Zeph'ere la Skiya ver Nimvus's Story

Remmy sort of avoided the spotlight. While he was very much an artist, mastermind, and performer in the sense, he did prefer some animosity.

Thats when one of them asked a question. "Well that's sort of why we stopped. We were wondering why you all had converged here, and we ended up converging here as well. I was especially curious because this area is known for its Bandit problems. Also, don't forget what else could lurks these woods....". The Funny thing is, he WAS one of the things that is in these woods. Werewolf and all, but that was personal, and he planned to keep the fact he and his brother are werewolves secret for now, locking these thoughts within the deepest depths of his mind. Just in case.

He then noted "So, why is everyone gathering here? Or is this some sort of weird twist of fate?".

And this is most likely the part where Fate is face palming. Anyways, that's when he also noted "Maybe it was that singing we heard before. Singing has a tendency to lure people in....."

Having heard it asked enough times, Zeph'ere wanted to explain himself. "I was just following that one's voice." He raise his hand along with his wing and point at Echo. He tucked his white wing back in and continued. "I heard her voice near the mouth of the river. I am traveling the world on my Rums'nido, my kind's rite of passage. I heard her voice coming from the bridge but then carried closer to town. It was a beautiful tune, I've never heard anything like it." The heir-prince knew the dangers of this world, but he had yet to cross anything he wasn't able to stop on his own. But if it comforted the young woman with a voice as pure as the sea, it would better to go inside. "I've just arrived here, I can afford lodging so I will be happy to reimburse you for my stay." Zeph'ere smiled with the sincere charm becoming of a future king.

Knell could not help the abashed expression that formed over her face at hearing that so many strangers had possibly gathered to the bridge because of the singing she’d begun and Echo had taken to as well beforehand. Song was a gift from the great Father Osael, a present to his Undine children. Even when it was not being used to invoke the many blessings of water, it still carried to it an edge that appealed to people, and caught their souls . . . even if such a thing was not intended. All she had been wanting to do was to sing, to remember the lullaby sung to her by her missing mother. ‘It seems that Echo and I drew everyone in.’ she laughed just a bit at the thought, face flushing just a bit. ‘Undine are suppose to be renowned for their voices, are they not?’

‘Of course, Undine are known for that throughout the world, among other things, Knell. . . .’ Canaan responded as his sister drew a hand up to the side of her face. ‘Are you really getting embarrassed now?’

‘I-I cannot help it. I did not mean for my singing to spawn this.’ she sighed, ‘My song drew people together and interrupted their actions because it grasped hold of them, and inhibited their thoughts.’

“I must apologize to everyone,” the Undine started, drawing her hand back down to her other, intertwining her fingers together at her front. “Even if you are not upset by the fact that you were drawn here by the song Echo and I sang, I still believe I owe you all an apology. . . .” Even if there was no need for her to say sorry to anyone, Knell could not help but feeling some level of guilt for what her song had done. Shaking her head, Knell looked back at everyone around her, “Regardless of whether or not everyone is capable of paying their own ways, I would still prefer to at least pay for a late meal for everyone that the song drew together.”

Setting a hand to her mouth, Knell shouted, “Echo!! Come now, we are headed to the Inn to eat, you need to be properly introduced to Sir Crane as well since you and I are to be traveling with him consistently soon!” She had no idea that her friend was turning to flee away from her. All she knew for sure was that the distance between herself and the other Undine had widened, thinking it was only because of the shyness felt by the pastel-haired girl. The guilt within Echo’s heart was an unknown stigma to Knell . . . she assumed only the obvious of her dear one. Although Knell was otherwise oblivious to what remorse lay within Echo, there existed someone else who was not quite so assuming.

Within his half of her mind, the Undine Princess could feel her brother stirring regarding the action taken by Echo then. He knew what she was doing, what it was she was up to now . . . that her gaining distance was not because she was timid toward all of the new people around. As Echo continued to slip further away into the dark night, a look of confusion passed over Knell’s young face, sorrow melded into it. She didn’t understand why. Why Echo was still . . . going. ‘Ca-Canaan? Why has Echo not stopped yet? Even if she were nervous around strangers, she would have ceased moving by now.’

Tears began to form within Knell’s eyes, but she blinked them away. “Ec-Echo . . . ?” she murmured out, taking just a step forward, a hand drawn up to her chest in uncertainty.

Within her mind, Canaan’s presence began to strengthen. And Knell herself felt as if she were growing weak; falling asleep abruptly. The suddenness of the feeling hit her, and made her stumble where she stood, looking faint in the face. She knew this feeling, like a hand gently clasping around her soul, drawing it away from the world and into a soothing hold, an embrace like that of a mother’s. The connection she felt to reality felt as if it were fading away, slowly, slowly. Her senses began to grow weaker, until they were no more, and only tiredness overtook her. ‘Canaan . . . please be kind to those who aided me. . . .’ That was the last thing she thought before slipping into the darkness of slumber. The Undine’s body stilled as this transition took place, her face vacant, without an expression; her eyes utterly listless.

As it ended, there was a notable distinction that overtook Knell’s body, as her head turned upward, the appearance that had taken hold of it was quite different than before, the innocence, the kindness and pleasant glint within her aquamarine eyes had vanished and were replaced by something that seemed to be steeled . . . that was suspicious. Hands clenched into fists as her sides, her expression cold, and knowing.

“Echo Thrussell!!” The voice that came from Knell’s throat carried with it a tone opposite of before, there was no hint of politeness in it as before, no kindness, no gentle edge. “Don’t you dare think I don’t know what you are doing!” There was a confidence within this voice that was not within it normally, and on top of that; her voice seemed to belong to another person entirely, from the tone it carried to even how it sounded, and carried through the air. As Knell’s voice was reminiscent of the placid sea, this one that came from her could be thought of as similar to a raging storm. “I know that you are perfectly aware of what I’m talking about, Echo! Do you really think that running away from her is going to absolve anything at all?! Will it really do anything other than make her scared, and sad from the confusion of why you left without a damn word?!” The Undine Princess shouted; voice loud, angry.

“You know perfectly well what it is I am capable of! I’m not scared to do what I have to do in order to keep her happy, Echo! And, I’ll do whatever the Hell I have to in order to make sure that you don’t make her cry! Get back here now!!” Canaan screamed at Echo, forcing Knell’s voice out of her mouth with as much power as he could manage. He wasn’t lying when he’d said he would do whatever he had to in order to keep Knell from crying, even in front of these strangers he did not trust or care for. He would do anything to keep his sister smiling, and happy. Even if it meant exposing her as an Undine to more people than just the knight; he would invoke the water below and force Echo into her Undine form before letting her run away from Knell by land; he’d leave her ‘beached’ where she was before she could get away.

No matter how painful the change was for an Undine, Canaan was not afraid to induce it upon the person Knell held as one of her dearest as long as it meant keeping her around, to keep Knell smiling. Echo knew about Canaan, how different he was from Knell, what he would do, could do. . . . And, if she didn’t come back of her own volition, she would come back by force.

"I was just following that one's voice." The winged one pointed toward Echo, but she would never have known. She didn’t think much of her voice. It may have been gorgeous, but in her mind… She was nothing special. Echo assumed Zeph’ere had been speaking of Knell. He raise "I heard her voice near the mouth of the river. I am traveling the world on my Rums'nido, my kind's rite of passage. I heard her voice coming from the bridge but then carried closer to town. It was a beautiful tune, I've never heard anything like it. I've just arrived here, I can afford lodging so I will be happy to reimburse you for my stay." He sounded pleasant from behind the tall undine.


“I must apologize to everyone,” Echo could hear her friend speak from behind her. She sounded rather… Nervous. “Even if you are not upset by the fact that you were drawn here by the song Echo and I sang, I still believe I owe you all an apology. . . Regardless of whether or not everyone is capable of paying their own ways, I would still prefer to at least pay for a late meal for everyone that the song drew together.” Echo felt her heart sink with every word the princess spoke. She fought back the tears welding in her eyes. She would not cry.

“Echo!! Come now, we are headed to the Inn to eat, you need to be properly introduced to Sir Crane as well since you and I are to be traveling with him consistently soon!” Echo heard her dear friend call to her. She gripped the cloth over her heart and braced herself. She felt the confusion wash over her friend…




“Ec-Echo . . . ?” Knell cried out…


Echo stoped.

MOVE![/] She urged herself… [i]Run! She begged herself. She did not move. Her heart bled within her chest. Water continued to build up in the young one’s eyes… I will not cry! It was an order. She begged herself not to cry… Her eyes reddened with the urge to let her tears fall.



“Echo Thrussell!” It was Canaan… His voice was hard and cold… There wasn’t a hint of a waver in it. His voice was a rock. Echo collapsed to her knees. She sniffled, but she refused to cry. “Don’t you dare think I don’t know what you are doing!” His voice stayed strong and accusing… Sometimes Echo wondered if Canaan knew her better than Knell did… He believed less of the goodness in everyone than Knell seemed to. “I know that you are perfectly aware of what I’m talking about, Echo! Do you really think that running away from her is going to absolve anything at all?! Will it really do anything other than make her scared, and sad from the confusion of why you left without a damn word?!” His voice raged like a hurricane, forcing winds knocking Echo futher down than she had ever felt…Canaan was right… All Echo would do by leaving is cause more problems… If Echo stayed, she’d weigh her friend down… If she left, she would weigh her down. The options were plain and simple. Weigh Knell down or weigh Knell down… Echo was a dead weight no matter what she did…

Echo’s hands gripped the clot harder… Her pale skin seemed almost transparent, showing the bones of her knuckles under it.


“You know perfectly well what it is I am capable of! I’m not scared to do what I have to do in order to keep her happy, Echo! And, I’ll do whatever the Hell I have to in order to make sure that you don’t make her cry! Get back here now!!” Echo was submissive. She forced herself to stand and she drug herself to his side… Her back was curved. She slouched unconsciously as she wished to disappear.

Please don’t speak of Knell as her… Someone will find out… Echo begged inside… Echo was ready to give up. She was ready to vanish forever… To cease her existence. There wasn’t a reason for her to be around. She knew she was nothing… That she was the original betrayer of Knell… There was no reason Knell would want such a horrid and evil person to stay by her side. She could never make up for that mistake. She could never mean anything to anyone… But somehow she meant something to the princess.

Knell held Echo dear to her heart… Echo held Knell dear to hers. But there was a reason their friendship was forbidden. People like Echo should never exist… Echo had no place in the world… The gloom air of doom hung in the air around Echo. She felt as though everyone could see her tar heart bleeding from a mile away… The darkness in her was prominent… Even if Echo would not allow herself to shed any tears… She knew her pain was apparent… Why am I here? She questioned herself. She was ready to bolt away, to leave the world far behind…

All Echo could do was prove how much of a fool she was… No matter what she did now, she would forever lose the trust of her friend… Of course, Knell had every right to hate Echo and to never trust her… This makes two betrayals from Echo and none from Knell…


Echo felt like gum on someone’s shoe… Icky, gooey stuff that never lets go, but aggravates everyone. Although that is horrid, Echo didn’t know how to change… Although she trained to be strong, she was still as weak as a little guppy. Her heart wanted to help Knell, but her mind didn’t know how… No matter what, both of them would be hurt if Echo didn’t get stronger soon… Faster too. Under the sea, she may be fast and strong, but even with the pressure of the sea weighing against her, she was weak and slow on land. The pressure of the water felt like nothing… She could float through the sea and never know anything else… With that, she would be content. On land, Echo didn’t understand how to coordinate her body and she became flimsy and slow… Gravity pushed her to the ground and there was nothing Echo could do to stop it. It did the same to Knell. The last thing Knell needed was for another clumsy undine to prance around and ruin things for her… But she also didn’t need to lose her friend. Some friend Echo was…

Embarrassment was the first emotion to write itself onto Abilene's face; that was followed almost as quickly by a feeling of needing to be withdrawn from the situation. Torn between staying by the tree and running off, as best as she might have been able to in a soaking wet dress, the pale-haired girl couldn't come to a decision fast enough on whether to leave or stay.

Her commotion seemed to cause an array of trouble all its own, and the Dryad wished once more she could simply melt away. 'Maybe they didn't notice...' she thought, feeling even more embarrassment color her cheeks at the realization that maybe she shouldn't have been quite so nosy.

Her mind told her to leave, since most likely no one had noticed her - of course, she was lying to herself. But before she could make her getaway, a male who had helped right the commotion on the bridge began to make his way towards her.

She backed up instinctively towards the tree trunk, wanting more than anything to climb right back up into the branches and disappear from sight. The old maple gave a sort of groan, almost as if had read her very thoughts and was trying to encourage her not to go through with them. Finding her legs unable to listen to her brain, she once again focused her attention on the male who approached. Who was he? What was he planning on doing? She had never seen someone quite like him before. He was so very, very... tall. Abilene had to crane her neck to see him as he approached her.




What was it her mother and father had told her when she was younger, she thought. Something about the Dryad people ranging in height, and she had just happened to get the short end of the stick. She had given her father a rather bland expression at his joke - he had thought it was rather humorous and laughed about it for quite a few minutes. Once he finished laughing, he continued on to explain himself. "The dryads can be tall or short, depending on the trees they inhabit and protect. You come from a mother who protected the apple trees, and a father who just happens to be human." He had ruffled her hair slightly at that point, before pulling her into his lap as her mother continued his story for him.

"Your aunties protect trees that range in height, and many of them are taller, depending on the tree. But there are other creatures of this world who vary in height as well. Some may be smaller than you, and some may be much taller. But this doesn't make them any less or more than you, do you understand?" She had nodded towards her mother, burying her head in her fathers neck. He smiled, and her mother came to sit in front of her husband and daughter. "You must promise me you will not judge them, until they have given you fair evidence for you to do so." Abilene had looked upon her mothers loving face, and nodded once more.

Her father smiled; "Thats my girl..."





Abilene's memory drifted away from her, as she brought herself back to the situation at hand. The male was just right in front of her, and she found herself drawing in a deep breath, and pulling herself away from the tree to stand up straight. Fully expecting whatever it was that he would say to her... she didn't find herself expecting him to wrap a warm cloak around her shoulders. Grasping at it as he closed it around her front, she gazed up at him in mild surprise.

"You alright miss?" he had began, and she nodded slightly. "Not exactly the best idea to take a dip in a freezing river in the middle of the night." He seemed to almost have a slight smile about the way he said his last sentence, and she found herself looking around her surroundings, almost forgetting where she was.

Looking back up at him, she went to explain herself, before closing her mouth tightly, biting back the words before they came. 'I only just fell in... well, because I was snooping...' she thought, once again feeling embarrassment heat her cheeks. She couldn't bring herself to say it, so she paused before she gave him an answer.

"Thank you for your kindness. I... seemed to have lost my balance." The smile she offered him was timid, as if she were testing the waters. He seemed genuinely worried about her well-being, and it was then that she realized exactly what he had given her.

Feeling as if it were too much for him to have given her his cloak, she lightly protested. "I very much appreciate your kindness, but I cannot possibly take this from you and soak it through because of my mistake..." Her voice trailed off, and she felt at a loss on what to do. She had to admit; the cloak was warm and had a sort of comforting appeal to it. And he was right... it was cold out.

Her ears picked up someone mentioning food, and a place to stay, and she immediately pictured the Inn near her home. 'Maybe I could go there to dry off. If father saw me soaked through...' She let her thoughts trail off, and simply pulled the cloak around her shoulders slightly more, trying to ebb off the bite of the cold which was beginning to seep through her.