Saturday, May 12th, 00:23, 20XX

Arron had sat in a coma for eight hundred and twenty years. Time had passed by him as if he had blinked and it was over but to the rest of the world he had drifted in a rift sealed with the ring and as the ring was put on to Evangeline's finger he felt himself being pulled out of the ring, his mind now awake trying to get out. He wasn't able to think but he could feel his body being distorted out of the ring so that he came out.

The ring was glowing with a black aura as he was cast out from the girl's ring who was still on her finger. He fell on the floor instantly his legs still weak. He stood up slowly regaining his strength being regained as he opened his eyes and started breathing and felt slightly like a newborn colt trying to stand. The air was brisk and nipped at his fingers, not covered by cloth as he stood up and saw the bed and his new mistress.

He looked at the girl asleep and sighed, then spoke softly as he brushed her hair with his fingers. "The old bastard put us back in and now we got a girl." he walked out of the room and made his way down the hall to the living room, the house dark and black as it still seemed to be midnight. He sat down in an armchair and looked himself over before sinking happily into the happy chair. He wore the same tight bodysuit he had always wore with a Bo staff strapped on his back. It was all covered by a large cloak dyed a silky black and with silver trimming from the rabbits he had hunted with his monster form.

He sighed and looked around waiting for his blood brothers to wake up or at least his new mistress. He saw many strange things around the room but torches. It was very strange, there were dull blades on the ceiling and a large black plate with glass on the front attached to the wall. There were so many strange things and he knew how to use none of them. This would possibly prove difficult if they attack him and his brothers. He pulled his staff out and held it incase he needed to fight his new mistress.

Melia awoke suddenly and sat up with a small gasp. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes and trying to clear her head, Melia could see nothing but darkness. 'What time is it?' Melia thought and glanced at her alarm clock. It was blinking, meaning that the power had gone out at some point in the night and had reset the time. 'That's odd,' Melia thought vaguely. The house was a bit run down but they had never had any trouble with the power before. Instanty her mind jumped to a book series where magic-electricity interaction caused power failures but she brushed that thought aside.

Reaching across her bed to the table that stood beside it she turned the clock off, making a metal note to correct the time at some later point. Beside where the electronic clock had stood was Melia's little cell phone. Lightly brushing her fingers over the table top, since she was not wearing her glasses and the room was pitch black (making it hard to see anything), Melia picked up the phone. It was one of those dinosaur phones that old people used. She picked up her cell phone and turned it on, looking for the time as the light temporarly blinded her.

3:15 AM.

Melia groaned softly, tossing the phone back onto the bedside table and covering her eyes with her arm, wishing that she were still asleep. She hated when this happened. Melia would wake up in the wee hours of the morning, before the sun had cast even the smallest ray over the land, and was unable to fall asleep again. It was better some nights than others. Sometimes she wasn't able to go to sleep again, other times she was asleep in a matter of minutes. On the rare occasion she slept through the whole night without a hitch; but that obviously wasn't tonight.

Why she did this though was always a mystery. She had no sleep disorders and could never recall any nightmares which may have woken her up. Plus, as a teenager, she ought to be able to sleep until mid-afternoon. All of these shallow excuses were in a mind set of good humor as Melia always liked to put a positive or comical spin on things. But in the back of her mind there was a small voice she couldn't get rid of. A nagging, whisper of a voice in the back of her head she could never quite silence, which told her;

‘It’s because you were left on the door step right about now. Seventeen years has passed and you're still troubled by it. This is why you continue to wake up at this time, because you are hoping that somehow your mother has decided not to set you down.’

Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes behind her arm, which was draped limply over her face. Maybe this little voice was speaking the truth. Maybe all these years later, seventeen whole years, she still felt the heart-wretching abandonment a child of any age feels when they know their own mother doesn't love them. Even so long after, maybe Melia still woke up the moment her biological mother set her down, hoping beyond time and space these weak hopes that her mother would change her mind and keep the baby she left behind so long ago. As the tears spilt past the lids of her closed flower pink eyes and trickled down her temples, leaving trails of salt before they vanished into her soft pinkish-blonde hair, Melia silently cried. Normally, with the help of these troubled thoughts who visited her in the night, she would cry herself back to sleep like she had so many times before.

But little did Melia know, tonight was the first of many nights that would be "abnormal".

After the small wave of sadness passed, Melia knew this would be one of those nights where she didn't go back to dreamland, and so in surrender she wiped her eyes and picked up her phone, flipping it open so see how many hours she'd have to wait for the sun to rise. Just as she was about to shut the phone again, she noticed that the light had illuminated something huddled on the floor of her room. It was dark and almost... person sized. Melia cautiously reatched over and put on her glasses; then froze.

It was breathing.

Sabastien Farris

Warm. The first thing Quill thought of, after being sealed away in that ring for god knows how long, was how pleasantly warm it was. Every single bone in his immortal body ached. It was like he had just ran thirty miles straight, and been given a sedative potion by his master. He could feel his body jumping to life as he stretched his aching legs, and attempted to form his hand into a fist, a feat which now seemed impossible, as his fingers currently had the strength of a soggy piece of parchment. For what seemed like centuries, but must have been only seconds, he simply lay there. Why not? As far as he was concerned he deserved it, and this bed, he assumed he was on a bed, was unbelievably comfortable. He rolled over, and stretched his arm out, but immediately recoiled the instant he felt his hand touch something other than blankets. Panicked, he did something that would unknowingly set in motion a very important chain of events in his life. He opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was hair. Soft hair, that seemed to cover the pillow, on which the head of a girl rested. He immediately, and with energy that seemed to come from nowhere, jumped out of the bed, faster than he had ever jumped before. He landed on a strange feeling floor and almost slipped, but managed to regain his composure long enough to observe his surroundings. he had no idea where he was, and this room seemed extremely strange. Nothing was built in the usual way, and there seemed to be an infinite number of objects and contraptions that he had no clue about. Was he still even in Europe? Or had the events of the last night been a dream? He looked down once more at the bed, and the girl? Who was she? When did they meet? Had he...courted her? Maybe one of his brothers had finally filled him full of ale, and the night had ended with him in bed with this strange woman. No, he thought, pushing the image out of his mind. That still didn't explain the wierd place, and there was no way the last night had simply been a dream.

He ran his hand through his now sweaty sandy blonde hair and took inventory. He had no shirt. Instead, there simply lay a silver cross on his bare chest, held in place by a thin silver chain. He wore black trousers, and no socks. It's a wonder his feet weren't frozen, but this place did seem oddly warm. He checked his pocket. 10 pence. Oh, how rich he was. He checked his other pocket. A slim, steel Stiletto, held in place by a special leather holder sewn into his pocket. He quickly drew it, and backed out of the room slowly.

He navigated his way through an almost alien hallway, which lead into what, as far as he could tell, was a sitting room. In this strange room, he saw his brother, sitting on what he guessed was an arm chair.

"Arron! Dear God! would you mind telling me what the bloody hell is going on?!"

Genevieve slowly blinked open her eyes and stared confusedly at the roof. Why was she awake? Something didn't feel right. She'd just moved in with the girls, they'd finally bought their own place. She'd been overflowing with energy all day yesterday, but now she was tired as anything. Yet she was awake, and her hand felt funny. She lifted her hand before her, gazing blearily at her new ring. That explained the heaviness, she wasn't used to jewellery. She glanced over at her clock.
3:20
...Wait, three? In the morning? Genevieve groaned and rolled over, shoving her face into her pillow. It was too late though, she was too tired to think straight but too awake to go back to sleep. With another groan she pushed herself out of bed and stumbled in the direction of the kitchen. She'd get some food then try to go back to bed. Or draw. Or draw in bed. Either way.
Shuffling into the kitchen she opened the fridge door and stared blankly into it. Food, just a snack...screw it. She grabbed the milk and put it on the branch before fetching cereal and a bowl. She began pouring the cereal, only when she looked up did she notice two people standing in the middle of the other room. Very male people.
"Err..." she said intelligibly, honestly she was half asleep and there were unknown guys standing in her living room. What was she thinking? She was in the kitchen! Stand up for yourself! Grabbing the first decent object she spotted she pointed it at the strangers. It was a frying pan. Damn it.
"Stay back!" She commanded, backing up towards the phone, "Stay..."

Body tensed and restless from a nightmarish dream, Olivia jolted upright in bed. Unruly strands of lavender hair stuck up in every direction and clung to her forehead with sweat. Sluggishly rubbing her eyes, she frowned at the darkness outside her window. The sky brightened with anticipation of dawn, yet it remained somewhat dark due to a thick overcast looming overhead. "Ugh...it's still so early..." Olivia groaned, her voice trailing off. She flopped back onto her bed, sinking into the soft sheets. Noticing a subtle weight on her left, ring finger, Olivia extended her hand out, examining it. A gentle shaft of moonlight cast a gleaming shine over a golden ring adorned with a small porcupine. She smiled at it, remembering the events of yesterday that led up to finding such a ring: Her and three close friends found a mysterious box in their attic and eventually solved a puzzle to open it.

For several minutes, Olivia laid in bed, unable to sleep. Frustrated, she hastily swung her legs off the bed and started for her door. She didn't make far however. Tripping over a pile of books and clothes strewn out haphazardly, Olivia tumbled head first onto the wooden-paneled floor. She winced in the darkness. Her hands burned and itched from bracing herself. Although she was a lazy klutz, Olivia didn't intend on backing down. Determined to quell her growing thirst, she quickly scrambled to her feet and opened her door.

Although the hallway was familiar to her, it appeared more ominious and eerie at night. The moonlight from her room poured into the hallway, bringing shadows to life on the walls. As she walked further down the hallway, Olivia noticed a subtle light from the living room. "Who else could be up this late," she muttered to herself. As she approached the end of the hallway, she immediately stopped. She hesitated. A frantic voice sounded through the house. Perhaps it was the exhaustion, but Olivia swore that the voice sounded unfamiliar---male in fact. At the sound of sudden commotion however, Olivia rushed into the room without hesitation.

Arron sat in that chair for hours, which felt more like the ten centuries catching up to the boy. He pondered at what he was, was he a human or something worse. Could he be considered a demon now, maybe monster. No, he was a weapon him and all his brothers were. It was somewhat of a Hell but he had his brothers so that he could have someone to talk to about it if they needed to talk.

"Arron! Dear God! would you mind telling me what the bloody hell is going on?!" Arron smiled seeing his brother Quill was awake. "Brother I am not sure, I believe the old master sealed us away instead of letting us go, that asshole." he said in a half angry tone. He thought of his dear sister who he had promised he would be back in a few years. It broke his heart as he looked at the boy and he held back tears with excellence keeping a nice smile on his face.

He then stopped and turned hearing a girl, it was his mistress.

Stay back. Stay...

Arron nodded and bowed. "Yes mistress of course." he said returning to his previous position and sighing softly knowing he would have to explain this to his mistress on what he was and why he was here. "Quill I suggest you find a good seat we need to talk to our new masters."

"Brother I am not sure, I believe the old master sealed us away instead of letting us go, that asshole."

"Oh, you've got to be SHITTING me..." he groaned.

One by one, the gears were beginning to turn in Quill's head. The strange house, his less-than-operational state of being...

They were in the future. The far future, by the looks of it. He immediatly begin thinking of the people he had left behind, that they'd all left behind. He thought of Arron's poor sister. He wondered if Arron realized that, but the boy always was good at hiding his emotions...

"Stay back! Stay..."

He immediately whipped around, pointing the long thin dagger at the figure. It was a girl. Not the lavender-haired one he had woken up to, but a different, blonde-haired one. In one hand, she wielded a pan, and the other seemed to be reaching for some sort of future-device. He noticed Arron obeying her command. Oh Christ, could it be? He studied the girl. Sure enough, there on her hand was Arron's ring. He lowered the dagger a bit.

"Quill I suggest you find a good seat we need to talk to our new masters."

He backed up a little, towards his brother.

"At least get her to put that thing away! You know I don't like being threatened, Arron." He said, directing the comment more towards her than his brother.

He then noticed another girl rush into the room, the girl from before. He instinctively pointed the dagger toward her, and then dropped it, almost automatically.

Startled by the dagger shoved in her face, Olivia quickly inhaled a frantic gasp. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face. "I-is that...real?!" Her tense expression lightened to one filled with innocent marvel. She studied the dagger intently, noting the elaborate engravings and detail. "European. Medieval, perhaps..." Olivia's excited thoughts trailed off, as she noticed Genevieve backed into a corner of their kitchen holding a frying pan in defense. Not grasping the critcal situation entirely, she failed to withhold a small laugh. "Out of all things, you grab a frying pan?" Wearing an expression of naiive content, Olivia strolled into the kitchen to pour herself a tall glass of water. After hastily chugging it down in a few gulps, she exhaled a satisfied sigh and flung herself onto a couch in the living room. She sprawled herself out lethargically, carelessly letting her head hang off one of its arm rest.

After allowing her mind to drift into a distant daydream, Olivia became somewhat attentive at the presence of another unfamiliar, young male sitting opposite her. She turned her head slightly in both males' direction. "Are you guys friends of Jen or shumthing," Olivia's words began to slur as she yawned groggily, blinking slowly a few times.

Genevieve blinked at the man as he not only accepted her awkward command but called her 'mistress'. What the Hell? Then Olivia walked in and her hand fell away from reaching for the phone.
"I'm not supposed to be awake this early," she groaned, putting down the pan and rubbing her face, "You know I don't work properly on lack of sleep. Besides at least I reacted."
That said she finished pouring her ridiculously early breakfast, eyeing the two guys up. One of them, then who had called her mistress, was reasonably tall with dark hair. He also seemed the calmer of the two. The knife wielder was blond and, so far, seemed fairly jumpy. They were both odd characters, and she realized she was itching to draw both of them. Damn her and her need to draw things when she should be being more serious.
“What are you doing up anyway?” she asked Olivia thoughtfully.

Olivia didn't bother lifting her head to politely make eye contact with Genevieve: It required an unnecessary extertion of energy, by Olivia's logic. The question reminded her of her reccent nightmare. Perhaps not wanting to worry Genevieve or simply avoiding further questions demanding energy to think, Olivia decided to omit details that might draw concern. "I was thirsty and wanted to get a drink." Hearing the first pieces of cereal softly clink into an empty bowl, Olivia's short attention span became evident. "You're eating this early? Jeez, someone has cravings," she teased. A growl of defiance from her stomach however quickly made her remark hypocritical. "I take back what I said. Can you hand me my pudding please?" Olivia pointed to the fridge where her chilled, gelantious pudding and various pastries were stashed. "Come on, Jen," she whined in a childish tone. She outstretched her palm upwards, anxiously waiting for her late snack.

Olivia's divided attention briefly returned to the unknown, young men in the room. "You never answered my question, Jen. Are you hiding something?" Her eyes narrowed, as she innocently peered over the couch into the kitchen. She cupped a hand to the side of her mouth, to shield her teasing words from prying eyes. Her voice came out louder though, contradicting the suspected intent. "What were you guys doing anyway? Are they your models?"

((OOC: "Draw me like one of your french girls~" XD Was so tempted to say that instead. ))

To Melia's horror, the large black shadow grew taller and she realized it had stood up. 'What the hex is going on?!' Melia wanted to scream, but felt fear hold her in place and keep her silent. Stretching casually the intruder what-ever-it-was groaned softly, muttering about being stiff and Melia could tell by it's voice that the unknown subject invading her room was a male. This didn't make her feel any better of course. Trying to get her now wide-awake brain to function, Melia's pink eyes darted around the room, searching for anything she could threaten him with. Sure she couldn't hope to beat a full grown man in combat but at least she could try, right? Then the man's eyes turned and locked on her and Melia felt her panic rise a notch as they examined her, thoughts of self-defense being shoved to the back burner. Mildly embarrested under the gaze of his eyes, Melia fumbled to pull the blanket up and cover her body, as she was only wearing a thin nightgown which was slightly see through. A moment passed before his face contorted and he cracked his knuckles. Melia paled, her pink eyes growing wide as she thought that this was the end of the line; he was going to kill her. She could only watch as he stood straighter (holy crap he was tall...) and walked to her bedside. But instead of grabbing her throat to kll her, he leaned forward until his face was only a few inches from hers. "How interesting." was all he said.

His eyes were still locked with hers and she could feel them searching through her soul. She wasn't sure how she felt about this but held her ground as any other action may anger him. That was probably the second to last thing she wanted to do. "Such an unusual color... he stated whisfully, not taking his eyes from hers, "I've never seen that before. You must be proud..." Melia was confused. Proud of her eyes? That was probably the last thing she was of them. But what he said next twisted a knot in her stomach. "Such sadness though... hmmm..." His eyes fell lower to her breasts which were nearly spilling from the small nightgown, announcing their feminine presence, before they darted back up the her face. Melia could feel heat radiating from his cheeks due to their close proximity and pulled the blanket up more to cover them, equally embarressed as he cleared his throat and awkwardly blurted, "Yes." as if reassuring himself of something. Then his eyes trailed down her long, pink tinted blonde hair which she had taken out of their usual braid bindings and let loose during the night. He picked up a lock of her long, silky hair and twirled it around his finger judgmentally before slowly letting it go, watching as it fell back to it's place by her hips and lay on the bed.

Absentmindedly, and perhapes in a meak effort to protect herself, Melia gathered her hair and put it behind her, using the hand with her newly aqquired fish ring on it to hole the covers over her body. She was uncomfortable with him examining her body, and though she loved it when people played with her hair, Melia didn't like this stranger who had invaded her bedroom to do so. Apperently done with his examination of her, the man- no, he didn't seem to be much older than her, leaned back, much to Melia's relief. "I suppose you'll have to do... not as if I have much choice, ain't that right master?"

Melia's mind jumped back to life. 'Ring Master?' Instantly her mind jumped to the box in the attic and the note that had been contained inside. 'Four spirits. No... that can't possibly...' "Well great... you don't exactly match up to me... but I should suppose I can make do with you for now," The boy continued, talking to her, but mostly talking to himself, "until we find someone more suitable that is to take the ring from you." Suddenly, in a very gentleman like manner, he took the hand on which Melia brandished the fish ring and raised it to his mouth, kissing the top of it gently. Melia wasn't sure now what he was; a gentleman from his behavoir, or a monster like the note had implied. For the moment though, Melia thought it would be safer to treat him as a gentleman and pray that he acted as so. "My name is Demitri Jayden Triton and I believe as long as you wear that ring I'm bound to you as a sort of servant, or whatever you would call it these days..." He didn't sound pleased and let her hand go as he spoke.

'Well, I suppose I'd better keep the ring on me then...' Melia thought, rather bitterly which was unlike her. 'No sense in getting rid of it. It might insult him and then I'd be in trouble. Besides, the note said I can't let it fall into the "wrong hands". So I guess I'll just... accept it.' Melia took her hand back slowly, almost as if she was afraid moving too quickly would somehow pev him off, which she didn't want. "Now then may I have your name?" Demitri asked, still sounding rather irritated, looking at her with a haughty demeanor. Melia returned with her own untrusting and suspicious gaze, but slowly took a few deep breaths and the coldness was gone. If this adventure was all her whimsical nature hoped it was going to be, then there was no point starting off so unhappily.

"My name is Melia Clarissa." Melia said, sounding much braver than she actually felt. But hearing her own voice made her feel a little better. "And let me he if I can get this straight." Melia touched her temple, closing her eyes briefly before looking up at him. "So you came out of this ring, because an alchemist from who-knows-how-long-ago sealed you inside. And this alchemist gave you some kind of powers which you use to protect whoever is wearing this ring." Melia held up the ring for emphasis. It almost seemed alive with energy and was warm on her finger. By his expression it seemed she had been right so far. Melia openned her mouth again to mention the whole "don't let it fall into the wrong hands" part but decided against it and closed her mouth again. A moment of silence was held before Melia signed. "Well, I guess it's nice you meet you Demitri. Please call me Melia, or Mel, but not Mistress if you can avoid it, because it sounds sort of strange." As if this whole thing wasn't strange.

Deciding that there was no sense in trying to go to sleep now, Melia got out of bed and searched for her glasses, putting them on and then tying her hair back into a loose ponytail. "Alright then, I guess you need something to eat. I could imagine you being hungry after who-knows-how-long being stuck in here," she said, pointing at her ring. "Follow me." Then she started walking down the hall towards the kitchen. Although her sight wasn't all that great, Melia's hearing was keen and she heard voices from the kitchen. Two of them belonged to Olivia and Jen, but the other two were male. Melia took another deep breath in and out. Melia had almost forgotten; they were wearing special rings too. "Let me guess; you're not the only one to pop out of these nifty little rings are you?" Melia adressed Demitri, and her question was answered when they turned the corner into the kitchen/livingroom, being greeted by the sight of her two friends calmly making breakfast and two other boys, one weilding a dagger and the other holding a staff.

At a loss for a moment, Melia regained her composure. "Well this is an unusual sight." she commented, announcing her presence in the room, still in her nightgown and Demitri close beside her. "Good morning Olivia. G'morning Jen. I guess you've both meet your ring boys then?"

Ring boy. That managed to pierce her sleep addled brain, which had been contemplating pointing out that she didn't usually wield frypans at her friends. Also she didn't use models, because people knowing she was drawing them made her self-conscious. It probably helped that she'd eaten now. Genevieve stared at Melia for a moment, then at her ring, then at the dark haired guy, and went between the last two a few times. The whole time her spoon was halfway to her mouth.
"Huh," she said intelligibly, she wasn't having much luck with the well thought out speech today. Still, if she was right, then Melia was saying that the note on that box was, in fact, real. Therefore these guys had been trapped inside the rings for a very long time.
"Does anyone else want food?" she offered, having decided that that was the most logical thing to ask in this scenario.

Quill furrowed his brow. Models? He began to think arrogant thoughts, but pushed them out of his head. And my, how unladylike these two were, especially the girl with the violet hair. Slumped over the couch like that, she look peculiar, and very improper. "Jen" he assumed, was the other girl, and Arron's ring master. He felt relieved when he saw Jayden enter the room. He'd give these girls hell for sure. Or not, he thought, seeing that he was with a girl as well. He grabbed the cross from his bare chest and said a silent prayer.

"Good morning Olivia. G'morning Jen. I guess you've both meet your ring boys then?"

Olivia, that must have been the girl's name. A proper name, he concluded.

"I'm glad you're all having a right jolly time here, but I'm still quite confused." he said, pocketing the dagger.

"Does anyone else want food?"

His stomach churned at the thought.

"No, thank you."

((Sorry for the less than great post, but I'm half asleep xD))

The dark room was piled completely, from top to bottom, with books. Shelves lined the walls, each piled with at least three rows of books on every surface, if not more. It was like someone had taken an entire library and crammed it into the unassuming, ill-furnished guest room which the shut-in girl had ended up choosing for her own - leaving the three main bedrooms in the hands of her friends. And, when the shelves ran out of space, the books seemed to flow seamlessly over, piled into orderly stacks that almost completely concealed the walls of the already dismal room from view. Post-it notes were hung regularly across every open space, each marked with at least half a dozen notations on how the books were organized. As it was, perhaps the only person who could have located a book amidst the chaos made by perfect, simultaneous hextuple order was the room's owner herself.

There was very little open space in the gloomy, dust-filled room. The miniscule area that wasn't taken up by the bookshelves or miscellaneous stacks of literature was instead occupied with assorted furniture. Against the left wall, enclosed on almost all sides by towers of knowledge and paper, sat a small writing desk, wired into which sat an old, well-used computer that served as the ordinary girl's eyes into the outside world, a system which allowed her to see much more, and with more confidence, than her own twin azure orbs, which were ill-suited to much but reading books. But aside from this purpose and the other occasional utility, the computer was left largely untouched, its capacity as an entertainment tool, for the most part, ignored in favor of either the literature stacked all around it, or of the large, ornate wooden box that occupied the rest of the desk, and the antique chess set contained within it. Across from this, in the back right corner, was a small, circular table, with two comfortable-looking, well-cushioned chairs - the one facing the back wall was an armchair, while the one in the very corner facing outward was a basket seat piled with countless cushions, pillows, and blankets, and the degree of tilt in which made it look more like a nest of some sort than a seat - positioned one on either side of it. Behind these things was a cabinet that looked quite out of place, for visible through its glass doors was a full tea set, and atop it were several implements including a wicker box containing tea packets and various other accessories, as well as a small, old-looking microwave. Next to this cabinet, almost concealed behind it, was a dispenser with a jug of water perched atop it, ready to flow at a moment's notice. In the back left corner, meanwhile, was a small, humble-looking black piano with worn yellow keys, chipped and battered by time, but nonetheless serving its purpose to perfection.

Placed around a third of the way along the back wall on the left side was a small dresser, the garments it contained all sorted, folded, and ordered by its somewhat obsessive owner. Then, in the very center of the back wall, placed directly beneath a single window through which the moonlight shone brightly down, and facing outward towards the door, was a bed. Its sheets were plain, made of a soft, fuzzy-looking gray material, and accompanied by matching blankets, as well as similar pillowcases on the two rather puffy pillows that served as the simple, frameless bed's furnishings. But, although the light of the midnight moon shone down upon this bed, it was not in it that the room's owner was to be found. Rather, one would have to look in the dark corner, only barely visible in the half-lit, dusty air, were it not for the small night-light by which she made out the words on the page beneath her gaze. The girl looked tiny compared to all of the blankets and pillows surrounding her where she half sat, half lay, curled up within the basket chair in the corner, clumsily half-clad in an oversized navy blue pajama top which she wore more like a nightgown than anything else, the top few buttons undone, allowing it to sag down slightly past her shoulders, so as to let the cool, nightime air keep her from overheating beneath her covering of blankets, while the long sleeves, which otherwise probably would have covered her arms, were rolled back to her wrists, her small, soft hands poking out from amidst their consuming folds. The garment was long enough to cover her undergarments from view, but didn't extend much further, leaving her long, slender legs exposed to the chill darkness, another means of keeping cool. Her dark hair was splayed out about her like an unkempt halo, while her tired blue eyes were already beginning to droop as they ran across the page before her eyes.

Despite this, Nadine Valencia could not bring herself to take in a single word of the passage beneath her gaze. Her mind was tired, and her thoughts were already beginning to wander away from the passage. Yet always, no matter how much she thought about it... her mind always returned to the same thing: the small, blue-green ring that was now coiled gently around the pointer finger of her left hand, its unfamiliar, cold feeling attracting her thoughts again and again, just as its mysterious nature came to her mind constantly. She had been perusing the same paragraph for the past two hours now, at least, and yet, she couldn't pay attention. The excitement and anxiety within her was much too strong to simply be mastered so easily.

This ring... what exactly was it? Alchemists? Homunculi? Transmutation of living creatures? The alteration of a Human's nature to create a beast that defied all comprehension, all laws of physics and reason? These things spun wildly about through her thoughts, even as her eyes began to flutter slowly closed, and she slowly relaxed her grip on her book, allowing it to fall shut to the floor as she spread loosely out upon her cushions. But, above them all, she wondered about one thing, and one thing only.

A hero... a servant that would protect her... She didn't know whether or not it was possible, or whether or not it was even true and not just some elaborate joke by the others, a ploy to raise her spirits. But... even so, as she slowly lapsed into slumber, she somehow felt... safe. And, as those cerulean orbs shut at last, and her body became still save for the slow rising and falling of her chest in peaceful slumber, Nadine did something somewhat unusual: she hugged her left hand gently against her heart, and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Normally, for her, sleep was an ordeal just as waking was, for the fears that filled her waking life were made manifest in dreams, and often times she found it impossible to rest, instead finding herself waking and staring blankly at the ceiling, or perhaps out the window of her room and into the bright moon that hung gigantic in the starry skies beyond. But tonight... tonight was different. For, little did she know it, but the servant who would keep her safe was already right by her side, even as she lay slumbering beneath the moonlight, like a sleeping angel in her heavenly nest. And that night, as Nadine slept... she dreamed not of darkness, of fears, and of failures, but of the clashing of steel, of a sword broken upon a radiant shield, and of a knight who stood before her, bathed in the light of a full and luminous moon as he held fast, his arms spread wide to encircle all of the evils in the world and to cast them back into the depths from whence they came.

She dreamed of the servant who would absolutely, without a doubt, always be there to protect her. And, although she did not know it, in some manner, that servant was protecting her, even at that moment, for the ring of the snake adorning her finger was shining ever brightly in the moonlight, as though its reflected radiance would banish all the darkness from its master's sleep. But these matters did not concern the young girl at this moment, for right now, she was at last at peace, in a state of blissful slumber that so often evaded her. Rolling over with a quiet sigh, she smiled, unconsciously hugging the ring that now served as her protective talisman tightly against her chest, warding away the nightmares that otherwise haunted her rest as, for once, she dreamed deeply, without fear nor sorrow, blissfully unaware of what was transpiring even at that very instant while she lay weary in her nest, not daring to even fancy at the extraordinary events that were about to unfold, nor to guess at the plot of the storybook into which she had at long last been cast, the hero.

And yet, like all things, this rest could not last. For although the thick wooden door of her sanctum did well in blocking out the noise from the rest of the house, on some level, the commotion that was already beginning reached her ears. Her thoughts addled with sleep, Nadine slowly opened her tired blue eyes, glancing about herself in slight confusion. The clock... it only read a little after three. The room was dark and silent, and yet, somehow, she had awoken. Her mind began to sort itself out with almost uncanny speed, and she slowly found her consciousness dawning, wide awake, despite the fact that she should have probably just fallen right back asleep. There was nothing visible to have disturbed her slumber, and there was no reason for her to suddenly become fully conscious, and yet...

Nadine's heart began to slowly beat faster. There was something wrong here, and she had no clue what it might be. Could it be... maybe something was in her room, had woken her up, and, although she could not see it, she was instinctively aware of its presence? The clouds had covered the moon outside, and there was not a speck of light in the book-filled, dusty chamber. Slowly, Nadine rose, her bad eyes straining against the darkness, trying to discern what might be concealed within it. Thousands of spectral phantoms appeared and faded before her eyes, whirling one into the other until at last she could not be sure what phantasms she beheld were real and what were merely shapes conjured out of her own fearful imagination. The darkness scared her as it was, but this uncanny series of events... perhaps she was paranoid, but she simply knew something was happening. There had to be something there, but where...?

And then, in an instant, she got her answer, for the clouds outside the open window slowly began to part, and from a crack in the consuming blanket that covered the sky, the radiance of moonlight shone forth, suddenly illuminating the dark chamber, bathing everything in a bluish-silver light. With a gasp, Nadine fell back in her seat, nearly toppling the chair in which she had slept entirely over. Eyes wide in surprise, she blinked several times, trying to wake up from her dream, and yet... this was no dream. Rather, this was a dream painted upon the canvas of reality: a fantasy spilled over into the waking world.

For before her, bathed in moonlight, stood the dark-haired knight whose kindly visage she had beheld in her sleep, gazing stoically down upon her, the radiance streaming through the window surrounding him in a silvery halo, as though he was some kind of guardian angel rather than a mortal being. It seemed impossible to believe, and yet... he was right there, before her eyes.

"W-who are you...?" Nadine asked even though she already knew the answer, her voice filled equal parts with fear, awe, and disbelief. "Y-you... you can't be..."

But there was no mistake. Although she she have been afraid of the mysterious man with the scarred face, she could muster nothing save incredulity. For this man was, without a doubt... the man from the ring, appearing now in the flesh before her. This was...

...her servant.

(Sorry for the slight godmod. Also, Black Death, if you make Jian say "I ask of you... are you my master?" I will lol. Kudos to you if you get the reference. =P)

So she would be called Melia. Whatever. She liked her name, more than Mel or *shutter* Mistress. Melia ignored his babbled excuses when he saw her nightgown and thought to herself, 'He's lucky I was actually wearing something tonight.', feeling a little smug having been able to send the arrogent fish boy into near hysterics. Although he seemed to recover fast enough as Melia braided her hair loosely and dawned her thick glasses. Glancing over, though she couldn't see the color of his face, it was obvious his distain for the monocles and how she had done her hair. "You're eyes are pretty and your hair looks nicer down, yet you cover the former and tie up the latter... why on Earth would you..." Melia aid him no mind, which he also protested as she walked towards the kitchen, "What, don't you walk out on me! How dare you?! Wait a moment get back here, remove those horrible spectacles from your face and release those horrible knots in your hair!" Of course, she didn't.

He followed, or more accurately, chased her into the kitchen, heatedly telling her that he refused to be ignored, which she still ignored, until they were in the room where Melia's friends stood with their own ring boys. The one who had been holding the dagger put it away and stated his confusion, though he didn't have to as it was evident on his face. Melia took pity on him and was about to explain with Demitri leaped towards the two boys. "I'd know that whiny lower class tone anywhere... Quill! You little whatever you are! I've never been so happy to see your inferior face! I could kiss you if I didn't think it would destroy any reputation and self-dignity I have left!" Demitri exclaimed, giving the boy, Quill, a hard noogie. Then he targeted the other. "Arron! You vampiric bat-boy you! It feels like its been a couple of centuries since I talked to you last! Well not really now that I think about it, though I suppose technically it has thanks to that crazy old man who shoved us in the rings..." He seemed to look for someone for a moment but was apperentally disappointed. "Hey wheres Jian... don't tell me that guys still asleep?"

Melia watched, rather amused. Well, it was good to know that they were all friends. She turned to her two friends and raised an eyebrow. "You guys know it's, like, four in the morning right?" She laughed, not waiting for an answer, and turned around to find Demitri standing before her, looking down on her. She was about to say something when suddenly she was blinded. Well, sort of. Everything became blurry to the point that the entire room was just a bunch of smeared colors and shapes. Melia rubbed her eyes harshly and found her glasses were gone. That son of a fish had taken them! "Hey! Dang it Demitri!" she cried, blinking rapidly in succession as her eyes adjusted, making everything ten times worse than before, "Give those back! I can't see without them!" She tried to grab her glasses again but with no luck as she was very short and he was very tall. And he seemed to have no intention of giving them back either. "Much better!" He exclaimed triumphently, "Now take those hideous ties out of your hair and you'll be worthy of me again!"

Melia growled softly as it irriated her when she couldn't see. Kids used to steal her glasses like this in elementry school and she had always hated it. So she did what she had been taught in a R.A.D class she'd taken. Squatting suddenly she swung her leg behind him, using the momentum and hit behind both his knees, forcing them to give out. Demitri fell foward, landing on his knees, his hand still raised in the air. Melia wasn't a very strong girl, but it didn't take a lot of muscule to do this. Besides, the attack didn't really hurt, though it had probably damaged the chilled boy's pride. 'Demitri must be a little out of practice, having spent all those years inside a ring.' Melia thought, seeing the surpirse in his rich blue eyes. "Thank you," she said as she plucked the glases from his hand and put them back on, blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted again. That was better. Glancing at the others her friends hadn't even flinched, having seen her do it many times before. The other ring boys, well, she couldn't see their expressions, but she wasn't sure if were impressed or horrified. Trying to shake it off, Melia turned away to get breakfast, her back to the fish spirit, the two braids bouncing as if mocking him from his knees.

At the additional presence of yet another young male, Olivia sat upright...somewhat. "What's with all the handsome men in our house? They're practically sparkling," Olivia teased. Upon hearing a remark regarding "ring boys", the weight of the ring on her finger caught her attention. Though they didn't physically appear related, she concluded their shared bonds surpassed friendship. Perhaps they were figuratively brothers. Unfortunately, Olivia's attention span dwindled. "Hey! Where's my pudding? Can someone please hand me my pudding?!" She cast a frustrated glare in Genevieve's direction. "Thank you so much, Jen," she hissed sarcastically.

"I thought I got it for you, relax," Genevieve sighed, pulling a pudding from the fridge and sliding it across the bench to her, "And yeah, Melia, we're aware of the time. On the other hand I think by this point our eating breakfast at four in the morning doesn't even register on the weirdness scale."
That said she placed her bowl in the sink and jumped up to sit on the bench, watching all the guys curiously. Well, this looked like it was going to be interesting. Melia's ring boy seemed very energetic, if a little pompous, and he'd provided her with names for the other two. Arron and Quill, cool names.
"Well then, still mildly confused, but I'm Genevieve," she announced, it was really hard to do anything without names, names were good, "You can call me Gen."

Olivia began to pout at Genevieve's reluctant response, but she quickly did away with such behavior, the moment the promised pudding touched her eager hands. Oh how the glorious, creamy snack radiated! Quickly retracting her crass attitude, Olivia hastily expressed her grattitude. "You're the greatest. The greatest!" Her eyes gleamed with delight, as she gingerly peeled back its packaged cover. Gently bringing a spoonful to her lips, the portion of pudding quickly disappeared, in a flash. Olivia laid on her stomach, cheerily consuming the delectable treat and innocently kicking her bent legs behind her.

Childishly raising a hand into the air, Olivia agreed with Genevieve. "I concur with Jen. I'm equally perplexed. Oh, by the way, I'm Olivia, though you must already know."

"I'd know that whiny lower class tone anywhere... Quill!"

Same old Jayden, Quill thought as the other boy ruffled his hair. Normally, he would tell him off, but he was just happy to see his brothers once again.

"You little whatever you are! I've never been so happy to see your inferior face! I could kiss you if I didn't think it would destroy any reputation and self-dignity I have left!"

Normally, this would be an insult, but coming from Jayden it was like being graced by the king. He smiled sheepishly at his brother.

"Nice to see you too, you royal piss head." He teased. 

 "Much better, now take those hideous ties out of your hair and you'll be worthy of me again!

He couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the poor lass, but he was sure she would get used to Jay, like the rest of the boys had.

"What's with all the handsome men in our house? They're practically sparkling,"

Quill blushed slightly. He the narcissistically ran his hand through his blonde mane, fixing it from where his brother had ruffled it. 

"Hey! Where's my pudding? Can someone please hand me my pudding?!"

Quill had no clue what pudding was, but it sounded about as appetizing as mouse droppings, so he wasn't anxious to ask to try some. 

"I concur with Jen. I'm equally perplexed. Oh, by the way, I'm Olivia, though you must already know."

He watched the girl closely, kicking her feet, and greedily consuming the "pudding". It looked about as good as it sounded. He realized he was staring, and quickly turned away.

"Well, this is smashing and all, but are the only the three of you?" he asked Olivia, as Jay had reminded him about the fourth member of their brotherhood. Had Jian received a master too, or was he still stuck in one of those awful rings?

((Catch-up post :D sorry if I missed anything, don't be afraid to tell me if I ignored someone xD))
 

Infatuated with sweets, Olivia spared a morsel of her attention towards the young man with sandy blonde hair. Perhaps it was something striking about him or just her imagination, but Olivia felt drawn to this mysterious stranger. His pointed dagger, now concealed, and hair tone reminded her of the porcupine on her ring. Wary of his brief gaze, Olivia glanced down at her pudding and back up at him. Does he want some? Olivia hesitated. Her heart sank at the thought of sharing even a crumb from her prized stash of pastries and sweets. She stared intently into his eyes, judging his significance and whether he should be gifted the honor of such a snack. I don't want him complaining...that'd waste more energy. I'll graciously present him one of my favorites, as a grand, first impression. Quite pleased with her "scheme", Olivia rolled off the couch and rummaged through the fridge. Upon finding one of her favorites, she victoriously held it up into the air. "Behold! Rich chocolate pudding topped with a light, dark chocolate mousse and drizzled with delicate strawberry compote and mint sprig. Wala~" She twirled towards the blonde male and cautiously handed it to him, as if it were a fragile newborn. "It's packaged pudding from the convenience store, so don't expect too much," Olivia grinned. She carelessly flopped back onto the couch, savoring the last few spoonfuls of pudding. "Ah, there's also Nadine, if that's what you mean," Olivia replied to the blonde's previous question. She must be a really heavy sleeper to be sleeping through all this ruckus though... "You're the strangers though, so we should be asking the questions here. Who are you?"

Quill, shocked, accepted the food(?) from the girl. Although it wasn't the most appetizing edible he had ever witnessed, he thought it quite an honor that his master would graciously give him something that she obviously held in such high regard.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said, blushing slightly.

"Ah, there's also Nadine, if that's what you mean."

"Ah, yes. You see, there is a fourth. I would assume he'll make an appearance soon." He picked at the dessert, plucking the strawberry, his favorite fruit off the top.

"You're the strangers though, so we should be asking the questions here. Who are you?"

"Well," He began. "My brothers call me Quill, although you may call me by my proper name, Sebastien, if you desire. This," He said, gesturing to his black-clad brother. "Is Arron, and this," he said, pointing toward Jay. "Is Demi-" he froze in the middle of the sentence, after swallowing a spoonful of pudding.

He was speechless.

The thick, sweet texture of the food itself, the soft texture of the mousse, the mint...

It was the greatest thing he had ever tasted.

Olivia nodded with each additional fact that shed some light upon the situation that was shadowed in mystery. His sudden pause, however, managed to tear Olivia's indulgent gaze from her snack. Her eyes gleamed with delight. Sabastien's initial, hesitant expression had softened into speechless awe. Everyone likes food to some extent. You just...love sweets...alot. Maybe this Sabastien guy shares your same infatuation! No, that's not natural. Don't get weird. Act cool. Be smooth~ "D-do you like it," Olivia stammered, failing to mask her excitement with a nonchalant tone. She mentally scolded herself for lack of composure. You call that smooth? You idiot. Attempting to regain control of her riled up state, Olivia focused on the matters at hand. "Brothers? You all don't look related. Anyway, that's not the main issue. Why have you all suddenly appeared?" Her eyes widened at the thought of a potential explaination she hadn't considered before. "Y-you're not robbers, are you?" Her body tensed and defensively shielded itself behind Genevieve who sat beside her.

"D-do you like it,"

"I-It's incredible! Splendid, marvelous!" he said, beginning to shovel the exotic treat into his mouth. It was like nothing he had ever tasted before. So rich, and flavorful.

"Brothers? You all don't look related."

"Well, we're not really related but we've been through a lot." he said, through mouthfuls of pudding.

"Anyway, that's not the main issue. Why have you all suddenly appeared? Y-you're not robbers, are you?"

Quill set the pudding down long enough to laugh.

"No miss we're not." he said. "I don't even know what the hell half this stuff is!" He thought. He raised his hand, pointing to the finger she wore the ring on. "I'm assuming this might sound a little peculiar, but it's true." he said. "The rings. Somehow, you and your lot of friends here found them. We're bound to them by an unbreakable spell, and for what I'm guessing has been a very long time, we've been sealed inside them by our original master, the Alchemist. Whoever possesses the rings, in this case you, essentially possesses us. We're bound to the rings, and thereby, bound to serve you, my lady."