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Cat's trembling decreased fractionally as Litania stroked her and whispered unintelligible things to her. Settling against the confortable span of her shoulder, the cat concentrated on sleep, a sweet refuge from the madness around her.

"I should be able to manipulate my magic around Rile's steed so that it can travel through the heavens as securely as Reno,” rang Litania’s voice, bringing Rile back from his little daydream. He had been distracted by some distant memory and had only just realized that he had approached the others once again. The thought of being propelled through the air with magic reminded Rile of when he first came to this planet. That was such a long time ago, however, that it was hard to pick out specific details. He could remember his friends’ faces, his long lost comrades that had gone on the long voyage from laos to Earth with Rile.

Rile wondered how Litania might make Runaway fly and what it might look like when she did it. He gave a little chuckle at the thought of Runaway with wings, squirming in the air at the new and unpleasant feeling. “Very well then, so we will be traveling by air! Wonderful, I haven’t been flying on anything at all in quite a while. Where do you propose that we obtain an airship for those who need one, or does Talaris here have one of her own?” Rile shifted in his saddle as he looked between Litania and the others, wondering what their response might be. He would much rather travel in an airship than on a flying horse, though it couldn’t be helped. Rile wouldn’t just leave Runaway behind. There was no chance of that!

The cat's whiskers twitched; she was dreaming. Had not Litania taken care to be sure that the little feline was secure on her shoulder, she might have slid off off that comfy perch.

Viridis thoughtfully chewed the end of a ballpoint pen. She was fond of such things, for they were reminiscent of ancient times, and after all, wasn't she trying to emulate the magic-users of old? "Viiriiii," Unda complained, "you've spent the better part of a month shut up, with not even a glimmer of sunlight to brighten your day. Look!" she exclaimed, grabbing her protesting friend's wrist and holding it against her own. "You're even paler than I am. Me, a person who abhors the sun's golden gaze!"
"Eloquent description," Viridis replied tonelessly, returning her attention to the thick tome before her. Unda huffed, tossing her auburn tresses over her shoulder. She had beautiful hair, hair that would curl and flow down to her hips, where they'd end in erotic twists and helixes. For the first half of her life at college, Viri had attempted to grow her hair thus-- ture, hers was brown, but it curled, so she should be able to get something close, right? Wrong, actually. Her hair tumbled down in a wild mass of ringlets, tangling in amongst their fellows like seaweed. The effect, though different, was nonetheless pleasing, so she'd kept it.

Absentmindedly, her hand strayed to the head of a little grey cat she'd found one day, half-starved near the crumbling ruins of an American factory. The feline would serve her purpose well, so she'd taken her home and christened her Desplazador, literally meaning shifter in the tongue of the Spaniards, now an extinct race of man. It fit well, considering the creature's ultimate purpose.

"Unda," Viridis said excitedly, "I'll go outside tomorrow. I promise. Tonight, though-- I see how I can do it! I'll finish this tonight, and tomorrow it will be all over." She laughed, the sound bubbling up from her chest and rising to her head. After almost a year of effort, she had it! Tomorrow, she thought exultantly, tomorrow, the power of the shape-shifters will be mine, and I can be cat or human at will. A meeting of souls, such as has never been seen since medieval times...

She wasn't aware of Unda laying her hand on her shoulder, nor of her friend's frightened, concerned look. In fact, it was the gentle click of the door swinging shut behind the woman that brought her back to her senses. "Desa," she said to the cat, "do you love me? Of course you do! Good kitty." A raspy purr, like a broken engine, rumble from the cavernous depths of Desplazador's chest. Humming a merry tune under her breath and occasionally mouthing the words, Viri sketched a pentagram, then a hexagram, overlapped at each end by octagrams, on the hard flooring of her room. The powdery chalk rubbed off on her fingers, tinting them white, as she started on the figure of a human woman walking after a cat-- or was it a cat walking after the woman? No one could tell, or would ever be able to, for it was a circular path they trod, one with no end or beginning.

Parsely, sage, rosemary and thyme...remember me to one who lives there, for he once was a true love of mine... Scarborough fair. The song was ancient, and in its time, it had been believed to be a song about the trials of love. But there was more to it than met the eye; in the days of the song's birth, witchcraft and magic were crimes, offenses punishable by death. The warlock who'd written the song used the extra words merely as a disguise for its true intent-- the instructions for shape-shifting.

The four herbs symbolized not four various traits necessary for love, but rather, the following: Sage loaned strength and endurance to the souls involved, that each may keep their own mind; Parsley removed pain and regret, making each transition easier; Thyme allowed for courage, so that the souls would manage to remain separate; Rosemary was not for love, but to create a ward against other souls, so that the only spirits involved in this feat would be the human and the cat. Then there were the other verses of the ballad, each one followed closely, with but a few deviations Viridis had added herself, that she may fluidly switch between forms multiple times, not merely once, as the song's instructions allowed for. "Ready, Desplazador?" she asked. Then she picked up the cat and stepped into the center of the intricate design, pulling up the hems of her mage's robes so that they wouldn't obscure the lines.

The cat's nose wrinkled as a dust mote crept in, and she sneezed forcefully. Blinking blearily, she yawned before falling asleep again.

Resa pondered the streets of the small village. People were wandering the streets everywhere you looked. Woman, were bringing there children inside, and drunken men were shouting incomprehensible words. She winced at the noise,and stupidity of them. Of course she didn't exactly fit in with the crowd. Her pale face, blood red eyes, and dark black hair, stood out like a crow among blue birds. Although she wouldn't like to think of herself as a crow, actually she didn't even want to think of herself as a bird.

Walking down the street she noticed stares of children, whom she obviously scared. Every once in awhile she couldn't help looking over at them, and saying. "Boo." As expected the children ran into their houses.
Chuckling she continued walking, until she came by an inn. It wasn't the prettiest place in the town, and it was probably filled with more drunken idiots.So deciding it was a good idea not to go in. she sat by an apple tree a few feet away.

This was probably the most peaceful spot in the village. Here she could partially relax, and enjoy eating an apple. The chances of meeting a drunken man were slimmer.

Her thoughts strayed to her home planet. Her family, and even though she wasn't very close to them, she still couldn't help, but miss them. She also missed the rest of her planet, and some of the people on it. Iaos was better than Earth in so many ways, some of them couldn't be explained. There was a feel to Iaos, that earth didn't have, and she missed it.

A man walked up to her, he was probably drunk. She turned to the man, and calmly stated, "If you don't go, you will regret ever seeing my face." The man just chuckled and replied, "Come on, have a little fun." She shrugged and stood up. "I warned you." With the ignorant mans face as a target she brought up her hand in a fist, and punched him. Now back to peace, and quiet.

Litania nodded as she listened to Rile speak, noticing the slight unease as she spoke about his steed flying. "Rin bears an airship of small nature: it should be able to carry those who do not have a mount. And I'm sure there would be enough room if you'd rather not ride. We can easily tie your mount's reigns to Reno."

Picking up the cat as she woke slighty, Litania settled the small creature upon her lap so that it was more secure and held her in position with a single palm. Taking up the reigns with her free right hand, the elf settled her pale gaze upon the wind-mage.

"If you may lead the way?"

The human set off towards where his ship was obviously situated and Litania started Reno into a steady walk, making sure the rest of the group were following. Her nerves were themselves becoming quite taught - she swore she could sense the Kandra gaining with each minute that passed - and as soon as they were in the air again, the better.