It is nearing evening by the time he gets back from the long journey that took him to Elder Mountain. To say he was tired would be an understatement, but he had things to get done before he fell into his bed. First was making it through the outer lying villages without snapping at anyone due to his fatigue. It was much easier said than done. The Fae wanted to talk to him, to ask him if he saw any wounded soldiers on the way there or back. If any of them where from this Court. They wanted to know if he was called so he could end the war, if he was going to be the next Elder Fae. Each question was asked over and over again and yet somehow the young Fae managed to not lose his polite smile and tone, though the corners of his lips tightened with each word he spoke. It was a miracle he didn’t just tell them to shut up. It was a miracle he didn’t use his Royal authority to make them disappear.

After making his way through the first set of villages, the villages ravaged by the war, the ones who were closest to the battlefront. They were the poorest of the poor, and as much sympathy as Ariel felt for them, a lot of them were criminals, convicted of crimes from thievery from the Royal Court to attempted assassination of the Queen. They were farthest from the Royal Court clouds, as he called them. He figured they had a name, but he honestly didn’t care and never would. As he walked away from the first set of villages, the next being about 4 miles away, a gentle breeze swept across his land, ruffling his hair and tugging his wings a bit forward, causing him to stumble. A light sigh escaped his lips, flapping his wings a few times before pressing them flat against his back. He didn’t like flying, that much was known. He liked the feel of the ground beneath his feet, the hard crunch of the ground as he pressed down onto it. Sometimes, he even took off his twig designed shoes and walked barefoot across the harsh, unforgiving ground. And honestly, he didn’t mind having things get stuck in them. Most Fae didn’t have shoes, and those who did were extremely lucky to keep them. Only the Royal Court seemed to be blessed with the gift of foot ware and Ariel did his best to never wear shoes whenever he could.

At the next village he was greeted with a few excited murmurs from the children and offers of food and rest by the adults. He politely declined all of them, staying a while to chat with some of the children and tell them made up stories of his journey and how he had to fight off the Magicusers in order to make it to the Elder Mountain. With their input, it turned into an all-out battle with him on one side, and all their enemies on the other. He battled them all, defeating them all single handedly.

“Until a really really tall Dragonkin came and rescued you from being frozen by a water Nymph!” one child shouted, no older than eight. The rest of the kids started to add more to the story and soon Ariel found himself looking up into the night sky, the stars shining brightly in the sky. Ariel let a small grimace grace his lips for a few seconds. There was no way he was going to walk home in the dark. It meant that he had to fly home at this time of night.

“Mister Ariel, sir?” a small timid voice hushed all the voices of the louder children and they turned to look at a small girl Fae, her jet black hair and yellow green eyes staring up at him, “My mommy told me to give this to you since its far from your home. She said you might be hungry.” She thrust a little basket in front of him and he accepted it gratefully, giving her a pat on the head with a bright smile.

Standing up, he stretched out his back from crouching for so long and gave the group of children, a wave, “My apologies, but I must bid the lot of you farewell. It is getting late like this little lady said, and I have to get home. Maybe in a few days I’ll come back down here and we can have another story time, alright?” He left to the sound of laughing parents and cheering children.

---

“You’re late.” He was pulled into a corner that went unseen by most and a light kiss was pressed to his lips. Happy that Sindri was the first person he saw when he arrived home, he stood on his toes to kiss him again before thrusting the now empty basket into his hands.

“I can talk later. Give that to chef and tell her I want pastries and breads in there by the morning.” Turning on his heel with an annoyed sigh, Ariel started down the hall, “I must go tell mother and father I have arrived home, or I fear they will worry about my wellbeing.” Of course it was a joke, as his parents rarely cared about anything he did unless it benefitted them. He was sure that him being dead would help them with their power hungry schemes, but killing someone outright wasn’t the Unseelie way of doing things. Waltzing through the dining room doors, he loudly announced his presence to his parents and lazily sat in the chair across from his father.

“What did they want.” Ah, not even a hello. How sad. “Why would they call someone like you to the Elder Mountain? Are they accepting deformed Unseelie Fae’s nowadays?”

Ariel was used to this from his father. To the rest of the Fae, it seemed like he loved his son’s unique look, it gave him a title other than the Army Tactic Commander. But away from the public view, he was a nasty, evil man. In a way he respected him, his work ethic in a sense, but the man himself was too corrupted. His mother was no better but he tried to be nice to her most times.

“No father. They want to send me on a mission.” He paused for a second and assessed the looks on his parents faces, “They want to see if there is a weapon powerful enough to stop this war. I was picked, along with a Dragonkin , a male Seelie Fae, and a Naga.” He purposefully left out the others in case his father decieded to rope him into one of his world domination plots about killing the other races and taking the glory for himself. Turning to his mother, he gave a kind yet tight smile toward her, “Mother, I will be leaving in a fortnight. I just wanted to inform you both.” He stood from the chair and gave a slight incline of his head to his parents before walking out of the grand room in the same dramatic fashion he did when he entered.

Collasping on his bed, he groaned into the pillow, though it morphed into a laugh when Sindri sat on top of him. After a few minutes of trying to get him off of his body, Ariel found himself draped across Sin’s lap, fingers combing gentle through his hair. It was relaxing, something he needed after the tense moments with his parents. He truly didn’t like them. Respect, yes. Love, no.

“So are you going to talk, or am I going to have to sit on you again, Ariel?” His voice was playful and soft, and Ariel could feel the vibration of his chest as he talked. Humming in annoyance he opened his eyes and stared into the deep green that was Sindri’s.

“I’m going to find the Elder’s Book. The Book.” He gave an excited smile at the other’s shocked expression, “It won’t just be me. They took one from every race. They want us to work together and find the Book, and bring peace to the land again. We are going to end the war, Sin. We are going to be heroes!” the excited gleam in his eyes seemed to get brighter as he spoke and soon he was no longer in the older Fae’s lap, but clasping his hands in his own, a bright smile on his face. A soft laughter snapped him out of his musings and realizing what he was doing, Ariel blushed a deep crimson, “Stop laughing at me, I hate you.”
The only response he got was a deep kiss and more laughter.

---

“Are you ready?”
“No. I want you to come with me. Oh, yes, hello nice to see you too Madame. Have a good day.”
“You know that’s not possible, Ariel just go already. It will be dark soon and you will be late.”

The young Fae looked into the fading light, “I’ll be fine. The time to meet is not until midnight. ‘When the moon is high and the forest animals are quiet, you are to meet in the center of the land. There you will find an old oak tree. That is your meeting place’ or some weird stuff like that.” He smiled kindly at a group of children and quickly turned on his heel to face Sindri. Can I go change? Please. I would like these last hours to be spent without me being recognized and stared at every step I take.”

A nod of the head was all he needed before he rushed off behind the nearest set of buildings, ripping off the attire that marked him as a Royal. Donning old rags that Sindri and gone out and gotten for him, Ariel found a pile of soot and rubbed it into his hair, darkening the color into a nice blackish gray. His eyes still stood out, but it wasn’t necessary to hide them. Skipping back out he met back up with Sindri, who was busy looking through a few pots and pans in a local shop. Pressing a kiss to his cheek didn’t even get a glance from the shopkeeper.

The next hours were spent with the two of them doing things couples normally do in the Unseelie land. Which isn’t much. They found a sort of inn, who let them stay there for only a few silver coins, and the two of them giggled in the back room, talking about anything that came to their minds and sneaking in kisses more often than not. A heavy blush was coloring his cheeks when their playfulness got a little hotter, but being his stubborn self, he went with the flow of things, letting Sindri take control of his body. They had done this many times before, yet it seemed that since it could be the last time, Sindri took care of what he wanted to do to his body, drawing out the shock waves as long as he possibly could. They weren’t too loud, they didn’t need to get kicked out of the inn just as things were getting good, nor did they want to see the shopkeeper see them in such a way. At the end they whispered sweet nothings into each other’s ears until Sindri fell asleep, curling Ariel into his chest. Sooner than he wanted, the clock chimed at the ten, and he knew it was time to leave. Smiling, he shoved Sindri away from him and tossed a wave over his shoulder as he left. The two of them knew that if anything was said, Ariel wouldn’t leave.

He reached the oak just a little before midnight. All he carried with him were the clothes on his back, a canteen made of Fae’s wings, and a small backpack made from the scales of the water nymphs. Seeing that no one else was there, or they were hiding in wait, he plopped down against the tree, leaned his head back, and waited. Waited for their journey to begin.

---

---

"They chose you? What in the hell are those old fools thinking sending you headlong into danger like that? I'd kill them myself if time wouldn't beat me to it," The older Naga ranted. He was a regal fellow, thick and strong with aged wisdom in his salt and pepper beard. His eyes were wild golden saucers, still retaining the same determined gleam as they had in his youth. Shoulder length brown hair fell across the sides of his face, held at bay by a network of gold cords. He wore the finest blue silks, edged with golden embroidory to mark his status as a Lord of their town. The scales covering his tail sheened and matched his silks, a dark blue, deeper than even the most starless of nights. The young woman in front of him seemingly taking his rant in stride was smaller, the top of her head barely reaching the top of his collarbone.

Her auburn hair was much messier than his, and where he word blue silks, she wore an open fronted green, under which a pure white silk shirt lay. Her scales were not as brilliant as his, but were rather a myraid of browns, greens, and tans patterned in a haphazard array of asymmetrical spots. Despite these differences, they were no doubt family. It was in the features. A round jawline with which rarely juts out in hostility, the smallish nose, soft lips. She was this man's daughter, there was no denying that. It was made that much more apparent when she opened her eyes, the same hue of gold as her father's, tinted with the hope of her youth. Her eyebrow ascended her head as if asking if he was through.

"You aren't killing anyone, Father, and you know it," she said. This wasn't the first time she heard his spiel. In fact, she had lost count. It's all she had heard since she had arrived home from the meeting. She had been chosen for a mission by the elders, along with a number of others near her age. She was to find something to release the stranglehold this bloody stupid war had on them. It had been pure luck that her father was home when she was called, and she was glad. Even if he threatened to kill everyone on her behalf. Her father's lip twitched, and then a forked tongue left and retreated into his mouth. She couldn't help by try and attempt to hide her smile. He always did that when he was irritated. She thought it was cute.

"Perhaps not, but it doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it. Really? You? Why had it have to be you, of all people? Why not me? Why not anyone else?" This too, wasn't anything new. He'd give anything to trade places with her, she could see it in his face and hear it in his words. He'd give anything for it to be him instead of her. "Because Father. You are needed elsewhere. The field commander of the Naga forces can't just go gallavanting about looking for a long lost relic. You have a responsibility to your men," She had never been the one to lecture her father before, and the words felt weird coming out of her mouth. Out of place, even.

She was terrified, no doubt about it. She'd rarely even left their town, much less take a round trip. With strangers at that. Whatever bravery she was putting on for her parents, it was not present during the gathering. She had been silent, barely uttered a word the entire trip, and nearly broke into tears when she was chosen. She was terrified. But she'd put on a strong face for her parents and act like nothing was wrong. She'd act like it was a mere chore than anything. A tired laugh came from behind them, causing the pair to turn their heads.

It was her mother, she had been sitting in the doorway to the parlor, listening to their every word. Now that her presence was anounced, she slithered into the room and sat beside them, a warm smile on her face. Her hair was stark raven, in contrast the the browns of both father and daughter. She wore her hair high, tightly bound in a bun with two golden sticks to keep it's shape. Her scale pattern were the more intricate of the three, black, speckled with green and gold flakes. "Shokunn, dear, she's taking it better than you are," She said. Though she wasn't fooling anyone. She was taking the news about as good as Shokunn was, if not worse. Her warm smile was strained, a farce, hiding what she really felt. "Irianas! Tell your daughter it's crazy what they want her to do," he asked. "Oh, it's crazy. I couldn't agree with you more, but I think Bailey knows that dear." Bailey knew it better than anyone.

Bailey nodded her agreement. Why couldn't it have been anyone else? Why had it been her. She wouldn't fight it, but why was it her? "I have to do this, father." She said. "No you--" Shokunn wasn't able to finish his thought before Bailey cut him off gently. "Father. How long have you been fighting in this war?" She asked. "Since... Since I was able," He answered. As she spoke, Bailey began to rear up on her tail, steadily beginning to reach her father's height. "And I have a chance to end it. I'm... I'm tired of it. I'm tired of you leaving. I'm tired of wondering if you'll return home this time. I'm tired of missing you. Our people are dying for no reason-- and I can stop it. I can bring our people home. I can bring you home-- for good. Daddy, I want to do this... I need to do this." He had his duty and she had hers. But she didn't want to do this. She didn't know if she could do anything. What help could she possibly offer? But still, she was chosen.

Irianas couldn't help but smile proudly. She turned to Shoken and glared playfully. "This is your fault you know? She takes after you. She has the same heart." Her glare then relaxed. Saddness graced her face, but so did pride. Shokunn hid his face with his hands, he too was tired. Too tired. "I know. It's all my fault," he said with the flicking of his tongue. Again, Bailey couldn't help but smile. She slid closer to him and wrapped him in an embrace, her tail wrapping around him. "It is your fault, daddy. But it'll be alright. I'm strong. That's your fault too. I'll end this war, and we won't have anything to do with it ever again." she said as he returned the embrace. "You better," he said.

Irianas smiled as she watched the two and as they broke apart she reminded them, "Well. She isn't leaving for another two weeks. We have plenty of time until then," Not near enough. It would never be enough. But it would have to do. "She's right. And when you do leave, you won't be unprepared. I'll make sure of that. Go get your spear and meet me in the courtyard." Bailey's eyes widened in surprise as they darted between her father and her mother. "N-now? Why now? I j-just got home." she said. "Yes now, go on before I have to drag you by the tail," he answered, leaving and making his way for the courtyard. That left her and her mother. "You heard your father. Now scoot," ... That left her, with her mother following closely behind Shokunn. "And... This is my fault," she muttered to herself, slithering to her room to fetch her spear.

---

---

The two weeks passed faster than Bailey would have liked. Too fast, it felt like she didn't have time to say anything, to really do anything. Her father had pushed her in training with her spear, living off the land, anything and everything he believed she needed to know how to survive the quest. She was sore, but she was grateful. He cared, and she had spent more time with him in these couple of weeks than she had all of last year. It was... Nice, when he wasn't popping her with his own training spear. He cared, yes, but he wasn't gentle. Her mother only watched from the courtyard door as they practiced, silently rooting for her child. She had almost died laughing when a swift move from Bailey resulted in a slap to Shokunn's face. Bailey had dropped her weapon instantly and fretted, repeatedly asking if he was okay. Shokunn had laughed and nodded. He had been better than okay, he was great. She would be okay. Everything would be okay.

It was these thoughts that occupied Bailey's mind as she traveled. She was alone now. Well and truly alone, with nothing but the road to keep her company. The first hour she was terrified, jumping and fidgetting at every sounds along the way, though she grew used to them, and soon enough she traveled without peeling out of her skin every so often. She instead basked in the sun above her, taking in the rays on her scales as she slithered. On her back, sat a backpack weighed down with everything her parents believed she'd need on her journey. Clasped to that the spear she trained so hard with in the past week or so. It was an older thing, but weapons need not be fanciful to get the job done.

The shaft was a midnight black, made from ashen wood. The pommel at the end was a tarnished silver, far too old for it to be worth much more than a couple of coins. The other end, the dangerous end, was iron. One edge of the blade was sloped, bladed for cutting, while the back was blunt. The blade came to a point at the tip, allowing it to be used for both slashing and stabbing. The blade was covered in leather so that she wouldn't cut herself while she traveled. She didn't like the instrument. It was dangerous, bloody, brutal. But it was necessary. She would not be left defenseless, her father made sure of that.

The traveling was slow going, but she wasn't in a hurry. She had 'til midnight on the fourteenth day. She'd make it. She didn't have the wings of the Fae to aid her in the traveling, only her tail, so she had to leave earlier than she would have liked. Perhaps too early. To the center of the land under an oak tree or something mystic like that. Kind of like the stories her father used to tell her when she was just a hatchling. Funny, she used to think those stories were just that. Stories. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this was a story. Hopefully she had a happy ending in it.

It was night when she finally reached the destined spot. What time of night, though, she had no idea. Late at night was the only thing she knew. Still too early by the looks of it though, as there was no one else. Just her and the tree. In the darkness. Where anything could attack her... That wasn't a comforting though. She tossed a wary look around her, searching for the nonexistant dangers. She was really regretting those lectures her father had given her, they seemed to have made her paranoid. "Find a defensible position, and hold," the echoes rang in her ear. Sadly, there was no defensible positions, only the tree... Better than nothing she suppose.

Bailey approached the tree and wrapped her tail around it. Perfect, she was just long enough to make one loop around it, it'd make the climb easy. She positioned herself just right and began to ascend. The muscles in her abdomen and tail clutched to the tree, and she slithered up in corkscrew motion, using her arms to guide herself around the branches. She was better at climbing a tree than anyone with legs, thanks to her tail. Once she was high enough up in the tree, she stopped ascending and let her tail spread across the branches to keep her balance, and to catch herself in case she fell. After that, she simply ceased to be noticed. A bit of her Naga ability. She wouldn't be found, unless someone was specifically searching for her, or looked directly at her. But who looked up?

The first to appear was a Fae, though she said nothing. She only watched him from her perch above. She'd... Show herself when more people appeared. Or she was noticed. Bailey certainly didn't want to be alone with only one other stranger, chosen or no.

Micha Zae

"What would you do," she asked, her soft voice playing trough the air like light bells in the wind. "If you could stop the war...would you?"

Micha had looked down at their twined hands, his slightly blue nails sparkling in the bright lighting. Her own hand was so tiny in his, creamy and beautiful. They were sitting on a hill, up above in the clouds was her home, but here...under a large tree was their solace. No one would find them there.

It was a beautiful green meadow, and as he sat against the tree with her stretched in his lap, head resting at the crook of his elbow, the grass and small flowers trailed up their legs, blowing slightly in the breeze. It was such a beautiful day, as if they were stuck in the eye of the storm. The weather was perfect, warm and airy, the sky bright blue.

He sighed and peaked through the blue strands of hair down at her. God she was beautiful. Long, golden waves cascaded across the grass behind them, bright blue eyes stared up at him like the pools of the clearest water he'd ever seen. Her pouty, salmon pink lips were curled into a slight smile as she awaited his answer.

Micha lifted their intertwined hands and brushed his lips gently across each of her knuckles. "Why do you ask such questions?"

She laughed at him, the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard that made his chest tighten. She sat up suddenly, pulling her knees under her body with her white dress wrapped around her modestly. She leaned forward so close to him that they could have kissed, but she never sealed the deal. "Why do you refuse to answer?" she questioned. "Micha Zae Adelmar...why must you talk to everyone, but me?"

He tilted his head with a coy little smile and went to steal the kiss she was refusing to give, but she was much smarter than him and leaned back quickly, clucking her tongue and shaking her head. He sighed and dropped back against the tree trunk again, then eyed her. "Because with everyone else I can talk for hours and never really say anything. You, my dear...you listen."

She smiled softly, a light blush appearing across her fair cheeks. She leaned forward and took one of his hands in both of hers, laying it in her lap. She trailed her fingers lightly over his skin, her wavy hair tumbling over one shoulder and hiding half of her face. "What would you do," she asked again. "If you could stop the war?"

Micha simply shrugged. "Nothing."

She looked up slowly, shock fully written all over her beautiful face, and Micha could tell he'd just dug his own grave. He should have known better--this stuff she was serious about. "Nothing?" she repeated in a hiss. "You would do nothing to stop all of this pain and destruction? All of this death?"

He sighed as he ran his free hand through his hair and looked off into the distance somewhere. "This is just...how the world is, sweetheart. It's been this way for hundreds of years. What do you honestly think I can do to stop it?"

She was silent for the longest time, and he'd thought perhaps he'd won that argument, but of course he shouldn't have been so naive. "I would help. If they would let me. I would do anything I could to end this war. Anything."

He scoffed softly, his fingers trailing through the tiny flowers printed in the grass. "Guess it's a good thing you're a princess then, isn't it?"

She smacked his thigh softly, and he only raised his eyes at her long enough to give her a suggestive smile that she, of course, ignored. She leaned close to him again, her hands resting on his thighs and her lips so close to his that he could feel her breath. "We should make a promise...if one of us shall die because of this war...the other should do something about it."

He searched her clear blue eyes for the longest time, trying to find something within them that told him she was joking, but he never saw it. That wasn't a promise he was ready to make, but he knew it wasn't one she was ready to let go of either. So with a cheesy smile he reached one hand behind her head and pressed her close for a kiss.

He only opened his eyes once, when he heard her wings snap free. If he ever kissed her good enough, she'd unfold them to her full potential. Glorious golden streams of light poured around their tiny area, and with a chuckle against her lips he slowly moved and pressed her down against the soft grass.

---

"You look troubled."

Micha had been so deeply lost in his thoughts that the voice actually startled him. It was a voice that could cause his heart to jump, after all t his time, because it sounded so much like hers. He sighed and ran both his hands through his already messy hair, a letter clamped tightly in one.

Then, he looked over at the woman who had approached him. "Chandra," he greeted. He shouldn't have been surprised, he was still on royal land, and who else would bother to talk to her except for him. She was standing right next to him, arms crossed over the beautifully carved bridge, staring off into something unknown except to her.

Despite sounding like the woman from his past, she looked nothing like her. Taller, thinner, with darker skin and slimmer features. Chandra's hair was a thick, straight black, her eyes deeply brown. Nothing was the same. Especially not their personalities.

She looked over at him finally and without a word he held over the piece of paper he'd been clutching. She started it by reading aloud, obviously not realizing what paper she held in her hands. "You have been chosen among a brave many to find The Elder's Book..." she trailed off softly and her eyes slowly raised from the paper.

Micha simply nodded.

She twisted the parchment around in her hands as if not believing it was real, but after a moment her eyes went wide, and Micha nodded again. "Yeah, that's you're family crest. It's legit. Just got it after walking out of that building." He pointed with his thumb to the castle setting off in the distance before he leaned against the railing again.

There were a few beats of silence before she laughed. "You?" she asked in a snort. "You're going to bring peace to the land? End the war? You are our long sought hero?" She snorted out another fit of laughter before she handed the paper back to him. "This just cannot get any better. What did you do, Adelmar? Volunteer?"

She'd picked up her baskets of fruits and turned to leave, obviously to enjoy the little joke some more herself, and Micha stayed put as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well...pretty much."

When she didn't say anything, he'd honestly thought he'd lost her. But when he lifted his eyes, she was still standing there, back towards him and midnight blue wings securely folded away. He saw them ruffle once before she twisted around and faced him with an aghast look. "You did what?!"

He sighed deeply and suddenly became very interested in pressing his toes up against the railing. "I made her a promise, Chan." He could still remember it like it was yesterday, her beautiful face resting in his lap, her pouty lips forming his name, using all the will he had to ignore the blood spattered across her torso.

"I promise," he'd said softly. "That if one of us shall die because of this war...the other will do something. Anything."

"Micha," Chandra said softly, using his first name for the first time as far back as he could remember. "My sister loved you, and I know you loved her too. But she was delusional. This war...this can't be stopped. Certainly not by you."

He shook his head slightly and looked up at the sky. "Thanks for your vote of confidence," he muttered.

She dropped her basket on the floor and much like an angry mother would treat a child, she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. "This is a suicide mission, Adelmar. What are you even good at, anyway?!"

He narrowed his eyes on her just slightly. "One that your father is sending me on," he pointed out quickly. "And nothing, to answer your question. Are you sure he didn't know about me and your sister?"

Chandra shook her head and dropped his chin, wiping her hands on her skirt before leaning down to pick her basket back up. "Four years. It's been four years. If he wanted you dead he would have done it already." She shook her head and went to leave again.

He sighed and leaned sideways against the railing, watching her go. "Sex and drinking," he called out. She stopped for a moment and looked over her shoulder at him. He smirked. "That's what I'm good at."

She just shook her head as she walked away from him.

---

"You've been oddly silent today," a middle-aged Fae woman spoke up, sitting at an old oak table with dinner sitting around them. It was his favorite meal, which his aunt had made him without a question at his request. He simply smiled as he looked up at her. "Unlike your usual self," she added. "All loud and troublesome."

He smirked as he took his last bite and wiped his mouth. "Ah, Auntie May, you know you love me that way."

The elder woman eyed him with a look that very clearly said she disagreed as she went back to finishing her meal. After a silence that went on for much too long, she cleared her throat and looked out the window at the setting sun. "Zae, you know I hate to kick you out--"

"'But it's time I see Mekate', I know, I know. You old ladies gotta have your gossip," he joked as he took the dishes off the table. She smacked him with a dinner towel the whole way, and he only laughed as he sputtered out complaints. She quickly moved on, however, to draping a shawl around her shoulders and gathering her things.

He placed one hand on the table top, leaning his weight against it, and watched her with a smile. "Hey, Auntie May," he called out as she opened the door. She looked back at him with a wary glace, and he only smiled. "I love you."

She stared at him for a long moment, clearly trying to see if he was up to something, before she smiled and nodded. She crossed the room again to place a kiss on one cheek, and pat the other twice. "I love you too. Stay out of trouble."

He just gave her a tight smile as she left, and after walking around his childhood home and trailing his fingers against his memories, he decided to do the same. Before walking out the door, he pulled the letter free from the back of his pants. With one last look around, he placed the folded parchment against his aunt's table.



Micha wished he could say he did something awesome with his last day home, but truth be told he didn't. He gathered his best, most reckless friends and hit the poorest village they had--where the alcohol was good and the girls were cheep.

Truth be told, he didn't even drink that much. And while the original plan had been to spend his last few hours in the arms of some beautiful stranger, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. So, he finally took his leave when it was late enough he could get away with slipping out.

He was still an hour off from midnight, but it was a good fly from where he was to the center of the land. He smiled as he turned his face up against the breeze, and for a moment thought he could hear her laughter ringing along like bells. Perhaps he had drank a little too much...or perhaps he was just feeling nostalgic.

He adjusted his few belongs before he spread his wings out with a mighty 'snap'. He stretched them for only a moment before he jumped, catching himself with his wings before he touched the ground again. After a few powerful pumps he found himself so high above the land that he could see everything, and then he was gone.

The long flight landed him at his destination just minutes before the agreed timing, but the cool air had calmed him down and cleared his head. When the large oak came into view he lowered himself slowly until he could safely fold his wings and drop down into the branches.

He picked the perfect one to lay across on his stomach, feet propped against the large trunk, one arm tucked under his head for support, the other hanging lazily down.

Sitting at just the right angle to be in full view of each other was a boy sitting against the tree, head back and smile on his face. Micha lifted up just enough to look around and listen for a moment, but it was eerily silent. Either they were the only one's so far or everyone else was excellent hiders.

He shrugged the thought off and laid back down comfortably like he had been. Might as well begin making friends...

"Hey~"

Raza bashfully kicked at a pebble near his feet as a group of people appraised him, giving him tearful hugs and congratulations. Rarely was the Dragonkin prodigy at a loss for words, and yet...

The whole beach was shimmering with lights, orbs of magical fire that floated in the air, bobbed in the sea. Rich music and food was in the air and beautiful jewels had been sprinkled about the sand, twinkling in the thick light of the setting sun. It was beautiful. It was for him. A large banner hung from tree to tree that read, "GOOD LUCK RAZAHA", a humble way to show his hometwon's support of his upcoming adventure. He still felt as if this little village had been too accommodating for a kid like him, no more than an abandoned urchin, and this gesture was more than he could accept without a strangely sweet guilt seeping into his smile.

A woman named Celeste approached him, little crow feet beside her eyes crinkling as she smiled. "We are so proud of you," she said. He'd considered her a neighbor and friend. She baked bread down the street. He remembered the sour dough she'd make for him specially after he'd dust the shop for her. She wiped her eyes. "I was close friends with your grandfather, you know," she began.

He nodded warmly, though a swell of grief still rose in his chest at the mention of his deceased guardian, even after the five years. He hadn't expected anyone to bring that up. "He spoke fondly of you."

"Kumara - he - " she began before shaking her head. "He told me to give you this when you turned eighteen. I figured since you're leaving for this mission, I should give it to you now because..." she trailed off. Because you won't be alive for your next birthday. The implied words sink heavily between them and Raza laughed in spite of himself. She seemed even more saddened by the sound of his smooth, light chuckles and a little whimper escaped her mouth as she broke out into tears again. Regretting it immediately, he pulled her in for a hug.

"Thank you, Celeste. I will remember you always." he murmured into her limp red hair and accepted the small palm-sized package.

He unfolded the old white fabric time and time again until a hint of gold showed. Nestled in the center was a necklace, sturdy and secure, with a simple red stone dangling. The light hit it in such a way that it seemed like fire danced in his hand. A warmth grew inside him and he quickly looped it over his head and let it lay around his neck.

The rest of the night passed with Raza playing soccer with the children and admiring how stubby their little horns were, hardly believing he once looked like that. He left that night feeling more like an adult like than he ever had, with the prospect of death now looming over his head.

_______________________________________________

"How terribly exciting," he mumbled to himself as he eyed a foreign bird perched in a tree nearby. He'd never ventured from the island before. The boat ride was somewhat turbulent if not because of the fact that water had a way of putting him out, but he managed. This lush vegetation, too, was new. The air was balmy here, different from the volcanic temperatures he grew up in. He'd studied all this in books, of course. He just hadn't realized how vastly different the world was through first person point of view. "A change in scenery is a good way to start a suicide mission, I suppose."

He did not question why the elders had chosen him. In his eyes, there was no one more suited. He had been training for about five years for this journey without even knowing it existed, so when he'd been called down it was as if all the pieces came into place. No other Dragonkin could have possibly yearned for the war to end more than he. His heart had been waiting for this his whole life.

When he finally arrived to the "center of the land", he was somewhat tired but so high on sensory overload that he remained bright eyed and bushy tailed. He spotted the oak tree and a collection of strange looking folk he admired from a distance. While these people in particular were especially interesting, just about any person with a pulse would have been welcome company after how long he'd been alone while traveling.

"OI!" he called to them with a broad wave. He strolled towards them at a lackadaisical pace and once he had reached them, he gave a charismatic wink. He then took on the task of analyzing the appearance of all those arrived so far. There was pretty female with long dark hair - she stands with purpose, an undertone of strength in the way she presents herself. There's a smaller kid, scrawny but incredibly pretty with big eyes that reminds him of the moon itself. He has a poise to him, something very regal that makes Raza register him as nothing less than wealth or nobility. Then there was a tall one painted in shades of brilliant blue lounging on a branch, large wings that dwarfed Raza's folded neatly on his back. The short black plumage on his own ruffles instinctually.

"Hello," he said simply, plopping down in the grass and leaning back on his hands, eager grin brimming.

---

---

Jacquette Beauson

---

---

Why would they pick me, of all people? It was the question constantly on Jacquette Beauson’s mind since she’d been summoned to Elder Mountain. It was a welcome excuse to escape her pretty, cozy apartment nonetheless. Even if the walls were covered in beautiful patterned paper, it quickly became dull to be inside the same four walls day after day. Perhaps she wasn’t as cut out for the wealthy life as she had thought but it sure beat the alternative. The girl had no idea why they would pick her, even as she flopped down on her mint green chaise, returning from her journey to the mountain. As she let her brain process, package up, and contain the events between her departure and her return home, she let her fingers dance over the smooth, ornate, wooden carvings that trimmed her current resting spot.

Perhaps an elf had spoken highly of her and her abilities; she had served many customers over her lifetime of developing magic. She was even lucky enough to have a nice, steady flow of regulars. Staying in the same town for one’s whole life hardly lead to adventure and discovery. The girl couldn’t be certain of how unique her powers were as a magic user. Maybe her powers were more sought after than she realized. That thought brought the tiniest hint of a smile to Jacquette’s lips; being more unique than she realized was a gift all on it’s own.

The girl gave off much self-confidence but that meant nothing when one valued themselves so low. She was selling herself for everything she had, even the plush chaise that gently held her small frame. Even if she was seen as one to be bought, that did not make her stupid. She understood what she was doing to herself and with her life, she knew she was a glorified prostitute. The only difference between them and her was she kept her legs closed. She knew right from wrong, morals from sins, and knew where she fell between the two. Letting out a sigh for no one to hear, she moved her small hands to her eyes and covered them. Even if she wanted to say no, Jacquette could not. She was chosen by the Elder’s and that was the end of it. On her not so short journey back from Elder Mountain she gave much thought to the cons of being chosen.

Standing from her chaise, Jacquette thought of the positives again. As her feet carried her around her apartment, going no where in particular, the image of the man paying for this place came into her mind. Yulrich Hastings, a man of no distinguishable physical features and nothing to set him apart from the crowd. She saw his dusty brown hair, his dull brown eyes, and the wrinkles starting to set in around his eyes and mouth. Even his physique was painfully average with his skin being the same color as everyone else and his belly being a little bigger to show his wealth. Shaking her head as she gently dragged her fingers over some of her possessions, she knew she could not keep this up for long. She knew eventually the man would come for what she offered.

Her virginity had become something of a prize to be won among some of the men in her town. The girl never gave it up, and she never would, no matter how nice of objects she got. Not only was it a source for some of her powers, it was the only thing separating her from the other whores. It let Jacquette sleep at night, knowing she had not yet slipped to their level, knowing that she was better than them. Being completely housed and taken care of was the most elaborate and expensive gift she’d been offered. Taking it with the very loose understanding that one day her virginity would belong to Yulrich, she took his offer of this apartment and furniture. They never had agreed on a set day and the girl managed to keep the man at bay for now. However, it was uncertain how long that would continue.

Jacquette stopped at a small table with an oval, gold mirror hanging over it and let her fingers find a small, smooth trinket to play with as she looked at her reflection. She stared straight into her own eyes, the big gray-green irises. She didn’t look anywhere but at herself, not even to see what her hand had found. Some said that the eyes hold the key to one’s soul and she tended to agree with that. What was in her soul? Certainly not bravery nor strength. She was the girl who let others take care of her, who sold her body and mind for possessions, and who learned the art of healing to save her own body. Why did they pick me?

As she searched her own soul, the girl decided not to tell Yulrich that she was leaving until the very last day that she had in this town. If he knew his time with her was limited, she feared him taking away all that she had and worse; she feared he would come force himself on her and take what he felt was his. Jacquette wasn’t even going to give him the respect of telling him to his face. No, she was not that kind of girl. That would take courage, that would take bravery. She lacked the heart to confront him. A note would do the job just as well.

---

The day of leaving came slower than Jacquette would have liked. With no one to leave behind, it wasn’t going to be as hard for her as she sure it was for others. It was unimaginable to her to have to leave loved ones. The pain of having to keep up the face of, “Everything is normal, everything is fine, this is just another ordinary day,” was proving to be tiresome, difficult, and more than enough. More often than not, the girl would make up and excuse to be dismissed from whatever company she was in. Stomach ache, lady troubles, head ache… Everything seemed to ail her.

On her last day in town, she went about her usual work. She cleaned Yulrich’s house and prepared his supper, being almost careless about it. It was a little empowering and refreshing to not have repercussions based on how well her tasks were completed. After, she went and visited a handful of other men and women who were helping to take care of her by means of clothing, jewelry, and other luxuries. The girl never told any of them she would be leaving. It was a day to be social, to keep pretending nothing was the matter. In Jacquette’s mind, the people who supported her didn’t care for her one way or the other. It was best not to bother them with the thoughts of her leaving, the dangers she might be in, or them tying her to this town with their feelings. This was as much an escape as it was a mission.

While she was packing things into her travel bags, the girl realized how alone she had let herself become. No one to say goodbye to? she thought as she put two of her lighter, thinner dresses into a travel bag. She let herself know that perhaps it was her fault she ended up so alone. She consoled herself with the thought that it was out of survival; everything she did was to be better off in the world than where she was born and that included having no relationships with anyone. Jacquette was surrounded by every material possession she could want or need but she had no one to leave behind. The only thing that would hear the goodbye she whispered as she walked out the door would be the note she left to her provider.

---

Jacquette left her town on a horse knowing full well she would walk enough for the rest of her life during this mission. She also knew what a pretty penny the beast would fetch. With the plan of taking the horse as far as the village closest to the center of the land and selling it, the girl still traveled with little. On her back was a leather pack which held a couple of her lighter, simpler dresses… Not needed but it was too difficult to for her to think about not having the option to change her clothing or look nice when she needed to. She told herself it was fine because on top of the dresses she set some of her glass bottles that held things for potions and the like. In her mind, they were they were cushion the glass. She would ignore the fact she took the dresses for her own vanity.

Aside from the pack, the only other thing the girl took was a leather satchel that contained more potion ingredients and a few pieces of her most prized jewelry. Jacquette understood the dangers she was facing, she understood the point of the mission, but she couldn’t leave home without a few luxuries. She deprived herself of a sleeping mat, she would not deprive herself of a few pieces of fine silver and gold. If she was questioned, she could always say they were for those, “just in case,” kind of moments. Just in case meaning they needed money and had to sell something. She prayed it would not come to that.

When she finally reached the last village she would see before arriving at the center of the land, she sold her horse and put the coin in with the rest of her fine pieces of silver and gold. It was convenient for her to have all of her monetary value in one place. Taking off from there on foot, Jacquette made sure that she would arrive no sooner and no later than was requested of her. She was particular like that; if someone wanted you to be somewhere before they said or after they said, they would have said so. It was in her nature to arrive exactly when asked to. It was also in her nature to look the best she could. As she got closer to the center of the land, the girl took time to smooth down her white lace and linen dress. She also ran a check on her hair to make sure it hadn’t decided to turn into a giant, unruly, mess of curls, to make sure it was still under control.

At the edge of the center of the land, the girl shoved any doubts and insecurities she might have had out of her mind. It was not the time to appear anything but confident and that is what she intended to do. Approaching the tree, she took in all the people surrounding it and her eyes went straight to a man with nothing but some cloth covering him and hair that reminded her of fire. Her body stopped without Jacquette’s consent and she took in the figure sitting on the ground, awed by his looks. She had never thought to use the word handsome on anyone until this moment but it seemed to fit. She couldn’t compare him to anyone she had ever seen before and for a second she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

Look somewhere else, anywhere else! she begged of herself. With much work, she turned her eyes to the other figures and her body moved once more to cross the short distance between her and the tree. “Hello everyone!” Jacquette said cheerfully as she got her wits about her once again. Willingly stopping this time around, the girl let her pack slide off of her back and gently onto the ground. She remained standing as she took the rest of her company in. A beautiful, tall women, a boy with brilliant eyes, and a boy with fantastic blue hair. Knowing there to be more to come, she took her place waiting with everyone else, observing her company, and actively looking anywhere but at the boy with horns.

---

---

Amarie Galadriel

In the southeast forest things were oddly quiet even in the dead of night. Though the elves, who were such simple creatures, were well known to retire to their homes shortly after nightfall, it seemed as if something had gathered the quiet attention of every creature known to man.

Deep in the middle of the trees came the sound of laughter and muffled giggles. There stood three elfin children, two of which had their hands pressed to a tree of choice, bent over with their free hands covering their mouths trying to stifle said laughter.

The third was standing a foot away from them, his face as red as a maple leaf in the fall. He was so embarrassed steam was almost rising from his ears as his clinched fists shook beside him. “Stop it,” he hissed. “Right now!”

The male of the two amused elves stood, wiping a tear away from his eye with his wiry pinkie finger. His bright green eyes showed only humor, and the moonlight beating down through the trees made his fair skin and shoulder length blonde hair shine.

He was taller than the blushing male, and clamped a hand on his shoulder before leaning in close. The latter male looked younger—shorter in stature, thinner, with a round face and short, curly brunette hair. He didn't seem to like the first male leaning in like that, and distinctively moved back as if sensing a threat. “We told you not to come.”

“Flynn,” the sole female of the group spoke up as she stood. She was almost as tall as the blonde male—Flynn. She had a curvy stature to her nimble body, paired with skin that looked as if it had been kissed by the sun, but with hair as bright as the moon itself.

While the group of three was dressed the same in rags that denounced a social rank, she was by fair the most appealing—as if her clothing had taken time to make an impression. “Don't be rude. We told Mave what he was getting into.”

The younger male, Mave, looked at her as if she'd saved his life when Flynn backed off of him. “I-I didn't think y-you were serious!” he sputtered out in a rush as his eyes bounced between the two of them.

The female smiled, a creepy little grin that curled around her teeth before she twisted around and practically skipped to the edge of the trees. Flynn only smiled as he claimed an arm around Mave's smaller shoulders and pulled him closer. “Welcome to manhood, my friend.”

“This could get us killed!” Mave hissed out as they stepped towards the edges of the trees where the girl was waiting, on her knees and peaking through the branches. Flynn dropped his arm to elbow the younger male, and joined her.

After a long amount of silence, it was obvious Mave was getting frustrated. “Well?!” he asked, whispering quietly. “What can you see?!” He pushed past both of them, catching his toe on an external tree root and falling flat on his face.

The other two elves went tense suddenly, while the younger groaned and pushed himself to his knees, mumbling under his breath about how much he hated the others when he opened his eyes and found them just inches above a very serious pair of huge boots. He gulped strongly as his eyes raised up and he found himself staring at a very large, very dark elf. Who did not look happy.

“Uh...guys...?” he muttered softly.

Still behind the trees, Flynn shook his head and put his hand on the girls forearm, going to move her with him as he silently backtracked. But the young girl's attention had been captured, and in the next moment she was pulling free of her male friend and stepping out into the clearing as well.

For beats of silence, there they stood: Flynn hidden in the trees with a look of shock upon his face, Mave on the ground looking as if his stomach might come up his mouth, the girl staring in awe at the new elf, and behind them all was the largest group of Dark Elves any of them had ever seen. Eerie music was flowing from a flute, people were dancing, a fire was roaring.

Between the girl and the dark elf that had come upon them, a new attraction was brewing. He was almost a foot taller than her, his skin an ashen color, midnight hair fell down his back and shoulders, pointed ears peaking through them. He had a chiseled chest, muscled arms, and a set face with strong features.

His black eyes trailed over her body with a specific detail before a slow smile appeared on his face, pulling at the long scar that sliced from his hairline down to his jaw. He opened his hand out to her, and after only a moment of hesitation she placed her hand in his. “Rav,” he introduced in a silky tone.

“Amarie.”

---

Not twenty-four hours later, Amarie found herself sitting lazily in a low tree branch, a four year old child was hanging on her feet. Her golden hair was just as thin as Amarie's, hanging in wisps around her long ears. She was smiling happily as she swung back and forth, and chattering about tree frogs.

Amarie, however, wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were aimed towards the north, where the trees ended and the mountains began, caves drawn out along the land just before they reached centaur territory where the dark elves lived.

A smile touched her lips as she closed her eyes and thought about the night before, twirling around on her bare feet in the soft, warm grass. His strong body pressed against hers, the music that she'd fallen in love with playing around them.

The cold, rock floor against her bare skin, the feeling of his rough lips across her skin, the sound of his voice...“Amarie!” She nearly fell out of the tree at the voice that interrupted her fantasy as her pink eyes fell on Flynn's bright form.

He grabbed a branch and jumped up with her, concern written on his features. “I am so sorry that I left you last night,” he said under his breath, tossing glances at the people around them to make sure they weren't overheard. “Were you okay? What happened? I was about to send a search--”

She cut him off with the raise of her hand as she turned her attention back to the event ahead of them. Every elf in the southeast was gathered there in the one little area, a clearing somewhere in the center of the woods. She could see the royals, but they were far off from where she sat. “I'm fine, Flynn. Just fine.”

He lowered his voice and his head towards her. “We need to talk. It's important.”

“Mmhmm,” she mumbled with obvious disinterest as she continued to watch. After a moment silence was called and the elves did as the were told, even the fouryear old hanging from her sisters feet. Amarie didn't really care so much as to what was going on, she just didn't want to talk about her previous night. Definitely not with the boy who had tucked his tail between his legs and ran once things got good.

The king stepped up finally, the only elf standing other than his royal court—all the others were sitting, either on the ground or in the trees. “As everyone has known for some time, the elders have agreed to send a group of this generation to help end our long war.”

There was silence as no one spoke up to say they weren't aware of this news, and Amarie's eyes traveled for a moment to the group of boys were looking very entitled where they sat. She narrowed her eyes at them. If those prats are chosen, our entire planet is in danger.

“Today, we are here to announce the chosen one of our race. This person has been picked for strength, wisdom, and above all ability...” Whatever else they were going to say was drowned out by the crowds cheers to the point that silence had to be called once again.

“With great honor, we have chosen Amarie Galadriel to represent the Elfin Race at this great needed and respected trial of duty.”

Silence fell. A silence so strong that a butterfly could be heard flapping it's wings. Finally, the whispers arose, and looks of confusion was shared. Amarie sat up straighter in her spot, and the only voice that interrupted the silence was a child’s.

“That's you're name, Sissy!” Little Evaline Galadriel spoke up and began swinging on her feet again. “Ah, that's you! That's you!”

The poor child had no idea what she was talking about, and seemed much too happy within the quiet environment. Amarie's head snapped around quickly to face Flynn, who was looking much paler than any elf ever should.

“Tell her Flynnie!” Evaline called. “It's her!”

Amarie seemed to stare at the older male as if asking him if it was true. It couldn't possibly be true. But Flynn swallowed slowly and gave her a nod. She stared at him for a second or two before she lifted her feet, grabbing Evaline with her hands and dropping down to the ground.

The moment her feet touched the solid surface, the outrage broke out. Elves were talking over each other loudly, screaming about who she was. The boys who had been so sure they were going to be picked were trying to be heard over the others about how they would be so much better.

And deep in the center of the crowd, Amarie's mother was silent. Not a word fell from her lips, her expression didn't change, but in her eyes...she looked relieved.

---

“Mama says you're going to die.”

Amarie froze in her tracks, her bag halfway lifted to her shoulders. She turned around ever so slowly to fine Evaline standing at the base of the treehouse, outlined by the night sky. She had one thumb stuck in her mouth, the other arm wrapped tightly around a homemade doll.

The older girl sighed softly as she dropped the bag and went to sit on the wooden balcony, draping her legs over the edge and pulling the child into her lap. The girl looked up at her, with large golden eyes. “Is it true?”

Amarie shook her head as she ran her fingers through the girls hair. She settled back and turned her eyes towards the sky, then told her baby sister one last bedtime story about faries who could glow and sprinkled the night sky with the stars they saw.

The girl was asleep long before Amarie finished, but she told the ending anyway. She sat for as long as she could before she carefully lifted the girl, and she took her back into her room and put her carefully into bed.

She placed one kiss on her forehead, smiled, and whispered a promise. “I'll come home.”



No one else got a goodbye from Amarie that night. She left without another word from her home, and no one cared to take notice of her departure. The elves were locked up tight in their homes, and Amarie could care less.

It took her longer than she would have liked to reach the center of the land, just slightly passed midnight. She'd walked most of the way, unless she could catch a buggy here or there from people traveling through their villages.

She carried a backpack that was filled with essentials, but not enough to weigh her down, and her bow with as many extra arrows as she could get her hands on. She had the stuff with her to make more, but she hoped she wouldn't have to use them.

As the large oak came into view, she soon realized she was at the right spot. The first person that caught her attention was a small looking boy up against the tree. Fae, she could tell immediately. There was one in the tree as well, lounging on it comfortably. They looked strikingly different, so she was willing to bet the clothes on her back they were from different courts.

She recognized the nymph as well, dark haired and beautiful, standing with a purpose. Sitting on the ground not far from her was a bright haired dragonkin, who looked far too happy to be there, another girl who was tiny but undoubtedly gorgeous, and another male...of what race she couldn't tell so far, holding his hand up to the seemingly empty tree...

But the longer she looked, she soon began to realize that it wasn't empty at all. Wrapped safety into place was a naga girl.

Amarie sighed softly to herself and joined the group silently, standing off towards the edge.

This was gonna be great.

Mavin was excited. He was the most excited he'd ever been in a long time. He had his stuff packed all nice and neat in what he liked to refer to as his "gag bag," which was really just a bag he used to keep all his junk in, sacred or not. He had it opened up in the middle of the floor as he carelessly tossed things over his shoulder, not even bothering to check and make sure that any of it made it inside, or made it inside in one piece for that matter. Just because the bag was magically convenient didn't mean it kept everything from breaking. If he tossed a glass vial of that lizard's acid in there and it smashed open, it'd go all over his things and then, well, there'd simply be no more things. But he wasn't really worried about that. The thought didn't even cross his mind. He was just way too excited.

He was told by his own village leaders that the Elders, the Elders, called him for some sort of great mission thing to find that...what was it again? It was some sort of magical object. He knew it wasn't an orb or anything easily breakable. It wasn't anything typical, well, not too typical anyway, or else he would've remembered what it was. Ugh, that was going to bug him big time until he remembered what it was. It probably wasn't even that cool. It was probably something super lame, like a bo--oh duh. Yeah, it was super lame. It was a book. A lame, boring, dusty, old book.

It was still daylight outside with hours to spare of it when Mavin finally decided to leave his home. He hadn't been given much of a warning to this new, sudden situation, but the fact that he'd been given one at all instead of someone telling him that hey, you have to be there like, uh, now, made him feel a little better about things. That's what those stuffy old village leaders usually tried to pull on him anyway. They assumed he'd have plenty of time, but really, Mavin knew they probably just forgot. They were old and senile and--oh, god, he was going to miss them a lot. He was going to miss one of them in particular a lot more than the others.

"What's taking you so long? Are you still in here? Some warlock you are." Mavin felt a grin pull at his lips at the voice from behind him. He hadn't even seen the oldie wander around behind him. Maybe that's because the old geezer didn't even walk, he probably just showed up. Even of the leaders had a way of doing that, just showing up without notice, but this one especially was known for his tendency to pop up whenever and be either completely careless or indifferent towards the situation he just so happened to pop up into. Mavin shuddered at the memories of just stepping out of the tub and letting this old guy sneak a peek at his manhood. Ugh.

As soon as Mavin turned to face the sound of the voice, the leader was gone. "Huh?" And just the same, when he turned around again, there he was, Mr. Leader himself, standing way too close for comfort. Mavin let out an animated yell and stepped back a few feet, hand placed over his chest. His poor bag dropped to the ground with a distinct clink and clatter, and he was convinced more than just a couple of things broke. He groaned. "What."

The old man, clad in robes way too dramatic to serve any practical purposes, simply smiled; it was a big smile, a grin that stretched from ear to ear and showed each and every one of the gross, rotted teeth that shouldn't be in his mouth anymore. Mavin wrinkled his nose. He was a hundred percent sure they were only still there with the help of magic. "You take too long. You are always taking too long."

Mavin rolled his eyes and turned away to lift his bag, only to find it already being handed to him. It seemed like he'd snatch it rudely back, but he took it carefully and nodded a silent thanks despite the scowl on his face. It was a game to them, this small-talk banter. Mavin was annoyed, sure, but he definitely wasn't mad, and somewhere in there he and the old man both knew he was just itching to laugh. And just as soon as he thought of it, it happened, and a short chuckle escaped despite his attempts to look angry. He opened his mouth to say something back, but the bag in his hand singed his palms and he found himself dropping it again, wincing at the more distinctive crash of glass vials cracking against each other. His gaze instantly turned to the old man in accusation, who put his hands up in a childish "I didn't do it" manner. "That was you, Mavin. Are you sure your heat serums are not overflowing? I am sure you've added them all, as many as you could fit, despite the ban." They shared knowing looks as Mavin simply blew on the rope that held the bag closed and picked it up again, slinging it over his shoulder.

He wasn't ready to leave yet. "I'm so ready to get out of this place."

"I am sure you will miss me."

"--The least," Mavin added matter-of-factly with that smug little smirk on his face. To most, he might of stuck out his tongue for emphasis, but not towards this leader, not towards this person. They could play and they could banter, but Mavin still had more respect for the guy than he had for anyone else. He wasn't tip-toeing his way around, but he still managed to watch himself, tried to keep himself moderately in-line. It's the only time he bothered.

With a cane he didn't have when he first arrived, the elderly man jabbed him in the side with more force than a man that age should be allowed to have. "Watch it. I will have you fired."

He was always saying that. It never made any sense. Fired from what? Fired from knowing each other? Fired from magic? Fired from life? Who could know--the guy was going a little nuts in his old age. Mavin always just laughed along. "It's not like you're paying me."

"I guess we will see." See what? Mavin thought. They fell into silence as they wandered away from his small home, secluded from the others in the far corner of the village, closer to the exit near the woods than the entrance towards the trail to the next town, which is where they were headed now.

The old guy's name was Jeffrey, just like the name of the brother he didn't remember. Mavin knew he had a brother, an older one, and he knew his father killed him, but he didn't remember anything about him specifically. He didn't remember if they looked anything alike, or if he looked more like their dad (while Mavin tended more towards his mother, the last he checked), or if he liked card games or liked gems and runes more than potions and herbs, or any of that. He just knew that once a time he had an older brother named Jeffrey and, then he didn't anymore. He knew his mother called him Jeffrey a lot.

But he didn't want to think about that.

They passed a home that wasn't really enough to be considered a home anymore, not since a few hours before, but Mavin didn't pay any attention to it. Jeffrey shot a side glance at him, but looked away. Mavin heard he was leaving and he suddenly decided he wanted to know if that old tale about the Big, Bad Wolf was true, the one with the pig's in each house, and the house became hay, and the wind blew it away, and the items inside were lost to liquid, and--Mavin doesn't know what happened to the house. He really doesn't. And that concerns Jeffrey, but the elder remains silent as they walk.

Jeffrey was the man chosen by Mavin's mother to take care of him. They were close friends and, at the time, Jeffrey considered himself a bit of a brother to the slowly deteriorating woman and it was a sad sight to him to watch her go. It was a sad thing to a lot of people. Although she was never really right in the head, she was a kind person who cared for others. She often went out of her way to help even if she didn't really have the time to. That's why Mavin was such a disappointment to them all. It was almost as if he had a point to act anything but like his mother, completely bratty, crude, obnoxious, and more trouble than he is helpful.

But he wasn't a shame. Jeffrey enjoyed Mavin, and Mavin respected him like an uncle, or a dad, but the latter was more silent. "Are you gonna miss me?"

The question was sudden, especially for someone as dodgy as Mavin, but Jeffrey maintained his composure. He shrugged. "I try not to stray into pointless things." What did that even mean? Jeffrey was good about that. Or bad, depending how you looked at it. Some people said he could see the future, but there was no definite proof of it, and he'd never admitted to it one way or the other. He was a good warlock, but even Mavin didn't believe he could see the future. That'd be impossible.

It made him nervous. "Sure," he replied. He glanced behind him and frowned as something occurred to him. "I did that." He nodded to himself, but he didn't smile. He just watched the poor homeowner pick up the pieces of the items in their nonexistent house. The person, whose name he couldn't quite put a finger on at the moment, caught them staring and didn't even have the energy to shoot them a glare. Mavin didn't like that. He didn't like feeling guilty. He didn't like doing things like that. It wasn't funny. It hadn't been a prank--not one he remembered. It hadn't been planned out or laughable. It'd been cruel and pointless and nobody had even been around to find it funny with him, not that he even did.

"I did that," Jeffrey chimed from his side. They turned to look at each other and Jeffrey nodded his balding head to affirm his words. "I did that," he repeated, and gave a shrug as he turned away. And for a second, Mavin was inclined to believe him. Jeffrey walked on ahead of him with that cane that returned yet again from nowhere, the cane that could be made of anything he wanted, but instead was constructed of rickety wood, occasionally infested with termites. It was natural and there wasn't a single magical thing about it, and yet Mavin had always found it neat. Maybe because Jeffrey had it for seemingly no particular reason, and that piqued his interest.

Who did that? Mavin followed in silence a few paces behind. The guilt was real, but now he wasn't so sure if it was justified or not.

They reached the end of the village and Jeffrey stopped and turned to Mavin with a cheeky grin, rotted teeth and all. "It was nice knowing you."

"Oh now I know you're just screwing with me." Mavin rolled his eyes because he saw that Jeffrey was still grinning, but he had to look away because--what if he wasn't? What if he could see into the future? What if he was just--...Who cared anyway? Ugh, he was getting way too serious about this. He was totally excited. This was going to be way fun. He was getting out of this stuffy village full of rotten, stuffy people, and finally going on an exciting adventure. He wasn't going to die. That was just bad thinking! He was perfectly fine, and he was going to stay perfectly fine.

The good-byes were short and shallow and Mavin was gone before he could tell Jeffrey he was going senile.

He's going to have dementia. But that wasn't something that was his responsibility to think or worry about, so he simply didn't.

---

So let's see what we've got to work with here. Oh, yeah, there was definitely no way Mavin was just going to bust in on this whole operation without a plan at hand. He had a scope with him and, from a distance, he could see a total of...count 'em: eight suckers. One from each race, but he already expected that. Ugh, what was that? Why did those chicks have to be so... Whatever. It was cool, he was cool, the situation was cool. Oh man, he wasn't just last, he was dead last. Well, who cared, right? At least he was here at all. And he knew just the perfect thing to show these speed-demons just what coming in first did!

All it did was slow them down.

Mavin circled the area, getting a little closer to get a better look with his own eyes rather than the manufactured one in the scope. He was just about to do it--he really was too--when he caught sight of one of those suped-up lookin' girls and he seriously almost blew a fuse and whatever he had out of the spell rebounded and shot him right in the forehead--it hurt, too--and it definitely wasn't the slow-down spell he'd been aiming for. It ended up being some sort of weird glowy spell and now he looked like a stupid, embarrassing walking lightning bug in the middle of the night for no good reason and he literally had no excuse to explain it, or any way of getting rid of it until it wore off. Whenever that would be. Ugh. Ughughugh. Screw this day, seriously.

Since he was a hundred percent sure that if he hadn't been spotted before, he definitely had been now, so Mavin picked up his bearings and strolled towards the group of people like he was prepping for a party, as if there was nothing weird or wrong or different about his natural appearance at all, as if it were totally normal for him to be glowing a dull, ugly yellow-green color. "So what's everybody up to? If you were waiting for me, I already went on ahead and checked everything out. Seriously, you guys are way too slow." Ugh, this was a little embarrassing, but he still couldn't help but laugh incredulously to himself about his own idiocy. It was a little funny. "So, yeah, stop being lazy and get your bums moving. Mommy Mavin's here to guide the way." Literally, like this.

He laughed.

---

---

“Hey~” he jumped. He should have heard the fluttering of wings, but he didn’t. He was too caught up in his thoughts. Sindri. He missed him already. Ariel wondered if he had fallen back asleep like he always did when Ariel had to leave for something, or if he watched him leave the village. By now he had ran his hands through his hair enough times to pull all the soot away, leaving his white blonde hair shimmering in the moonlight. It was annoying, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. But anyways, back to the Fae would scared him. Letting a small sigh part his chapped lips, he tilted his head up ever so slightly to acknowledge the other, a thin yet polite smile playing on his lips.

“Oh? Hello there,” Lifting his gaze up, Ariel was met with blue eyes and blue hair, almost the same shade of color. He was pretty. Not like the Unseelie, but beautiful in his own way. Though that smirk on his face reminded him of Sindri and that made his heart give a painful thud, “It is nice to meet your acquaintance. I am Ariel Wylde of the Unseelie Court. Of course, you could have guessed that, seeing as I am a Fae as well as you.” He inclined his head and shifted his body a bit. He opened his mouth to speak but the perfect tune of a flute cuts him off. Not that he minded all that much. Small talk was never something he was good at. Instead, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, letting the notes flow over his skin like freshly woven silk. It wasn’t something he heard from his own Court, where the music was dramatic and loud, then soft and beautiful. It was different, and Ariel didn’t know how to describe it in any other way other than amazing.

Like all things in the world, the song ended in time, and blinking his eyes open, Ariel smiled into the direction of the trees that he heard the flute. “Well, hello, then-are you all that has arrived as of yet?” Even her voice was different. Nothing like the sweet melodic tune of the Unseelie female Fae. It was rougher, a little deeper. But for some reason, Ariel wasn’t repulsed by it. Honestly he thought he should have been, being that it was nothing like what he was used to. Maybe it was just his curiosity kicking in, or something along those lines.

Focusing his eyes on her, he gave a much nicer smile to her, and bowed his head politely, “Ah, my apologies, it seems that we are the only two here.” He gave her a light laugh, a sound that was normal to him but in the back of his mind he wondered how it sounded to her, “Though I do wish the other’s would hurry up. I don’t want to be waiting all night.” That that he gave a yawn, and looking surprised, his cheeks colored a light pink, something the light of the moon easily shone its light upon, to his chagrin.

“OI!” It was booming and loud, but Ariel could say he saw this one coming. He heard him stumbling about through the forest like some intoxicated being, or a wounded animal. He was clumsy really. Flicking his gaze away from the only girl with a polite nod, he looked the new comer up and down as he came toward their little pod of three. He was tall, much taller than Ariel could ever hope for. Maybe, he guessed, six feet, if not taller. He was a dragonkin, which much was obvious, unlike the very uniquely pretty girl in the group. His hair was the color of a new fire, and two horns came from his head, curling back, much like his long horned cattle. Upon reaching the other three, the tall, no giant, dragonkin sat down next to Ariel. He grinned tightly, not quite sure how he felt about that, but he left it alone, finding on a different level, he didn’t care.

Next came another girl, much shorter than the dragonkin. Her hair was a curly mess, and Ariel found it really cute. He wanted to touch it, honestly. He was about to greet her when her whole body just stopped. At first he was worried that something attacked her from behind, ready to do some hand to hand combat or something, but when he noticed the minimal change of color to her cheeks with a tiny blush, Ariel turned to follow her line of gaze, only to stare at the massive boy next to him. He didn’t smile, only snicker in his head and pressed a pale hand to his lips, smothering the smile that was growing there. It was too early for relationships like what the girl wanted, though there was nothing wrong with finding him attractive. He just hoped that if anyone decieded to be with another, and things ended for some reason, they wouldn’t become hurt or annoyed and effect the who groups journey. They were going into a life or death quest.

“Ariel, I want you to remember something?” The small boy froze and slowly brought his legs to his chest. No. No he didn’t want to do this. Not now, not ever. Especially not now though.
“Ariel, are you listening to me, I know I didn’t tire you out that much.” A light caress made his body tingle all over again, and he nuzzled closer to his lover, a soft moan escaping his lips.

“Yeah, ‘M listening Sin.” His voice was muffled, and the words slurred, his body getting warmer as the other trailed his hands over the places he knew would get a reaction from him. Fleeting touches to his sides, nails scraping against his bare chest, lazy circles on his hips bones, scratches alone his inner thigh, it was driving him crazy. “Sin, just…tell me, will you?” it broke off as a mewl, his back arching, “Dammit. I hate you.”

A soft chuckle, “I love you too, Ariel. But, Shortie, listen to me.” All touches stopped and Ariel wanted to groan, though he held that in, “I want you to remember me. I know you want to say ‘yeah, yeah of course I will, I love you’ or something along those lines, but I don’t want you to remember just this. I want you to think about me.” A pause, “I want your quest to be in the name of saving me.”

“Sindri, that’s dumb of course I will never forget you. When I come back, you will be right here, still stuck here with my greedy parents,” the look on his lover’s face halted him, “Sin? Sindri? Is there something you’re not telling me?” all his good mood was gone and he sat up quickly, tears springing to his eyes, “You aren’t leaving me are you?”

“God, fuck. No.” the older sat up with him and grabbed his hands, “No. But Ariel, I am 22 years old, how have I not gone to war yet? I am able to. Honestly, I think it is your parents doing, for you. And with you gone, I think I will be sent to fight. I am not needed here if you aren’t here. Your parents have their own maids. So I want you to remember me, for me. I want you to finish your quest with me in mind. Because Ariel, if I go, I’m positive I won’t be coming back.”

Another maid knocked on the door and Ariel understood that he was being summoned by his parents.

Flicking his eyes to gaze among the trees, Ariel tried to calm his quick beating heart. It was a horrible conversation, with a horrible ending, yet neither of them talked about it again. It was too heavy. Just like they never talked about when Ariel’s parents would give him the option to marry the princess, what would he do? Or what he would do if they got caught? It was selfish of both of them, living in a fantasy world with only each other, ignoring all else. But now…now it was time to face reality. It was time to grow up, after so many years of trying his hardest to not take responsibility, the music was going to be hard to face. He imagined that Sindri was going to go through the same thing.

It was a while before the next one came. Ariel counted the group again; along with himself there was a Seelie Fae and a Dragonkin. He looked at the two females for a while, trying to pick apart what they would be. The shorter looked too fragile to be anything but a Fae or a witch, and considering she didn’t have wings, he went with the witch. He let a small frown mar his face. He want overly fond of witches and warlocks. Their magic interested him, but he knew that some were downright nasty and used their magic for evil. And he wasn’t talking about the war. However the other female was hard to figure out. She was tall, so not a Fae. They had a dragonkin, so she wasn’t that either. He could say centaur, but he didn’t think her to be one. Not quite sure what she was, he gave a short sniff and leaned his head back against the tree, giving complete guess and saying she was a either a centaur or a nymph.

Not too much time had passed when a pale skinned and pale haired boy came out from the trees and Ariel without a second thought figured out he was a centaur. He carried himself much like one. He had seen them before, though he had to hide in order to not be killed, and the regal way they held themselves, and even the way they fought, was beautiful. Breath-taking even. “Miss Naga…” What? A Naga was here too? “It isn’t polite to hide up there, please come down. Everyone is waiting.” Ariel looked up and let out a whine, seeing a very large thing in the trees. He figured it was the Naga and looked back down, another yawn parting his lips. Maybe he should have taken a nap with Sindri while he had the chance. Oh well, too late now. Directing his gaze over to the centaur, he found that he was on the short side for someone of his race, or at least the men he saw fighting were huge, though he figured that since they were all still kids, they had the possibility of growing a few more inches. Except him. He was stuck. Forever at 5 feet. It was a horrible thing.

Smiling, Ariel looked up at the Naga in the trees, “Yes, please, I would love to meet you Miss. I’m sure none of us bite, you are safe here.” He didn’t move from his sitting position so craning his head up was a bit awkward and painful, but he made do so he could address her, “So please, Miss, come join us. You are among friends.”

Soon an Elf arrived and Ariel fought the urge to hug her. He loved Elves. They were an amazing race. Not true to their name, they could be any shape or size, and they were great at wood-work and had top-notch blacksmiths. Or they did, back before the war. He wasn’t quite sure how every race lived with the war raging on. She stood tall, and didn’t talk, which made Ariel a little put out because he didn’t want a moody Elf. Or in general, a moody anyone. They were going to have to get along, why try and fight it. The Elder told him that they were going to have to earn each other’s trust, and watch each other’s backs during fights. And that there would be many battles. He wasn’t sure if that meant external battles or internal. He just said it was going to be a bit of both.

About to say something to the Elf, a bright light shone through the trees and Ariel tensed up. They were safe here, or they should have been. After it faded into a dimmer glow, a young man walked out of the trees, shimmering in light. It seemed to originate from his forehead. Knowing no race that shimmered, he guessed a magicuser, specifically a Warlock. “So, what’s everybody up to? If you were waiting for me, I already went on ahead and checked everything out. Seriously you guys are way too slow.” Ariel raised a single eyebrow and quirked his lips, “So, yeah, stop being lazy and get your bums moving. Mommy Mavin is here to guide the way.” Ariel giggled a bit at that, his eyes closing for a second as the sound carried and brought a hush to the group.

He blushed. “My apologies. Anyway, Warlock.” He stood up and internally sighed at his height. Damn this. It was going to take a while to get them to take him seriously in his height, “In case your Elder didn’t tell you,” he pointed a finger at him with a huff, “though why he would tell you anything is beyond me. Why did that pick such an incompetent Warlock is beyond me,” he added under his breath, “We were to meet under the oak tree at midnight. Judging by the position of the moon, it is well past midnight. I’m quite sure the Elders did not say ‘go galloping into the forest and find a way to get through everything and show off your manliness’ or did yours specifically say that?” his hands ended up on his hips and a smile played at his lips. He normally wasn’t so informal, but the boy didn’t seem the type to care for formalness. And besides, Ariel was irked that they, he, had to wait for so long. Honestly, he could have been sleeping. But he wasn’t mad. Not really. “Anyways, I’m sure the other Elder’s told you this but we are granted safe passage through the lands that the races inhabit. After that, we are on our own for food, water, medicine, whatever.” He frowned and ran a hand through his hair. “You were right about one thing, Warlock. We need to get moving. So come on.” By this time he was sort of standing next to the magicuser, but a bit in front of him at the same time. As everyone started to shuffle around and get up, chatter also started to be heard, instead of the stiff silence. Smiling, Ariel tossed back a grin at the Warlock and moved aside to let him through, “Show us the way, or Great Warlock.”

As they began to gather their things and set off, Ariel cast one glance back to where he knew his land resided. Back to where Sindri was. His heart felt heavy, and all he wanted to do was run back into his arms and never leave them. I love you, Sin. he thought, turning back to face the front and smiling bitterly. If he thought about it hard enough, he could still feel the tingling of his touches along his body. The perfect hands, caressing his sides, running through his hair…just…

They laughed and kissed again. Then again, the giggling quieter. The next time their lips pulled apart, Ariel had the perfect shade of blush on his cheeks and Sindri was smirking. Bringing up his hands, Sin cupped the other’s face and pulled him into a deeper kiss, gently parting his lips with his tongue and starting a battle that happened each and every time. It was slow at first, slow and sweet and gentle, but when Ariel bit Sindri’s bottom lip in a challenge, everything turned on his head.

After being pushed down into the bed, Ariel looped his arms around the older’s neck and yanked him down for a much deeper and more heated kiss. Quiet moans were swallowed by the other, and their bodies began to rock slowly against each other. Pulling away to bite his neck, Sindri trailed his hands up and down Ariel’s body and then quickly rid him of his clothes. Next came the nips and the hot laps of his tongue. The warm heat that enveloped him, the areas that made his back arch off the bed and clasp his hands over his mouth to muffle the moans or screams. A dull pain, and then pleasure. And more pleasure. It built up, their bodies now rocking without a rhythm. His vision went white and then black. Perfection.

Thud.

“Ow, dammit.” Blinking away the memories, Ariel rubbed his forehead with his hand, tears springing into his eyes and a pout formed on his lips, glaring at the tree that did him no wrong. He was so caught up in his memories, the memory that would be one of many to keep him going through this quest, that he had not been paying attention to where he was placing his feet, resulting in him running head first into an oncoming tree. Placing his other hand on the tree, he pushed off of it and tried to blink quickly, willing the black spots in his vision to go away. But it was to no avail, and for a long while, Ariel spent his time tripping over roots and rocks and other plants while he was trying to make his vision clear. There were a few snickers here and there, but he couldn’t tell who was who and in the end he just didn’t care. Or really, he cared a lot, but he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it because there was no point.

He remembered a time, when he was much younger, when a few kids were bulling him for his hair, pulling locks of it out and pushing him around, making him bleed. He was crying, sobbing really, trying to fight back. He was smaller than the other boys, though he was the exact same age as them. It really made him angry. He wasn’t even sure why they wanted to pick on him. To him, his hair was his hair. He was special. His mommy told him he was special and that no one could take that away from him. A rather loud wail escaped him and the two boys were picked up by the collar of their shirts
“What are you boys doing to my son?” his mother’s soft yet commanding voice pierced through his sobs and he opened his eyes to see his mom glaring at the two kids, “Don’t touch him again.” She put them down and they took off running, terrified of someone from the Royal Court. Especially the Queen’s advisor. Once they were gone, Ariel was picked up and cradled in his mom’s chest, and he started to cry all over again.

“Mommy, I don’t like my hair, I don’t like my eyes. I don’t like being short. Mommy I don’t like it. I hate it. I just wanna…I wanna be normal. Why am I not normal. I’m…I am…ugly. They told me I was ugly.” He sniffled a few times, but because he was his mother he stayed strong. She called him her brave little warrior.

She cooed and pet his hair, carrying him all the way back home. “Remember that you are special, Ariel. People are going to make fun of you your whole life, okay? But I want to you kill them with your kindness. Be polite to them, smile at them. Don’t be rude back, stay calm at all times.”

“Kindness is the best form of manipulation.” was what she told him. He took it to heart as a child, and kept it with him, using it with his father. He doesn’t remember his father every being a kind man, but apparently he loved him and his mother very much before being sent to war. War changed a man. It changed him forever. He hoped that Sindri wouldn’t end up the same way.

Glancing over at the Warlock, he frowned and stepped over a protruding root, “Pardon me Mister, but do you actually know where we are going? Do you have a plan in mind, or is mindless walking your plan?” Pale eyes rolled and a faint smile touched his lips, “Oh, I forgot. I am Ariel, a Fae from the Unseelie Court. As if you couldn’t tell already. But who exactly are you?” he shrugged his backpack to the other shoulder, “I mean, your sort of a powerful Warlock, judging by the magic you tried to use back there, but I see you can’t control it. Why did the Elders chose you?”He didn’t mean for it to be rude, and so he forced his tone to drop into a sort of mild curious one, instead of a flat, monotonous tone he normally used. A small tilt of his head also gave way to the fact that he wasn’t trying to offend, just merely asking. He wanted to know, honestly. What made this guy special. Ariel figured he was a wild card to the group, with his powers and all that. But what about the others?

Micha felt a little bad for startling the young Fae, but he was quickly pulled away from the feeling as a short conversation started. “Oh? Hello there, It is nice to meet your acquaintance. I am Ariel Wylde of the Unseelie Court. Of course, you could have guessed that, seeing as I am a Fae as well as you.”

Ariel Wylde. The name brought out a familiarity, or at least the last part did, but he wasn't quiet sure where he had heard it before. He couldn't quite figure out why, but the tone was polished enough he was willing to be royalty. He nodded a bit at having guessed that much, Fae's weren't hard to tell apart from others. “Figured, you're too pretty to be a Seelie,” he muttered, then added in a louder tone. “Micha, by the way.”

Not to say that Micha wasn't entranced by his own court, but there was something about the Unseelie that was almost majestic. They were all beautiful for the most part. Especially this one with his fair skin and bright hair. Micha'd always had a weakness for those traits himself.

Ariel was going to say something again, but the sound of a flute cut him off. Micha fell quiet, not because he was particularly fond of the music himself but because it seemed rude otherwise. It was a fine tune, though it was over soon.

Micha twisted his head around at the sound of a voice, distinctly female, it was of a deeper variation. Definitely not Fae, at least. She was beautiful, though in a simpler way than his own race. He'd seen enough Nymphs in his lifestyle to recognize one when he saw it. They all held a certain visual aspect, like a flower in bloom. She had a darker skin tone that he rarely ever got to see, and some bushy hair that brought a smile to his face.

He nodded along with what Ariel was saying, it did seem as if the two were the only ones there. “Though I do wish the others would hurry up. I don’t want to be waiting all night.” “Agreed,” he muttered. “Though if they're going to be slow I wouldn't mind a nap...” Though just as he said it, a new voice joined the group. Loud and booming.

To be honest, Micha had an issue with paying attention to his surroundings. He knew it was dangerous, but he was tired and a little stressed. He hadn't heard the sounds, but as he raised his eyes he quickly became aware of the newest member to their group.

He was a very tall man, with flaming orange hair, strong, prominent features, and a very impressive pair of curling horns. Dressed in very little...and Micha thought he was being a rebel. This boy plopped down right by the young Fae, and Micha could only snicker softly at the expression that crossed Ariel's face—he was slightly uncomfortable about the situation. And the new comer looked a little too happy with his.

Another girl appeared way too soon and he sighed deeply at the fact that he was going to have to let go of the prospect of a nap. He should have slept before leaving, and he was regretting it now, but at least he'd had a relatively good night.

She was a tiny girl, definitely human, but very beautiful. Even in his lazy state, Micha lifted up on his elbow to look the girl over. She was very small, very fair, and very demanding of attention. While not necessarily his type, there was no doubt she was hard to look away from.

After a moment, he followed her own expression to where her gaze was locked and chuckled under his breath. Guess I'm not her type either... he thought to himself. Oh it was definitely going to be interesting with girls around...this journey was beginning to have a bright side.

Silence fell around the small group and after awhile Micha lost interest in looking at the others and laid back down again. He wasn't feeling like himself at all, normally he would have been down on the ground messing with the others and making jokes but...he was too tired.

Or at least that was what he was telling himself. Honestly, his heart felt heavy. He was thinking about her. After all these years, after moving on and having a life, she was back on his mind and...it still hurt. Like it'd all happened yesterday. He figured a piece of himself would always lay with her.

He actually closed his eyes for awhile before anyone else came. He'd unfolded his wings, let them lazily glide in the air for a moment before dropping them at his sides. He normally didn't flaunt them so much—and that wasn't what he was doing, he was just tired and keeping them pinned was a lot of energy too.

He'd just thought about that nap again when a noise caught his ears, and he moved enough to see another male enter the group. This ones race Micha couldn't pin, but he carried himself with a certain type of...pride? He wasn't sure what it was. “Miss Naga it isn’t polite to hide up there, please come down. Everyone is waiting.”

His brow furrowed in confusion, when the hell had a Naga joined them? His eyes searched the branches and after he focused long enough he saw her. She was huge, but he figured a life-sized snake would be anyway. He didn't have a problem with them at all, and actually found her to be very cute the longer he looked.

“---I’m sure none of us bite, you are safe here.” Micha scoffed under his breath as he turned his head to the opposite side. “Not unless you're into that kind of thing...” he trailed off as his eyes landed on an Elf who had apparently just joined their group.

She raised an unamused eyebrow at him while he only grinned in response. She rolled her eyes slightly before they went around the rest of the group. Before anything else could be said, or anyone else introduced, a bright light suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Well hell, that caught Micha's attention, and he lifted up on his elbow again to look off in the distance.

Amarie, who could see exceptionally well, was already shaking her head. As to why the male was glowing, she had no idea, but she was sure there was an amusing story to the reasoning.

“So, what’s everybody up to? If you were waiting for me, I already went on ahead and checked everything out. Seriously you guys are way too slow. So, yeah, stop being lazy and get your bums moving. Mommy Mavin is here to guide the way.”

Micha felt confused, surely his attention wasn't that bad that he hadn't noticed someone else had arrived before him. Definitely not from a sky view, certainly he would have noticed a glowing dude. You're goin to get yourself killed...

The sound of a Fae giggle stole his attention once more, an he found himself looking down at the Unseelie, who blushed as soon as he realized everyone had gone quiet.

Amarie leaned against a tree just opposite them, enough to keep an eye on the group but not say anything. She raised an eyebrow slowly as the boy with hair almost as bright as hers stood. Fae, she noticed.

“Who put this kid in charge?” she asked under her breath.

Micha flipped out of the tree easily, lading just in front of her with his wings snapping into place. “You wanna lead the way, Princess?”

She gave him a look that probably could have sent anyone else running. “Bite me.”

“Where?” he retorted. It was just too easy. She stepped up to him as if she was about to retort something--and how he hoped it was going to be fun--but then a sound interrupted them.

“Ow, dammit.”

Micha looked behind him and Amarie over his shoulder at the Fae that had just run smack into a tree. He shook his head with a light snicker and fell into walking with the group, but Amarie held back a couple of paces behind everyone else.

She looked off towards the southeast for the longest moment, hoping her baby sister was having some good dreams, and blew off a kiss in the direction. She couldn't see anything, of course, but it gave her a little peace. Then she turned around and started walking again.

From her spot in the very back she could see all the others, smiling and making introductions as they walked. The blue Fae was by far the tallest, which was amusing because in counterpart the other Fae was the shortest.

She wondered for a moment why there was two of them when it occurred to her that they had different subraces as well. Something about being one thing and un-another. She knew she remembered in the back of her mind, but she couldn't pull the information forward.

Even from her spot in the back, she could hear them talking up front. Her ears were pretty amazing that way. Actually, the more he talked the more amusing she was finding the tiny fairy, who seemed to have a bit of a smart mouth on him.

A smile actually tugged on her lips as she shifted the straps on her back. The group that was in front of her seemed like a pretty able group. The guys appeared to be strong—except maybe the Fae's less so in physicality. However, they were powerful creatures and she wasn't worried.

The girls...the only one who stuck out to her like a sore thumb was the smallest. She looked like something that needed to be sitting at one of those shops that sold rare, priceless items. Not someone who should be on a mission such as their own. However, if there was anything Amarie had learned in her short life it was never to judge by appearances, which could be so deceiving.

Perhaps the young woman was a magicurser, who had powers no one could even dream of.

She sighed, deciding she was already done with people watching, and instead turned her attention to the trees around them. She loved the forest.

---

---

Well, it was only a matter of time she was found, especially as the pairs of eyes steadily increased. Though the one who spotted her was surprising. It wasn't the fae sitting at the base of the tree, nor was it the one who landed in the branches. No, the one who had found her had been the centaur. She would have been impressed if her mind hadn't gone blank. She was moments away from having a panic attack. Bailey knew she wasn't going to be the only one on this journey. Still, she wasn't prepared for the amount of people who showed up. Men and women-- Boys and girls, really, of all races. None of them could have been too far out of her own age range. Little comfort that did to the white fuzz acculmulating in her head.

Her next actions were mechanical, not aware of it even herself. She was quite, deathly silent as she took the Centaur's hand and began to descend the tree. Her tail twisted around the branch she had found herself in and it slowly began to lower her to the ground itself, coiling about more branches to help slow her descent. It was a even, steady motion, full of practiced grace and minuet control. She had more control in her tail than these two-legs had in their... Well, legs. Not that that was what going through her mind at the moment. That mostly consisted of blankness, and fuzzy feelings of other eyes on her. Right. Well. It was a mistake, this whole trip. Gone was the though of finding the book, and so rudely taking it's place was the vague notion of being out of place. Her face was burning red, sizzling.

There were eight others, beside her, and that was eight more than she was comfortable with. All of the voices were drowned out by the rampant beating of her own heart. She landed on the ground, and let the centaur's hand go, coiling her tail around herself, tightly. It was like she was hugging herself. She just felt so awkward. She didn't have the regal manner her mother did, nor did she command a room like her father. She'd much rather just coil up in a corner. Alas, the forest was bereft of such corners. Get it together Bailey rang her father's voice. The voice was right, she needed to collect herself. These people wouldn't hurt her-- would they? A couple of them said words to that effect, though who's it was was a good enough guess for her.

"Tha-tha-thanksss," she stammered out to the centaur. An old habit of hers, she drew out the S far longer than she had intended. Her anxiety was palable. Ah, but she did find her voice. Good, good, that was a good first step. Baby steps, Bailey, baby steps. You'll have plenty of time to get better with these people. Plenty of time. And plenty of time to make a bigger fool of herself, maybe. Luckily, she wouldn't be the only one. A thump brought her golden rimmed eyes to the Fae-- Ariel, she believed he called himself, wallking right into a tree. That brought a small smile to her lips. That single action did more for the Naga than Ariel would ever know. It broke the thick ice surrounding Bailey's mind. It set her somewhat at ease. These people were not to be feared. It'd be alright, everything would be alright. It was fine.

Now that she found herself in a more comfortable position, she finally took stock of her environment. As she did the headcount, she flicked her tongue out a couple of times, to better get her bearings. There was the two Fae, the dragonkin (exceptionally handsome, at that. She had to avert her gaze in order to avoid lighting up like a flame), the nymph, the elf, two magicusers (from her guess. She could taste the magic wafting from their direction) and the centaur who had helped her from the tree. Looks like everyone made it. Good. Maybe. Still too many people her her tastes.

"Ah!" She exclaimed. "I'm... Bailey," She squeaked. Some of the others had already given their name. So now had she. Good. Baby steps. Still. She found herself at odds with the Warlock. She found his words to be... A bit too forward. She actually found herself enjoying Ariel's words a lot more. To the effect that she actually agreed with the first/ part. "I'd... Rather not walk mindlessssly," there was that lisp again. Of course, considering she didn't exactly walk the sentiment was the same.

She loosened her tail and began to... move along with the group. She hoped this wasn't the mindless wandering Ariel spoke of. The thought managed to make her sigh far more loudly than she meant to. It was gonna be a long journey.