where you were that she stopped to listen to a crazy girl who was looking for him? Why was she so happy to threaten me if I didn't say where you were?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Better? No, not better. She'd kill you too if you tried anything funny. And she was probably crying because she cares about me. Not loves me, but cares, one person to another. Ever stop to think about that?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "As far as they know, I've gone missing and may be dead, so of course she's concerned, and more than happy to threaten you if you started talking like you knew where I was. Which you probably did, since you're a psycho...

SirAlexTheFirst: He shakes his head. "Just leave already. This is getting pathetic, I don't know how you got the Father to let you in here. Probably took advantage of his old soft chivalrous heart and played up the love story, right?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He corrects himself quickly, "No, better yet, how did you even know I was here? Maybe he let you in just because you found me out. Well, either way."

AndrewRogue: "No Hunter Sopko, the only pathetic thing here is you."

AndrewRogue: "And I knew you were here because I got guided. Crazy or not, it worked."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Did it?" He shrugs. "Doesn't seem like you found the person you were looking for. Whatever. Get out."

AndrewRogue: "I'll be back in less than an hour Hunter."

AndrewRogue: "Or... maybe just Lea will."

SirAlexTheFirst: He doesn't answer, just opens the door again.

AndrewRogue: "Or maybe I'll just stand here and see which one of us gives up first. Its not like I have anything to look forward to at the moment."

SirAlexTheFirst: "And I have more?" Hunter smirks. "Get out yourself, or get thrown out when the Father comes back. I can wait."

AndrewRogue: *she grins* "Sure you do. You have somebody you knows cares about you."

AndrewRogue: "Although.... to be honest... you aren't worth it."

AndrewRogue: "Lea might be a lot happier if I told her you were dead. Or that you had abandoned her for another love."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes, she would be. That's why I've been keeping this a secret, so they'd think I probably went out into the wilderness and was dead."

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter nods. "I know she deserves better than me, otherwise I would have gone and married her when I had the chance. So, are you going to leave now?"

AndrewRogue: "You are a selfish, inhumane, intolerable bastard. No she doesn't deserve better, because you are what she wants."

SirAlexTheFirst: "She wants a selfish, inhumane, intolerable bastard?"

AndrewRogue: "She wants a Hunter Sopko she knew and saw and loved/"

AndrewRogue: *she seats herself against a wall* "Does no good for me to leave until evening anyway. It'll be easier to find her at home."

SirAlexTheFirst: "You're forgetting that she doesn't love me." Hunter sighs and walks out of the room.

AndrewRogue: *she forces herself up despite the fact she's practically blind with pain and follows him* "Then why not take the 15 minutes to go see her and set her mind at ease?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I will. Just not yet. The whole mother killing thing needs a while to settle down. Now, are you going to leave, or do I have to get the Father?"

AndrewRogue: "So you're going to wait until its convenient for YOU to go set her mind at ease?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yep. That a problem for you?"

AndrewRogue: "Yes. It is."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Too bad. My choice, not yours. Get going."

AndrewRogue: "Learn to respect the word love before you use it."

AndrewRogue: "And its not going to be your choice. Its going to be Leatanna's since you are the one who doesn't care about her."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I do care. I care very much, and I'm doing what I think is best for her and letting her make her own choices on what to do in life instead of being forced into a marriage by her family and my hormones."

SirAlexTheFirst: "If you, in all your creepy stalker glory, were able to find me here, she could too, if she chose to look hard enough."

AndrewRogue: "No. She couldn't."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, and speaking of which, you're still a creepy stalker. Get away from me already, all right?" Hunter looks to see if you do.

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't move. Her head hurts and she's tired of everything*

SirAlexTheFirst: ".... fine. I'm getting the Father. Ridiculous how you think you can come in here and start talking about Lea and what kind of person I am when you've never even met me before." He strides quickly up the hallway.

SirAlexTheFirst: And will round the corner and be gone, unless stopped

AndrewRogue: "I know you and Lea far better than you will ever know." *she simply follows him in a slightly staggering manner. Blinding headaches don't help a lot. I'd go away if you simply agreed to meet with Lea."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I already told you, I will!" He looks back at you, exasperated. "Just... not now. It's too soon. And you don't know me at all, we proved that earlier when I turned out to be a bastard and you were disappointed.

SirAlexTheFirst: "

AndrewRogue: "Why should YOU be allowed to choose when Lea can be comforted Hunter? And I know you all too well. You just fail to live up to what you can be."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Doesn't everyone? We can't all be badass space pirates, or warriors of hope or whatever. And I get to choose when the comforting - which is doubtfully necessary to begin with - involves me having to do something."

AndrewRogue: "Yes, everyone can. Admit it Hunter Sopko. You just want time in bed with Lea."

AndrewRogue: "If it were otherwise, you would put her feelings before yours."

SirAlexTheFirst: He starts going down the hall again. "That's preposterous. I love her, at least by my definition of love. She just liked me for the sex."

AndrewRogue: "And what is your definition of love? Whenever she has enough energy to keep going?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I do place her feelings above mine. You keep assuming that she loves me back, but I'm telling you, that's not the case. She'll be much happier finding and marrying someone she does actually love, instead of just likes in bed

AndrewRogue: "I don't care if she loves you back. The fact that she stood there and cried and demand to know where you were was enough to tell me she at least cares."

SirAlexTheFirst: "And it's not right that I should satisfy her whims now when it'll cause her unhappiness later on." With that, Hunter sprints up the steps, and will be gone.

SirAlexTheFirst: Unless Aria can overcome massive uppercut pain and chase him.

AndrewRogue: *she's done much more dramatic things in dreams. She'll keep up until she passes out on the floor* "And... and how do you know she will be unhappy later?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Because if I show up on her doorstep now, there'll be a huge fuss and she'll want to marry me!" he shouts back.

AndrewRogue: *she's starting to pant pretty heavily. Massive head pain does not equal good for running* "And... why... would she want... to marry... you?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Because she and her whole family want my money, and they think that's the only way to get it!"

AndrewRogue: "Do you... really think... she only... wants your... money...?" *blood trickles down her lips* "Its a... disservice to one... you... claim... to love... Have you... ever considered... facing it and talking...

AndrewRogue: to her?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I did!" You can barely hear him now as he's literally beginning to run, and a couple of heads are poking out. "She said that was a good enough reason to get married!"

AndrewRogue: *she'll pick up her pace to match him, her eyes half shut with the pain of her exertion* "And you... don't think... in that time... she could have... gained feelings...?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Considering that it was two days before the accident? No!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Father Kain grabs your arm and helps support you, as Hunter is now several floors up and gone.

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SirAlexTheFirst: For the love of all that is holy

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AndrewRogue: XD

SirAlexTheFirst: Before I cough my lungs out

SirAlexTheFirst: IOkay, discuss

AndrewRogue: This Hunter is an ass.

AndrewRogue: I'm sleepy.

SirAlexTheFirst: This Hunter isn't that much different from normal Hunter...

AndrewRogue: Actually there are some slightly painful contrasts I can draw when I'm concious.

AndrewRogue: Normal Hunter is actually more mature than this one.

SirAlexTheFirst: Slightly.

SirAlexTheFirst: I feel bad for Aria.

AndrewRogue: Even a slight difference is important. Even if he's having trouble with it, Normal Hunter is trying.

SirAlexTheFirst: She got owned a lot in that session.

AndrewRogue: She got owned once by an uppercut. Otherwise it was just petty cracks because he couldn't cope with her.

SirAlexTheFirst: True

AndrewRogue: Saying "You're crazy" stops meaning anything as soon as the target goes 'Maybe I am.'

AndrewRogue: And no Alex, her insults and disappointment with this Hunter do not necessarilly transfer over to the other one.

SirAlexTheFirst: That's good.

SirAlexTheFirst: At least, I think so.

AndrewRogue: It could be.

AndrewRogue: It could not be.

AndrewRogue: A lot of it depends on if Hunter keeps on the path he's trying to go along.

SirAlexTheFirst: Actually most of the stuff Aria yelled at him for here was stuff everyone else has been yelling at 'real' Hunter for, which was rather interesting to me

AndrewRogue: I guess its because she puts a heavy emphasis on the meaning of trying.

AndrewRogue: 'here' Hunter wasn't trying.

AndrewRogue: He had completely given up.

AndrewRogue: 'real' Hunter is trying but encountering problems and getting knocked back.

AndrewRogue: Or at least that's her view.

AndrewRogue: I'm exhausted though. I'll add more commentary later.

AndrewRogue: I really need to shut my eyes.

SirAlexTheFirst: Aight. Me too.

AndrewRogue: Night/Morning

AndrewRogue: Talk later :p

SirAlexTheFirst has left the room.

SirAlexTheFirst has entered the room.

Adm H Sopko has entered the room.

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~

AndrewRogue: *Aria... pretty much ignores the fact that the father has grabbed her. The adrenaline has run down and the pain returns two-fold. So foreign... yet so familiar. She can barely stand, but that doesn't stop her from staggering

SirAlexTheFirst: Father Kain helps Aria back to her feet and supports her with a sad frown on his face. "I thought that would go better..."

AndrewRogue: up the stairs, trying to find a voice in her aching head* "I'm... n-not finished... yet."

SirAlexTheFirst: "He doesn't want to face you, Aria. Are you sure you want to chase him down?"

AndrewRogue: *she'd grit her teeth if it wouldn't just make the pain worse* "He... he needs to. It isn't... me... that he... doesn't want to face." *She didn't remember him being able to hit that hard...*

SirAlexTheFirst: The priest passes his hand over you, and most of the pain subsides, leaving you with only a dull ache where the blow landed. "I think it is you that he does not want to face..."

AndrewRogue: "What do you mean?" *she shakes her head slightly to help clear it* "Thank you. It... he's afraid to face life."

SirAlexTheFirst: *nods* "That may too be true. But at the moment, you are attempting to force life upon him."

AndrewRogue: "He needs it. I don't care who he is anymore. What he is doing to her is wrong."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Does that make your doing right?"

AndrewRogue: "What?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "You are trying to force him to do something which he very much does not want to do right now. Is this right?" The Father looks at you with concern.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "Probably not. But life isn't just something you can run and hide from, even if you want to. You can't always pick and choose what you want to do and when you want to do it." *she clenches a fist* "It is

AndrewRogue: no more right he does this to someone who cares about him."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Are you then willing to make that choice for him?"

AndrewRogue: *her hand goes limp* "I... I don't know. But what he is doing to Lea is wrong Father Kain. Hunter has so much potential... yet he's being allowed to waste it like this. By running and hiding."

SirAlexTheFirst: He pats you on the back. "Allowing is what we do."

AndrewRogue: "It... its not fair."

SirAlexTheFirst: "What, then, do you propose to do?"

AndrewRogue: "I..." *she grits her teeth* "I'll tell Lea what she wanted to know."

AndrewRogue: "She can make the decision if he's worth attempting to drag out of here."

AndrewRogue: "He's not the Hunter I knew. One who had been, but not the same one."

SirAlexTheFirst: Father Kain ponders this. "That sounds like a good solution. I humbly apologize that he was not whom you sought."

AndrewRogue: "Its not your fault. I shouldn't have expected him to be."

AndrewRogue: "And... and I'm sorry for the disturbance I must have caused."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Thank you." He nods. "And now, what more can we do for you?"

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "If I... if I wanted to seek my dreams again... is there any way?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Just keep searching for them. Ask God to help. Live them here, and perhaps, in time, they will return. If that is what you truly wish."

AndrewRogue: "How can I ask Tiyrael or any others for something so... so... how can I ask them that Father?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "So what?" Father Kain looks at you expectantly, wanting an answer to this.

AndrewRogue: "I... thank you. I need to go find Leatanna and then get back home."

SirAlexTheFirst has left the room.

SirAlexTheFirst has entered the room.

SirAlexTheFirst: Sorry bout that

AndrewRogue: No problem ^_^

AndrewRogue: Did you catch my last line?

SirAlexTheFirst: No

AndrewRogue: "I... thank you. I need to go find Leatanna and then get back home."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Go where God and your heart leads you. Thank you for helping Hunter." With that, Father Kain takes your hand and leads you back up to the sanctuary.

SirAlexTheFirst: There he pats your head, and whispers "God be with ye," before letting you go and greeting the next group of people seeking consolation.

AndrewRogue: *she nods* "I... don't know if Leatanna will be here sometime or she won't. Either way, thank you again Father."

AndrewRogue: *and she shall walk back to the teleporters to finish her job so she can go back home and think*

AndrewRogue: "To Pernolde?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Bamf.

AndrewRogue: *the dull ache in her jaw bothered her. It hadn't been him but that punch... no less than the one she had delivered... hurt her more than physically. She was alsmost wishing she had brought Kacey with her... Lea already

AndrewRogue: thought she was insane anyway. Now she just felt... vaguely lonely. But she walked towards the house anyway. She didn't know Lea's hours. Maybe she'd still be home, or she'd be back from work.*

AndrewRogue: *upon arriving, she does the logical thing and knocks on the door*

SirAlexTheFirst: Lea opens it, smiling and saying "Good afternoon! How can- oh, you again? What do you want?"

AndrewRogue: "How would you feel if you found out that Hunter Sopko had killed himself after he ran away?"

SirAlexTheFirst: She stares. "That's none of your business. Do you actually know anything about him, or are you just playing some sort of game with me?"

AndrewRogue: "I do actually."

SirAlexTheFirst: "What, then?"

AndrewRogue: "He's at the Temple of Light in Asgard."

AndrewRogue: *and she will politely turn and walk away unless Lea actually wants her anymore for some reason*

SirAlexTheFirst: Lea calls after you, halfheartedly, "Wha... who are you?"

AndrewRogue: "I thought I told you that once before. Maybe I forgot. I'm Arianna. Why?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "How did you find this out?"

AndrewRogue: "I looked for him. And had the help of the dumb luck or chance or fate or something. And that's where I found him."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I thought you said you loved him?"

AndrewRogue: "And I thought you said I was a crazy fuck. It doesn't really matter. He wasn't the man I was looking for."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well... well... thank you." Lea just sort of stands there.

AndrewRogue: "And what about you? Do you care about him?"

SirAlexTheFirst: She steps outside, closes the door, locks it, and walks out past you and starts to move down the street. "Of course. I love him."

AndrewRogue: "Then tell him that."

AndrewRogue: "He needs to know it."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I didn't know it myself until he left." She starts running in the direction of the teleporters.

AndrewRogue: "If you ever need someone to..." *but she falters. Lea is gone anyway. Out of earshot. Those horrid, wretched feelings of lonliness began to grow inside her again. It felt like a chapter had slammed shut*

AndrewRogue: *and if that was how it was to be... Maybe her dreams still existed somewhere. The aspect of waiting tables tomorrow felt so dull... so lifeless...*

AndrewRogue: "Its not what I want to do." *Aria began a slow walk back towards teleporters. She couldn't... she wouldn't deny the feelings of her dreams. Here Hunter was not her love... and apparently the ones she loved did not

AndrewRogue: exist. Or perhaps 'they' did... and she needed to go out and live to find them. She arrives at the teleporters.* "To Gelendar?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Bamf

AndrewRogue: *and she will return home, again* "If you're back, I am too."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Welcome home, honey! How has your day been?" Mom's voice floats from upstairs.

AndrewRogue: "Oh, it was all right."

AndrewRogue: "Did you enjoy yourself?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "I'd say so, it's been a good day. Did you see John Allen?

SirAlexTheFirst: "

AndrewRogue: "No. I don't think he's been around lately. Maybe I missed him though."

AndrewRogue: "Is Dad going to be home later tonight?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well, John came by the house and asked where you were." She descends the stairs, a basket of laundry in her hands. "Your father is working late tonight, he came back around lunchtime and left another note for us.

AndrewRogue: "I must have just missed him. Do you have any idea what John wanted?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well, he found something at the fountain in front of the Guild, and heard from Ash that you fell in it, so he brought it back here. Seemed like a shaky connection to me, but maybe." SHe shrugs.

SirAlexTheFirst: "It's a very pretty little purple crystal rose. I don't remember you having anything like that, but did you buy it yesterday, maybe? Or does it belong to someone else?"

AndrewRogue: *she blinks* "W-where did you put it?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Right on the table in the kitchen." She points in, and sure enough, there it is.

AndrewRogue: *her hand shakes ever so slightly as she picks it up*

AndrewRogue: *and, well, she looks at it*

SirAlexTheFirst: It appears identical to the rose in your dreams, save that the purple coloration has spread throughout the entire rose - and you can feel that the edges and thorns are not sharp.

AndrewRogue: *she smiled and wondered if...* "I'm going to see if John is home. I should thank him."

SirAlexTheFirst: "So, it is yours?"

AndrewRogue: "I'm not sure. It looks like one a friend of mine had. But since he brought it back to me, I should thank him for them."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well, you'll have to wait a few days for that, he mentioned that he was going to visit his grandparents up north. But I'm glad that you can get it back to its owner, it looks like a very beautiful piece of work."

AndrewRogue: *she looks at the rose* "It is. I'm going to go upstairs and think about a nap. I'm a little worn. All right?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Jess stops folding clothes and comes over to put her hand on your forehead. "Honey, you've been sleeping a lot lately. Are you sick, maybe?"

AndrewRogue: *she brushes her hand away softly* "No. I'll be back to normal here soon. I just wore myself out hiking around today."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, really? Where did you go?"

AndrewRogue: "Just decided to visit a couple of different places I felt like seeing. Nothing really big. Just a bit of idle wandering on a day off."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well, that's nice. I'm glad you can get out and see the world. Did you go everywhere you wanted to?"

AndrewRogue: "I'm not sure yet. I need some time to think about it."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well..." She looks at you hopefully. "If there's somewhere else you'd like to visit, we could go out there after dinner, maybe? Have a girls night out?"

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "Sure. They were having a big orchestra or concert or something in the park tonight, weren't they?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well... no, that was last night, I don't know of anything like that going on around here tonight. But we could look, if you want."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "Let's."

SirAlexTheFirst: She hugs you tightly, then returns to her work, humminh.

SirAlexTheFirst: *humming.

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

AndrewRogue: *Aria will take the rose upstairs* "I'll be back up around in just an hour or so mom." *Upon getting upstairs she will seat herself on her bed. She really was tired and her jaw still hurt a bit. She looks at the rose again

AndrewRogue: and wonders briefly. It looked like it but... She smiled and wondered if maybe John just wasn't being cute. She closed her eyes as she leaned back against her headboard, setting Kacey and the flower on her lap. Tiyrael...

AndrewRogue: Gabriel... Luthien... Nellix... Had that dream, had it really been something? Or had it merely been a dream? Or... was it telling her to go out and seek these things. Hunter... he had been a lot like the man she

AndrewRogue: had remembered but here... Was she really just a silly girl who wanted these things so badly she had had such vivid dreams of them? Was this here being told to go out and find them? Was she simply missing something

AndrewRogue: here at home she should have been able to find before? What had it all meant, if it meant anything at all? She couldn't figure this out alone. Would they help her? She needed more time to think. She needed to stop rashly jumping.*

AndrewRogue: *she gently took up the rose and set it on her end table. She'd ask John when he got back. It was only a couple days away. She slumped down further and hugged Kacey against her chest. God... she needed help understanding...*

AndrewRogue: *And she will eventually drift off into a nap she desperately needed*

AndrewRogue: *And her power nap provides her no dreams or no special insight into the deeper mysteries of life.*

AndrewRogue: *It does, however, make her feel a bit better once she wakes up*

AndrewRogue: *And she stretches out. At least it let her relax as she rolled out of bed, rubbing a bit of tiredness from her eyes. She ran a hand through her hair and pulled the ribbons out. She wondered why she had ever opted to cut

AndrewRogue: hair. It was annoying sometimes, but she liked it. She ran her hands through it again, retying a bow at the base of her hair this time as she walked downstairs, glancing briefly at a clock*

SirAlexTheFirst: The clock's hands point straight downwards, indicating it around 6:30.

AndrewRogue: *she smiles. She'd slept a bit longer than she had thought, but at least she felt great now. And maybe Mom was ready to cook or go get or whatever dinner.*

AndrewRogue: *she wanders down into the kitchen and living room area to see if folks are around*

SirAlexTheFirst: Your mother is lying on the couch in the family room, apparently taking a nap herself.

AndrewRogue: *she walks by, as quietly as dear Aria can manage to see if she was cooking anything or if they had been waiting*

SirAlexTheFirst: Nothing cooking now as far as you can see, though a warm pumpkin pie near the oven fills the kitchen with its scent.

AndrewRogue: *she smiles. Since Mom was sleeping... why not cut her some slack. There was a little place she could bring Nagukorian back for both of them from and she could check if anything exciting was happening in the pavilion or park*

AndrewRogue: *she jots down on the note- Mom, went out to see what's happening tonight. Also getting dinner for us so you can take a break. You look like you need a break. Love, Aria*

AndrewRogue: *PS- Pie smells wonderful*

AndrewRogue: *and she sneaks out the door nice and quiet like*

AndrewRogue: *And having snuck out the door all nice and quiet, she shall head down towards the pavilion and theatre to Hsien-Ko's to order dinner for her and her mother... and on second thought, her father so he could eat when he got back*

SirAlexTheFirst: Tsao Lot springs up with a smile as you come in. "Ah! Aria! What can I get for you tonight?"

AndrewRogue: *blinks slightly... was this... was this Zao...*

AndrewRogue: *Her memories bobbled about... yes... no...*

AndrewRogue: "Ah... good evening Za---Tsao." *she inclines her head slightly*

AndrewRogue: "How're you?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Very good, thank you for asking! How hungry is the family tonight?"

AndrewRogue: "Not too much, but I should probably order big anyway."*she smiles* "So how has buisiness been? It looks kinda... empty today."

SirAlexTheFirst: He chuckles. "Business is good, very good. No customers in here because they come in, order, get food, out the door!"

AndrewRogue: *she laughs slightly abashedly* "Ah... how about the the big combination? The one with the spicy duck and beef and shrimp? And the rolls and egg-drop soup and all?" *for the life of her the names are escaping her

AndrewRogue: mind. Heck, she's still trying to remember Z---Tsao*

SirAlexTheFirst: "The Scorpion Clan Special? Of course! For three then?"

AndrewRogue: *she blinks again* "Scro-... Yes. Right. For three."

SirAlexTheFirst: "In a jiffy!"

AndrewRogue: *Everything she had dreamed... had she just been basing it all off things like in her life...?*

SirAlexTheFirst: He dashes back into the kitchen and starts shouting joyfully, returning with three bags of food in about five minutes.

AndrewRogue: "Thank you Z--Tsao." *she accepts the bags as she pays him*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Thank you, thank you! Come here for good food!"

AndrewRogue: *then she shall heft them very carefully and walk towards the area of the pavilion and theatre to see what shows or what not are on tonight*

SirAlexTheFirst: There don't seem to be any community events tonight except for a "Fairy Tales Theatre" which runs weekly.

AndrewRogue: *she sighs. It was something at least. They could come watch after dinner. Her smile tweaked a little... besides, it was probably one of the least embarassing things she could go see with her mom.*

AndrewRogue: *and with that, she jogs on back towards her home, being insanely careful NOT TO DROP THE FOOD*

AndrewRogue: *and she shall again enter the house quietly in-case Mom is napping still and move to desposit food in the kitchen*

SirAlexTheFirst: Your mother is still asleep, as you left her, and still smiling.

AndrewRogue: *she sets the food down in the kitchen and begins unpacking it quietly, and once she finishes, she goes upstairs to get her book and comes back down to sit and read at the table*

AndrewRogue: *she can't help but sneak a yummy egg-roll while she reads*

AndrewRogue: *and she will read for about a half hour, waiting for her mom to wake up*

SirAlexTheFirst: Eventually, she does, stretching and coming over to you. "Good evening, Aria! Sorry I napped so long, I didn't really expect to... thanks for getting food, it looks delicious! What are you reading?"

AndrewRogue: "Book I picked up while I was out."

AndrewRogue: "Just got it at random."

SirAlexTheFirst: She glances at it, and does a double take. "Don't you already have that one, honey?"

AndrewRogue: *she blinks as she looks again* "I... don't think so."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, goodness!" Jess's hand flies to her mouth. "I spoiled it... your father was going to bring you that book as a present today." She giggles nervously. "Well, he can take it back and get you something

SirAlexTheFirst: else. Are there any shows on tonight, or any place you would like to visit?"

AndrewRogue: "Ah..." *she looks a bit embarassed* "Bad luck on my part. Its the thought that counts though. I can take this one back. We just won't tell him and I'll still be surprised."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh, no, don't do that. Make him take it back! Girl's night out!" Mom jumps a couple feet in the air like a giddly classmate. "Right, Aria?"

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "And they have Fairy Tale Theatere down over at the theatre. And of course."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Ah, did you want to go see that?"

AndrewRogue: *she nods* "Sure. But first we should eat before everything gets cold!"

AndrewRogue: *she dog ears the book and lays it down*

SirAlexTheFirst: Jess relishes the Nagokorian cuisine, and is soon finished with her meal and contented.

AndrewRogue: *and dinner is had* "Lemme just go shower and change and then we can go. I ran around too much today."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Sure thing, sweetiepie."

AndrewRogue: *and Aria shall go upstairs and rustle through her closet to find a decently nice blouse and skirt and that blue ribbon she saw in there yesterday. And then she shall wash, humming to herself the whole time. She didn't

AndrewRogue: want to think about her dreams right this second. That could wait until she got back. Right now she just wanted to enjoy herself.*

AndrewRogue: *and she shall finish and dry and tie and dress and then return to her Mom* "That feels a lot better."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Good, honey." She kisses you. "Shall we go, then?"

AndrewRogue: "Let's!"

SirAlexTheFirst: And out to the theatre you go, then, through the chilly winds and crowds of people only slightly warmer. Your mother lightens the mood by skipping and singing silly songs all the way.

AndrewRogue: *she's slightly less energetic, but she at least shares the mood*

SirAlexTheFirst: And so to the theatre, which is actually just a stage at the bottom of a steep hill with blankets spread over it.

SirAlexTheFirst: Many more people are here, most with small children. Your mother flops down on the blankets and sighs. "I remember when we brought you here and you were just as tall as that little girl over there."

AndrewRogue: *she chuckles as she seats herself as well* "I barely remember being that small."

SirAlexTheFirst: As the sun sets, the show starts - the emcee bills it as "A true classic, one which we've performed here in the past many times, and will many more, because it's the type of stories you want to see over and over!"

SirAlexTheFirst: And so it begins. The show is a series of skits, acted out with occasional narraration.

SirAlexTheFirst: The first such is "Sir Jerriford and the Dragon Bugs", which tells the tale of a valiant young knight who wandered into a cave.

AndrewRogue: *she blinks... that...*

SirAlexTheFirst: There, he found bugs, which he squished, and dragons, which he sworded, but at the end there was one huge monster that crawled out of a hole, a combination of them both!

SirAlexTheFirst: Ohh, what a terrible beastie it was, spitting green goo and clawing at our hero!

SirAlexTheFirst: But in the end, he blocked it with his shield, and ran forth valiantly to chop its head clean off!

SirAlexTheFirst: The audience oohs and aahs as the knight on stage knocks the paper-mache head off the beast, which is then pulled back inside its hole.

AndrewRogue: *she... tries to hide the look of being stunned on her face*

SirAlexTheFirst: And in the room behind the beast, he found the sleeping princess, and woke her up with a kiss. Then they lived happily ever after.

AndrewRogue: *she applaudes slightly when its appropriate*

SirAlexTheFirst: Jess looks over at you. "That used to be one of your favorite shows, way back when..."

AndrewRogue: "I... ah... yes. It is." *she applaudes louder, laughing slightly*

SirAlexTheFirst: The next skit is entitled "The Invasion", a rolicking tale of a band of soldiers who drop into the evil wizard's fortress.

SirAlexTheFirst: Since the front door was large, and there was no doorknob or knocker, they had to find another way in, so they used magic to fly up to the top of the castle and blew up the roof.

SirAlexTheFirst: The evil wizard had six large, outlandish metal giants who guarded the roof, but the soldiers were too fast, and slipped past them.

SirAlexTheFirst: From there, they went in and they found the evil wizard sitting right there. One poor soldier ran at him, but the magic of the wizard dropped him into a scary place far away.

SirAlexTheFirst: The rest of the soldiers ran away quick, because they had come to rescue their friend, not to fight.

SirAlexTheFirst: In a big big room, with a lot of scary monsters, and invisible men sent by the wizard, they found their friend imprisoned!

SirAlexTheFirst: "Help, help, let me out!" he cried, but they could not let him out there.

SirAlexTheFirst: They picked him up in his prison and tried to get him out, but one poor soldier ran at the monsters and got eaten all up.

AndrewRogue: *she supresses a shudder*

SirAlexTheFirst: But the eeevil wizard showed up again, and made the place go KERBLOOEY! One brave little soldier ran in front of the evil wizard, and got KERBLOOEYED instead.

SirAlexTheFirst: Um, lag?

SirAlexTheFirst: .

AndrewRogue: *that shudder is a lot harder to suppress*

SirAlexTheFirst: The evil wizard was about to catch all the brave little soldiers and the poor scared soldiers, but then!

SirAlexTheFirst: Their friend, who had been imprisoned, broke free, and smited the evil wizard mightily1

SirAlexTheFirst: !

SirAlexTheFirst: And so, by helping their friends, the brave soldiers defeated the evil wizard. Even the poor soldiers looking down from heaven were happy.

SirAlexTheFirst: Mom chuckles. "They're really bringing out the classics tonight. I always did wonder about the poor soldiers who died or got sent to scary places."

AndrewRogue: *she applaudes even weaker this time...* "I... ah... don't really know."

SirAlexTheFirst: She looks at you curiously. "Are you okay, Aria? Would you like to go home now?"

AndrewRogue: *she defeats it with a grin* "N-no! Of course not. Let's stay and watch."

SirAlexTheFirst: "You sure? The last one here's supposed to be new, it might not be that good..."

AndrewRogue: "It'll be a nice change of pace to see something new."

AndrewRogue: *she nods*

SirAlexTheFirst: "All right, then." She watches you closely, but says no more.

SirAlexTheFirst: The last skit is titled "The Hunter and His Girl."

AndrewRogue: *she manages to restrain an outcry*

SirAlexTheFirst: Once upon a time, there was a great Hunter, whose deeds were renowed far and wide. Two young girls fell in love with him, a pretty one and a plain one.

SirAlexTheFirst: After courting them both for a while, the great hunter chose the pretty one, which made the plain girl very sad.

AndrewRogue: *she sits very quietly and just watches*

SirAlexTheFirst: She tried to put on makeup, and make herself pretty, but that didn't work. She tried to make the pretty girl look plain, but that didn't work either.

SirAlexTheFirst: So finally, the plain girl decided to take drastic measures, and make herself a great Hunter too!

SirAlexTheFirst: Out into the wilderness she went, and the first thing she met was an old crone. The girl agreed to help the old crone, but when the crone learned she was trying to become a great Hunter, she cackled and put a curse on the girl.

SirAlexTheFirst: The curse was that she would be haunted by a spooky monster, and so she was.

SirAlexTheFirst: The actor for the spooky monster crawls around on platforms below the stage, in skeleton makeup, and whispers strange things constantly to the girl, who runs around waving her arms in fear.

SirAlexTheFirst: But the girl kept on going, and out into the wilderness she went.

SirAlexTheFirst: The second thing she found out there was a great swamp, and she fell into a pit of quicksand, but finally managed to get out.

SirAlexTheFirst: The curse still haunted her, and she was very afraid, but she kept on going anyway, and out into the wilderness she went.

SirAlexTheFirst: The third thing she found out there was a warm, cozy house, and a mirror.

SirAlexTheFirst: She looked in the mirror, and she saw that she wasn't so plain after all - she was a great Hunter now, and she turned up her nose at the house and went back into the wilderness.

SirAlexTheFirst: The fourth thing she found out there was a great cave, with a knight and an old man at the end of it.

SirAlexTheFirst: The knight said to her, "You are a great Hunter. Return, and your beloved will surely marry you." Then he picked up his sword, and fought the girl, to show her that she was a great Hunter -

SirAlexTheFirst: even though she was still only a plain girl.

SirAlexTheFirst: The old man said to her, "You are not a great Hunter, and neither is the man you thought was." Then he picked up his staff, and fought the girl, and the girl beat him to show him that she was a great Hunter.

SirAlexTheFirst: But she didn't feel like a great Hunter anymore, just a plain girl, and wished she could return to the warm house.

SirAlexTheFirst: Yet she was driven on, and went back out into the wilderness one more time.

SirAlexTheFirst: The last thing she found out in the wilderness was a city - a great and respected city, with an army and a mighty king.

SirAlexTheFirst: But it was not a good city, and so the people in it fought the girl bitterly, and she fought them bitterly.

SirAlexTheFirst: At last, she came face to face with the king and queen of the city. It was the great Hunter she had left on her journey for, and his pretty wife.

SirAlexTheFirst: The girl fought them bitterly too, but her heart was not in it, and the great Hunter beat her.

SirAlexTheFirst: Yet he had mercy, and said "You were a great Hunter, too. Go forth and live as a plain girl again, and let that be a lesson to you."

SirAlexTheFirst: So the plain girl returned to the house in the woods, and made it her own.

SirAlexTheFirst: She tried to find the old crone, but she had passed away in this time, so instead she spoke to the spooky monster, and said "You, there. I am not a great Hunter any longer. The old crone is gone. Come, and keep me company.

SirAlexTheFirst: And the monster did, and was no longer a monster. And even though the great Hunter and his pretty wife and marvelous city were the grandest in all the land, the plain girl in her plain house with her plain husband was the happiest.

SirAlexTheFirst: The show ends there.

AndrewRogue: *Aria has been dead silent the whole time, and she remains so even after*

AndrewRogue: *then she laughs weakly* "That was interesting."

SirAlexTheFirst: Jess applauds the show a bit. "That was... nice, I suppose. Rather sad, but a good production."

AndrewRogue: "It... was a little sad, wasn't it?"

SirAlexTheFirst: She nods.

AndrewRogue: *she seems a bit awkward* "Let's... go get some ice cream or something."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Sure... would you like to talk about that show any more? You're sounding kind of sad..."

SirAlexTheFirst: Jess leads you down the street to an ice cream parlor and orders for both of you.

AndrewRogue: "It was just... a sad story. She seemed happiest in the end though... but is it what she wanted?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well, no, it doesn't seem like it was." Mom nods in agreement.

AndrewRogue: "Could she really be happy if it wasn't what she wanted?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Sure, why not? If people could only be happy when they get exactly what they want, almost nobody would be."

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "I... I suppose you are right."

SirAlexTheFirst: She takes a bite of her ice cream cone. "Are you internalizing this a lot, honey?"

AndrewRogue: *there's an uncomfortable silence* "I... maybe."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Why?'

AndrewRogue: "I... feel a lot like that girl right now."

AndrewRogue: "A lot."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well, what happened?"

AndrewRogue: "Its... I really can't explain it. It feels like I belong somehwere else."

AndrewRogue: "I think."

AndrewRogue: "Maybe."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Is there... a boy?"

AndrewRogue: "Not... anymore. That... happened and I think its over."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh." She licks the ice cream for a moment. "You know you can come to your father or me for support anytime with things like that..."

AndrewRogue: *she nods* "I know."

AndrewRogue: "I... I really do."

AndrewRogue: "I... just don't know what to think about anything right now."

SirAlexTheFirst: She reaches across the table to give you a tight hug.

AndrewRogue: *she returns it*

SirAlexTheFirst: "I think your father already talked to you about this, but you don't have to prove anything to other people, Aria. You shouldn't make yourself into something for some boy.

SirAlexTheFirst: Someone will come along eventually who loves you for what you are."

AndrewRogue: "How am I supposed to know who that person is though?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "You'll know." She smiles. "I wish I had a better answer, but you'll know."

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "Thank you."

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

AndrewRogue: *she finally acknowledges the ice cream, licking it to keep it from melting completely*

AndrewRogue: "It was a fun show though." *she forces a smile* "It... feels like its been forever since we did something like this."

SirAlexTheFirst: "It has been a long time," your mother acknowledges. "That's part of why I wanted to do it!"

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "Yeah. Who knows how long until little Aria goes off on her own, huh?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "That's another thing..."

SirAlexTheFirst: She licks her ice cream, hesitant to bring the subject up. "Aria, um... I don't want to be naggy or anything, but... have you thought at all lately about what you're going to be doing in a few years?"

AndrewRogue: *she doesn't look particularlt enthused to answer that* "I... I'm not sure really." *memories dance and play in her head... which ones were her actual memories and what had been her dreams?* "I've been thinking about

AndrewRogue: looking for admission at one of the big universities..."

SirAlexTheFirst: "To study something? Marvelous! What is it?"

AndrewRogue: "I'm... not really sure. I haven't thought that far ahead." *she looks a bit embarassed* "Teaching maybe."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Teaching what?

SirAlexTheFirst: "

Adm H Sopko has entered the room.

AndrewRogue: "I... maybe economics..." *Why had THAT come to mind?* "Maybe... maybe look into journalism and then drag that out."

SirAlexTheFirst: "You don't sound too sure of any of these.."

AndrewRogue: "I'm not really..." *she sighs* "It... feels so sudden now that I think about it. Next semester starts and then its all done and... I should be doing something."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well... is there anything at all you have a particular interest in?"

AndrewRogue: "That... was why I was thinking about teaching. I... I want to be able to help people."

SirAlexTheFirst: "There are plenty of ways to help people." She nods. "Helping them learn is a good one."

AndrewRogue: "I thought so too." *she smiles awkwardly*

SirAlexTheFirst: Your mother is silent for a minute. "Are you... sure that that's what you want to do, though?"

AndrewRogue: *she gives a long sigh finally* "I... really have no idea. I need more time to think about everything. Maybe I need to go do something silly and stupid like try to be a great Hunter until I realize what is really

AndrewRogue: important."

SirAlexTheFirst: She accepts this, taking another bite of ice cream. "If that's what you want to do, then... we'll be there for you. What were you thinking of?"

AndrewRogue: "I don't know. Take some time to... to go see the world and see what it has to offer me." *see if it can offer me these things I feel in my heart... in my soul...*

AndrewRogue: "Feel the grass, the air, the earth... see what I really want... or at least see what makes me happy."

AndrewRogue: *will make me

SirAlexTheFirst: "Any idea where you'll go, and what you'll do?"

AndrewRogue: "No, but that'll be the fun part. I'll just go and it'll happen."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I... see."

AndrewRogue: *she sighs and sits back* "It sounds silly, doesn't it?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes. Kind of.... risky. And... I don't really see how that's going to help you find out what you want to do in life." She looks unhappy now.

AndrewRogue: "It... it'll let me sort out these feelings I have now, the feelings that I'm... I'm missing somehting. It'll really let me see what it looks like outside of Gelendar and see the world for what it is, and see myself for

AndrewRogue: who I am."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Is that what you were out doing today?"

AndrewRogue: "I was trying to. But its not enough just like that."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Ah?"

AndrewRogue: "A few hours isn't enough time to experience what I need to. I... I need time to live. It feels like my whole world has been turned around... I just need the time to go out and understand it and myself again. Just

AndrewRogue: when I thought that maybe I had... it turns out to be a dream and I don't understand myself. I need... I have to reclaim that!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Mom nods, melancholy. "Did something in particular bring all this on?"

AndrewRogue: "I... just don't feel right anymore. Home and the world all feel so... so wrong. Or maybe its just me who feels wrong. But I NEED to understand this. Even if it was just a stupid dream brought on by all these

AndrewRogue: things I remember... it was something important. I was learning who I was... what it meant to be alive, to be happy, to be sad, to be in love, to really, truly care."

SirAlexTheFirst: "The dream you had night before last?"

AndrewRogue: *she blinks and counts back. Ice cream probably drips slightly on her hand* "Y-yes."

SirAlexTheFirst: She dabs the ice cream off your hand with a napkin. "What was that dream, anyways?"

AndrewRogue: *Aria uncomfortably switches hands and wraps the cone in a napkin* "It... I dreamed that I didn't change my mind after dad and I looked at the article about what happened to Hunter Sopko. That I did go adventuring."

SirAlexTheFirst: "And what happened?"

AndrewRogue: "A lot. I went with those adventurers I met last week for a long time before we split up and I went off on my own. And then I was told by a great and mysterious voice that I was supposed to serve the ones who dreamed. And

AndrewRogue: I met a whole group of people: Hunter, Jerriford, Nash, Jacynth and Adora. And we went into this strange cave and we battled horrible monsters and barely came out alive. And then we returned to a village and we eventually met

AndrewRogue: Throkk and Glaysa. And a lot of other things happened. Nash got killed after a whole ordeal with trying to cure Rosa's ill daughter. And then we went into this strange cave following a friend of Hunter's named Lea. And

AndrewRogue: it was... was so strange. And in the bottom I died and swore my service to a horrible deity because she tricked me. And then we had to stop this man named Verity. And we met a priest named Bandon. And dad was really a general. But

AndrewRogue: this whole Verity thing turned into a big mess and we ended up battling him in the basement of the Church of Christ and retrieved Excalibur and defeated the demon Arryx. And then Verity was captured by Whittyre who had this

AndrewRogue: strange magic. And all sorts of things happened... I died and went to Hell to be punished for my stupidity but I managed to get out with Nellix's help. And then we were planning to raid Whittyre. And I slept with Hunter and Lea afte

AndrewRogue: r some really weird things. And then the raid happened and Hunter was traped by Miss Mab and I... I died to protect the people I was with and then..." *she trails off*

AndrewRogue: "And then I woke up." *those words rattle back in her mind "Serve the ones who dream..."*

SirAlexTheFirst: Your mother blinks as she listens to all that. "That's an incredibly detailed dream. And... icky. You died how many times?"

AndrewRogue: "2 or 3 times. Nellix said something about it hadn't really happened the first time."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I see." She restrains herself from giggling.

AndrewRogue: "Dad thought it was funny in his own way too. He tried to dissuade me from continuing on at one point. And... you both... sort of... washed your hands of me."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Oh... oh goodness, no, the whole thing isn't funny. It's just..." she's trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

AndrewRogue: *she looks at her curiously* "What?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Hunter and Lea?" You can see her biting down on her tongue.

AndrewRogue: *Aria turns red* "S-shhh."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well. So... how much time were you looking at?"

AndrewRogue: "A month... two maybe." *her face is so red. Maybe she ought to have omitted that part of the story*

SirAlexTheFirst: "How can we help you?"

AndrewRogue: "I... don't know really. I don't think you really can."

AndrewRogue: "This seems like something I have to... I have to do myself."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Okay, then. Go ahead."

AndrewRogue: *she blinks* "What?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "If this is really what you want, really what you need, then go and do it. I won't interfere, and I'll tie your father down if he tries anything."

Adm H Sopko: (Shut up, pf)

AndrewRogue: *she smiles softly* "Thank you Mom. But first I need to tie up a couple loose ends here first. Like give Mr. Giabanni notice that I'm quitting."

SirAlexTheFirst: "I'll tell him for you. Don'

SirAlexTheFirst: t worry about a thing."

AndrewRogue: "Thank you."

SirAlexTheFirst: "You're welcome, honey. I'll see you in a month or two, then?"

AndrewRogue: *she nods* "I need to pack and everything... but yes."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Stay safe." She can't find the words to say anything else.

AndrewRogue: "I... I will."

AndrewRogue: *she feels like she's had the conversation before... deja vu*

SirAlexTheFirst: Jess sits there, finishing her ice cream, and says nothing more.

AndrewRogue: *she does so as well*

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AndrewRogue: *Arianna jerked, her hand clutching her stomach, half expecting to feel her lifeblood pouring from the wound. But it wasn't. She wasn't even there. She was in her bed, Kacey lying astride from her, the pale light shining through

AndrewRogue: her window. She gasped for breath, the cold sweat running down her brow. It had been a dream- a dream within a dream, or a dream of a dream? -but that didn't keep the cold sweat from her brow

AndrewRogue: She panted weakly. She... she had never stopped to reconsider herself before. She stepped out of bed uneasily. Maybe... maybe she wasn't cut for this after-all. She grit her teeth. But she wasn't a coward. She knew what this

AndrewRogue: could bring to her. But... there were things she needed to sort out... things she needed to understand. Above all... she needed to understand herself. She needed to understand... she needed to understand 'Love'*

AndrewRogue: *she sighed as she approached her closet, and opened it, looking at the clothes there within. Maybe this isn't... there was a hollow pain in her chest as her hands reached out. This time... this time she didn't want to leave.*

AndrewRogue: *She took a deep breath. But this time it wasn't so much a whim. There was something she needed to learn. Something she needed to experience. Something she needed to find out. It would determine what her life was to be... what she

AndrewRogue: was to be. She packed slowly, reluctantly, taking the necessities she knew of.*

AndrewRogue: *She looked at the bag, filled with her small few necessities and moved it to her bed before taking another shirt and carefully wrapping the crystal rose. She tucked Kacey underneath a few articles of clothing- how silly an

AndrewRogue: attachment she had -and then laid the wrapped rose on top. The job felt so quick this time...*

AndrewRogue: *She sat on her bed for a few long moments, leaning back against the wall as she thought about what she was going to do... She had a vague idea, but it would start in the north where she had started. Sithicus.*

AndrewRogue: *she slung the pack over her shoulder... She would need to get some dried food to carry with her before she left the city. She sighed... a great hunter... And she walks downstairs.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Your parents aren't up yet; the house is cold and rather dark.

AndrewRogue: *It... was easier this way. She picked up the pad and paper and quickly began to scribble.*

AndrewRogue: Mom, Dad

AndrewRogue: I'm sorry for all the trouble I tend to be lately. All over the place, not really understanding anything about what I intend to do with myself.

AndrewRogue: This is the hardest thing I have ever done, and I'm sorry for it.

AndrewRogue: I don't want to, yet I do.

AndrewRogue: But most of all, I think I need to.

AndrewRogue: I need to learn about myself... and maybe this isn't the only way... but I feel this too is part of what I must do.

AndrewRogue: I hope I will be back much sooner than I anticipated, but I just don't know.

AndrewRogue: I swear I'll keep safe though, and I'll visit soon.

AndrewRogue: Love you Forever, no matter what may come.

AndrewRogue: Arianna

AndrewRogue: *she wipes away at the tears building in her eyes as she lays the paper out and stands hastily.*

AndrewRogue: *and with that, she quietly exits the house*

AndrewRogue: *she needed an idea where to go though... she sighed. The teleporters. She would start in Kunta. But first... she wondered vaguely if John's parents were home. She shall thusly wander first to his home to knock.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Nobody replies to your knock at first.

SirAlexTheFirst: It is, after all, very early in the morning.

AndrewRogue: *she will realize her mistake and sit down briefly to begin scribbling out a thank you, see you soon John note*

AndrewRogue: John

AndrewRogue: *John-Allen

AndrewRogue: I'm sorry I didn't have the chance to thank you in person.

AndrewRogue: And it'll be a while before I have the chance. I'm leaving Gelendar to do a little soul seeking.

AndrewRogue: Hopefully lose some of this stupidity of mine that you find so cute at times.

AndrewRogue: But... I really don't know when I'll be back.

AndrewRogue: So I just wanted a chance to say thank you before I left.

AndrewRogue: Thank you.

AndrewRogue: Aria

AndrewRogue: And she shall sign her name on the front and then slide into the door crack.

AndrewRogue: And, presuming no one answers the door (the implication of the statement 'at first') she continues onto the teleporters.

SirAlexTheFirst: How long is spent writing the note?

AndrewRogue: Probably a slightly shorter than I did.

AndrewRogue: So a couple minutes.

SirAlexTheFirst: Nobody, then.

AndrewRogue: Then on to the teleporters.

AndrewRogue: "To Kunta?"

SirAlexTheFirst: They're almost deserted at this time of the morning, and the attendant waves you through without a word.

AndrewRogue: *she walks through at the prompting* "Thank you."

SirAlexTheFirst: Bamf.

SirAlexTheFirst: The Kunta teleporter is almost dark; nobody is there except you. But the door outside stands open.

AndrewRogue: *She'll never get used to the sensation of teleporting... She walks out however. It feels so lonely this early in the morning... no wonder she hated getting up.*

AndrewRogue: *She's... surprisingly hungry. She sighs. She should have eaten before she came... She shall cast about for somewhere that is open so early to serve food.*

SirAlexTheFirst: As you exit the building, a blast of cold air hits you in the face. The sun is barely over the horizon, providing only a dim light, and the streets of the small town look completely deserted. A few signs flap in the chill breeze.

AndrewRogue: *Very lonely... the place had seemed so lively when she was here... when she thought she had been here before.*

SirAlexTheFirst: It's also not at all like it was in your dream. That Kunta had been a small, homely town - this place has all the trappings of a flimsy tourist resort. Everything has been obviously paved and painted over to look more modern.

SirAlexTheFirst: Although, with the chill and the wind and the dim, it just looks lifeless.

AndrewRogue: *she shakes her head... is it in disgust? She didn't need the food right now. She definitely didn't want to be here. She'd survive. She begins the walk north to Sithicus.*

SirAlexTheFirst: A dense fog begins to roll in, once you get out of the town. The paved road leads on straight ahead, though, promising "The Most Spectacular Monument In The World!"

AndrewRogue: *She shivers and riffles through her pack to remove a sweater and put it on. Her hands shake slightly as she does so. Almost with a child's instinct she pulls Kacey out. Something she knew, something she believed in.*

AndrewRogue: *newly dressed, she steps off the paved road out of a sort of disgust, and simply walks beside it.*

AndrewRogue: *And she shall walk, humming quietly to herself in the fog...*

SirAlexTheFirst: The wind howls as you walk further and further on, growing colder all the way, and the fog increases in density till you can barely see the edge of the road and the outlines of the trees you're walking past.

AndrewRogue: *she shivers more. She didn't remember it being this cold. Ever. She hugs Kacey tightly as she tucks herself a little tighter, hugging the razor edge between the road she needed and despised.*

SirAlexTheFirst: After a bit over an hour, the road next to you simply... ends.

SirAlexTheFirst: Cuts off. Grass, lightly coated by frost, takes its place.

AndrewRogue: *she sets down for a moment, pulling another light sweatshirt from her bag. The wind was cutting... cold... She felt so isolated, so alone... But once another attempt at warding off the cold is made, she simply continues forward*

SirAlexTheFirst: After merely a few steps more, you exit the fog, and the wind stops.

SirAlexTheFirst: Before you is a large field of grass, ending at cliffs with the sea beyond.

SirAlexTheFirst: In the center of this patch lies the monument, just as you remembered it.

SirAlexTheFirst: Twelve pillars of stone, all in the shape of the one you saw in Gelendar, but of varying heights.

SirAlexTheFirst: And in the center, the spire of black ice, with the pristine carved stone floor all around.

SirAlexTheFirst: If you look back, or to the sides, you can see the fog roiling, stopped by some invisible barrier, with the trees looming past that.

AndrewRogue: *she... is slightly perturbed by the way the fog and wind just end. Maybe it was just some spell or something. But she walks forward to look at the tower and the pillars up close.*

SirAlexTheFirst: Something whispers in your head, far too softly for you to hear or comprehend anything but its presence.

AndrewRogue: *she stops, pretty dead in her tracks* "What?"

SirAlexTheFirst: The mental noise continues, unchanging.

AndrewRogue: *She cringes... the hairs on her arm and neck raising. She tries to listen closer. Maybe... maybe she was just imagining things.*

AndrewRogue: *she shakes her head, trying to clear the noise as she continues forward towards the pillars and tower to look at them, to see them, to feel them...*

SirAlexTheFirst: With every step you take forwards, the noise in your mind increases.

AndrewRogue: "Quiet!" *she practically growls as she hugs her plush closer, pushing on*

SirAlexTheFirst: It retreats at your bidding... but only redoubles as you come closer and closer.

AndrewRogue: "I am not afraid of you!" *she shouts at the voice... or maybe just at the tower and the sky...*

AndrewRogue: *the slight quaver in voice and body, however, seem to betray the exact truth of those words*

SirAlexTheFirst: The noise then increases - further - further still - and then you can begin to hear it clearly. Voices, thousands upon thousands of voices, all in a great roar. Some few stand out.

SirAlexTheFirst: A woman: "I remember how I would pray for when this day came, never considering the other tragedies that would befall us... May those prayers still echo in the ears of those above us..."

AndrewRogue: *she pauses to listen to those voices that stand out...*

SirAlexTheFirst: A man, sounding much like Hunter, confidant and assured. "I've been on the road all my life, I need not the luxuries of the home.. not yet."

SirAlexTheFirst: Another man, this one Nagukorian, grim yet jesting. "But don't worry. I assure you we'll destroy the fools that oppose us, and you can return to your queen. In the meanwhile, we have another city to take."

SirAlexTheFirst: A lady, desperate and broken. "...What? Where are my babies?"

SirAlexTheFirst: And a quick response to her: "I promise you....I will get you your children back.....No matter what..."

SirAlexTheFirst: Another woman, this one very faint. "They treat me great here. Well.. they should, if they remember my crime."

SirAlexTheFirst: A whisper, from a young girl. "No, the world will not be unmade. But is it not already unmade?"

AndrewRogue: *she continues walking forward to touch the tower* "Who are all of you?"

SirAlexTheFirst: A... thing, alien unto your mind, screams in the tumult. "SAKHMET GODDESS OF NIGHT I HAVE FAILED..." Its voice is overtaken by another: "Die, and SUFFER, you bastard."

AndrewRogue: *she shivers and shakes slightly* "What is all this?"

SirAlexTheFirst: The voices subside back to a dull roar as you enter the grounds of the monument; then they fade entirely, and the only sound is the faint howl of the wind and the noise of your shoes on the stone.

AndrewRogue: *she seems to have resorted to talking to herself- or maybe its Kacey she speaks to?- as she looks around* "Is that all some trick for the tourists?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "No."

AndrewRogue: *she whirls to face... wherever that came from, quite shocked*

SirAlexTheFirst: The voice comes from the far side of the spire.

AndrewRogue: *she swallows tightly and slowly circles around the spire, quiet as she can*

SirAlexTheFirst: A figure sits, beyond the spire, at the edge of the monument overlooking the sea, with their legs hanging over the edge.

SirAlexTheFirst: He gets up and turns to you as you approach, and you recognize him instantly. It is Nellix, and he has not changed since you last saw him.

AndrewRogue: "Nellix." *she says it simply and plainly, although a hint of excitement- or anticipation?- creeps into her voice*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Arianna." The mage's voice is gentle, but carries no further emotion.

AndrewRogue: "And do you simply know my name Nellix, or are you the same Nellix that I knew, the one who comforted me in my worst moment?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He smiles, suddenly, and laughs. "Ironic, that you will now doubt my reality. No - I am here."

AndrewRogue: *she sighs* "Just because you are here doesn't mean a lot. So are lots of people I know." *she shakes her head* "What is this place Nellix?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He cocks his head to the side, and waves at the stones. "This is the monument that we built after killing... whatever you wish to name him. I'm sure you've heard the story."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles slightly* "You know that isn't what I meant Nellix. What is this world?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Its purpose is myriad - to be a memorial, such that all here may remember the past. To be a signpost, guiding those who seek," he continues, only smiling at your interruption.

SirAlexTheFirst: "As a meeting place, as a landmark, as a focus, as an inspiration... the same as any great work. It is also a container, and a gateway. As for this world? As with any world, it is what those who shape it make it into."

AndrewRogue: *she blinks at his description of the monument* "A gateway?" *she apparently disregards that last statement for the moment*

SirAlexTheFirst: He nods.

AndrewRogue: "What... what sort of gateway?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "One which keeps some things from passing, and lets others through when the time is right." Nellix'

SirAlexTheFirst: s smile belies the crypticness of his statement.

AndrewRogue: "Can you ever speak in anything but half-truths and concealed meanings Nellix?"

AndrewRogue: *she smiles, a little cleverly for Aria*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Ah, but where would the fun be in that? I'm supposed to be a god, now - I've a reputation to keep up." This is barely delivered with a straight face. Barely.

AndrewRogue: "Its... not really so great for gods now. Humans have started doing it too."

SirAlexTheFirst: His smile fades. "They always have, and probably always will."

AndrewRogue: "It ruins the mystique it provides when almost everyone does it."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles* "I think I wouldn't mind if the gods laid claim to it."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Well." He blinks. "You've come a long way out here."

AndrewRogue: "Its not really so long I guess. Less than two hours from my house."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Two days."

AndrewRogue: *she blinks* "What?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "You've spent the last two days, give or take, on your journey here." Most of the levity has drained from Nellix, now. He looks... tired, like he did in the cathedral.

AndrewRogue: "You mean... the time since I've died... or I woke up... or whatever I did."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes."

AndrewRogue: "Can you tell me what happened? Why am I in this world? Is... is there I was supposed to be?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He sighs. "That depends on you. Fate is mostly dead. There is no place you are supposed to be. You must make your own choices. If you say this is real, and this is where you want to be, then it is."

SirAlexTheFirst: "If not... well."

AndrewRogue: "...well?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "You came here because you died, in the other world. Your dream, if you wish it to be. If not, then, well.... you're still dead."

AndrewRogue: *she is quiet for a long moment* "How... how did I end up here instead of dead?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Remember what I told you about a strong will being able to reshape reality? This is one such way. You aren't dead, and never were. Nothing happened."

AndrewRogue: "I... I made it so none of that... nothing ever happened? I never even left home?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix nods.

AndrewRogue: "And that... that is why things here are so reminiscent of what heppened in the other world?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "To some extent. You can't yet create an entirely new reality, you had to work with the old one for most of the way."

AndrewRogue: *she looks... dumbfounded to even imagine this* "I... how am I able to do all this? Just because I have a... a strong will?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He nods again. "You've also died a few times, and... gotten around, in realistic terms. You came back from Hell. Nobody does that lightly. Few beside yourself do it at all."

AndrewRogue: *she sits down in the grass and lays back* "So... its either here, in this place I've created, or being dead?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix lies down beside you, looking up at the cloudy grey sky. "I suppose it's not limited just to that. You could reshape the world again. Or I could throw you somewhere. That seems... a little bit unnecessary, though.

SirAlexTheFirst: "

AndrewRogue: "Throw me somewhere?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Heaven, Hell, Luthien's house... older versions of Amaryllis... take your pick."

AndrewRogue: "And what about the one place I want to be? The place with all my hurt, all my pain, but the people I care about?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He is silent for a bit. "I could remake it, I suppose, with you alive. It wouldn't be the same, even though it would be the same."

AndrewRogue: "What do you mean?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "In that world, you're dead. I could create another world, exactly the same, with you alive. Everything in it would be exactly the same - but it wouldn't be the same reality as the old one."

AndrewRogue: *she's quiet for a long time* "Then its not really the place I want to be."

SirAlexTheFirst: "That's about what I thought."

AndrewRogue: "Do you know if I'm going back to Hell?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "At this point?" He looks over at you. "Not unless you want to. Which begs the question, what do you want to do?"

AndrewRogue: "I want... I want to be back in the place I belong. This... this isn't reality. Its just something I created so I wouldn't have to die."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Ah..." Nellix sighs. "I wonder if perhaps you might be better off with half-truths and concealed meanings, in that case. That reality isn't reality, either."

AndrewRogue: *she throws her non-able to hit Nellix arm out to the side* "Then what is reality?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Reality died, a long, long time ago. Are you sure that you want to know the story?"

AndrewRogue: *she's quiet for a long time* "I... don't know. But... with all this that happens with reality... the hummers... my will... you being able to create a new reality... I think I should know."

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix takes his turn at being silent,.

SirAlexTheFirst: Then, finally, he begins to speak.

SirAlexTheFirst: "Long ago, there was one world. It was not called Amaryllis - it was not Amaryllis. There was one race, and they were humans. Elves, dwarves, catpeople, yuan-ti... nothing else existed, only men and women."

SirAlexTheFirst: "There was no magic on that world for a long, long time, and so man developed science, and technology, shaping the world to his will through force. The mind remained unexplained. Death remained an entire unknown."

SirAlexTheFirst: "There were no gods, either, or so many people believed. Certainly they did not grant spells, or appear, or command the people."

SirAlexTheFirst: "In Whittyre - the first Whittyre you saw - you saw something of what this world might have been like had it obtained magic, and progressed further still than it did. But this world died when it did discover magic."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Those people had known legends and stories, of course. Many of them believed in gods, although few if any ever saw proof. They knew magic only as a fairy tale, until one day when they discovered true magic, for real."

SirAlexTheFirst: "They found their stories to be truth, and their legends accurate after all - but it was far too late. The magic they found was only granted to a few people.... and what magic it was..."

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix breaks off here, holding his hand up in front of his face and looking at it as though for the first time.

AndrewRogue: *she lays down quietly, listening*

SirAlexTheFirst: He shakes his head, and continues, quietly. "Eight people recieved the gift of magic that they found - the small team of men who finally stumbled upon the truths. They added a ninth, much later."

SirAlexTheFirst: "These eight men and women found magic to be power almost beyond the imaginings of any of their world and its history. And they decided to use it, and so these eight rose up and tore their world asunder."

SirAlexTheFirst: "They conquered their fellows, destroyed nearly all of them, changed many more, and enslaved the rest, and made themselves like unto gods - for they were, compared to those that had come before them."

SirAlexTheFirst: "They grew in power, and they grew bored, and fought amongst themselves. One of them took the very world they had grown up on, and blasted it into ruin and oblivion - what little of it was left from their conquest."

SirAlexTheFirst: "That was the first reality. They made more. Worlds, and worlds, and more worlds, each just as real as the last, simply because they could, and tore most of them down, and built more up again."

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix lapses into silence again for a bit, before adding "That is the story. The reality you came from, and this one, are no more or less real as you choose to make them."

AndrewRogue: "And... those 9 are all of you?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He starts laughing, softly.

SirAlexTheFirst: "You are perceptive indeed. Their number has dwindled, with time, and two or one more added, depending on how you see it. But yes, these are the same beings that you know as gods here."

AndrewRogue: "If... if nothing is real thouhg... how do people live and die?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Good question. Life and death remain constants, as do souls. Not even the.." his voice catches a second, "'gods' presume to tamper with these things. Except once."

AndrewRogue: "Oh?"

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix answers you, or rather doesn't, "And it may be that, far from nothing, everything is real. Who is to say? The first world was unmade as easily as all the others."

AndrewRogue: "What did you mean 'Except once?'"

SirAlexTheFirst: He sighs. "One of the gods dared to press beyond the boundaries of the final death, taking with them as a guide the teachings of the old race, the original religions. They went - and came back, bringing with them a sooul.

SirAlexTheFirst: The consequences of that act have... echoed through the ages since. Spectacularly so, in some cases."

AndrewRogue: "...Gaea?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes, she was the one brought back."

AndrewRogue: "But... what did her coming back do?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "They dragged her back from death, and made her a goddess as well, immortal to most means. She did not appreciate this. You are sitting in and next to the end results."

AndrewRogue: "The fall of Karnage?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes, in a direct sense."

AndrewRogue: "So what does this all mean Nellix?" *she sighs, sitting up* "Does it even matter here?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He sits up as well, still looking out at the ocean. "No. Not unless you wish it to. But you came all the way out here for a reason."

AndrewRogue: "I wanted to find out what my dreams were. What... why I was so confused."

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix nods. "Well, now you know. And what will you do?"

AndrewRogue: "There's no way for me to directly return?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "You could be resurrected again. It wouldn't be pleasant, but it's possible."

AndrewRogue: "What do you mean?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Raising you from the dead, back into Amaryllis, again would have side effects. Yet more of them, beyond what you've already experienced."

AndrewRogue: *she stares out across the ocean* "Do you have any idea what kinds?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He doesn't directly answer you, asking instead "Are you familiar with the concept of entropy, Arianna?"

AndrewRogue: "Not... not really."

SirAlexTheFirst: "It is the theory that everything degrades over time, eventually decaying into death and nothingness. While the actual theory pertains to everything, it is particularly applicable to raising people from death."

AndrewRogue: "You mean... I'd keep getting weaker until eventually... I was nothing?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "It happens to everyone who comes back from death. That's why resurrection is so rare, even in these times. You've seen it more than most."

SirAlexTheFirst: An image of the sleek, beautiful, perfect Aria in the shower flashes into your mind, and you recall the confusion you felt then. Nellix nods beside you. "This will continue."

AndrewRogue: "Would it get worse? Continue 'till even I'm not sure who Aria is?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He speaks, softly and sadly, "Are you even sure now?"

AndrewRogue: *tears begin to gather in her eyes* "Everytime I think I know... it never right. I want so much to help them, but I can't. If it gets even worse, I'll be nothing more than a burden."

AndrewRogue: *its

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix pats you on the back, wordlessly.

AndrewRogue: *she begins to cry softly* "Why? Why did all this have to happen?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He shifts over, hugging and supporting you as you cry. "What has happened that distresses you so?"

AndrewRogue: "It... its stupid and ch-childish to say... but... but its not fair! Why do all these... these horrible things have to keep happening to people?" *she continues crying*

AndrewRogue: "I'm... I'm afraid of losing everyone..."

SirAlexTheFirst: "There are worse things that could happen. Even with all the recent strife, all the sorrow... Amaryllis is infinitely happier now than it was in the time of Karnage. Or even the first men, I think. But...

SirAlexTheFirst: Justice, fairness, is a human concept. So is hatred."

AndrewRogue: "It could always be worse... does that make things any better? Just because its less bad, its fine? They are human... but that's what we are Nellix. Human."

SirAlexTheFirst: You feel him sag a bit, at that, and he does not treply.

AndrewRogue: (Which portion?)

SirAlexTheFirst: The end.

AndrewRogue: "Weren't you too? Are you still? Can you laugh and smile and cry and hate and love?"

SirAlexTheFirst: He lets you go, and lies back down in the grass, whispering "Don't ask me such things. I'll send you back."

AndrewRogue: "What?"

AndrewRogue: *she sniffles, tears still flowing freely*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Do you really want to go back? Give up your happiness, your safety, maybe your sanity and yourself to have another chance at life and doing something on Amaryllis? I know you've been asked this before, and answered yes.

SirAlexTheFirst: "

AndrewRogue: *she grasps at the grass in front of her, continuing to cry* "YES! ...but no."

SirAlexTheFirst: He waits for you to elaborate.

AndrewRogue: "I don't know. Maybe I am happy and safe and secure here... but what about the people where I lived? What about the people I care about? My friends? My family?" *she clenches her fists* "I don't want this

AndrewRogue: power to make worlds! This is just a mockery of the place I'm from, the people I loved! Its... its me playing with life! No one should have this sort of power! No matter what I do... these people aren't them..."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Entropy... I can't remove this from you. The people who don't want power may be the only ones who can be trusted with it." Nellix seems to be speaking to nothing, or himself, as much as to you.

AndrewRogue: "I... I don't deserve it! Look at this... look at it! I've... I've created a world... lives... all because I wanted them."

SirAlexTheFirst has left the room.

SirAlexTheFirst has entered the room.

SirAlexTheFirst: "All the souls who came here were willing, if that helps..."

AndrewRogue: "I don't know... Even if they were willing... It feels wrong for me to possess this power... I'm no better than anyone else, treating it like it was some new toy! Creating a world... it shouldn't be done out of whim! Even

AndrewRogue: if the souls were willing... this doesn't change that I've given them lives where they can again suffer and cry and hurt."

SirAlexTheFirst: "It's done, and you can't undo it now. They like it here, and will continue even if you leave."

AndrewRogue: "Then good! At least I didn't do something wholly stupid... but lives aren't toys... they may be happy, but isn't it wrong to... to create something like this just to suit my whims? To treat it like it was mine?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Are you treating it like it was yours? You haven't made yourself a queen here, or even powerful at all. You're merely Aria, a young, clumsy and slightly foolhardy girl with a waitressing job and an uncertain future."

AndrewRogue: "To have even created it... I don't know!" *she digs her fingers into the grass, into the ground* "I'm not powerful... I'm not a queen... I'm... I'm not a goddess! I'm Arianna, a dead girl who misses her friends and

AndrewRogue: family and... and her life!"

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix pats your hand even as it digs in. "What, then, will you do?"

AndrewRogue: *she slumps slightly* "I... I want to go back. No matter how much I imagine... no matter how much I try... this isn't my home. If these souls are happy here, then let them be happy. I... I don't belong here. What is the

AndrewRogue: point in trying to recreate the world that was lost to me?" *she sniffle again*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Going back will cost you. I don't know how, or how much, but it will. You are willing to accept this?"

AndrewRogue: *she is silent for a long moment. Then finally, so quiet its almost imperceptible...* "Yes."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Time has passed there. You won't be going back to the same... situation."

AndrewRogue: "Can you... can you tell me what's happened?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Hunter is.... dead. And not coming back."

AndrewRogue: *she blinks, as if not quite comprehending his words. The tears well again, but for some reason, this time the sobs do not come as well. Her voice is... quiet* "How?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "He... was offered a choice between imprisonment, death, or power from the hands of Whittyre, and chose death."

AndrewRogue: *her face is pale, her voice sounds like it wants to crack* "Then... he's gone forever?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes... despite what you may hear or see in Whittyre."

AndrewRogue: "What do you mean?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "They've given him the power he refused anyways, but destroyed his mind in the process. I'm sure you'll run into what's left of him sooner or later."

AndrewRogue: "Send me back. I don't care about the cost anymore."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Spoken like a hero. You can't save him, you know. He's gone."

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix's tone is sad, and recognizably barely under control.

AndrewRogue: "I don't care." *Aria's knuckles are actually turning white under the pressure she's exerting on them* "Even if I can't save him, I can still save the others. I can... I WILL prevent this from ever happening

AndrewRogue: again." *her voice... has an icy edge to it that Nellix is likely the first one to ever hear*

SirAlexTheFirst: "You sound like me, hundreds of years ago." Nellix shakes his head. "I'll warn you once more, then. The path you tread may cost you everything. You can't save people who don't want to be saved."

AndrewRogue: "Then I will throw everything away to save those who can be, who want to and who I want to." *she forces herself to stand unsteadily, it doesn't bother her*

AndrewRogue: "That is who I am."

AndrewRogue: "And that is who Arianna is."

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix rises with you, and listens to your declaration, but doesn't respond.

AndrewRogue: "It is why I live... to laugh, to love, to smile, to cry, to sorrow, to weep... and to make sure that those around me can do the same. So they can live."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Thank you."

AndrewRogue: "I don't think I've done anything worth thanks yet."

SirAlexTheFirst: He merely nods, and sits back down. "Well, so it will be."

AndrewRogue: *she nods as she quietly stares out over the ocean* "Thank you."

SirAlexTheFirst: "For what?"

AndrewRogue: "For being here."

SirAlexTheFirst: "We're everywhere."

AndrewRogue: "There's a difference." *her voice stays quiet, never raising* "Let's go. I don't want to be here anymore."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Would you prefer to wait until Isawa Zao-Lot tries to bring you back? It might.. help..."

AndrewRogue: "If you think." *she sighs softly* "May I have some time alone then?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "As you wish." Nellix looks you in the eye, and for an instant you can see a flash of liquid blue and the ghost of... something. Then he bows his head and vanishes, leaving you with the sound of the surf.

AndrewRogue: *she stands wonderingly for a moment or two before she finally seats herself heavily on the grass*

AndrewRogue: *she picks up Kacey from where she had fallen, and stares at her for a long few minutes*

AndrewRogue: *She tries to whisper to her, but her voice fails. She cradles her softly against her chest.*

AndrewRogue: *And she shall weep, as if the stars in the heavens themselves did fall*

AndrewRogue: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AndrewRogue: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AndrewRogue: *Aria was sitting, clutching her stuffed toy to her chest. Why was it now, why was it now that she asked to be alone? She sobbed.*

AndrewRogue: *Because now... now she needed to be strong.*

AndrewRogue: *For them, she had to maintain her strength. No longer a fool. No longer a child.*

AndrewRogue: *She wouldn't allow herself to be weak when she needed strength. Tears could come when she had time.*

AndrewRogue: *she wiped her eyes on the soft fur of Kacey as another sob wracked her body*

AndrewRogue: *It hurt.*

AndrewRogue: *Another friend gone. Another love gone.*

AndrewRogue: *she clenched her fist angrily*

AndrewRogue: *and then released it, crying freely*

SirAlexTheFirst: (I'll be back in a bit.)

AndrewRogue: (Sorry for my slow. I'm... strapped right now.)

AndrewRogue: (I need interaction sometimes :p)

AndrewRogue: *the tears flowed freely from her eyes*

AndrewRogue: *but she didn't sag. She stood.*

AndrewRogue: *And she walked towards the edge of the cliff, staring out at the surf far below.*

AndrewRogue: *And she stands, looking over it. At the water. At the horizon. At the sun.*

AndrewRogue: *and she kneels, setting the plush on the cliff's edge before stepping back and falling to her knees, the tears still falling*

AndrewRogue: *and then she closes her eyes* "I'm sorry."

AndrewRogue: "I... I've done horrible things at times."

AndrewRogue: "I don't mean to... I don't want to."

AndrewRogue: "I didn't want to... to kill that man."

AndrewRogue: "I haven't wanted to hurt my parents like this."

AndrewRogue: *she sighs softly, weakly, relieving the last vestiges of her pain to the gods? Or maybe just the world?*

AndrewRogue: "I've been foolish."

AndrewRogue: "I've been stupid."

AndrewRogue: "We've done so many wrong things."

AndrewRogue: "We haven't meant harm have we?"

AndrewRogue: "Can you forgive us? Can you forgive me?"

AndrewRogue: "I... I don't know what these days will bring."

AndrewRogue: "Is it wrong?"

AndrewRogue: "Is it wrong to want to fight with all your body, all your spirit, all your soul and risk everything to protect what you love?"

AndrewRogue: "I... I love life."

AndrewRogue: "I want people to be happy, free of pain."

AndrewRogue: "I don't want them to suffer!"

AndrewRogue: "But maybe its part of being human. Living."

AndrewRogue: "Laughing. Smiling. Crying."

AndrewRogue: "But more than that... Love."

AndrewRogue: "And that is why I will do everything to stop the suffering I can."

AndrewRogue: "I want to sit here and swear I'll never hurt anyone again."

AndrewRogue: "I wanted to vomit when... when I hit him."

AndrewRogue: "I didn't want him to be dead. I wanted him to be alive."

AndrewRogue: "I... I wanted him to be alive so I could kneel down and strip him of his pain. I didn't want to do that."

AndrewRogue: "I want to sit here and swear that I won't do it ever again."

AndrewRogue: "But... can I?"

AndrewRogue: "Why do we have to hurt each other?"

AndrewRogue: "Why do we have to do it?"

AndrewRogue: "I can't say it..."

AndrewRogue: "To protect the people I care about, I can say I'll willingly sacrifice myself."

AndrewRogue: "I will take on all their pains as my own, I will be there to comfort them, to support them."

AndrewRogue: "But... I can't promise that for everyone..."

AndrewRogue: "What if something like that happens again? What if I have to fight to protect them?"

AndrewRogue: *she hangs her head* "I will do it."

AndrewRogue: *she clutches at the ground*

AndrewRogue: "I don't want to have to."

AndrewRogue: "I don't want to bring pain."

AndrewRogue: "And I will do everything I can to avoid it."

AndrewRogue: "I don't want to feel this..." *she clutches at the ground*

AndrewRogue: "I... I hate Mab."

AndrewRogue: "I've never felt like this before. I... I've disliked people. I've been angry. But for what she does... I..." *she stops and sighs*

AndrewRogue: "It doesn't matter."

AndrewRogue: "I... I have to accept my punishment for what I've done. And what I will do."

AndrewRogue: "Do I have any right to call myself a woman?"

AndrewRogue: *she swallows tightly*

AndrewRogue: "I will prove it."

AndrewRogue: "I will prove I am not a child any longer."

AndrewRogue: "And I will prove that I can protect the people I care about, no matter what the cost!"

AndrewRogue: *she stands slowly* "Forgive me."

AndrewRogue: "And rest peacefully Hunter. I'm... sorry I failed."

AndrewRogue: *the tears which ended so long ago begin to well again*

AndrewRogue: "I'm sorry to all of you whom I failed."

AndrewRogue: "All of you... forgive me for not having the strength I needed... for still being a child."

AndrewRogue: *she reaches out and takes up Kacey*

AndrewRogue: *Aria loosens her hold on Kacey and holds her out gently, looking into her eyes. Then, with the most gentle release, she drops her.*

AndrewRogue: *the small toy plummets... far into the surf below*

AndrewRogue: *Aria turns sadly and walks back towards the spire, wiping at her eyes. Her voice almost choking, she whispers softly* "Goodbye."

AndrewRogue: *it was an abandonment of her childhood, of this world... and a resignation of what she would do*

AndrewRogue: *Then she shall seat herself against or near the spire... and simply wait. She had nowhere to go here if she was to return. And that is what she will do... wait for something to happen.*

SirAlexTheFirst: A hand falls on your shoulder, softly, and its owner speaks. "You are not alone."

AndrewRogue: *she stiffens in surprise* "Wha...!" *and she twists to face said speaker*

AndrewRogue: *she relaxes slightly* "Sorry... you startled me."

SirAlexTheFirst: His mouth twitches in amusement. "I take it you are ready to try to return?"

AndrewRogue: "Thank you. I... just needed a few moments assure myself." *she takes a deep breath* "If... if it is time. Yes. I'm ready to try."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Then, Lady Arianna. Would you be so kind as to walk with me?" He steps towards the cliff, and extends his hand, looking to you.

AndrewRogue: *she sits up, accepting it*

AndrewRogue: "Yes."

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix glances at the sun, rising in the east, then steps out over the cliff, standing on nothing. "Know this, no matter what happens. As long as I live and breathe, as long as my soul yet glimmers,

SirAlexTheFirst: you and all you call friend will not be alone. God shall smile upon you in the end." Thus speaking, he continues to walk forward holding your hand.

AndrewRogue: *she nods, following* "Thank you Nellix. Its... comforting to know."

AndrewRogue: *she smiles softly*

SirAlexTheFirst: As you walk out over the air, the world behind and below you starts to shimmer and fade, lines and streaks of color flashing through a grey fog. The sky and the sea remain constant, though, and Nellix leads you forward...

AndrewRogue: *she does her best to ignore it, continuing to follow Nellix*

SirAlexTheFirst: ... eventually unto a wall in the air, looking almost like a painted backdrop save that the sky and sea flow into it. He turns to you again. "This is all."

AndrewRogue: "What do you mean?"

SirAlexTheFirst: "Beyond this point lies hardship. Are you ready?"

AndrewRogue: "Yes." *she says it plainly and simply, nodding*

SirAlexTheFirst: Nellix turns to face the barrier - and steps through.

AndrewRogue: *she follows him, presuming she is able*

SirAlexTheFirst: Yes.

AndrewRogue: *then she holds her breath and steps through the barrier*

SirAlexTheFirst: Everything vanishes. Your eyes blur as not just blackness, but complete nothingness envelops them, like your blind spot increasing to cover everything.

AndrewRogue: *she blinks, trying to clear the dizzying sensation*

SirAlexTheFirst: Then it begins.

SirAlexTheFirst: You feel pieces of yourself, your mind, your energy, your soul beginning to rip away from your body, as your strength fades. A million tiny screaming Arias fly around you as your eyes warp to make them the only things you see.

SirAlexTheFirst: You are sinking into nothing - and nothing has sunk its claws into you.

AndrewRogue: *She wishes very, very, very badly to join them in that moment, but she forces silence as she focuses everything inward, trying to draw it all back towards her* "NO!" *through gritted as they can be teeth*

SirAlexTheFirst: No, not nothing. That which holds your hand. A smokey, liquid, crystalline blue and black monstrosity has its claws ripping into your arm, and the blood there is flying into its maw, turning into Aria as it does so.

AndrewRogue: *her eyes widen in shock* "What?" *she tries to pull her bleeding arm free of its grasp* "What are you... what is this!"

SirAlexTheFirst: The monster's claws shoot deeply into your flesh, up your arm, and you feel it ripping at your heart, vast pain like nothing you have imagined, even in Hell.

SirAlexTheFirst: A great pull, followed by... emptiness. And a push. You fall back, lacking the strength to resist, and your eyes see only a piercing void again.

AndrewRogue: *she weakly tries to force them closed. And stand, or speak, or... anything. She shudders weakly, the resonations of the pain... so great....*

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: Tarin is looking down on you, crying, as high wooden rafters rise to the ceiling above him. "What went wrong? Where were the gods when she needed them? Why, Aria?" he breaks down as your vision fades down into

SirAlexTheFirst: the lacy white walls around you.

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: Hunter looks at you curiously, poking your body on the table. You feel only a slight pressure. "I loved her..." he mutters. Mab shakes her head and touches a button, and the metal blades on the table spin up to

SirAlexTheFirst: incredibly high speed and begin cutting into your flesh. Black blood pools, doesn't spray, and you feel not even pressure.

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: Cold, a piercing, painful cold, surrounds you. The ice is solid around your entire body - and your eyelids, keeping them open as the nerves scream in protest against being pressed to the water crystals.

SirAlexTheFirst: A young voice vaguely reaches you through the chill. "Lady, what's in the spire?" Another tone, filled with rage. "The dead souls of fools and slime."

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: An orc, in shining white armor, and a small boy are building a sand castle at the beach. On you. The last handfuls of sand are patted down around your eyes, and you hear a small clink like that of a vial.

SirAlexTheFirst: The orc asks "What is that?" and the boy replies "The tears of everyone." A drip, then a patter as water hits sand, and wetness seeps down to your skin, and burns, crisping the flesh and eating it away.

SirAlexTheFirst: Sand begins to fall in where parts of you lay.

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: A cavern stretches above you, massive and streaked with orange, blue, red, purple glowing streaks of what looks like sap or perhaps the blood of the very rock.

SirAlexTheFirst: Then the cavern roof moves, and what you thought was stone rises into a great dragon, more terrible than any you've seen or imagined in books. It screams, as the cave weeps blood around it.

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: A man in his late twenties laughs above you. His hand moves, and so do you, flying up and around the room, which looks like someplace that could only be in the Whittyre labs.

SirAlexTheFirst: The walls crack where you hit, and you see bloodstains left as the man throws you around like a ragdoll in the air. "Can't be done? Insane?" he shouts. "You are the last woman who will say no to me!"

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: Water ripples over your prone face - or something like water, ice cold and burning. Spires of rock or bone rise around you to a far ceiling. You recognize the place instantly as a familiar presence moves at your feet.

SirAlexTheFirst: The shadow of its misshapen head falls on the far wall as it rises to face you.

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: Flesh grows around you, and inside you, firing your nerves with alien sensations. The tickling of something other than yourself invades your brain.

SirAlexTheFirst: <It shall make a most suitable addition to our mass. The Queen shall be pleased.>

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: Leonard Goldskin sits at his desk - no, not his desk. Somewhere else. A vast window behind him looks upon the ruins of a city, yet this office is elegant and pristine.

SirAlexTheFirst: He stares at you like a ghost. "Who are you? What are you? How'd you get in here?"

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: Fire crackles on your skin, charring it but providing only a faint warmth and a long-lost pain. A little girl looks at the sticks built over your body. "Mommy? You'll be out there somewhere, right?"

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: You lie in nothing.

SirAlexTheFirst: Above you - metal. A grating.

SirAlexTheFirst: Above that, feet. People. A carved block of stone, and something massive upon it.

SirAlexTheFirst: Above that, nothing.

SirAlexTheFirst: One of the people, a woman in white, is walking towards the thing on the throne, an abomination of scales, teeth and horns.

SirAlexTheFirst: It does not move.

SirAlexTheFirst: She climbs into its lap.

SirAlexTheFirst: It moves.

SirAlexTheFirst: She kisses it.

SirAlexTheFirst: It slams her onto the grating, blood spraying down to fall upon you in slow-moving showers, its sword flashes and slams through the woman's skull down into and through even the grating.

SirAlexTheFirst: Her head, frozen in a scream of despair, falls down to you. The face is your own.

SirAlexTheFirst: FLASH

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*OnlineHost*: SirAlexTheFirst rolled 1 999-sided die: 803

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~BEGIN~~~~~~

SirAlexTheFirst: The sun shines over you lightly, illuminating your room, bed sheets, your arms clearly.

SirAlexTheFirst: The door to the room clicks open, softly. "Miss Aria? Are you awake yet?"

AndrewRogue: *she jerks up, or at least tries to* "Wha... where am I?"

SirAlexTheFirst: It opens fully, and a lady dressed as a priestess of Luthien enters. "Thank love... you're in the Temple of Luthien in Whittyre. How are you feeling?"

AndrewRogue: "I... I'm... alive?"

AndrewRogue: *that seems to be the first step to determining her state*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Yes, ma'am. Mr. Zao-lot and Brother Bandon brought you in, and you'

SirAlexTheFirst: re back up now."

SirAlexTheFirst: She wrings her hands in concern. "Are you... well?"

AndrewRogue: "I... think if that's the case... I'm mostly okay." *images flashy-flash all through her mind, and she brings an arm to feel the place where the blue-thing had torn it*

AndrewRogue: *the flesh seems intact... she doesn't seem to have suffered any of the injuries she had felt in... during? her resurrection... she caustiously tests herself , sliding out of bed to stand unsteadily on her feet*

AndrewRogue: "Are you... okay?"

AndrewRogue: *she shut the horrifying images from her mind as she spoke*

SirAlexTheFirst: "Me? I'm fine. Um... would you like anything? Food... clothes? Water? Books?"

AndrewRogue: "I... clothes?" *she blinks, realizing that in her condition, she did lack them* "Um... yes. Clothes... would be nice. And maybe a little water? I... don't think I can handle anything else right now."

SirAlexTheFirst: "Sure thing. I'll tell Zao-Lot and Bandon that you're up, too!" And she exits.

AndrewRogue: "Ah... thank you..." *she sits down tiredly. Her body felt... drained. But fine. No wounds... no horrible lacerations... no... nothing.*

SirAlexTheFirst: ~~~~~~~~END~~~~~~~~~~~~