Drannec's Story

Violet was sick of hearing that name. Day and night, in school or at home, it was always the same routine. Have you paid your respects for Leon today? Have you kept Leon’s room clean? Have you prayed for Leon’s spirit in heaven? Leon this, Leon that. The moment she was suspected of putting up any kind of lip, she’d be accused of being callous and insensitive, of never having loved her own brother at all. They were so preoccupied over his death that it’s like they forgot she even existed. What was she to them?
She threw another stone. It skipped a good five or six times before vanishing below the river’s surface, slight ripples in its wake. Another pebble launched forward from somewhere behind her, hitting the water at least nine times before sinking. That was pretty good. Instead of turning around to face the mysterious challenger, she picked out another rock on the ground and flung it. Four times. Letting out a sigh that sounded more relieved than exhausted, she turned around to a boy squatting some two or three feet behind her. He seemed to be wearing a school uniform, but she wasn’t aware of any schools nearby that enforced a dress code. Maybe it was a new policy?
“I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a student in uniform,” she started, briefly making eye contact. A wave of uneasiness washed over her, but the sensation quickly faded as he returned her statement with a gentle smile. “Is your school from around here?”
“I’m not attending school,” the boy responded flatly, his smile from earlier now replaced with a slight frown. He rested his arms over his knees and cocked his head to the side. “What about you?”
“I’ve already dropped out,” she gave a noncommittal shrug, perhaps trying a little too hard to come off as nonchalant. “I don’t give a damn about what my parents say anymore. They’ve never cared from the beginning either way.” It was always Leon. That’s how it was back then and that’s how it still is even now, years later. They just couldn’t give it a rest, no matter what they had to sacrifice in the process. It’s almost as though they believed they were being watched and judged by him above. Heaven doesn’t even fucking exist.
“It exists,” the boy suddenly said, interrupting—or perhaps reading?—her thoughts. “It exists,” he repeated, his eyes narrowed and his voice more distanced. “Heaven…” He paused a moment in hesitation, a soft twinkle in his eyes that seemed to carry an unfathomable sadness in them. “…and Hell.”
His words—no, the way he said them—put her at a loss for words. She could feel the chills running down her spine. What did he mean by that? How did he know what she was thinking? Was she just thinking too much into it?
“How did you…?”
“I think it’s about time for me to start heading home,” the boy yawned, simultaneously standing up and stretching. His arms spread, extending above his head as he let out another yawn. His hair caught the glow of the setting sun, radiating a brilliant sheen of gold. The flowers swayed and danced with each breath of wind, the cool breeze melding seamlessly with the tranquil ambiance. The scene was breathtaking and she found herself staring longer than she should have. She’d been graced with the presence of an angel.
And with a blink of an eye, he simply vanished. Gone. Out of thin air. She blinked again, half-expecting him to come back. Of course, no such thing happened, but she was content. That feeling of warmth still lingered in the air and it blew a new breath of life into her. She was beyond questioning the nature of this sequence of events, satisfied with things as they were. The need to question had all but left her.

To be honest, she really didn’t believe it. Portals that lead into another dimension? That didn’t make any sense. There wasn’t any proof and all video evidence could be passed off as cheap visual effects. That kind of thing could easily be duplicated nowadays by any kid with a program you can snag off the shelf for a couple dozen bucks. Yet there she was standing, in front of one of the supposed altars that lead into the Aether. The locations of these things were certainly no secret—in fact, they were quite publicized. But honestly, who really believed any of that? It was large marble obelisk that rose about fifteen meters tall in a needle. Surrounding it in a circle was an array of similar but smaller stone posts.
She laid her palm flat against the stone surface. Was something supposed to happen? Was that all there really was to it? She sighed and backed up a few steps. She was an idiot for even trying. Why was she even here? It’s not like the entire thing didn’t smell of horseshit in the first place. As she turned around, she felt a subtle rumble underneath her feet. Slowly turning around, the smaller stones began sinking into the ground while the large one in the center split into four parts. She instinctively side-stepped so that she didn’t get laid flat when it came down. In the middle, there was a wide hole that was just wide enough for her to fit through. It looked more like a deathtrap than a portal to another dimension. To be honest, she was kind of expecting a ring of glowing light but she supposed that didn’t make much sense either. Though with everything she’s seen so far, she was starting to believe that maybe—just maybe there really was a world on the other side. All that was needed was this one last step.

Violet couldn’t tell how long it’s been since she’d hit the ground. There didn’t seem any way to reach the surface world again. It wasn’t that the entrance wasn’t possible to get to; it was that it just didn’t seem to exist anymore. Nor did sunlight. It was always dark—or at least musky—meaning all light had to be artificially created. The deep forest was a terrifying place to be in with nothing to light the way. The calls of animals that were common in forests on the surface were entirely absent here and that was perhaps the most unnerving thing. All she could hear was her own breathing and footsteps as she aimlessly wandered through the forest. At the very least, she wasn’t feeling hungry or thirsty despite having gone so long without anything to eat or drink, something she’d dismissed as a side effect of being in the Aether.
And it was no wonder why she was so startled when there was a sudden shuffling in the shrubberies somewhere behind her. She spun around, nearly tripping over her own feet as she walked backwards, watching her six with fearful eyes. She paused with bated breath, all sound having gone dead in the dark.
A small gray creature shot out from the bushes and leaped straight toward her, jaws wide open and its claws ready at its side. It must have been several meters away, but it was clearly going to land directly on her from the trajectory of its powerful jump. Violet’s eyes opened wide, knowing that there was nothing she could do. Fleeting thoughts entered her mind and then…
…it happened.
Something sharp and painful squirmed inside of her chest and burst out, feeling warm blood splash across her shirt. She could barely see what it was, but the thing snagged the creature out of midflight in its maw, splitting the monster in half between its razor teeth. The black, eyeless worm-like demon continued to coil out of her chest and dove toward the forest floor, hastily devouring the remnants of the creature it had just killed. Violet stared down at the thing in shock, touching it with shaking hands.
What…the fuck…is this?
Blood continued to spill from the hole it emerged from, its body scraping against the sides of the fissure in her chest. The pain was almost too much to bear, but for some strange reason she didn’t feel as though her life was in danger, but it didn’t end there. She felt the same sensation her back, only this time it was more static. Blades ripped out from her spine and extended outward in a spider-like formation around her sides. A massive eyeball appeared on her hand, staring unblinkingly back at her. Screaming, Violet stumbled back and landed on her rear, taken aback by this insane series of events. Somebody must’ve heard it because a new, unfamiliar figure made its way into the clearing, this one definitely human.
“Don’t look at me,” Violet whispered hoarsely with tears in her eyes, curled up as various appendages from her body thrashed and snapped around. The demon snarled and swung its head around and the blades sliced through the air and the dirt indiscriminately, kicking up dust and shredded leaves. “Please…don’t look…”

The stranger who went by the name of David had offered her clothes to replace her ripped ones, bringing her to some kind of settlement near the border of the forest. The room was lit by several candles, forcing away the darkness in every corner. Violet sipped a cup of water, looking warily up at the man. She'd calmed down for now, but she never wanted to experience that ever again.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, setting the cup back down.
“Don’t mention it,” he smiled. “You headed anywhere?”
“I…don’t really know where I’m going,” she shook her head. “I’m looking for somebody.”
“Everyone’s looking for somebody,” he laughed. “Sorry, I can’t help you there. The only way out of the forest is through the ravine, but the only problem is that it’s swarming with monsters. This settlement’s been holding a discussion on banding together to clear it out so everyone can move on. Of course, you can always go back the other way, but that’s arguably much more dangerous, especially if you plan on traveling on your own.”
“When’s the next meeting?” she asked.
“Right now,” David shrugged. “It’s happening in the next room. Want to listen in?”
“S-Sure,” she nodded hesitantly. It wasn’t like her to be so timid and uncertain of herself, but she’d never been so frightened in her life so she couldn’t really say that she could help it. She followed the man into the next room where the meeting was taking place. There were quite a few people there, only all of these people seemed to be different or have something on them. Violet was the only one in the room that wasn’t visibly different from a normal human being.
“You bring a ghost in here David?” one masked man asked.
“No, she’s one of us,” he said, seating Violet down in an empty chair. “Go on with the discussion.”
Violet glanced around nervously at the faces around her, fidgeting anxiously with her hands. What was going to happen from now on? She took a small breath and listened.

"Another one!? Dang, she's a bit young." Patraeko called out from behind the two, his voice was spoken in a very cocky tone. It seemed crazy how Patraeko had first made his appearance behind the two, but he had already made it next to Violet, crouching down to get to her level. "You sure you ain't stumbled upon the entrance here? Accidental discovery eh?" His tone seemed more insane as he rested his hand on Violet's shoulder, his cybernetic eye seemed to be scanning her body all over, the small red line moved side to side as if it were a pupil.

"Don't kill it" A high pitched voice sounded from behind Violet, the source of the voice appeared in the form of a red and green parrot which flew down and perched on Patraeko's shoulder. "One more til big One-Zero, don't kill it, kill that, not that" The bird continued on repeating the sentence until Patraeko stood and raised his robotic arm to silence the bird.

"Shush, Jeremy." Patraeko ordered in a very serious voice. "Anyway, sorry for being late guys! I was caught up fighting a rogue seeker, he made number 9!" Patraeko moved around the room as he spoke, jumping and spinning as if he was trying to dance. The parrot flew after Patraeko, trying to perch on his shoulder. As soon as Patraeko reached the seat a couple seats down from where Violet sat. He jumped and performed a front flip, only to land on the chair, sitting down. The parrot joined him by perching on his shoulder.

"Continue"

Drannec awoke, gently nudged by a fox's snout. He was in a small home, and he didn't know about the meeting going on just across the road. Hell, he didn't even know there was a magma colossus coming towards his sorry excuse for a home.

Drannec. I saw something outside... well, you'll want to see it yourself. Gris shifted into a mink, and walked by Drannec as the two of them exited the windowless home, to see...

Outside was a massive, deadly-looking magma giant. It was easily taller than Drannec's poor little house, and that meant it was probably something he should avoid. And yet... if he could study how something made of lava-- of molten stone, that is-- could gain an animate form...

Did it classify as a beast? Was it a magic golem, or some strange animal? He walked over to get two things-- his pack, and his sturdy metal staff. He called to Gris, who was pacing near the door restlessly, obviously worried about the chance of an attack from the lava monster. Gris, do you thing we can study that thing? It'd be a great addition to my report!

His report was already pages long, simply on the flora of the Aether-- and he'd only been here a month. At the behest of others-- mostly Gris-- he hadn't chased after any of the fauna.

I can't fight a being of lava, Drannec. It'd kill me in a heartbeat. Why don't we--

Drannec didn't give Gris a chance to continue, heading out the door with paper and pencil in his pockets and the metal staff in his hand.

Ugh. At least ride there, you silly little scientist. Gris shifted into an elk, her usual form, and ran in front of Drannec.

The two of them traveled closer to the lava colossus, and found... some kid, and an intimidating lady with a sword. As Drannec hopped off Gris, both of them were surprised at how docile the lava-beast appeared-- though "docile" in their mind was "not burning the forest down, yet". Still, it was a welcome change. Drannec approached the two.

"Hello! Say... this sounds like an odd question, but what is the nature of that lava monster you have there? Is it an animal from some part of the Aether I've not seen, or... something else?" As Drannec said those words, the back of his mind silently hoped it wasn't just another reflection. Reflections were useless to his overall cause-- well, other than Gris, of course-- as they couldn't be studied properly. Yet they were the only beasts he'd seen so far-- well, the only things close to beasts he'd seen.

Drannec awaited a response from the two strange people on the road.


(OOC notes stuff: I'll only be using italics for Gris/Drannec mental conversations, just so it's clear)

As they continued to walk through the (not so) heavenly realm, Michael couldn't help but marvel at the scenery below him. It almost seemed like the trees were more vividly colored here than in the reality he came from...not to mention, the legs of his unfortunately designed Guardian were not burning them, no matter how close they brushed, although he wasn't sure if that was an attribute of the guardian itself or of the trees.

"Hello! Say... this sounds like an odd question, but what is the nature of that lava monster you have there? Is it an animal from some part of the Aether I've not seen, or... something else?"

Confused, Michael looked around for the source of the voice, only knowing it came from far below. By the time he noticed the man riding an elk on the ground, he was alarmed by how close he was to the leg of his Guardian. "Whoa! Stop!" He shouted frantically, and the Guardian immediately obeyed. "Um...bring us down," Michael continued, and the hand lowered to the ground, allowing him and Luna to safely descend.

"Um...hello," he greeted the man on the elk with a bow. "I am Michael Aefenleoht, and this is Luna." He then gestured to the magma titan behind him. "And this is my Guardian, to answer your question." The titan, however, simply returned to its original standing position and made no acknowledgement of the man or the elk at all.

A bit lost on what other conversation he could make, Michael gestured to the elk. "That's a fine creature you have there," he commented politely. He had never seen one of them in real life before...funny he was seeing it close up in the Aether of all places! In any case, this man looked...somewhat arrogant, but at least fairly trustworthy. "Say, do you know if we're getting close to, uh, a settlement or something of the sort?"

What was she doing here, really? Luna was pretty... meh, it didn't really matter anyways. She felt more or less somewhat neutral to all of this. Maybe a little anxious to hurry up and find the rapist. Her left hand clenched a bit - damnit if there'd be another victim before she took the damn rapist down. She was a Knight of Justice, wasn't she? She had to do it. And... perhaps she could get Olivia's attention like that, too. She didn't even really know how she'd locate or recognize Olivia within the Aether - but she sort of hoped that it'd come naturally.

...Missing someone that was enough to be your second half really was harrowing. And it was the only thing that was keeping her going, too. How she'd failed Olivia, how she'd been the reason for - well... perhaps it was arguable what the true reason for her death was, but Luna sure didn't help things. Sure, she'd messed up terribly... fucked up pretty much everything. But she was determined to set it right.

They were getting to that quaint little town. Luna could see it in the distance pretty easily. Once there, she'd work on Mike until he was strong. Maybe that was for the best - with this gigantic Guardian, it was a certainty that Mike'd make a strong ally after some work. She glanced at the boy, shrugging slightly. Yeah, he'd need a lot of work. Luna swung her sword a bit, relishing it's curved edge. It really was her favorite, and it meshed well with her ability to fly. Her flight gave her almost a pseudo-cavalry type effect, allowing her to charge at a high speed at her foe. Coincidentally, the sword was good for slashing and thrusting movements while at a higher level and speed - so it really did mesh well with her style. It was long, though, but she modified it's weight to be workable against most unarmored foes with no stamina or speed penalty.

Her vision snapped to... a man riding some deer with antlers thing. Luna glared at the most-likely-a-Guardian, and readied herself to transform. Her whole body tensed up - the only problem was the terrible activation phrase. Honestly, it was demeaning. It... was cheesy and - oh, whatever.

"Hello!" The man greeted in a grating voice. "Say... this sounds like an odd question, but what is the nature of that lava monster you have there? Is it an animal from some part of the Aether I've not seen, or... something else?"

"Whoa! Stop!" Magma dude stopped. Luna had a wry grin on her face- already, Mike was learning how to command the Guardian. "Um...bring us down," And so, magma dude brought them down, in order for the boy to make introductions. Luna lowered her sword just a bit. Maybe he wasn't a threat. But... he could be the rapist. She took the time to transform, murmuring her activation phrase as quietly as possible, quickly shifting from shimmering lavender to her magical girl outfit, cavalry sword, cape, and all, and hopped down from the hand herself.

"Are ya blind or somethin'?" Luna snorted derisively at the pink-haired boy. "It's right up ahead, maybe a few more minutes." She gathered saliva and spat onto the ground at her feet. "Silly."

She then turned her attention to the elk-rider, frowning slightly, menacingly. Perhaps it was time to try and glean some information. He, at the very least, seemed as if he'd been in the Aether for a longer time than Mike had. So then, she took the opportunity to split her cape into wings, and rush directly at the man, stopping with her sword only inches away from his throat.

She paused, staring the man down threateningly. That long auburn hair.... giving him an almost shaggy look, Luna found it potentially suspicious. Could he be the one? The ever-so-elusive rapist she'd been hunting for the past few weeks? If so, why would he approach her now?

"Rumors." She almost growled. "A rapist goin' 'round. Ya heard of him?" She drew her face closer to his. "Perhaps you're him?"

In hindsight, even if he was the rapist, he'd probably answer in the negative anyways, right? Who'd just admit it, inches from death? Maybe she'd just run him through, to be safe. But... killing someone without giving them a chance to explain themselves... it's not very heroic or justice-y. Against her better judgment, she decided to wait and see what he said.

Well, that was disappointing. Another Guardian... hmph. Where were the fascinating beasts that musty old tomes spoke of?

Best to put that aside, Drannec. I can't protect your sorry hide from everything. Gris was as practical as ever-- disappointingly. Ah, well, that was what she was there for, right? To make sure he didn't get his sorry bum killed.

"That's a fine creature you have there. Say, do you know if we're getting close to, uh, a settlement or something of the sort?"

Drannec looked at the boy, who seemed shaken by something or other. He looked... new. Kind of like Drannec, really, but at the very least Drannec had been in the Aether for a couple months.

"Thank you, kind sir. And yes, your friend there is right. There's a settlement nearby; in fact, that's where I live."

Just as Drannec finished, the intimidating one-- the woman-- gave him a piercing glare, the challenging sort.

"Rumors." She almost growled. "A rapist goin' 'round. Ya heard of him?" She drew her face closer to his. "Perhaps you're him?"

Rapist? The worst thing Drannec had ever done-- well, he was Thomas then-- was a bit of credit dodging, and cheating on a test.

Haven't heard anything like that in the sky. Heard a lot worse, though-- couple of mass murders.

"I've never heard those rumours. Hmm. Well, I'll keep an eye out for someone like that-- they sound dangerous." Drannec tried to change the subject, hoping to shake off the woman's intimidating glare.

"So, uh... Michael and Luna, right? What's been going on around the Aether? I've been, ah, holed up in my home for a while, so I haven't really heard much. In fact, you two are the biggest news this week!"

"Me, blind?" Michael sounded the slightest bit stung as he said this, although he still tried to be as polite as possible. "I mean, my father and older brother used to tease me about how much I endlessly pored over my books for hours and hours, but aside from that my vision is sufficient." It took a moment for him to realize he had alluded to his family again, and he let out a sigh, his mood dampened a bit. At least he hadn't droned on for too long about it yet.

Just as he finished, he stared at Luna with horror as she spit upon the ground, and outright accused him of being the rapist he was looking for. "Um...I apologize for her behavior," he sighed, pointing at Luna with an open palm. Honestly? Forget all those silly standards everyone seemed to place for women, even Thomas hadn't been that irreverent--and that was really saying a lot, because his older brother sometimes seemed to go out of his way just to be as irritating as humanly possible...

Not that it changed the fact that Michael had come for him. "As for news...well, there isn't really anything I'm bringing, for I just arrived in the Aether a few...uh..." Actually, come to think of it, he had no idea how long he had been unconscious. "Well, a relatively short amount of time ago, to put it plainly. As for Luna...well, have you heard about anything, aside from the rapist?" Then he remembered something else, and turned back to the man. "Oh...I don't believe you introduced yourself, either."

As he spoke, he held the claymore behind his back. Currently, he didn't really trust the Guardian to hold it, even if it was supposed to be protecting him--even now, he didn't know what the Guardian was thinking as it silently gazed onward. But it didn't seem right to be carrying on such a casual conversation while holding weapons out in the open for people to see.

"I've never heard those rumours. Hmm. Well, I'll keep an eye out for someone like that-- they sound dangerous." The man looked edgy and nervous .... but, as Luna had to grudgingly admit, not particularly guilty. He reacted as an innocent might have - so she pulled the sword away from his throat, and after a few quick movements, her sword was pulled back into her body through the mark on her hand, and she shifted back into her cloak-and-street-clothes outfit, feeling once again glad that her too-flashy combat costume was gone. Still, she felt the rigid kevlar vest underneath - probably the only bit of protection that wasn't connected to magic in any way. She walked back to Mike, feeling all the more frustrated that she wasn't getting any new leads on the rapist. For all she knew, he was hurting another victim right now, and here she was, hanging around with two strangers.

Though, admittedly, Mike had quite a few similarities with Olivia so far - and her missing Olivia was so intense that it was hard to draw away from the boy.

"Um...I apologize for her behavior," Mike said, and Luna stuck her tongue out at him, before turning once again to face the man.

"So, uh... Michael and Luna, right? What's been going on around the Aether? I've been, ah, holed up in my home for a while, so I haven't really heard much. In fact, you two are the biggest news this week!"

A recluse, then? So... not looking for someone in the Aether, that's for sure. Luna tried think - but gave up after a few seconds when nothing really came up, as for reasoning to enter the Aether in the first place. It didn't really matter, anyways.

"As for news...well, there isn't really anything I'm bringing, for I just arrived in the Aether a few...uh..." Mike paused for a moment, looking rather pensive. "Well, a relatively short amount of time ago, to put it plainly. As for Luna...well, have you heard about anything, aside from the rapist?" Then he remembered something else, and turned back to the man. "Oh...I don't believe you introduced yourself, either."

Michael was holding the claymore as he stepped off from the hand. That made Luna's mien twist into a bit of a grin. Lugging that sword around was likely to be good for him, help him acclimatize to the weapon's weight as well as gain some muscle mass in his dominant arm. He'd have to work his other arm too, since the sword is a two handed weapon, but that'd come with time, she supposed.

"I think... yeah." She took a glance around, and recognized the forest and saw a bit of a ravine going through it. "Some people here're tryin' to set up some group to fight demons in the forest." A thought suddenly came to her, and she glanced at Mike. "Hey. Mike, y'need combat practice, right? And I need to hunt for the rapist. What say we go to town an' help'em fight?" Her eyes almost gleamed from under her hood with eagerness. "Ya can get more experience, an' I can ask around for more leads and whatever. Ya up to it?"

Almost as an afterthought, she added on; "Oh, an' I guess I'll watch your back in the fight." Pointing a thumb at the elk-man. "Maybe get this guy to watch your ass, too."

Luna draped the cloak around her shoulders and started walking into town, excited at the prospect of maybe finally getting a lead on the rapists position, on where he was. Then she could dispense justice and get on with the Olivia hunt. That's what mattered most, after all.

"I have a name and it's not 'one-zero,'" came the curt reply. "My name is Violet." The woman was still a little heated from earlier but she'd managed to keep herself under control for the moment. This was not the time for outbursts. Someone else that seemed to be around her own age suggested going out to search; Violet didn't know enough about this world to make a judgment call here, but it did lead to some more questions. "What's with all this jargon everyone's throwing around?" she whispered to David. "What's an Aegis?"

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," he answered, "but like I said earlier, I'll answer anything that I can once we're outside." He cleared his throat and threw in his own opinion on the matter at hand. "I concur," he said, nodding to Ambar. "If we try to force our way through, we'll lose too many people. Even if we don't end up finding him out there, the least we can do is turn back. It'll be much safer than plowing through the infested ravine, even if it's a long stretch of land to move through. If it does come to that, it'll still be manageable as long as we stay as a group."

"Go fuck yourself!" a man by the door shouted. "Do you have any idea how long it took for me just to get here? Maybe you should take your heads out of your asses and realize that some of us need to go this way." His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his breathing had grown heavier. "I know my daughter's out there somewhere beyond that crossing and I'm not turning back, not even if I have to push through it myself." He stood up and clenched his hands into fists, brilliant white sparks crackling across his hands. "We're crossing the ravine."

"Sit down," David said calmly, gesturing for him to settle down. "Nobody's certain of anything right now, but we need a solution that works for everybody-"

"Well it doesn't work for me!" he snapped. "How about the rest of you?" He said, raising his voice as he addressed the others present at the meeting. "Are you all okay with this? Gonna let these two assholes waste all of the progress we've made to come this far?" A sudden rumbling interrupted the flow of the conversation and their gazes were drawn outside as something incredibly massive could be seen making its way to the settlement from afar.

"The hell is that?" someone whispered.

"Everyone out," David said, a hint of command in his voice as he rose to his feet and made a sweeping motion with his arms. "This could be dangerous. Even if it's not a monster, nobody heads straight for a settlement with a massive guardian like that at their back unless they're planning a total wipeout. We need to move, now."

Violet hesitantly stood out of her seat, surveying their faces with an anxious expression. Guardians? Monsters? A wipeout? What the hell was going on?

---

Lilliana sat propped against the wall of a strange building, in a strange new place. So it existed, The Aether, it wasn't as bad as people said it was, she just felt so...tired, and dizzy. She raised a paw to her head and groaned slightly, a groan accompanied by an unfamiliar growl, her vision was fuzzy as were the rest of her senses but finally as the fog in her brain began to dissipate and her vision cleared. The fuzzy paw appendage remained, the feeling of brushed fur and heated body a constant along with a keen flood of information from her other senses. For a moment, she panicked, patting down her body with wide eyes and trembling paws, her new tail only serving to madden her more with its nervous twitching and frantic flickering as she searched her body for any signs of humanity.

With a deep calming breath and a shudder, she pulled a note pad from her left pocket along with a pencil and began to frantically sketch on the open page. Light details, dark shadows, fine and accurate presses and strokes eventually left her with what could possibly be one of her most precious assets. A fine sketch of herself, of who she really was before she entered this place, a human. With a shaking hand she flicked the notebook to a new page and pocketed it with the pencil in tow, another deep calming breath and she was ready to try and stand, and whilst it first her strange padded feet discomforted her and left her stumbling and falling due to their strange angling with her legs. She eventually began to walk with small effort, her constant swerving ears and swaying tail however would take far longer to get used to, as well as the claws and constant flood of information she wasn't sure her brain could process.

Luckily that seemed to have adapted too, she should have expected such a reflection, at least her clothes hadn't been lost in transition, even with all the fur she could not imagine feeling very comfortable so exposed. Besides it would make her suit much more difficult to use, not to mention all the dirt and pieces of bark that she knew would get tangled within the strange mass of ha-. Her Suit!, Her tail began flickering and twitching again, only making her more nervous as her stumbling legs tried to run around the area she had entered, eventually finding the piece of machinery at the back of the building she had lain against. With another not so relaxed shuddering breath, she checked the various packs for the supplies she'd placed in them and found everything in correct order, climbing in through the back as per her own preference, her new limbs found themselves ill suited and uncomfortable for the machine. It was useable however, and that would suit well enough for now.

That is until she discovered another problem, with a final wrench and a crack that left her hunched over in pain and whimpering, she discovered a pair of wings that had lodged themselves in between some of the back plating, why did she have to get such a troublesome form? A gentle paw slowly and carefully folded them out of the plating, her control of the muscles within them less then novice. She managed to keep them folded to her back with difficulty and eventually sealed the suit completely, finding the space much smaller then she remembered, especially with twitching ears that flattened to her head in defeat, gracing what seemed to be pointed ivory horns. She was no longer surprised, only submissive that she was to live with this form until she retrieved what she had come for, it came in handy sooner then she ever thought possible as she hefted her large gun up into proper defensive position.

She heard the thumping before she booted up the hardware in her suit, the sensors finally kicking in and alerting her to somethings presence. "Little late you piece of junk" She grumbled, tightening her hold on the back and front grip of her gun, feeling the familiar weight calming her significantly as she trudged awkwardly to the front of the place she found herself stranded in. Her training had kicked in and she ignored all but what could be an enemy, her sensitive ears picking up scraps of the inside conversation, apparently they were leaving. If that was the case she would provide covering fire, she was completely oblivious to the lava monster or its companions, in fact anything that her instincts told her were friendly, instead getting down on one knee and bending the other, bracing herself and the suit. Locking a few plates together and holding the gun down by her hip, sweeping it back and forth as she scanned the horizon and flipping a lever back and forth with a whir and click as bullets rolled down in position to refill the weapons ammo box.

Locked and loaded, all she needed now was a target. Hoping that her new body wouldn't get too badly bruised and jarred by recoil and any damage the suit sustained, but she doubted it. "Just my luck." She joked with a determined grin. Waiting outside the strange building like a living statue.

"Oh, an' I guess I'll watch your back in the fight." Pointing a thumb at the elk-man. "Maybe get this guy to watch your ass, too."

There was an expedition going on soon? Drannec had been writing a report on some of the trees nearby— sadly, it seemed that many of them were essentially the same as trees on Earth— for some time, but he should have heard of this. Gris, why didn't you tell me about the expedition? I could finally find some fauna to study!

I did tell you, you dope. You just pushed me off to compare tree bark, or something.

Ah. He didn't remember doing that, but it sounded right. Oftentimes such things went by in a blur.

"I'd be happy to help you on that expedition. It'd be more helpful to study new parts of the Aether, instead pf staying where it's relatively safe, after all."

"Ah, Violet. Eh, One-Zero sounds better. Mind if I call you that?" Patraeko was going to call Violet One-Zero anyway, he was just being polite.

After listening to the volunteering people made, Patraeko couldn't resist. "If you guys are volunteering then I'll go too! Shit sounds fun, and my reflection will be a lot of help. How else do you think I can move with such speed and agility?" Patraeko moved around the room to demonstrate his speed. It was something you would expect from a cartoon, he moved from one area to another area amazingly quick, stopping in different positions which were quite comical as well.

As people began leaving the room, Patraeko noticed Violet was standing still. She seemed confused with what was happening, what a newbie. Patraeko had to do something if that big guy was dangerous. He quickly moved towards Violet and picked her up, holding her like a princess in his arms. "Come, One-Zero. The settlement needs us!"

"Ahahaha! You always wanted to say that Mr Payemyndii" Jeremy commented on Patraeko's words through his high pitched laughter.
"Got a problem? Anyway, lets go!"

Michael nodded to both the man with the elk and Luna. "I thank both of you for helping me," he replied. "Then, I suppose I can go on the expedition as well. We might find some interesting bit of his...wait, never mind." Abashed, he reminded himself that the Aether probably had no recorded history, aside from what the other Seekers would have seen.

They were getting closer and closer to the settlement by now. Luna was already walking into town with a confident look, and Michael was ready to follow...but abruptly, he heard a hissing noise from above, and realized it was coming from his Guardian. Looking up, he was worried he would experience another trauma attack...but instead, he saw it grasping one of its lava tentacles in its hand, as though it was a whip. It drew its arm back, ready to slash...

"H-hey! Stop! Guardian, stand down! Now!" Michael ordered, but the magma titan simply remained motionless in that same position, like it was ready to attack at any time. Trying to find the source of it all, Michael turned and noticed a robotic suit holding a gigantic gun...where was the user aiming it at? Was that what was bothering his Guardian?

Leaving the claymore with the man on the elk, Michael moved towards the suit as close as he dared to, raising his hands to show he was unarmed. "Please, put the gun down!" he pleaded, hoping the user wouldn't open fire on him. "I'm not here to attack you!" Although, with the Guardian in position to strike, his words probably weren't too convincing.

Suddenly, he saw something else--a black girl was getting attacked by another girl...was "girl" even the right term for the second one?! Monstrous appendages soaked with the girl's own blood were bursting out of her body, with blades at the ends, and they were hacking away at the black girl. Eyes wide with horror, Michael began to run towards the two, forgetting about the robotic sentry, but they were gone long before he could get close. "What is...going on in this place?" he wondered as he gasped for breath.

Meanwhile, the colossal magma titan continued to loom above the city, whip in hand, still poised to lay waste to anything it believed would threaten its young master.

"Atlanthal, hmm? Interesting name." Drannec hopped off of Gris, to give her a bit of a break. Happy for the rest, Gris shifted into a blue jay and stood on Drannec's shoulder.

"This here's Gris, my reflection. She doesn't look strong, but she's several times stronger than any animal I've seen. If she's shifted as an eagle, she can carry me around, for goodness sakes!"

Which is always a bother. You're too heavy to carry easily.

Quiet, Gris. It was a compliment.

The two of them kept walking down the path, Michael still silent, for now. It was clear he was still shaken up a bit by the Aether.

"So you're new here, right? Well, it isn't such a terrible place, if you stick with others. But some of the residents... well, let's just say that you should be able to fight yourself-- or at least run quickly-- because some of them could kill you faster than Atlanthal there could rescue you. Of course, I'm sure you already figured that." He paused. "Your friend there-- Luna, right? She's scary enough as is, and I've never seen her before!" Drannec realized he was rambling quite a bit, and caught himself.

"Anyway. Be careful, is all I'm saying. And here we are." The two of them had reached their destination, to see David and Luna talking.

Michael smiled in response to the compliment that the man on the elk--or rather, shapeshifting Guardian--gave him. "Well...I hope I don't have to explain why I chose that name, though," he laughed, although he really did hope that. "Although...I suppose your Guardian is also pretty amazing...shapeshifting is a very convenient ability, isn't it? It's like you can practically do anything."

The two were starting to near a group of people, the leader of which was talking with Luna. After the man with the shapeshifting Guardian finished saying something about Luna being scary, Michael almost laughed, but he quickly silenced himself, for fear she'd hear him. "It's sound advice, sir. I'll remember to be careful," he nodded, taking his claymore back. Oh dear, he probably wouldn't have time to get a scabbard crafted after all.

But as they got closer to the group, Michael quickly realized they were talking about him and Atlanthal. A little bit worried by this, he cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Ah, yes, um. I am the master of the magma titan whom you all...seem to have been a little bit unsettled by," he declared, trying to keep his voice calm. Public speaking...ugh.

"Well, I believe I heard something about an expedition into a ravine? If that's the case, I might not be qualified to go into such a dangerous place right away, but I would like to accompany you." And with these words finished, Michael waited for a response.

As he waited for the leader to say something, he noticed the two girls that he had tried to chase after earlier. It seemed they were starting to calm down...not very much, though. While Michael wanted to go over to them and ask what had happened, he figured it was probably best not to do so...the woman standing near them, who was speaking rather harshly to some kind of cyborg abomination, was proof enough that whatever went on with those girls was too intense for him to approach them now.

Jeremy moves away from the flying sword at the same speed Patraeko does. Leaving shadows in his path, it seems the reflection also covers the bird. He flies over to Patraeko and sits on his shoulder, causing the shadows which were dripping up from his shoulders to swerve around his body.

Ignoring what the girls were saying he heard the speech of someone who obviously had some speech impediment or something, after hearing the insults he slowly turned around. Slight pieces of anger flowed through his body, the balls of shadow orbiting him reacted by becoming slightly spiked as they were being pulled apart in all directions.

"I don't recall claiming any of that. You obviously do not understand the systems of my substitute limbs. And as for the fuckers who threw me into a generator, they were thugs. Gangmembers. Of course they are retarded." Patraeko spoke in a normal tone, it was rare to hear him speak normally, but he normally does when someone presses the wrong buttons.

"That girl. That girl. Meanie. Swords. Attack me!" Jeremy called out facing Luna while flapping his wings.

That was when Patraeko lost his temper, yeah people could insult him or attack him. He just finds it fun most of the time. But attacking Jeremy is asking for shit to hit the fan. As he faced the little girl, he said nothing but walked up to her. The shadow balls simply broke up and molded together and circled closely around his body, covering most of his body.

"What are you doing attacking Jeremy!?" Patraeko spoke through gritted teeth, grabbing his rifle. He also drew his sword and held the rifle in one and and the sword in another. Firing the rifle would make no difference, the recoil would be cancelled out by his arm.

Patraeko stopped when he was so close to Luna that he could elbow her in the head without moving any closer. He didn't point his weapons he just stood and waited for an excuse. The guy is simple enough to accept any excuse anyway.

Suddenly, the crazy cyborg was standing right in front of Luna, demanding something about attacking some person called Jeremy. Though Michael wasn't sure who this Jeremy person was, he was aware that he was holding a gun and a sword, as though he was going to attack Luna at any moment. And regardless of whoever she attacked, alarm bells were going off in his mind. "Atlanthal! Come here, now!" he shouted, as if to open air.

The magma titan did not disappoint, and the familiar rumble of it moving resounded through the air. Meanwhile, Michael, gripping the claymore with both hands, rushed between the cyborg and the girl who had given him the sword. Shoving the cyborg backwards with his shoulder, and pushing Luna away with his free hand, he raised the claymore in the best defensive posture he could manage at his level of skill and strength. The worst thing he hoped Luna would do to him after this was poke him (as usual), but he was more frightened of what that monstrosity of metal and flesh would try.

"Stop right there!" he commanded, voice unusually steady despite the sweat dripping down the back of his neck. "I don't know what my friend may have done, and I apologize for it. But you are acting equally out of order! Please, put down your weapons, and talk this out!"

But even someone like Michael was prepared to go to more violent measures in this sort of circumstance. For Atlanthal's hands were both upon its lava whips, and it was raising them in the air, poised to swing. And this time, should this crazed more-machine-than-man try and attack Luna, the colossal guardian already had Michael's approval to smite him.

The mere touch of the shadows enveloping Patraeko brings a burning sensation to Michael. The anger of Patraeko causing the shadows to burn through Michael's clothes and his skin upon touch.

"No need to act all hostile. Newbie. But if your only friend had a sword thrown at him, you would react in the same way. Like you are now. You are acting more out of order than you should do, it's obvious by the sweat and the poor usage of your blade." Patraeko spoke in a deep, evil-like voice. The anger within him reached a steady level, stalling him and talking to him about random stuff was the best thing to do back on earth. It calmed him and allowed him to return to his happy, hyperactive state.

"That guardian of yours... I like it. I have no quarrel with you, but if you are wishing for a fight then you should make it a fair sword fight. After all, you pulled the sword out at me, not your guardian." He smiled, bearing his teeth which were covered in blood. He was gritting his teeth so much that his gums began bleeding, his insanity really has removed the natural 'Limiter' from his brain.

Even though Patraeko was claiming his peaceful nature towards the newbie, the shadows showed differently. Above his head, a new ball of shadow began falling. It did not have the liquid properties of the rest of the shadows, instead it was so dense that it became a solid. The shadows surrounding his body even began to fade and thin as they were transferred to the ball which was already soo tightly packed that it could explode with great energy at the slightest touch.

"A newbie..." Michael sighed and lowered the sword, rubbing his arm and wondering what the pain was...he couldn't see any serious injury at all, save for a slight discoloration. It seemed to have damaged his clothes a bit...disappointing. But there was no point in crying; his clothes were way too extravagant and expensive to begin with. "Well, I guess that does summarize me well enough." He watched the person with the gas mask slam the cyborg into the ground and walk away. "Um...okay, no need to worry anymore, I suppose?"

Looking up, he called to the magma titan, "Atlanthal, the problem has been taken care of. Ease off a bit, but just be prepared in case he tries anything." Then he walked back to Luna and smiled, a relieved look on his face. "Well, sorry for jumping in there without knowing what I was doing. I probably caused you to worry more, didn't I?"

Just as the cyborg had claimed he had attacked Luna for attacking his only friend, Michael also had jumped in to defend one of his only two allies--Atlanthal couldn't really be called his friend yet. Seems he was still being a bit too reckless about it, though...clenching his hand a little, he reminded himself he'd have to get a bit stronger. Let's see, what had the person with the gas mask called him...a "goddamn anemic stick"? That really needed to be corrected.

With the claymore lowered to his side, he changed to a more serious expression as he faced Luna. "So, why did you attack his bird, anyway? It's not like that could have been the rapist. So don't go attacking people on a whim like that again, okay? That might get us into a bit more trouble next time."

Completely unable to understand how Luna knew exactly what was and what wasn't a demon--the bird looked normal enough on the outside to him--Michael sighed and shrugged. "Well, if you say so. It seems a bit arbitrary to me, though."

As the cyborg--whom he still believed was fairly crazy--told his tale, Michael listened with skepticism...and maybe a bit of anger at the boy's "family." Honestly, they didn't sound like they cared very much about him, tampering with his body like that. But if that was the case, wouldn't he feel angry at them? And then, there would be no reason to enter the Aether, right?

Glancing at Luna, Michael shrugged. "Well, I don't know how believable his story is. What do you think? Or you?" He glanced over at Gris' master as well...ugh, and that man still hadn't told Michael his name yet. Did that pass over his head or something?

While he waited for their responses, he couldn't help but feel that they should have started their journey into the ravine quite a while ago.