Duke Smith's Story

The thing budged. Light streamed down into the prison, and Duke saw his chance. Bracing his arms and legs at the sides of the hole, he began to spider up the prison. His teeth grit as his injuries complained, but he kept going.

"Move it!" he yelled, waiting for the object to budge, "Just a little more!"

This time, the stone went an inch, then, all at once, it slid away neatly from the hole. Duke had been keeping his position so long that sweat began to drip down his neck. The second the entrance was open, he sprung out, grasping at the edge of the hole.

Half of him was stone, and it was dragging him down. He began to slide back down. He looked to Lark. He held out a hand to him.

His eyes almost pleaded.

Duke's hand enveloped Lark's, and he used him to pull himself up and out of the prison. He laid on his back a moment, the effort having drained the man. His mind whirled, and he could only close his eyes briefly to get his bearings.

Then he remembered.

"Taylor!" he cried, rolling to his feet. Blood rushed to his head, and he stumbled, but he hardly cared. "Taylor..."

Duke fell flat onto the ground. He was a big man. He was strong. In any other condition, Lark would not have been able to do something so easily, but Duke had exhausted much of his energy trying to get out of that pit for the last four hours with hardly any breaks in between efforts. Not only that, but he was on the verge of a heat stroke. He was not well.

But, even then, his icy glare pinned itself onto Lark. He was calm.

"You know Taylor?" he asked, trying to roll onto his side. "Captured. Taylor's gone." His tone was heavy with disappointment; with grief.

"I'm Duke. I was Luli's slave." Slowly, he got onto his feet again, "Need to find Taylor."

Duke turned around to face Lark slowly, anger brooding behind his icy eyes. He then turned around, walking off into the bushes. There, he looked for the glaive pole arm that he had dropped. He found it among the grass, picking it up.

"I never asked you to help me," he told Lark, voice in a monotone. "I'll look for her myself."

And he rather would have had it that way.

One could barely be able to see his next move until it was too late.

Duke whipped around, the flesh hand reaching out for Lark's lapels, drawing him close to him. His brow wrinkled in a frown. "She could be dead," he stated coldly, pushing Lark away as he released his shirt.

"I don't have time for you. I don't care what you have to say."

His eyes narrowed, but Duke's patience had run out. He kept on walking down the path, away from Lark.

"Do what you want," he said, "I don't know who you are. Stay here and not trust me, wait until her corpse shows up somewhere. For all I know, Luli organized this. But it doesn't matter."

It was the most he had spoken all year. Two or three words would be given to Taylor, perhaps once a day, but this was the subject of his anger.

He found the footsteps in the dirt, the drag marks of Taylor's body, which had come all the way to...carriage wheel grooves. He lifted his head, watching it extend down the path. He began to follow it.

They had been walking for hours. At one point, Duke went out at a jog, anxious to just get to their destination. His hands clenched in tight fists, gaze looking at the long road ahead of them.

There was a good chance they would not get there in time.

He looked behind him, eyes searching for Lark. It was impressive that the kid would follow him for so long.

Duke grunted, then looked out ahead of him.

No. He wasn't going to say anything.

He looked out into the distance, pointing. There was a dust cloud so far in the horizon it could barely be seen. They were so far. So impossibly far. They weren't going to make any significant time just walking.

Duke was stunned.

He had expected anything but this. He had almost hoped for anything but this. The man was not fond of dragons, however...it...it was all they had.

"Don't need to do anything," he said to Lark, pointing to Nocta. It was as if he could read the beast. "He knows." He ushered the skinny, white-haired boy toward the beast as he, himself, got onto its back.

This was going to be terrible.

"I can't." he informed Lark. "This is Taylor's dragon."

He held on tightly. He could handle battling monsters, killing men, traveling for miles without rest in any kind of terrain...but riding dragons was something completely different.

He gave Lark a sneer, but did not grace him with a reply.

Lark could not wait to put his feet on the ground, so when the creature finally landed, the young man practically leapt off. Despite the horrifying ride, Lark decided to save his comments for later.

"Come on then." Lark said to Duke quickly with an arch of an arm. It was all he said before he sprinted off as fast as he could towards the flames. Even if it wasn't Taylor, which he was kind of hoping for, someone needed his help, and he would not hesitate to give it.

Duke followed after him, unsheathing the glaive from his back. If Taylor was there...if anyone else was even touching her...

It was not their lucky day.

When the men stumbled upon the scene, they would find an array of bloodied corpses, with the campfire burning high and unattended. The carriage had been ripped nearly in half, and the only living person who remained was Suri.

Her mask was now affixed to her face, and she appeared to be weeping. Upon hearing the arrival of the other two, her head snapped up, and she reached a hand imploringly for Lark.

"Please! You must hurry! The murderers took them and ran! I tried to stop them, but there were too many, I..." she looked to Duke, then to Lark.

"You're with him?!"

She sounded absolutely horrified.

Lark looked around at the rather hellish scene, the headache he was beginning to get was annoying him to no end. Why did things seem to be getting from bad to worse?

When he heard Suri's voice, Lark looked at her surprised to no end.

"Alright," He spat, angrily throwing his hands up. "I have no fucking idea what's going on anymore."

He paced back and forth a moment, holding his forehead. He tried to think but the pressure and pain swelled. Finally he stopped and his brow could not get any lower.

"You." He said sharply, stabbing a finger at Suri. "You say that Taylor isn't from Terra, you tell me all this crap that makes everything difficult. So I have to ask questions, only thing is, I seem to be dealing with fucking brick walls because no one want's to give me a mother fucking answer."

He then truned and pointed at Duke. "And you, mister silent crusader, fucking show up out of nowhere, and that was great. Taylor was fucking ecstatic, but then you fucking show up with Luli, and shit goes to hell again. And now, I have to wonder who the fuck is actually trying to help Taylor, and who's trying to hurt her? Why don't you two assholes make it easy for me?"

The man gave Lark a blank stare, his eyes narrowing to a squint. He would do more than give a brooding glare, this time.

"Fine." he said, walking towards Lark. "I will." Right at that moment, he swung the blade, aiming it down for Lark's neck. He would stop it but inches away from his skin.

"Don't trust me. It makes no difference to me at all." With that, he gave a pitiful glance to Suri, then walked off to the edge of the woods, looking for any sign of where Taylor would be.

"She's gone! You hear me?! That demon woman took her and the best you two can do is argue like a bunch of old women!"

Suri stood, brushing her skirts off angrilly before turning to walk. But there was some hesitation to her steps, and she turned to look back at Duke.

"They headed North."

Lark watched as Duke pretty much threatened him and then turned his back like he was nothing.

It was like taking a match to a barrel of gunpowder.

All the frustration that Lark had been dealing with, all the complications, all the anger and the worry, all the anxiety, it propelled him in a sudden burst at Duke's back, an ear shattering sound, similar to an explosion, rocked the woods.

It was Lark's own personal sonic boom as he, for the quickest moment, hit mach 1, barely miliseconds before his right shoulder smashed into the back of Duke's waist.

"I'm sick of all this bullshit! You want be the stoic badass, mother fucker then let's fucking have it! You aren't the only fucker who knows how to fight you sonuvabitch. You want to fucking hurry and take on Luli when you forget your fucking ass would still be in a fucking hole if it weren't for me. A fucking hole. What the fuck are you? Team Fucking Rocket? I'll remind you that of the two of us I'm the only one who's recently handed Luli her ass!"

Duke hit the ground hard, though thankfully upon the cursed half of his body. Rock hit earth, and there was an audible crack. Duke glanced upward at Lark, squinting. The glaive lay next to him, in easy reach, but he made no attempt to grab it.

He calmly looked up to the boy, frowning deeply. "She let you." he answered. "She wouldn't have allowed you to otherwise."

His stone hand lifted, then pushed against Lark to peel him off. "I'm not working for her. I did for twelve years. I had no choice back then. I do now. I want to find Taylor. That's all I want to do." He tried to get up. "...she saved my life."

And he needed to repay her.

"Well, if you two aren't going to find them..." Suri began, her eyes oddly dark, hooded, like they had no pupils.

"Then I will."

With that, like a burst of shadow, the woman streaked into the woods. But she wasn't running, no...she was gliding.

Lark held his fist beside his head as he glared down at Duke, the man's collar in a vice.

"Course she fucking let me, how convenient. Because apparently I'm as threatning as the fucking Easter bunny.." With a scowl he shoved Duke away and began to get to his feet. "I'm just....let's just go find Taylor...I need a fucking asprin..."

Lark brought one hand to the side of his face and groaned, his head pounding immensely.

One thing he was sure as hell he wasn't going to say though, was sorry.

Duke watched Surudoi Ha glide away, concentrating on the way she was gliding across the ground. There was something fearfully familiar in the way she was doing that.

He reached out for Lark's collar, running with him toward the woman. "I understand," he said, booking it as fast as he could, "That you're confused. I understand everything's not making sense. That you don't know who to trust. But if we find Taylor that'll be cleared up. I know one thing: we can't let that woman get there first."

"No, Luli WAIT!"

Taylor launched herself ahead of the other, pivoting on her heel and slamming the crook of her arm against the woman's abdomen. It clonked hard against her shoulder, making her wince, and the pair of them slid back a few inches as Taylor skidded her heels into the leaf-strewn ground.

Not an inch from her foot, a precipice dropped, masked by the darkness.

Taylor sunk to her knees.

"This place is called the Blind Man's Grave. There are cliffs....everywhere."

Luli took in a sharp breath, taking out one of her fans to stir a slight breeze against the sweat on her skin. "Oh, my. I'm not quite sure how I didn't see that. Perhaps I am more exhausted than I realized." she said. She looked to Taylor, laughing in the face of her near death. "I'm much obliged!"

She got up, offered a hand to Taylor. "Lets be a little more careful, yes?"

She placed her hand in Luli's and hauled herself to her feet.

"Couldn't agree more." she said with a stiff smile. Her eyes flickered past Luli's face, towards the darkness, and she felt the hairs rising on the back of her neck.

Even in the darkness, it was clear that her face had gone an ugly shade of grey.

"We need to hide."

Luli glanced at her sideways, eyes then scanning the hillside. She grabbed Taylor, pulling her to an edge. "Come here. Trust me once."

Right over the cliff, there was another ledge jutting right beneath them. She jumped down, then squeezed under a shelf, beckoning to Taylor. "Quickly!"

She hesitated, flailing her arms a moment before preparing to jump...

and that was when an arm encircled her waist, throwing her to the ground as effortlessly as a sack of feathers. Taylor cried out on impact, spinning, struggling to get a look at her attacker...

It was Luli. But not Luli. Another Luli?!

The imposter reached, seizing Taylor by the throat before slamming her up against the trunk of a tree.

"We'll wait and see what your pathetic little entourage has to say when they see you in such a precarious position, you filthy little whore."

"Taylor!"

She was in sight of them both now, and Duke pushed as hard as he could, with as much strength as he could manage, even after the long run. What he witnessed, however, was not what he was expecting.

"...Luli," he breathed, eyes growing wide. The glaive slid from his back into his hand.

Lark struggled to keep up with Duke, his head pounding. What Lark would find out when all this was over, was that this headache was only the start.

The grogginess he felt, he knew it was a side effect of him tackling Duke. He always felt like crap whenever he used his sonic acceleration, especially when he hit Mach 1. The only reason he was able to function normally this time, was the fact he'd only used his power for a split second.

He noticed what was going on only after Duke had drawn his weapon, the instant in which he saw Taylor in danger, Lark felt his head clear and his body tense. His hands rolled quickly into fist as he sucked in a gulp of air, arching his head towards the sky slightly.

His shout was inaudible, but it was loud. It would echo for miles, and maybe even rupture ear drums. A single pulse of energy shot from Lark's maw and streaked right at who he thought was Luli, the only warning she'd get was the ground and earth being scarred at blinding speed towards her. At best, she'd get a second or two.

Taylor grit her teeth, gathering her knees up and landing a firm, hard kick against the flat of Suri's abdomen. The other woman huffed, stumbling back as her grip on Taylor's throat released. She fell back, right into the blast that Lark's ability provided, and Taylor stumbled sideways.

The tree was shattered, obliterated pieces of wood flying in all directions as the massive plant groaned, teetering dangerously towards the edge of the cliff. Taylor, in the meantime, had managed to get to her knees, one hand pressed to the side of her neck where Suri's fingernails had raked scratches into her skin. Suri had been propelled into the woods, her body tumbling end over end before lying dangerously still some twenty yards away.


Duke had been caught by the attack, but had not been thrown nearly as far as Suri. His heels dug into the ground, and he went tumbling across the dirt, stopping just before he fell over the edge. His ears rang, and his head spun. He could not make sense of one thing.

The glaive had fallen down the cliff ahead of Duke.

Lark blinked for a moment, his vision cloudier than a black out drunk's. He put a hand to the side of his head with a low groan, and struggled to stay upright. Using his abilities when he was stressed out already was obviously taking a toll on him. He was human after all.

He shook his head to try and clear his sight, blinking repeatedly as he stepped forward. "Taylor?" He called, trying to find her. "Are you alright? What happened to Luli?"

She was kneeling in a daze, blinking rapidly to try to clear the dizziness. She heard Lark's voice, vaguely muffled, and struggled to her feet.

"It's not Luli!" she thought she shouted, but her voice came out as little more than a whisper. Where was Duke? Nearby...she knew he was close.

"Duke...it's not...not Luli."

She stumbled again, struggling to right herself.

They were all dazed, it seemed. Duke's ears were still ringing, his head was still not right. The woods danced around him. He lifted himself up onto his arms, then straightened himself, only to teeter dangerously to the edge of the cliff.

"Taylor..."

Lark put both hands to his eyes and stood still for a moment, giving his body a moment's pause to realign it's equilibrium. Seeing as it was his own power after all, Lark was able to recover at a relatively quicker rate when compared to the others. When he removed his hands from his face to look around, his vision had cleared a good bit, and he felt less dizzy. Although his body still felt physically weak.

As he looked around he was able to clearly make out Taylor, automatically beginning to walk towards her.

But before he could get to her, he found himself behind Duke. Lark saw how unbalanced the bigger man was on the cliff's edge, and found himself struck with a thought.

It would be easy. Just a nudge. There was no way he'd ever be tied to it.....


But, a glance at Taylor's frantic searching for the man she'd known since she was young reminded Lark of his morals, and so he gave a quick yank on the back of Duke's collar as he walked past him.

She saw movement out of the corner of her vision.

Lark and Duke. She lurched towards them. "Hey!" she called. "Guys! Your backs! Watch..."

Suri. She could see her off in the distance, climbing to her feet and glaring daggers towards the men, who had their backs turned to her. She yelled again, incoherently, her voice sounding muffled in her own head as she waved an arm.

Duke turned around, eyes on Suri. He searched briefly for the glaive, but it had long since fallen over the edge. He turned to Lark. "I hope you still have some more magic left in you."

But he would not need any. There was a high, delicate whistle in the air and a flash of light, which would blind them for all of a moment. The massive tree in front of Suri shook just before tumbling down. A very familiar, slight woman would climb onto the side of the cliff, leaning against the fallen tree. Her hair was short. He fingers bled scarlet onto Ilesca. She looked to all three of them.

"What a lovely reunion, don't you think?" she giggled.

Taylor flinched at the flash of light, throwing a hand up to shield her eyes before putting a foot back to compensate and readjust her balance.

When she lowered her hand, she wasn't surprised to find Luli standing rather proudly, with that god-awful fan splayed against her bloodied palm. Suri's angry cry ripped through the clearing as she moved rather effortlessly towards the top of the fallen tree.

With no other options than just to stand there, Taylor began to move towards Duke.

"I would not attempt to try again, Suri. I am more than you." said Luli, grinning. She looked at them each in turn. Duke, in the very least, was surprised enough to be frozen in place. "Missed me? Don't lie."

Lark gave a quick glance to Taylor and Duke as the pair looked towards Luli. He found himself having an idea...but he would need to execute everything perfectly. If he wasn't careful, it would never work...

He took a deep breath and suddenly tried to tackle Duke from the side.

"I knew you were working with her!" He shouted, raising his fist to begin striking the man.

There was a moment of shocked silence. Suri stood by, staring down at the grappling pair with a single brow lifted above her strange, yellow eye. At some point, she had turned back to her original form.

Taylor was feeling a similar sentiment, her eyes wide as she stared at Lark. No matter what their intentions were, it was very obvious that everyone had a similar vein of thought. Including Luli.

What in the flying fuck was Lark doing?

"Lark! What th--" Taylor's eyes snapped to Suri as the woman vaulted over the two, and began racing towards her. Luli was not about to let her do that. With the two men fighting adding as a distraction, she, too, began to sprint after the ranger.

Meanwhile, Duke lifted the stone arm over his head, trying to get a hold of the situation in his mind. "Stop," he said, and rather calmly. Not for long, however. His patience was beginning to run rather low.

Lark however, grinned at Duke as he wrapped both of his arms around the stone arm. "Well, guess I'm relying on you." He said as he planted both feet into Duke's midsection and leaned all of his body weight back, trying to use his legs as a fulcrum and turn his body into a lever to flip Duke over himself.

Before Duke would hit the ground, Lark would push his palm against Duke's chest, and push a pulse of sonic energy into the man, which would propell the big man at a fast speed right towards the two women chasing after Taylor.

Taylor had started to backpedal the moment she saw Suri rushing towards her. Just before she had a chance to turn tail and run, however, she saw that Luli had picked up the chase too.

"Oh this isn't happening," she groaned before bursting into a sprint, running as fast as her legs could carry her. She could feel Suri gaining though, her clawed hands reaching out to grasp Taylor's arm.

And that was when she heard the bang.

It was, perhaps, one of the most violating anf frightening things that had ever been done to him.

And it was a rare chance, as well. He found the world flying past him at an incredible speed, and had no idea what to make of it.

Luli had long since dropped to the ground, having tripped over a rock, feeling the wind allow her hair to flutter as Duke rushed past.

Suri felt the contact first, and then the pair of them slammed into Taylor. Carried off of her feet, the Ranger felt her breath get choked off for a moment as they flew for a fraction of a second, before crashing into the ground with a loud noise. Taylor, who lay at the bottom of the pile, lay disturbingly still, while Suri began to struggle violently, attempting to get herself off of the ground.

Duke was, once more, knocked silly, and that left only two people who were currently mobile. While Duke attempted to lift himself, Luli thrust her head back to throw a wink at Lark, then darted towards Taylor. She would throw a kick at Suri's ribs, then reached for the ranger to pull her from the pile.

Ilesca came to her throat, and Luli's lips pressed to her ear as she pulled them to the edge of the cliff. "I'm awfully sorry about this, Taylor. We're even, but you're going to save me one more time."

"Oh don't let me miss..." Lark said, laying on his back as he pointed his fingers, shaped like a make believed pistol, towards Luli. There really wasn't much he could physically do at this point, beside the fact he'd practically drained himself with that sonic roar of his, flipping big ass Duke was no easy feat.

But he knew had just enough left in the tank for this. He closed his left eye and took aim for one more moment. He blew a single, short yet sharp whistle, and felt as he channeled the sonic energy into a single invisible thin bolt that shot through the air at amazing speed, right at Luli's forehead.

Taylor, disorriented and sore, gripped at Luli's forearm, her teeth gritting as she lifted her chin to avoid Ilesca's edge. The other woman's words sent a chill through her, but there was something about the tone she'd taken...there was just something about Luli in general.

Something was different.

So when Lark took aim, in a split second of thought, Taylor dug her heels in roughly, pushing herself back against Luli's chest and leaning her back quickly, in time to possibly avoid whatever Lark had sent flying her way.

"Dammitall! Stop Lark!" she shouted almost angrily, closing her eyes.

Then, in barely more than a whisper.

"Just get it over with, Luli."

Luli felt herself slide, heard somethign whipping past them at a great speed. She narrowed her eyes at Lark. He was dangerous. He was powerful. He could probably kill her in the future. For now?

For now, she had a human shield. She took something from the bodice of her dress. A small vial of liquid. She popped the top, then forced it into the woman's lips. "Drink. Drink!"

Taylor didn't have much choice at that point. The liquid was already filling her mouth, overly sweet to the point of being nauseating. In order to breath, she had to swallow. Somehow she knew this wasn't going to end well.

Just as Taylor would take the first gulp, Luli was already gone, tumbling over the edge in a frantic, rather un-Luli-like scramble.

And she fell back, suddenly dizzy for the moment. Confused, she got up to her elbows, pushing herself to her rear before managing to get to her feet.

Yet...she took two steps...and her legs gave out. She panicked.

"I..I can't feel them. My legs..."


Lark's hands dropped to the ground as he cursed. Why did he miss? What did Taylor mean by stop? He could've made that shot...he knew it...what happened?

When he heard Taylor's voice again, Lark tilted his head back to look at her. He wanted to get up and go to her side more than anything...but he couldn't get his body to move properly anymore. The strain his abilities took on him, and the immense amount of stress he'd already been facing had took it's toll.

Lark was useless for now and he knew it. All he could do was look up at the clouds hanging over head, and slam the back of his head into the ground as he cursed some more.

"God dammit..." He said quietly, trying to keep his voice from breaking.

It was out of sheer will that the man half made of stone could push himself up onto his feet, lurching toward where he'd last seen Luli and Taylor. He could hardly throw Lark a glance. His mind was not for him.

He saw the fuzzy outline of Taylor against the setting sun, just as shadows closed in, taking him. The man fell with Taylor's name spilling from his mouth.

There was a breath of silence. It was so loud that it caused her ears to ring. But everything was getting blurry. She was losing sensation. Her breathing was slowing. Her heart was beginning to still.

Her arms no longer supported her body, and she fell against the ground, glazed eyes staring blindly into nothingness as she became terrifyingly still.

Suri rose from her position not too long afterward, and she was about to make her way over to the pair, ready to drag them off by their hair, but something...or several somethings intervened.

A dramatic roar ripped through the air, and Nocta landed first, in between Lark and the pair's position. A second dragon, emerald green in color, touched down nearer to Lark, its large head bending over his form to sniff at him suspiciously. Lastly, the third and smallest dragon of the three touched down, a lovely royal blue, and there was a rider sitting astride its spiny back.

"You are not welcome here!" the young girl cried, throwing herself to the ground and landing in a crouch. The ground rippled, wind picking up violently as the slight brunette stood to her full, yet modest height. Suri glowered, preparing to stalk past her, but found that she couldn't move in the slightest.

"Your presence here is alien. Noxious. Go back to the planet from which you came, and leave these poor people alone." the girl lifted her voice to a shout, and the dragons accompanied her cry with horrifying hisses.

"You'll regret this." Suri said, giving the girl an ugly look before vanishing from sight. Railynn paused, waiting before she looked towards the other three. Waving her hand towards Blue, she went to Taylor's side, pressing her hand to the side of her throat.

Railynn's heart quickened. "Oh..no. Nocta. Home!"

She turned then, running over to the third, and sliding to her knees at his side. He was still awake.

"Hi. I'm sorry. I need to take you to my home with the others. Um..." she put a hand to her mouth, trying hard not to let her shock from Taylor's...condition affect her expression. It was hard though, her eyes burned, and her hands were shaking.

Lark stared at this person with eyes that were tired. He felt a raging current of emotions in him, meshing together to be inseparable. Exhaustion, gratitude, fear, worry, concern, anger, anxiety...it was all swelling and fusing inside of his chest, forming a thick lump in his throat.

"How...How is she?" He finally managed to softly ask. "What happened to her?"

Railynn's voice caught, and there was a certain agony reflected in her green eyes.

"She needs my help."

With that, she laid her palm over Lark's forehead. "I'm going to help you sleep. But you can trust me, Lark Decibel. I'm a friend of Taylor's."

With that, she bent, pressing her lips to his brow, and the effect would be similar to the lull of a sleeping drug.

"How do you...?" Lark wanted to finish asking his question, but her action caught him by surprise, and the effect of her spell coupled with his own body's exhaustion was very potent. As he tried to fight his eyelids that were growing heavier every second, Lark tried to study this woman's face.

Upon awakening, both of the men would find themselves in a cozy sleeping area, lit with candles and paneled all over with polished hardwood. It appeared as though they were underground. There were no windows, and only shafts of light from the ceiling indicated that they were anywhere near the sun. The cots they slept in were of a simple make, but good for the purpose, and the only door that lead to the room was slightly ajar. More candle-light slipped through from other halls and other rooms. Railynn was in the room at the end of the hall standing in the open door and gazing at the third and final visitor.

The one she couldn't save.

Tears welled at the corners of her eyes, but she brushed them away, confused and hurt and at a loss for what to do. What was she going to tell them when they woke up? What would they do?

What could she do? What hadn't she tried?

"Amani," she murmured as she leaned against the door. "Her spirit isn't with you...but she isn't with us. So, where...where is she?"

"Taylor..." Lark found himself saying as his eyes opened. There was a slight pause, a delay as the memories of those events slowly played through his head. And after a few moments, Lark shot up and sat up straight. He glanced around a few seconds, trying to get a feel for his surroundings before springing out of the bed and running right out the door.

His body should've felt heavy and useless, but for some reason it didn't. He didn't know why, he didn't question it...he just had to prove himself wrong. As he sprinted, his ears caught the sound of that woman's voice, and Lark ran as fast as his legs would take him towards it.

He stopped in the frame of the door, his chest rising and falling with every breath.

"How is she?" He asked, eyes pleading.

Lark would feel someone shove him to the side. He did not know why Lark had stopped.

"What's wrong?" Duke asked, brows knitting deeply. He went forward, trying to step around the candles with a clumsy care. "Is she injured? Is she sick? What's wrong?" His voice came near to a growl. It was evident he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

Railynn barely had time to breathe before they were both chaotically upon her. Lark wasn't as persistent, but Duke she had to physically plant herself in front of, both hands on his chest as she all but shoved him back.

Behind her, the candles were arranged in precarious positions, lighting the room almost magically. Incense burned in the corner, giving the room a warm, pleasant atmosphere.

And at the back was Taylor. She'd been cleaned up, her short hair brushed, and she looked almost as though she was sleeping.

"The candles are guarding her spirit." Railynn said, her voice hoarse.

"But...she's dead."

Lark had been knocked over when Duke had shoved him, the size difference between the two of them ever apparent. But he'd heard the words.

His legs lost the strength to stand, so the boy just propped himself up against the wall of the hallway, and tucked his knees into his chest. He felt the lump return, felt that rapid water like flow of emotions, and it was by some inner strength he didn't break down.

But he couldn't do anything, he could only put his forehead against his knees and sit silently.

Duke's hands snapped up to catch Railynn's wrists, grasping them roughly in both stone and flesh. "Dead?" he hissed. "Why dead? What do you mean dead? Nothing happened!" His voice escalated to a roar as he attempted to throw Railynn to the side, nearing Taylor once more.

Railynn's breath caught at the pain, her hands clenching into fists as she hesitantly raised her head to meet his eyes.

She couldn't stand it.

"Poison." she gasped. "She was po--ah!"

She stumbled sideways, going to a knee as she grasped her brusing wrists. "I'm so sorry!" she wailed, putting her face into her hands. "I tried! I tried so hard but it...it was too late!"

His hands gripped the edge of the bed, and the man came, with a strange calm, to his knees. He looked her over. He made sure himself. No one was going to tell him that Taylor was dead. He was going to find out on his own.

And there she lay, not breathing, without a pulse, cold, pale, with hallowed cheeks. He checked everything he could, each time with a desperate, faltering hope that Railynn was wrong.

And when he came to terms with it, he simply knelt there, silent, his bangs masking his cold blue eyes and his expression, just as dead as Taylor.

They sat there, for a time. Eventually, Railynn stood, walking silently away from the room so the pair could grieve on their own time. Two days she'd been gone. Two days they had been asleep. But she wasn't decaying. There was something strange about the fact that her spirit was still palpable.

Desperate, angry, terrified. That's what she sensed. It was almost as if something was trapping her to her dead form.

Eventually, she came back, plopping down at Lark's side. She scooted a plate closer to him, fresh bread with butter laying there for the taking. She didn't even bother with Duke.

The offer went unnoticed as Lark remained in his seat, clutching his knees tightly to his chest, his forehead resting on them.

There was no sign of any recognition from the lad at her appearence, it was obvious he was trying to isolate himself, without being as rude as Duke most likely would've.

For a moment, it looked as though she might leave him alone, but she fidgeted, her fingertips lacing and unlacing as she looked sideways at him. She wanted to help somehow, but couldn't think of a single thing to say, and it made her feel more miserable than she already did.

"Um," her voice quavered a moment, and she cleared it, leaning her head back against the wall with an audible thunk.

Ow...

"I saw what you did in the woods." she said to him in an undertone. "It's...neat. Powerful..." her sentence died on her lips, and she sighed miserably. "You did everything you could."


There would be a long silence between the two after that. Lark didn't seem to move a single muscle, his body still as stone.

"How's your head?" Lark finally said quietly, refusing to move his body however.

She frowned, reaching back to touch at the base of her skull.

"Still attached." she murmured, pausing as she leaned to look at the side of his face. Hiding. She looked down at her wrist, at the bruising left behind from Duke's stone hand, and sighed.

"You were close."

It was a statement, not a question.

Another quiet pause.

"Thank you for showing up when you did.I don't think I had enough to take on that Suri character."

It was obvious that he didn't want to say anything about Taylor.

The girl shifted, resting her cheek on top of her knees. "Who was she?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I've never seen her before, but I know she doesn't belong here on Terra."

"...I don't know. The only one who can answer that now is....Luli."

That last word seem to leave Lark's mouth in a growl, and his body noticeably tensed. Lark's hands formed tight little fist on his knees.

"Ok."

She eased off the subject, not wanting to make him angry, and wracked her brain for something else to bring up. It was hard, though, with Taylor lying in there, and the papability of her spirit all but clawing at Railynn's consciousness.

Her eyes closed.

"Do you...want some tea?"


"I'm not really thirsty." Lark said, easing up a bit. He really wasn't in the mood for conversation either, but he was not going to give the woman who'd saved his life the cold shoulder.

Finally, Lark lifted his head, placing the back of his skull against the wall with a sigh.

"So, are all those dragons you showed up with yours?"

"Mhm." she said with a slight nod. "There's dozens more..."

She looked away, running a hand through her hair before emitting a heavy sigh. "I...sorry. I'm going to leave you guys alone for a bit."

The last thing in the world she wanted to talk about right now was herself.

So, she stood, with the mind that she was going to make tea for herself. Then, she had to figure out what to do with Taylor's body.

The door opened to the cottage, and out came Duke, his head bent low, eyes tracing the ground as he walked. He rose his eye to glance at them briefly before he simply turned and walked the other way, hands clenching in tight fists.

He disappeared into the woods without another word, anguish taking the half-stone man.

Lark picked his head up off his knees and watched as Duke left, making sure the big man was certainly gone. He waited a few moments, expecting Duke to quickly return, but when he did not, Lark decided to take a deep breath and push himself up to his feet.

Slowly he made his way into the room where Taylor lay, looking around at the candles, trying to distract himself for as long as he possibly could. He grabbed hold of a small chair and placed it near to her. He sat with a sigh and placed the palms of his hands together.

For what seemed like several hours Lark sat quietly and observed Taylor's body, when in reality is was barely a minute. He knew he had words to say, he just had to wait until the clog in his throat dispersed.

"...So, you cut your hair." He said to no one. "and I notice your scars are gone too. You know, I just realized this is the first time I got to see you in quite some time...you look beautiful if you don't mind my saying. Not that you didn't look amazing before that is, I mean...well, you know."

He sighed and rubbed his face.

"Sorry. It's just, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel. I'm sad I know that, I'm always going to be sad. But...do I have the right to be? I mean...if I hadn't...if I hadn't missed..." Lark grew quiet again, his chest grew tight and his eyes itched.

"If I hadn't missed, you'd still be here. If I'd taken care of Luli when I had the chance, you'd still be here....Why aren't you here Taylor? Why did you tell me to stop?"

Lark took a breath, taking a glance at the candles again, he felt something wet hit the top of his lap in minute drops.

"I...I'm sorry Taylor, there was just so much I wanted to say...but I can't now. I can't." He steadied himself and got to his feet, standing over her, contemplating one last parting gesture, but in the end decided to just hold her hand for a moment.

"I'm going to miss you Taylor, always."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She'd made the boys stay out in the open, for the time being, refusing to let them help her take care of Taylor's body.

It had been more than three days since she'd passed, and yet the woman had showed no signs of decay. There was still no pulse, she didn't so much as take a whisper of a breath, but her spirit was struggling, and there was something holding her wherever she was.

Railynn tried to ignore that, clearing out candles as she made her way over to get her ready to be buried.

But...she really could not have been prepared for what happened next.

------------

She fell. She had been falling for what felt like years, through light and sound, memories new and old. She had been holding her breath, like she was just beneath the surface of a great, vast ocean of light, and as she got closer to the surface, she seemed to fall faster, until her heart pounded in her chest, and her body screamed for relief.

Her physical body suddenly gasped, her eyes flying open as her body convulsed once. Railynn stumbled back, screaming in panic and sheer terror. Taylor was thrashing, clawing at the mattress, struggling to sit up as she erratically moved, and upon hearing Railynn, she screamed too.

It felt wonderful, so she screamed again.

But her movement was still out of her control. She nearly fell off the bed, and that was when Railynn lurched forward, grabbing her by the shoulders as they both fell hard to the ground.

"Taylor!" Railynn cried. "Taylor it's okay! Look at me!"

But she wouldn't. Taylor's chest heaved as she clung to Railynn's arm hard enough to draw blood with her nails, and the young girl simply held her, face white with panic, as she waited for the others to come down to see what had happened.

Lark was waiting outside as he'd been told, waiting for what, he didn't know. What was the point of waiting around, she was gone wasn't she? That wasn't going to change.

But, he didn't feel like doing much of anything anyway so he tried to keep his head down for now, passing the time by tossing small stones into the forest.

The screams however, made Lark's head turn quickly, glancing at Duke for a moment for confirmation.

"That...wasn't just one scream."

Duke's eyes had twitched open wide as he faced Lark. "No," he said, "It wasn't."

He bolted in the direction of the screams, trying to get to their source as fast as he could. He did not look back for Lark. Once more, the boy simply did not matter.

"Taylor!" he cried. He knew it had been her. He could recognise that voice anywhere. He whipped down the stairs, smashing into the wall as it took a sudden turn. He did not stop, however. With a small groan, he continued forward.

Lark followed after Duke , not trying to bother with passing him. When he saw the bigger man smack into a wall, Lark lost his battle with the self satisfied smile that snuck onto his face.

Oh well, he'd play it off as smiling because of what he hoped to find.

They both stormed down, Duke just a hair behind Lark, as they came into the room with Taylor and Railynn. Duke stopped right at the bottom of the stairs. His heart never beat so fast. "Taylor."

Railynn had the woman tucked against her chest, her eyes wide as she regarded the pair.

Taylor, at the sound of Duke's voice, lifted her head, her eyes wide, but with a strange depth to the grey hues. Her chest heaved, eyes burning as her throat thickened.

"Hey," she managed.

"Duke, or Lark, come here and take her. I gotta get her some water." Railynn hesitantly removed her arms from Taylor's grip, wincing slightly, but certainly not complaining.

Lark glanced at Duke for a moment, and then shrugged. "We both know who it should be."

No matter how much he wanted to, right now, he had to contain himself. He turned to Taylor, his smile as big as ever.

"I'm glad to see you're ok, I'll wait outside."

And, reluctantly, Lark stepped back out of the room and shoved his hands in his pockets, whistling a small tune. Before he was able to leave, however, a hand clenched around his arm, dragging him back and shoving him forward toward Taylor. Duke's expression was forcefully flat.

"Ladies first." he told Lark.

"Erm...if you insist?"

He was very confused but...hey, he'd already offered; if this is what Duke wanted, then he sure as hell wasn't going to say no.

Lark took a knee beside Taylor and offered her a hand up. "Hey. How you feeling?"

Their words sounded like cotton in her ears. She was still shaking, and her hand as it reached for his didn't quite make the mark. Motor skills were struggling to put themselves together. She managed to grab his hand tightly, her lips parting as her brow furrowed in concentration.

Her goddamned legs wouldn't move right.

"I'm not dead." she croaked, dragging one leg forward to plant her foot on the ground. She stood, but almost immediately her knees gave out, falling against his chest.

"...think I'm broken..."

Lark laughed as he held Taylor, helping her to take a seat on the nearby cot.

"Well, broken beats what we thought you were. You really had us worried." He glanced back at Duke for a second. "All of us."

When he had her seated, Lark sat next to her. "You know Taylor, you really have a way for making friends with some....spectacular people."

Duke stood beside her bed, his arms crossed. He listened to them talk and kept his eyes on Taylor. Not once did they leave her. He narrowed those eyes, however, noting her condition. One could say he might have been worried. Other people, who had not known him, would say he was angry. Seething. But perhaps that was his way of caring. For now, however, and most times, he had nothing to say.

Taylor was hunched, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. She didn't look at Lark, and she didn't look at Duke. Frustration made her eyes burn as her brow furrowed, occasionally twitching as her nerves violently reawoke.

"How long." she demanded.

"Days," he finally responded. "Days dead."

That was easy to say. The sudden roughness, the rudeness of the word. It was, for some reason, easier than giving sentiment. Perhaps it was a habit from his days with Luli.

Taylor felt a slight wave of disorientation. She shivered, lifting a hand to her forehead and pushing her hair back away from her face. Strange. She felt out of her element.

She'd really been dead.

Railynn appeared not a moment after, approaching Taylor directly before pressing a steaming mug into her hands.

"What is this?" the woman asked, eyeing the deceptively clear fluid. Railynn helped it to her mouth.

"Helps the shaking." she insisted. Taylor swallowed, noting the slightly earthy taste...and the near-instant effect it had on calming her nerves. She took another swallow of it, then passed it back to Railynn, who stood and took a step back, watching the three with doe-like eyes.

Taylor reached a hand out, almost shyly glancing to Duke before she rested her hand on top of his stone arm. Her fingertips brushed the rough, but durable surface, and she sighed.

"I want to go outside."

"Alright," said Duke, reaching up to take her wrist and help her stand, if she could. He began to lean away, pulling at her so that she could gain some leverage. His eyes flickered up to Lark for only a moment before coming right back to Taylor.

He could not say he liked Lark, exactly, but using him to ask all the important questions and give the sentiment was certainly helpful.

Lark watched as the pair left and shook his head with a slight smirk.

"I guess this is what they call being the third wheel?" He sighed, giving Railynn his attention.

"I'd ask what you did to bring her back but, frankly I doubt I'd understand. So, I'll just say thank you and leave it at that."

Railynn was still pale, looking distinctly uncomfortable as she ran her hand over her forearms. The blood had clotted, but it had smeared against her skin, and looked pretty nasty.

"That's...the thing. I didn't do anything." she said, with a slight quaver in her tone. "But...if it's easier I'll just accept your thanks and move on."

She swallowed, rubbing her face with her opposite hand. She looked distinctly ruffled.

"I...need tea. Um. You wanna come with? Or follow them? It's up to you."

"Tea sounds amazing right now." Lark sighed once more, the relief of worry and grief brought it's own unique exhaustion, but a welcome one.

He placed his hands on a knees for a quick moment and rose to his feet, taking a pause to stretch his back.

"Lead the way then."

-----------------------------------------------------

Her movements were smooth, well practiced as she moved about her small kitchen, pulling out various tea bags and a couple of porcelain mugs for them to drink from.

"I'm happy for you." she admitted, pouring hot water over the tea leaves before setting the tin pot off to the side. She braced both of her hands on the counter, hanging her head for a moment before she looked sideways at him.

"But I can't help but feel incredibly...empathetic to your plight too." Flushing slightly, she bit her lip, shook her head, and slid the mug closer to him.

"Thank you." Lark nodded to her as he picked up the cup of tea, the warmth in his hands feeling oddly pleasant. As he blew on the steaming liquid, he observed her curious eyes, not having the opportunity to do so before.

"I have to ask what specific plight you're referring too, I don't know if Taylor's told you, but I seem to be....well in not so fluttery words, a shit magnet....err, no, that's a bit too crude. Let's just say a lot of things seem to be going wrong that I have to take care of."

"Loving her is a plight. I could say I know from personal experience, but my love for her is a little different."

She almost laughed. Almost.

"That poor girl. It's a health hazard to love her." She glanced sideways, lifting a hand and scratching at the side of her nose.

"Drink your tea."

Lark did as he was told and watched her with a slightly narrowed brow. What was she insinuating?

He felt himself remembering the words Luli had accused him with. That assumption she'd made when he questioned her in the forest.

Was this girl saying the same?

It bugged him to no end.

"Well," Lark said as he took a pause from his drink. "Aside from looking after her, I've got my hands full with handiling some debt problems someone I care about has."

That time, she did giggle. "Even going that far. I had to teach myself early on to just let her be. She's going to do whatever she wants regardless of the circumstance, even at the insistance of her friends." She looked towards him, meeting his eyes with a kind, gentle smile.

"But it's good that you're there for her. She could use all the support she can get. Stupid, stubborn ranger."

She sipped her tea, inhaling through her nose as she did so. It had a calming effect, seeped right into her bones.

"She appreciates you, too. Thought you should know."


"I would certainly hope so. I was out of commision for two months as a result of looking after that woman..." Lark smiled, feigning arrogance.

"But you're definitely right about being stubborn, I didn't even have a clue what was going on until I stumbled upon Duke, sitting in a hole. You'd think after everything she'd trust me a bit more, that girl."

He sighed. "But, that's what makes her her. She really is something else."

As he brought the mug to his lips, Lark looked down at the ground as he rested in his thoughts for a moment, his memories of the time he'd spent with Taylor.

"I'll never regret any of it though." He smiled once more.

Railynn paused to think about that.

"Taylor's very linear in her thinking." she noted. "So, it wouldn't occur to her to explain the entirety of a situation unless it pertained directly to that, specific moment in time. I don't know that her lack of ... expression is so much an issue of trust as it is an issue of simply being forgetful." she grinned so wide that her eyes crinkled at the corners.

"Besides...she has this innate fear that those she gets close to end up getting hurt." She looked to Lark's arm.

"Did you know she blames herself for your injury?"

"Yeah, I figured as much, the same way I blame myself for what happened more recently. The only difference being that was actually my fault, I had the power and the opportunity to prevent it from happening...and I let my morals get the best of me."

He sipped from the mug once more as he looked away from Railynn.

"Now Luli is running around out there, planning something else most likely. Probably going to target Duke, now that she thinks Taylor is gone."

"No."

Railynn's voice was firm. "No, Luli knows that Taylor isnt' gone. She's the one who gave her the potion in the first place." Licking her lower lip, Railynn set the mug down before turning to look at Lark.

"There was something I wasn't completely honest with you about before, mostly because I didn't have any idea of how to make sense of it to you." she broke off, her brow furrowing as she looked away and thought.

"Taylor was still there...her spirit was, anchored to the body. Physically she was dead, yes, but there was something that was keeping her bound to the physical world. I...did some research, and I found there was a potion meant to do just that. The Rebound effect."

She glanced to Lark.

"Luli knows that Taylor is alive. The real question now, is why pull the stunt in the fi--"

Railynn went rigid, one hand flying out to clutch the counter. She upset the tea-cup, sending it crashing to the floor as the girl stumbled back a step, before regaining her balance and turning to sprint for the front door.

"Oh no no no no no, Taylor!"


Lark blinked for a moment, confused at the sudden change of pace things were going. He had no clue what Railynn was freaking out about because he'd been so distracted by their conversation.

But he did know to follow after her.

She didn't see them anywhere. Duke was gone. Taylor was gone. But she'd felt it, right in the core of her chest, the sense of distinct anguish that was felt through the link she had with all of her 'students'.

Something was wrong.

Trotting into the woods, Railynn looked all around, noting the broken twigs, the churned earth, the signs of struggle. It wasn't until she stepped in the first big puddle that she realized what happened.

Her shoe came away smeared with blood, and when she looked at the ground, she saw a trail. Her heart sank.

"Lark," she said weakly, before beginning to walk forward at a quick clip.

Lark followed silently, looking around as he tried to guess what had happened. Again he felt his stomach turn into a pit, and he could only feel himself praying that...well..praying for anything really.

"Do you know what happened here?" He asked quietly as he carefully stepped after her.

"I have an idea." she replied, shuddering at the dampness she felt on the sole of her foot.

"I just hope I'm wrong."

Something whistled out of the trees as she spoke, moving almost silently through the air. Two thick strands of rope, with weights fixed to the ends, propelled through the air, one wrapped Railynn's knees, knocking her off-balance, and the other aimed for Lark's legs in a similar fashion. Railynn immediately reached for the knife at her belt, cutting through the rope, and scrambled back to her feet.

A figure stood opposite them, cloak concealing his form, with a wide-brimmed metal hat obscuring his face.

Lark tried to avoid the incoming projectile, but it had caught one of his legs and knocked him off balance, sending him rolling into the dirt. He quickly tried to get to his feet, and Railynn would hear the audible scrapping of metal as the two thin blades popped out of the housing mechanism on his wrist.

He watched the figure carefully but didn't say a sound, instead he clicked his tongue off the back of his teeth repeatedly, preparing for anything he could.

The figure didn't move an inch. Railynn clutched her small knife tightly in her hand, dirty and ruffled from the fall. She shifted her weight from one foot to another, chancing a step sideways, and still the figure did nothing.

She took another step, and then another

The ground came up to meet her, and not in a way that she expected. A physical fist had formed, knocking her square in the chest and sending her sprawling on her back. Her breath left her in a huff.

And still as stone the figure stood.

Lark watched observantly for a moment as he took a slight step to the side.

"Well, what if I'm not trying to pass?" He asked, trying to avoid getting into a fight that could wind up hurting Railynn or himself...he had a particular dislike for people who could manipulate the earth itself.

"Can I just, stand in front of you?"

Railynn rolled to one side, rubbing at the spot where the fist of dirt had smacked into her. The figure ahead of them didn't acknowledge Lark with a word or a movement. He just stood quietly, waiting for one or both of them to try something.

"He's holding us up." Railynn realized out loud. She looked towards the open space, the trail of blood.

"Doesn't want us to find her..."

She leveled an accusing glare at the man. "Where is she?!"

And then, the sudden, violent, anguished roar, and the ground trembled so hard that even the assassin stumbled, nearly falling on his rear. Railynn leaped to her feet, grabbed Lark's hand, and took off at a sprint.


Lark cringed at the sudden burst of sound, looking like something had physically struck him. He had to blink and repeatedly open and close his mouth just to try and stop the ringing. He was very sensitive to sounds, a side effect of his abilities.

The roar left him slightly dazed as Railynn took hold of him. Lark kept pace with her simply because she seemed to know what she was doing.


They would run into a familiar blonde. He had been running, that was evident enough, with sweat rolling down his brow and his chest heaving as though he had been running for miles. He looked between them, yelling, "What happened? Where's Taylor!?"

He reached for the lone knife he had not lost during the fight days previously. He had more than just that as a weapon, however. He was unafraid.

Something rumbled behind them, and up ahead, a pillar of fire rose high into the sky, like a giant candle held against the afternoon backdrop.

"Something tells me that's going to answer a lot of our questions!" Railynn shouted back, letting go of Lark's hand so she could fumble with something on her hip.

The trio rounded a bend in the path, only to find themselves blocked with the mutilated corpse of Taylor's dragon. Nocta's head had been cut clean from the neck, leaving a massive pool of blood that stained the earth.

Railynn was white-faced, and her breath came in short, pained gasps. Behind them, the rumbling started again, closer than before. She took a deep breath.

"Both of you. Go ahead. I'll hold this guy off."

"Now hold on, this isn't the time for blind heroics. You're the only one who seems to have a clue where to find her. It doesn't make sense for you to be the one who stays behind."

He glanced from Duke to Nocta, back to Railynn.

"I can do it."

Railynn's grin was fierce, if not pained.

"These are my woods, Lark. I'm anything but blind."

A violent wind picked up, causing the trees to shift, bend nearly at a ninety degree angle. They thrashed, angrily, branches whipping violently back and forth.

Railynn pointed. "Duke knows where to go. Follow him. And don't look behind, got it?"

The look in her eye said she wasn't going to be argued with.

Duke was already leaving them, too. He hardly cared. He had only half a heart to care now.

Lark took one last glance at Railynn before letting out a heavy sigh and chasing after Duke.

"One fucking thing after another..." He grumbled.

The scene that the two eventually came upon was nothing if not a small warzone.

Areas had been churned, others blown to bits, and only half of the warriors who had originally assembled for her capture were still left standing. Off in the distance, a portal stood wide open and ready. Taylor had her back to it, hiding behind the broad width of a massive tree.

They seemed to be attempting to herd her into it.

At an even further distance, Suri sat pleasantly, watching the skirmish with her mask still fixed in place. Taylor had her bow, and her magic arrows, but she was beginning to run low, and at this point, the battle had come to somewhat of a standstill.

The moment she saw Duke, however, her face turned white.

"Oh perfect!" Suri called from the back. "Just who I needed to see!"

Duke's face reddened in anger. Without thinking beforehand about what he should do, the man shot forth, holding the dagger in his flesh hand. He had an obvious limp with the stone leg, but with such furious determination, it did nothing to stop him. He did not trip, did not stumble. He just ran. Briefly, he gave Lark a glance.

It was telling him to act. Now.

Lark hesitated a moment as he surveyed the situation. He took a moment to consider his options, watching as Duke took no such precautions and charged headlong right in.

He would leave Duke to his ways.

Lark took up a small stance, holding his arms out in front of him. As he pulled one arm back, he let loose a long, quiet whistle. Taylor might've recognized his pose, for it resembled the act of drawing a bow.

After he acquired his target, Lark's whistle suddenly turned sharp and quick, and he released the invisible arrow, sending a bolt of directed sonic energy screeching through the air at the group of assassins.

And almost as soon as he'd fired, Lark was already preparing another shot.

It was like Duke's spontaneous action started off a chain reaction. Multiple arms of packed soil came rocketing towards him, but without any kind of coordination, they ended up smashing into one another, destroying the attack as a whole.

Taylor immediately turned, stringing an arrow and rapidly firing it towards Suri, who, not expecting the attack, took the arrow to the chest. It exploded, violently, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

The other geomancers were unable to get out of the way of Lark's sonic arrows, and, like a knife through warm butter, their upper bodies were destroyed in various, grotesque fashions. Many of them collapsed, while the others who remained alive began to scatter.

Taylor was busy staring towards the dust heap that used to be Suri, when she felt a violent blow from behind that sent her sprawling.

And there that old witch was, a cane in hand as she stared with narrowed eyes as Taylor rolled to her side to look up at the woman. Suri stood over her, clearly unharmed, and looked for Duke.

"Ah, yes, so dutiful for you to come to her rescue. And you brought a friend!"

"I don't have friends," he replied, coming up behind Suri with a deadly swiftness, raising the knife in a reverse grip as he tried to stab the woman several times, quickly, in the back. A growl of frustration left him as he went in for the kill.

She arched, hissing in a breath as the tip of the knife poked through to her chest on a number of different occasions. Taylor scrambled back, wiping the flecks from her face as she stared at Duke's hand with wide eyes.

But, even while he continued to gore her to death, she laughed, the sound punctuated by his blows.

She turned suddenly, spitting blood in his eye before she snatched the knife right out of his hand, and swung down, stabbing the man in the chest.

Taylor barely had time to cry out his name before she heard it...the sound of metal slamming against stone.

The sound of stone cracking.

"Oh ho ho how silly of me." Suri said, winding up again. "Wrong side."

Lark paused from firing volley after volley of his sonic bolts at the many geomancers that were running for cover. In a brief moment he changed his target only for a second to fire once towards the others, aiming for the back of Suri's head.

And not a second later, the young man was back to suppressing the other enemies, not wanting to get held up or distracted. He would leave Taylor to Duke, but there was other work that needed to be done.

Poor, poor Duke.

Her head erupted from back to front, every bit of her ugly face spraying all over the man's chest. The knife dropped from her hand, and her body crumpled, dissolving into dust just as Railynn came stumbling into the clearing, clutching a bleeding arm. Spying the portal, she immediately raced for it, planning to tear it down herself.

"Nnng..." Duke stumbled backward, fingers touching at the blood spewed on his chest, some on his neck and cheek. He was disgusted for a short time, however. His eyes immediately came right back up to Taylor. He walked towards her, picking up the knife on his way. His footsteps were heavy.

The geomancers had long since cleared out. Taylor seemed to be in a bit of a daze, her hand coming up as Duke approached to touch the spot where the woman had nearly stabbed him to death.

Something shifted beneath her fingertips. Furrowing her brow, she moved his tunic to the side, uncaring of the blood smeared on his chest, and watched as a piece of stone, like a shell, fell away, revealing healthy, human flesh.

"We got lucky there," she murmured, her voice thick.

"Watch your back!" Railynn shouted. Yet, if the pair would have a chance to turn, Suri would be there, and then suddenly not. Her scream was cut short as Railynn destroyed the portal.

Everything was eerily silent. Taylor paused, her eyes still on Duke's chest, before she reached to grasp his flesh shoulder in a firm grip. Her hand was shaking.

Duke was speechless. Well...he was more at a loss for words than he had been before. His hand came to grip around Taylor's wrist, now, to steady her as he watched the portal disperse, then as Suri, too, disappeared. He had questions. For the first time in a long time, he had so many questions.

"What's she after?" he asked Railynn. "Where does the portal go?" He looked to Lark briefly, biting his tongue, then looked back to Railynn. "Where did she go? Where is Luli?"

Lark jogged over to join the others, his brow covered in sweat and his face looking noticeably drained. He looked to Taylor first, giving her a small smile, either to try and calm her or himself down. After which he glanced at Railynn noticing her injuries.

"Standing around here asking questions isn't safe." Lark said, trying to be stern. "We should get back and collect ourselves."

Taylor pulled back, resting her hand against Duke's fingers so she could gently remove herself from his grip, and then, turning to Lark, she put her arms around his neck, hugging him rather fiercely as Railynn slowly made her way over. She looked exhausted, and there was a somewhat hollow look in her eyes.

"Lark's got a point." she said, glancing to Taylor before turning her back to the three of them. She drew her hand down straight in front of her, and then across, watching as a doorway opened before them all.

"This'll save us a long walk. Come on."

And then, without hesitating, she walked right through and disappeared on the other side.

Taylor pulled back, dropping her arms before giving Lark a strained smile.

"Thank you." she whispered, before looking to the portal. She trusted Railynn, so it was not an issue for her to start for the doorway.

Lark stood for a moment and watched as the two girls entered the portal without hesitation. He felt tempted to breathe a sigh of relief, but knowing how things were with them, he knew it would be premature.

So instead he just sighed, tired from exerting himself so much. It was one of the reasons he hated using his abilities.

He glanced to Duke as he put his hands on his hips.

"Well? Ladies first." He smirked, daring to try humor.

Duke's glare was so cold that it would have frozen the sun in a block of ice.

But, for once, he could let it go. He raised his cursed arm to give Lark a light blow to the shoulder before grunting a brief, "Thanks." Then, a pause. "For saving me." before hurrying off.

Into the portal they went.

----

Taylor's legs were beginning to function as they were meant to, though, she still leaned heavily against Duke's arm as they made their way to the outside.

The moment they were a short distance from the door, she squeezed his hand, slipping her fingers out of his and letting herself just...fall to the ground. She closed her eyes, breathing deep, and let the sunlight soak into her skin.

"I can't get warm." she muttered, furrowing her brow. "Spirits the sun can't even touch me."

Duke watched her go down with a raised brow. "Cold?" he asked, slipping his hands into his pockets. He sat right next to her, looking out over the horizon. "What happened?"

He had to know. He had passed out all those days before and could not make out exactly what had gone on, nor did he have the nerve to ask Lark.

She shivered, curling up on herself and turning to her side, so that her forehead was pressed against the outside of his thigh. It was like she desperately wanted the comfort of contact, but something held her back from doing it herself.

"She dragged me out from under you." she said quietly. "Before I knew...she forced something down my throat, and I could feel everything slowing down.

"Then it was just dark. I felt like I was floating in nothing."

Her throat thickened.

"I was terrified."

The blonde man sighed, briefly looking at her before carrying that gaze back out to the landscape. His hands curled into the grass, but, once more, he hardly said a word. His thoughts, however, swirled. What had that potion been, that Luli had given her? Surely, it could not have been the one he now suspected. Or...or was it?

And why? Why would Luli do that? What purpose did it serve her? She knew fully well it would not kill her. It would not do to just give them grief, either. She had other reasons. Reasons she always kept to herself.

Her eyes opened, staring at the fabric on his leg. She pursed her lips, grimacing slightly as she began to feel the ache start in her muscles.

"You know what she gave me." she murmured.

"No," he lied, never daring to look at her. Even so, she had come to know him well enough- somehow!- to tell. Even then, he put forth the effort, because he could not be so sure himself. So many things were going wrong. Luli was supposed to be the villain, here. No one else.

So why was she not acting her part?

Gritting her teeth, Taylor pulled her head back, folding her arms closer to her chest before she pushed herself back, sitting on her heels and somewhat facing him, with her knee touching his. She looked small, strangly thin and bedraggled, as though she'd been through hell and back.

To an extent, she had been.

"Look at me and say that again." she said sternly, with the slightest hint of anger. Hard to believe that he'd still try to lie to her, but it was Duke, and the man was nothing if not set in his ways.

His eyes narrowed as he thought. "I don't know." he answered after a long, thoughtful pause. "What happened after?" he then asked. If she told him exactly what had happened, then he would be able to make sure.

Taylor's face fell, her eyes widening slightly. The look was hollow, strange, and the fact that she contemplated lying was written all over her face. She lifted a hand, pushing her short hair away from her odd, smooth cheeks. An alien face, something that didn't belong to her.

"I think it was Sozo." she murmured. "Two moons, a lavender sky...and there were people there. Two others."

She seemed hesitant to say who.

"Sozo..." he muttered. It felt so strange, speaking the word. It had been years since he had even brought his thoughts to the wretched place. "Field? Light?" he asked. "Who were the other two? Did you know them?"

His questions came slowly, but immediately one after the other.

Why was her heart pounding?

"I...didn't recognize them. Not at first." She was fighting it, fighting something. She didn't want to tell him, only because she wanted to protect him.

But Duke was a man who didn't need protecting.

"Nura." she said, finally, her chest seizing as she nervously awaited his reaction. "Nura and Melanie."

It was there, in her eyes, the recognition. He would know that she knew the significance.

Duke turned to look at her, confusion reflected in his expression. "Your mother?" he asked. She had never told him her name before. "Family?"

His brow wrinkled deeply. Melanie. He knew that name. He mouthed it, looking to the sky.

Melanie. Melanie.

"Not mine." she replied, her voice a murmur.

"Yours."

-----------------------------------------

Duke had long since fled into the woods after the news Taylor had given him. His mind whirled, and all semblance of sense and control gone as he tore down the woods.

That was not possible. Luli had said...she had said! They had passed well on a long time ago! They could not exist in that world. Then why? Why. Why!

As he came out onto the Bluff, nearly toppling over the edge, he skidded to a stop, realization sweeping over him. Of course. Of course that was why. It was in motion for years, this plan. She had picked out every moment carefully, knowing that it would eventually come to this.

Luli was diabolical. Much more terrifying than he had known.

His thoughts would be interrupted by a horrid, agonizing, animalistic roar of pain. An incoherent cry of outrage, obviously female, soon followed, and the ground rumbled with the aftermath of a distant explosion.

In the aftermath of Duke's sudden exit, Taylor had gone away with Nocta and her weapons to practice in the woods, take her mind off of things, but what she'd ended up getting herself into was far more than she'd bargained for.

They'd come on so suddenly, attacking Nocta first, taking the poor thing down without any regard. It was simple, painfully simple, and Taylor could only watch as her precious creature was slain right before her eyes.

So she's shouted out of pain and anger, fitting an arrow to her bow and launching it into the crowd of assassins before turning and running into the woods. Away from Railynn and the others.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This called for a very special kind of tea.

Railynn had waited for everyone to have a chance to clean up, using the opportunity to bandage up her arm and brew the tea, before bringing everything out into the front room, where she'd arranged for the floor and its soft carpeting to be cleared in case anyone wanted to sit. Taylor had already chosen her spot, and had sat, legs folded, silent since the moment she'd put herself there.

She was staring at the ground, her hands knitted together, eyes distant as she thought of other things. Without asking, Railynn put a mug into her hands, which the woman held without drinking.

"Ok. One at a time. Questions." she stated, looking to Duke. "I'll answer what I know."

Lark just sat and leaned against the wall, his head pressed against it and his legs extended in front of him as he tried to relax, holding the cup of tea in his lap.

Honestly it looked like he was about to doze off.

Duke? Duke's elbows were on his knees, his eyes dead on Railynn. The spot where the rock had fallen away continued to crack and crumble with every movement. He would address it later. He had two questions. Two that he needed answered.

"Where's Luli?" he asked. "And does she have anything to do with any of this?"

Railynn's brow furrowed.

"As to the first question, I can't give a definite answer, but I can say that she's nowhere near here. You guys won't be bothered by her for some time. Lark frightens her." She glanced to the half-conscious man who sat against the wall.

"So, you can take some respite in that. As to the second question..." She sighed, folding her legs and hanging onto her mug before taking a sip.

"I don't know why you'd think I would know that, Duke, but there are circumstances that
lead me to believe that she isn--"

"She doesn't know Suri."

Railynn paused to look at Taylor.

The woman lifted her head, but didn't look at anyone. "When...I was with her, and we met Suri for the first time, it was implied that they might be working together, but Luli had never met the other before. She kept quizzing me about her."

Her brow furrowed. "Luli hates her."

Railynn glanced to Duke.

"I can vouch on that." Lark said, not moving an inch.

"When I met suri for the first time in Gambits, she told me a lot of things to manipulate me. Unfortunately I believed her somewhat, I had to get proof of whether or not she was telling the truth. So I hunted down Luli and questioned her. When I mentioned the name, she seemed to shut down on me and left in a hurry."

"She's not afraid of him," said Duke. "You know where she is. You don't know who she is." He glanced at all of them. "None of you know who she is."

He might have been right. After all, he had nearly fifteen years with the girl. Fifteen years to know everything he could about her, though much of what she was about remained a mystery. "She's wary, but she does not feel fear. Probably thinking of another way to make us suffer more. She doesn't want to kill us. That was never her goal."

"What is it then, Duke?" Taylor lifted her head, her eyes glinting.

"Since we're suddenly in a sharing mood."

There was a moment of silence, and the look faded. She looked away from Duke, and set her untouched tea off to the side. Without another word, the woman rose, and stepped out of the room, heading towards the bedrooms.

Lark was silent.

Railynn didn't quite know what to say, not at first.

"I...don't know her precise location, but I haven't asked. I could, but we all know that she'd be moving quickly too. It's any man's best guess where she'd end up."

She paused again. "But...are you sure she's the one you need to worry about right now?"

Duke watched Taylor leave, confused about her sudden departure. He continued, however, brushing it off. "She was injured." he said. "Jumped off the mountain. Could still be there." He had been wanting to go back anyway. For his glaive.

"Luli is my problem. If she's not stopped, she'll only add to all of yours. I'll go alone." he told them.

Railynn's lips pursed for a moment. "How long do you intend to be gone?"

"Go with him." Lark said, breaking his silence. "We shouldn't be separating ourselves right now, that's how we wound up in that last position, and now Taylor's dragon is dead, and almost worst happened."

He picked his head up off the wall and looked at Duke.

"I can look after her here. You take Railynn and conduct your search." He then turned to Railynn. "If you find anything...have one of your dragons roar or something, anything that will make a loud noise, I'll be listening."

"No." he said quickly, snapping. "I'll go alone. She'll be a burden." He stared between them both, then at the door, where Taylor had disappeared. Everyone would be a burden. "I can find her eventually. It never fails we should find each other. She's looking to find me, too."

He knew it. Something about the way she had looked at him the last time. The adoration in her eyes. What had that been there for?

"And you're going to leave me with the irate Ranger?" Railynn said, her face puckering. "No thanks. Besides, if you really think that any of us are going to keep her from find--"

"You're leaving?"

Nobody had noticed her walk back into the room.

But her eyes were for Duke, demanding his attention.

Lark replaced his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Just trying to make himself invisible.

Duke looked up to her rather fearlessly. Was that regret dancing in the icy blue wasteland?

"Yes," he told her, getting up. "Soon."

He walked outside rather suddenly.

Taylor's cheeks flushed.

"Don't follow me." she growled as she stalked out of the room.

"No problem there." Railynn replied as she let her head thunk onto the floor with a sideways roll.

"You know, one of us should probably follow him." Lark sighed, not wanting to move. "I would really hate to have to go through all of that again."

"I got it handled." Railynn reassured him.

"Luli decided to be a scheming bitch on the wrong planet."

"Do you really think she's afraid of me?" Lark laughed. "Or did you just say that to piss him off?"

"I may be a woman," Railynn replied cheekily. "But I'm no liar." She fell silent for a few moments, looking towards the door. "She knows you're powerful. She wants to avoid you. Whether it be fear, healthy concern, or wariness, it all stems from the same survival instinct, one that you threaten."

"Well." Lark chuckled. "I'm flattered"

"That you have the power to kill?"

Railynn gazed at him with a look that was both soft, yet drilling. "You shouldn't be."

"Well, I'm more glad I can act as a repellent of some sort." Lark sighed. "I know it's naive, I know I can't always be there to protect her. But at least now I know I'm not powerless."

He sighed again. "I don't know who I should be more worried about, Luli or Suri?"

"They're two sides of the same coin." Railynn said tiredly. "Really, one is not any worse or better than the other. Those two are in trouble, together and apart. There really won't be any kind of relief for them while those women are out there."

"One thing after the other hmm?" Lark yawned, turning his head slightly to lay his eyes on her.

"If Taylor were truborn Terran, she probably wouldn't have this problem. But she isn't. She's only lived here for most of her life."

Her brow furrowed. "But, in truth, she's from Sozo, Duke and Luli's planet. Which is the same place Suri has been trying to drag her to for the last few weeks."

"Well, that's interesting. So Suri wasn't lying about that."

Railynn glanced over to him. "No. No, she isn't from here at all. She'll tell you, too. She did not go to Terra's afterlife, but to Sozo's."

Railynn just knew.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Before Duke would get too far, Taylor jogged after him outside, seizing his arm and all but throwing him around to face her.

"What the hell do you think going out on your own is going to accomplish?!" she seethed. "After everything that just happened!"

He did nto stop for her, and continued down into the woods, looking around. "I can handle it." he said, searching for something specific. He searched every tree. "Things are different."

"Different in what way, Duke? There seems to be a lot of things going on that I don't know about. Too many things, and since the threat against our lives has become mutually exclusive, I'm starting to wonder if it isn't high time I'm allowed privvy to some of these things."

She stopped, watching him for a moment.

"What are you looking for?"

He did not answer her. Not for a long moment. His eyes focused on something, and he walked up to it. A large tree, the trunk at least five feet wide. Sturdy. Powerful.

He placed the cursed hand upon it, gazing at the crack and the crumbling space where flesh was revealed.

With a defiant roar, he curled the cursed hand into a fist, drew it back, and, with all his might, slammed it into the tree. Several cracks registered. Stone fell away in lumps.

He stood back, looking at the damage he'd done. "This is why things are different." he announced proudly.

Taylor watched him for a moment, before quietly approaching, clenching her jaw against all the things she wanted to say. Without waiting for his permission, she reached for his tunic, pulling it slightly to the side, and tentatively peeled away some of the stone with her bare fingers.

It wasn't hard, sort of like peeling away cracked eggshell. He'd done most of the work himself.

She bared that patch of skin over his chest, over where his heart lay, and pressed her palm flat to the skin.

"Knew you had one in there the whole time." she murmured.

Oddly, the beating was weak. It became even weaker as more stone was pulled off. Soon, it all but ceased, and Duke's face contorted. He came to his knees, using one hand to support himself.

And then he vomitted. Not stomach acids, not food, not water. Cement. Or what looked like cement, but was really melted stone. All his organs, which had also been covered in stone, were working against the spell, throwing it all into his stomach and up his throat.

-----------

Luli was on the forest floor, fingers grasping at the earth. A pile of stone lay next to a large boulder several feet away. Into the loam, liquid stone sank.

"So...it starts."

-----------

"Hey! Duke, easy!" She reached, grasping his shoulder, uncaring of the mess he made as she watched him empty the contents of what was, at one point, a useless stomach. Attempting to comfort, but knowing it probably wasn't doing much, she squeezed his shoulder, wondering if there was anything more she could do that didn't involve sitting idly by.

"I'm so sorry..."

There was very little that Railynn could do for the nausea. That was going to stay no matter what she did, but the lavender would help calm him, help to ease the process.

"Where did Luli find the means to enslave you?" she asked, keeping her tone practical. "Was it someone, or something?"

He shook his head. "Too...t-too...long ago..." Duke managed to choke, leaning over to empty more cement from his stomach. Oh! Spirits, he could feel it. The stone breaking off from his organs and being absorbed into his digestive track, somehow liquifying and immediately being rejected. Like someone had put a vacuum inside of his organs. It made his head whirl and his eyes loll in his head.

"Remember to breathe." Railynn stood for a moment before scurrying from the room, returning with cotton towels soaked in cool water and lavender oil. Squeezing out the excess, she smoothed it over his forehead, her brow furrowing in concentration.

"Whether you like it or not, you won't be able to function until you've cleared the curse." She hesitated.

"Is she going through this too? Luli?"

Duke managed a nod, though he could not be sure. He had never gotten this far before. Never been so close.

It was then he realized how far he really had come, even in his sickness. He wasn't the only one who had achieved that freedom, however. If it had not been for one other person, he would still be in Luli's collar.

Or dead. Or very, very dead.

There was very little that Railynn could do for the nausea. That was going to stay no matter what she did, but the lavender would help calm him, help to ease the process.

"Where did Luli find the means to enslave you?" she asked, keeping her tone practical. "Was it someone, or something?"

He shook his head. He did not know how she had gotten it, or if it had been a person or her own doing. It had been something she hid from him all too well in years past. He wiped his neck, slick with sweat, and heaved once more. It was going to be a long night.

"She never told you." she guessed, pursing her lips as she held the bucket up for him to heave in. "She didn't seem to know that Suri was involved in all of this too, so maybe someone's keeping something from her too."

She handed him a clean cloth to wipe his mouth.

"If she doesn't want to kill you and Taylor, then what is she trying to accomplish?"

After he was able to catch his breath, his head shook again. It was not the first time the often strong, stoic individual found himself in a pathetic mess. His tanned skin had gone pale, he shook, he could barely breathe. He was much in the same state when he and Taylor had first met. He could not believe he had escaped Luli for even that amount of time for that to happen. It had seemed impossible.

Wait...

"...suffering." he mumbled between breaths. "Wants us...to...suffer."

Railynn's eyes narrowed.

"She didn't know Taylor." she said quietly. "Did she just...zero in her focus because of Taylor's interest in you? Because she helped you?" Because she thwarted Luli's efforts for control?

"Do you wonder if there isn't something more going on here than the childish intent to make you both hurt?"

He did not want to wonder what was in Luli's head. He knew what he wanted with her, and nothing else mattered. Once more, he shook his head. "Evil," he told her. Nothing else needed to be communicated. That one word summed it all up.

"You still plan on leaving when all of this is done?" she gestured to the bucket. "I just...don't know that the two of you should separate."

Her lips pursed faintly. "You're stronger together."

He nodded his head, not to the second question, but to the first. Duke raised one weak hand, pointing to himself. "Mine," he said, grabbing the bucket harshly as cement, yet again, poured from his stomach. Despite the coming sickness, he could definitely feel his body becoming lighter, his organs starting to work again. No longer half dead, but soon completely alive. He could feel his heart beating, however weakly.

He spoke again."My burden."

His burden. And selfishly so.

"She'll follow you." Railynn said softly.

"Keep her here." he replied darkly.

"I dare you to try yourself." Railynn replied with an edge to her tone. "I may be a mage, but there is not a single force on Terra that's going to keep her from doing exactly as she likes." But her tone softened, and so did the look on her face.

"Because, when you care about people, you tend to do stupid things to ensure their safety."

He did not answer that time. He just let the sickness take him, let the curse flow from his body, and vomitted. His knuckles were white for his grip on the bucket. There was a distinct burning inside of his organs, as though they were on fire, or something much worse. He had figured out that it must have been so that the stone would melt. But that amount of heat...

"You'd need to leave secretly." Railynn suggested quietly, sighing in irritation. Something had to give. "Even if I think it's a stupid idea, the only way to get her to let you go is if she didn't know you were leaving in the first place."

She paused again. "What happens if you kill her?"

Duke wasn't so sure, but it "Doesn't matter," he said. He would figure that out after. Right now, all he had in his sights was his life's ambition. His mind ran through hundreds- no- thousands of ways he could bring the wretched girl down. She would die. In three days, the woman would be a cold, decaying corpse on the ground, and Duke would be the one smiling.

"You'll come back, though." Railynn said. "When it's over, if it all works out." She tried to meet his eyes. "You'll come back."

And again, no answer. Whether he did or not was not the concern.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours must have gone by, and the entire time, nobody else was allowed into the sickroom. It wasn't until morning had long since dawned that Railynn emerged from the room, looking thoroughly exhausted and spent. She'd stayed up the entire night with him, nursing him, trying to make him a little more comfortable as the curse ravaged his insides.

Better her, than Taylor. She honestly didn't think Taylor'd be able to sit through all of that without going crazy.

She came up Lark and Taylor, the latter of which was sleeping comfortably against Lark's shoulder. Railynn rubbed at her face for a moment before stepping over to Lark and gently touching his shoulder.

"He wants to talk to you." she murmured. "Alone."

Lark's eyes fluttered open, roused from a half sleeping state. As comfortable as he'd felt listening to the sound of Taylor's light and regular breathing, his nerves didn't let him enjoy the pelasures of a good solid rest.

As he woke he stared at Railynn, confused at what she said for a moment.

"Me?" It wasn't expected. He glanced at the girl who he did expect was going to be fetched, the one laying her head on his shoulder.

"Well, alright. will you take this one to her room then?"

"Sure thing."

Railynn touched Taylor's shoulder, regretting having to wake her, and watched as she stirred, lifting her head slightly, resting more comfortably against Lark...and then finally opening her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, tensing almost immediately. Her eyes found Railynn's. "Duke..."

"Is fine." Railynn soothed, unable to help the smile. "He had a shitty night, and he's going to have a few more shitty nights, but he's going to live. You need to sleep on a bed."

Taylor looked ready to argue, but Railynn was pulling her up, leading her off, and briefly glancing back to give Lark an encouraging smile.

Lark offered back a smile of his own and a small reassuring nod to Taylor as he watched as the girls left him alone.

With a heavy sigh, he got to his feet and trudged down the halls, wondering just what it could be Duke wanted to speak with him about.

Almost too soon for his liking, he found himself standing outside the man's door and with yet another sigh, knocked on it.

There was a pause, a shuffle, and a small groan that signaled that Lark should enter. Once he did, he would see Duke wiped out on the bed Railynn had helped him to. He looked absolutely pitiful. It almost looked as if he'd lost weight (which had happened with the absense of all the rock) and almost as pale as Lark. His lids droooped low over his eyes, and his clothes were wet with his own sweat. Liquid stone leaked out from he corner of his mouth.

He could hardly care.

Duke watched Lark for a long moment without a word, but eventually he was up to the task and began to speak. He beckoned to him, coughing. "Can't..." he began, looking around. "Where's...Taylor?"

"Sleeping." Lark said, trying to avoid staring at the mess that was Duke. "I mean, if you want her I can go get her."

Which would be odd...why wouldn't he just have called for her in the first place?

"But I take it that isn't what this is about?"

He shook his head, though he did so subtly enough to where one couldn't be sure if that was what he had done at all. "No. Out of earshot?" he asked. He pointed to lark weakly. "C'mere."

Lark hesitated for a moment, as much as he tried for Taylor's sake, he just could not bring himself to be comfortable around Duke. There was just something about him...probably the size difference.

But after a couple moments of awkward feeling silence, Lark finally built up the nerve to step closer to the other man.

"What's this about?"

Duke's eyes flickered to the door once more, and back to Lark. "M'going to leave," he told the other man, trying to shuffle to the edge of the bed. "In two days." Here, his eyes narrowed. "Taylor can't come."

"Ah." Lark nodded, placing his hands in his pockets. "So you've got the mind to go do something stupid, and you don't want Taylor to chase after you, which we both know she damn well is going to do. So, before I sign up to completely piss her off, and probably have her hate me, what is this thing you're going to do?"

He watched Lark with a hard gaze. "Kill Luli," he told him. "I'm going to end it. End everything."

"Mmm. I'm not surprised." Lark nodded some more before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "So, you realize how ridiculous that sounds don't you? Haven't you got it yet? It isn't just Luli we have to worry about, we have someone else who's trying to harm both you and Taylor. Suri. And she is someone that worries even Luli. Now, what concerns me, is that you're going to run off after Luli, you're going to find her, you're going to have your fight or big battle or whatever, and before you realize it, Suri shows up with her army of whatever they are, and you're both screwed."

"And you know what will be the cherry on top of that shit sundae? When Taylor finds out, she's never going to forgive me for not letting her chase after you."

"Doesn't matter." he replied. "Only one thing matters. She dies. If I die, it's fine. But only if she goes down, too." It was the one most important thing in his life. Nothing took priority over it righr now.

"Luli is more dangerous than Suri. You saw. She kept her away." he said. "And what she did to Taylor. She can't live."

"I'll agree with you on one thing, Luli does need to pay for what she did. But I don't think this is the answer. I think it's best if we all put our heads together and come up with some kind of plan. We aren't dealing with your usual Gambit's asshole, both of these women are dangerous not because of their strength, but the way they think. If we don't think as well, they're going to get the best of us, again. Don't you remember? If it weren't for Railynn, none of us would be here right now."

"Things are different now," said Duke quickly, raising his arm. The arm that should have been encased in stone. He flexed his fingers. Bits of rock still stuck to him, here and there, but it was all coming off, now. "I have two lungs and two legs now." And two arms. And two eyes. And a heart. "I can handle it."

"Well, that sure as hell covers everything." Lark sighed, placing one hand over his face. "You know, if you get yourself killed, it will destroy her." He looked at Duke with a glare that was as hard as one of his own.

"Are you at least considering that?"

A millionth silence.

"It doesn't matter."

He turned his eyes to the wall. "She has someone else. Others to take care of."

Lark didn't even bother trying to control himself. He immediately seized Duke by the collar, and pressed him against the wall.

"Then you go." He said slowly. "You go, and I'll make sure she stays. And if you don't come back, I'll take the heat for it. Because she loves you, and it doesn't matter. I won't try and protect someone who'd believe that."

When he finished his statement, Lark let Duke go and walked out, not bothering to wait for any kind of response. It was just how the world was sometimes, he just hoped Taylor would understand.

At some point, Railynn had finally dozed off, her empty tea mug resting gently in her cupped palms. The exhaustion from that day's escapades had truly drained her, made it hard for her to stay awake for any lengthy period of time.

She was curled up on her side, content to sleep that way for the rest of the night, until a loud banging came from the front door, startling her to wakefullness.

"Oh...dear," she murmured, shifting to her knees and groggily stumbling to her feet.

"Lark!"

Taylor's voice shouted from the front door. "Lark come help me!" She was supporting most of Duke's weight, and the man was half-slumped over her shoulder.

Lark sighed as he quickly got to his feet. "You'd think they'd listen to me after a while?"

He jogged quickly to the door and threw it open. Not entirely surprised by the sight that met him.

"Give him to me." The smaller man said briefly as he stood on her side, trying to transfer Duke's weight onto his own shoulder.

"The stone's crumbling off." she explained as he came forward, her eyes searching his. "I was helping him with it, and then he just started..." she grimaced, shaking off the shudder that ran down her spine.

"He's getting rid of the curse."

Railynn appeared around the corner, rubbing at her eyes blearily as she observed the three. "Lark," she said sleepily, gesturing towards Duke with a wave of her hand. "Could you, um," She yawned fitfully before finishing her sentence.

"...take him back to the room you guys have been using. I don't think he's gunna go anywhere for a little bit."

Taylor obediently shifted the weight, grateful for the moment. Duke was heavy without stone. With it, it was much much worse.

Lark's knees bent under the huge man's weight, admittedly he almost dropped Duke, but not wanting to look foolish, Lark did his best and managed to carry Duke into the small home and off down the hallway towards their room.

Railynn padded after them, rolling her shoulders as they all walked back together. Duke was laid out on the bed, a pail set next to him, and Railynn immediately turned to shoo Taylor and Lark out.

"I got this. Go sleep, both of you."

Taylor seemed hesitant to leave Duke, but she couldn't help feeling tired. That, and she hadn't really had a chance to speak to Lark since, well...It had been a while, hadn't it?

She looked to the other man, giving him the slightest of smiles, before reaching for his elbow and tugging him along out of the room.

As it slid closed, Railynn turned to Duke, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Three days." she told him. "You're going to have to get rid of every last bit of this."

Lark stretched his arm over his head without a word as he walked with Taylor. Refusing to be the first one to say something, he was too tired to be breaking ice. His arms were still sore from that archery trick he'd pulled.

Another reason might have been the fact he was admittedly a little upset at Taylor and Duke. They were both being stubborun and narrow minded, he'd told them not to go out alone and they ignored him.

If he opened his mouth, it would be to say 'I told you so.'

They came out into the living area, and Taylor's arm dropped from his. She lifted a hand, rubbing at the back of her neck...her exposed neck, and with a near-visible shudder, let her arm fall back to her side.

"I owe you an apology." she finally stated, rubbing her face with her hands before turning to sit, leaning back against the wall.

"Why's that?" Lark asked, placing his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall across from her. As tired as he was he didn't sit, just didn't feel like it. Instead, he just watched her, not really sure of how to carry on with the conversation.

"I keep dragging you into stuff." she said with a sigh, lowering her face into her hands. "And...I just...keep getting into trouble, and it feels like all I'm ever doing is making a nuissance of myself."

She groaned softly. "It isn't fair to you, or to Duke. I guess I just haven't quite found a way around it yet."

"That's ridiculousness." Lark said as he looked up from her and at the wall she leaned on.

"If it was a problem, I wouldn't be here, and neither would Duke. You and Duke well, you love each other, so it's only natural that'd he'd want to look after you." Lark shrugged and looked off somewhere else entirely.

"As for me, well, I'm your friend Taylor, you know I care greatly about you. I don't feel sorry for it, so neither should you."

She thought about arguing his point. She may love Duke, yes, but that didn't necessarily mean that the feelings were reciprocated. Lifting her head, she looked to Lark, and perhaps a little bit of that uncertainty lay in her eyes before she managed to conceal it.

"I can't help feeling like I'm becoming more and more of a burden."

"Well I don't consider you a burden at all." Lark said sharply, turning to look back at her for a moment, before averting his gaze to the floor.

"I know you'd do the same for me if the positions were switched. I would do anything for you Taylor, because I know you would."
Before she realized what was happening, she found herself blushing.
"You're a saint." she said, her throat thickening a little as she looked towards the floor. Pursing her lips, she sniffed once, rubbing at her nose with the back of her hand before looking up to him...
...reaching a hand out.
"Sit with me?"
Lark glanced at her and hesitated for a moment, but before he knew it he was sitting next to her without a word.
"So..." He said quietly, trying to keep the conversation going. "What're your plans for when all this is over?"
Part of her was sorely tempted to reach for his hand, to lean against his side, but his own hesitation, and his quiet, reserved demeanor kept her back ramrod straight, and her hands clamped firmly in her lap.

"Lark,"

Something in her tone, something like a resignment on her part, was as curious as it was concerning. It was...almost like she didn't expect to make it past all of that. Make it to the end.

But she didn't voice as much.

"I...don't know." she said quietly. "Go back to ranging, maybe. Or travel." She glanced sideways to him.

"How's Mira?"

"I don't know." Lark sighed, leaning his head back to look up at the ceiling. "It's been a while since I saw her."

He placed both hands to the side of his head as he tried to remember. "I'm still waiting for a way to get the money for her debt....but, you know, I just don't know what's going to happen after that. I really do enjoy working with her, she's a really amazing girl and she really can make me smile even when I feel low..."

But still his arms went limp at his sides as he pondered. "It's just, I don't know, it feels...off somehow."

"There's someone else."

Her words were soft, but they weren't accusing. "Someone, or something. It's made it harder for you to be honest with each other." She took in a slow, deep breath, wrapping her arms around her knees as she did so. "Sort of a miserable, helpless feeling."

"I...I don't know." Lark sighed. "I'm really not the kind of guy who does that sort of thing, I just think it's unfair and wrong. I really want things with Mira to work, I honestly do. But it just feels like...I'm sacrificing something I shouldn't. Something that would truly make me happy."

Taylor watched him, listening quietly, before she overcame her nerve, reached for his hand, and leaned into his side as she slipped her opposite hand around his waist in a hug.

"You shouldn't have to sacrifice happiness for anyone." she replied. "You're the most giving, kind-hearted, loyal man I know. Honorable and trustworthy...just genuinely good."

Something inside of her twisted, like a gently prodding secret that she was unwilling to admit, even to herself. "You deserve someone who will make you happy."

Lark looked at her and smiled, her words actually making him feel a lot better, and just having this moment...he knew he meant it when he said he'd do anything for her.

"I hope so." He leaned his head back with a short yawn and closed his eyes. "I really hope so."
There was very little that Railynn could do for the nausea. That was going to stay no matter what she did, but the lavender would help calm him, help to ease the process.

"Where did Luli find the means to enslave you?" she asked, keeping her tone practical. "Was it someone, or something?"

He shook his head. "Too...t-too...long ago..." Duke managed to choke, leaning over to empty more cement from his stomach. Oh! Spirits, he could feel it. The stone breaking off from his organs and being absorbed into his digestive track, somehow liquifying and immediately being rejected. Like someone had put a vacuum inside of his organs. It made his head whirl and his eyes loll in his head.

"Remember to breathe." Railynn stood for a moment before scurrying from the room, returning with cotton towels soaked in cool water and lavender oil. Squeezing out the excess, she smoothed it over his forehead, her brow furrowing in concentration.

"Whether you like it or not, you won't be able to function until you've cleared the curse." She hesitated.

"Is she going through this too? Luli?"

Duke managed a nod, though he could not be sure. He had never gotten this far before. Never been so close.

It was then he realized how far he really had come, even in his sickness. He wasn't the only one who had achieved that freedom, however. If it had not been for one other person, he would still be in Luli's collar.

Or dead. Or very, very dead.

There was very little that Railynn could do for the nausea. That was going to stay no matter what she did, but the lavender would help calm him, help to ease the process.

"Where did Luli find the means to enslave you?" she asked, keeping her tone practical. "Was it someone, or something?"

He shook his head. He did not know how she had gotten it, or if it had been a person or her own doing. It had been something she hid from him all too well in years past. He wiped his neck, slick with sweat, and heaved once more. It was going to be a long night.

"She never told you." she guessed, pursing her lips as she held the bucket up for him to heave in. "She didn't seem to know that Suri was involved in all of this too, so maybe someone's keeping something from her too."

She handed him a clean cloth to wipe his mouth.

"If she doesn't want to kill you and Taylor, then what is she trying to accomplish?"

After he was able to catch his breath, his head shook again. It was not the first time the often strong, stoic individual found himself in a pathetic mess. His tanned skin had gone pale, he shook, he could barely breathe. He was much in the same state when he and Taylor had first met. He could not believe he had escaped Luli for even that amount of time for that to happen. It had seemed impossible.

Wait...

"...suffering." he mumbled between breaths. "Wants us...to...suffer."

Railynn's eyes narrowed.

"She didn't know Taylor." she said quietly. "Did she just...zero in her focus because of Taylor's interest in you? Because she helped you?" Because she thwarted Luli's efforts for control?

"Do you wonder if there isn't something more going on here than the childish intent to make you both hurt?"

He did not want to wonder what was in Luli's head. He knew what he wanted with her, and nothing else mattered. Once more, he shook his head. "Evil," he told her. Nothing else needed to be communicated. That one word summed it all up.

"You still plan on leaving when all of this is done?" she gestured to the bucket. "I just...don't know that the two of you should separate."

Her lips pursed faintly. "You're stronger together."

He nodded his head, not to the second question, but to the first. Duke raised one weak hand, pointing to himself. "Mine," he said, grabbing the bucket harshly as cement, yet again, poured from his stomach. Despite the coming sickness, he could definitely feel his body becoming lighter, his organs starting to work again. No longer half dead, but soon completely alive. He could feel his heart beating, however weakly.

He spoke again."My burden."

His burden. And selfishly so.

"She'll follow you." Railynn said softly.

"Keep her here." he replied darkly.

"I dare you to try yourself." Railynn replied with an edge to her tone. "I may be a mage, but there is not a single force on Terra that's going to keep her from doing exactly as she likes." But her tone softened, and so did the look on her face.

"Because, when you care about people, you tend to do stupid things to ensure their safety."

He did not answer that time. He just let the sickness take him, let the curse flow from his body, and vomitted. His knuckles were white for his grip on the bucket. There was a distinct burning inside of his organs, as though they were on fire, or something much worse. He had figured out that it must have been so that the stone would melt. But that amount of heat...

"You'd need to leave secretly." Railynn suggested quietly, sighing in irritation. Something had to give. "Even if I think it's a stupid idea, the only way to get her to let you go is if she didn't know you were leaving in the first place."

She paused again. "What happens if you kill her?"

Duke wasn't so sure, but it "Doesn't matter," he said. He would figure that out after. Right now, all he had in his sights was his life's ambition. His mind ran through hundreds- no- thousands of ways he could bring the wretched girl down. She would die. In three days, the woman would be a cold, decaying corpse on the ground, and Duke would be the one smiling.

"You'll come back, though." Railynn said. "When it's over, if it all works out." She tried to meet his eyes. "You'll come back."

And again, no answer. Whether he did or not was not the concern.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours must have gone by, and the entire time, nobody else was allowed into the sickroom. It wasn't until morning had long since dawned that Railynn emerged from the room, looking thoroughly exhausted and spent. She'd stayed up the entire night with him, nursing him, trying to make him a little more comfortable as the curse ravaged his insides.

Better her, than Taylor. She honestly didn't think Taylor'd be able to sit through all of that without going crazy.

She came up Lark and Taylor, the latter of which was sleeping comfortably against Lark's shoulder. Railynn rubbed at her face for a moment before stepping over to Lark and gently touching his shoulder.

"He wants to talk to you." she murmured. "Alone."

Lark's eyes fluttered open, roused from a half sleeping state. As comfortable as he'd felt listening to the sound of Taylor's light and regular breathing, his nerves didn't let him enjoy the pelasures of a good solid rest.

As he woke he stared at Railynn, confused at what she said for a moment.

"Me?" It wasn't expected. He glanced at the girl who he did expect was going to be fetched, the one laying her head on his shoulder.

"Well, alright. will you take this one to her room then?"

"Sure thing."

Railynn touched Taylor's shoulder, regretting having to wake her, and watched as she stirred, lifting her head slightly, resting more comfortably against Lark...and then finally opening her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, tensing almost immediately. Her eyes found Railynn's. "Duke..."

"Is fine." Railynn soothed, unable to help the smile. "He had a shitty night, and he's going to have a few more shitty nights, but he's going to live. You need to sleep on a bed."

Taylor looked ready to argue, but Railynn was pulling her up, leading her off, and briefly glancing back to give Lark an encouraging smile.

Lark offered back a smile of his own and a small reassuring nod to Taylor as he watched as the girls left him alone.

With a heavy sigh, he got to his feet and trudged down the halls, wondering just what it could be Duke wanted to speak with him about.

Almost too soon for his liking, he found himself standing outside the man's door and with yet another sigh, knocked on it.

There was a pause, a shuffle, and a small groan that signaled that Lark should enter. Once he did, he would see Duke wiped out on the bed Railynn had helped him to. He looked absolutely pitiful. It almost looked as if he'd lost weight (which had happened with the absense of all the rock) and almost as pale as Lark. His lids droooped low over his eyes, and his clothes were wet with his own sweat. Liquid stone leaked out from he corner of his mouth.

He could hardly care.

Duke watched Lark for a long moment without a word, but eventually he was up to the task and began to speak. He beckoned to him, coughing. "Can't..." he began, looking around. "Where's...Taylor?"

"Sleeping." Lark said, trying to avoid staring at the mess that was Duke. "I mean, if you want her I can go get her."

Which would be odd...why wouldn't he just have called for her in the first place?

"But I take it that isn't what this is about?"

He shook his head, though he did so subtly enough to where one couldn't be sure if that was what he had done at all. "No. Out of earshot?" he asked. He pointed to lark weakly. "C'mere."

Lark hesitated for a moment, as much as he tried for Taylor's sake, he just could not bring himself to be comfortable around Duke. There was just something about him...probably the size difference.

But after a couple moments of awkward feeling silence, Lark finally built up the nerve to step closer to the other man.

"What's this about?"

Duke's eyes flickered to the door once more, and back to Lark. "M'going to leave," he told the other man, trying to shuffle to the edge of the bed. "In two days." Here, his eyes narrowed. "Taylor can't come."

"Ah." Lark nodded, placing his hands in his pockets. "So you've got the mind to go do something stupid, and you don't want Taylor to chase after you, which we both know she damn well is going to do. So, before I sign up to completely piss her off, and probably have her hate me, what is this thing you're going to do?"

He watched Lark with a hard gaze. "Kill Luli," he told him. "I'm going to end it. End everything."

"Mmm. I'm not surprised." Lark nodded some more before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "So, you realize how ridiculous that sounds don't you? Haven't you got it yet? It isn't just Luli we have to worry about, we have someone else who's trying to harm both you and Taylor. Suri. And she is someone that worries even Luli. Now, what concerns me, is that you're going to run off after Luli, you're going to find her, you're going to have your fight or big battle or whatever, and before you realize it, Suri shows up with her army of whatever they are, and you're both screwed."

"And you know what will be the cherry on top of that shit sundae? When Taylor finds out, she's never going to forgive me for not letting her chase after you."

"Doesn't matter." he replied. "Only one thing matters. She dies. If I die, it's fine. But only if she goes down, too." It was the one most important thing in his life. Nothing took priority over it righr now.

"Luli is more dangerous than Suri. You saw. She kept her away." he said. "And what she did to Taylor. She can't live."

"I'll agree with you on one thing, Luli does need to pay for what she did. But I don't think this is the answer. I think it's best if we all put our heads together and come up with some kind of plan. We aren't dealing with your usual Gambit's asshole, both of these women are dangerous not because of their strength, but the way they think. If we don't think as well, they're going to get the best of us, again. Don't you remember? If it weren't for Railynn, none of us would be here right now."

"Things are different now," said Duke quickly, raising his arm. The arm that should have been encased in stone. He flexed his fingers. Bits of rock still stuck to him, here and there, but it was all coming off, now. "I have two lungs and two legs now." And two arms. And two eyes. And a heart. "I can handle it."

"Well, that sure as hell covers everything." Lark sighed, placing one hand over his face. "You know, if you get yourself killed, it will destroy her." He looked at Duke with a glare that was as hard as one of his own.

"Are you at least considering that?"

A millionth silence.

"It doesn't matter."

He turned his eyes to the wall. "She has someone else. Others to take care of."

Lark didn't even bother trying to control himself. He immediately seized Duke by the collar, and pressed him against the wall.

"Then you go." He said slowly. "You go, and I'll make sure she stays. And if you don't come back, I'll take the heat for it. Because she loves you, and it doesn't matter. I won't try and protect someone who'd believe that."

When he finished his statement, Lark let Duke go and walked out, not bothering to wait for any kind of response. It was just how the world was sometimes, he just hoped Taylor would understand.

Duke had been suiting up for that day. All the stone had emptied from his system, and he had broken off everything he could from his skin. To see new flesh underneath...it felt...surprising. It had been more than a year since he had become encased in stone. Now, he felt so incredibly light, he felt could leap canyons.

Perhaps, after Luli died, he would try.

He tightened the black-scale braces around his arms, then adjusted the collar, made of the same material. It was all very well made. The armor was hard to penetrate, but it was powerful and light. Easy to move around in. Duke was a powerful and built man, but he had always preferred lighter armor and weapons. He had his speed above his strength most times, which is why the stone curse had hindered him so much.

There was a light knock on the door.

Without waiting, Railynn slipped inside, pausing to take a moment to look him up and down. She couldn't help but smile.

"Turn around for me." she told him, turning to close the door behind her before walking up to him.

Duke did so with a quizzical look upon his face, turning back to look at the elf with raised brows. His hands parted to show her the rest of the armor. "It fits." he commented. "Where did you get it?"

"Of course it fits." Railynn replied, running the palms of her hands over the armor, looking for chinks, double checking the leather straps to make sure that nothing was loose. "I had it made to fit you. Taylor's got a set too, when she's up to trying it on."

At his last question, she looked up to his face, then took a step back.

"There's a witch I'm friends with. Saranna. She made the armor for me, but I gave her the scales."

Saranna. He knew that name. "She helps many," he commented. "The price is often odd, but high in value." He drew the gloves on. "Why help me?" he then asked Railynn. The strain of asking so many questions, of talking so much, showed on his face. He was not enjoying it, but his curiosity pushed him.

"Because I think you can kill her, Duke."

A pause.

"No, not think. I know you can. One second." She turned away, slipping out the door for a moment or two. The room remained quiet, the elf's silent footsteps barely heard as she returned. Nudging the door open, she ducked inside, carrying with her something that didn't seem to fit well for the delicate wood-mage.

But for Duke...

"I noticed you liked polearms." she said with a proud smile, presenting him with the weapon. Sheathed in glossy black scales, the blade at the tip was curved like a scythe, though instead of being fashioned from metal, it was bone white.

Dragon ivory.

Half the weight of his old polearm, and incalculably stronger, the glorious weapon was as deadly as it was beautiful. She walked forward, and put it in his hands.

The man could barely take his eyes from the weapon, let alone believe that it was something that would be in his possession. When it was in his hands, he looked to Railynn doubtfully. "You're not serious," he said, turning the weapon over to examine it more closely. "It's too much."

Oh, but if it was one thing he could truly appreciate, it was a weapon. This weapon. "Glaive?" he asked Railynn. He wanted to test it as soon as possible. There was so little weight. It would be quick, but he had to get used to it.

"It's nothing at all." Railynn replied, all but glowing with how obviously pleased he was. "The name is Erra'ta. Night Song, in the language I was raised in." She held the length of the polearm in one hand, tracing her fingertips up to the tip of the blade.

"This will cut through anything." she promised him. "Metal, wood, and bone. Light it on fire, and it will cure the ivory, make it sharper, purer. You couldn't find a deadlier weapon."

She let it go, looking up to him.

"Practice?"

"Yes." She never even had to ask. Immediately, Duke began to walk outside, feeling the weapon fit so neatly within his hand. There could have been no better puzzle pieces. It was perfect. But how did it do in battle? As he stepped outside, he took it in between his fingers and spun it above his head. The weight between the blade and the handle was balanced, which meant there was a harmony played with both control and power. He then took it in both hands, pointing it toward
the air in front of him. On a man his height, the blade would be pointed towards his throat.

Railynn closed the door behind her, holding a double-edged short sword in her left hand. Tossing her chin to get her hair out of her face, she loped around so that Duke could see her, and then sized him up.

"You're leaning to one side." she noted quietly. She wasn't nitpicking, but it was noticeable. "Just a little."
He frowned, adjusting himself. His back needed to be straight, and his arm, too, was drooping. "Habit." he said. A damned habit for a damned curse. He looked to Railynn questioningly. "You fight?"

"No. But I can defend myself as well as the next person." She held up the blade, showing him the white of the edge.

"Dragon ivory, just like yours. Otherwise you'd turn me into mincemeat." She gestured to his body with her chin.

"Be careful when you swing. You don't need as much strength throwing this weapon around. Try to hit me."
And she stood there, watching him, with the blade resting against her leg.

He took no hesitation in going for a strike. The man was so eager to use the weapon that he thrust it out in a stab, aimed right for Railynn's midsection. If she did not block or dodge quickly enough, he would be sure to stop it short. He was surprised at how easily he was able to wield it. It slicked through the air without any resistance. It was as though he wasn't wielding a weapon at all, but a force.

With inhuman speed, Railynn flicked her blade out to the side, lifting it up, ducking beneath the shaft of the polearm before moving his weapon to the side with a flick of the wrist. "Leaning forward too much. Don't use quite so much force."
And she came forward, swinging to smack his shoulder with the flat of the blade.

She grinned.

"Feel that?"

Duke was about to parry the hit, but he had not seen it coming so suddenly. Not with Railynn. When it hit, however, he could not feel a thing. The blonde man shook his head. "No."

But that was the catch, wasn't it? He wasn't suposed to be feeling a thing.
So she carried him through the exercises, helping him get used to his armor and his new weapon. An hour could have passed, perhaps more, when Railynn suggested they stop. The whole time, she'd been confident that Taylor would have remained asleep. A certain herb in her tea would have seen to that.

Though, apparently, it wasn't quite good enough.

She appeared at the doorway, seeing Railynn and Duke standing opposite one another. She noticed the armor, noticed the weapon, and her brow came together in confusion.

"Duke...where..."

And then it all sunk in. He was still planning to leave, wasn't he? She met his eyes, or tried to. Railynn just looked incredibly frustrated.

He stopped, standing up on his feet, meeting her eyes. He flipped the Erra'ta in his hand, then fastened it to the sheathe on his back. He called out quickly. "Lark!"

Lark jogged over and stood behind Taylor, glancing at the others, especially at Duke. Crap.
"Oh there you are, I've been looking for you." Lark smiled at Taylor. "Railynn made you something just like what duke's wearing, I'm supposed to help you try it on. Just a little get well present it seems like. Come on, we don't want to interrupt."

He kept his smile falsely genuine and beckoned for her to follow, giving a slight tug on her hands.

Taylor got this horrible sinking feeling in her stomach when Duke called for Lark, and the moment her friend came, speaking to her in such a kind, gentle manner...

She ripped her hands away.

"Don't patronize me." she snapped, turning away from him and walking rapidly to Duke. Railynn backed off, giving the pair space, before looking to Lark with an imploring expression on her face.

Lark sighed and joined Railynn with a shrug, the look on his face clearly saying: "I tried."

"Why can't I come?" she demanded immediately. "We've been through hell and high water together. Why am I being left behind?"

Duke let his hands curl into fists. "This isn't your fight." he told Taylor. He was all suited up. He had no food or supplies otherwise, but it did not matter. The best choice was to turn and leave now, and that was exactly what he began to do.

"It's mine. Only mine."

"You needed my help before." she replied quickly. "You made it my fight, and I took it on gladly. So what happens now? The curse is off of you. You feel wonderful, and all of a sudden that puts me out of the picture?"

Duke continued to walk away, keeping his eyes away from her. "You aren't needed now." was his only reply.

"You can't mean that!"

Her voice broke with the forcefulness of her shout. "Look at me and say it again. You're just going to go...you might not come back. What happens then?"

Her heart was pounding, and she was all but begging. "Please let me come."

He stopped this time, turning to look at her. His eyes, which had once looked upon her warmly, had returned to the cold, icy wastelands that she had known upon their first few journeys.

"I don't want you with me." he hissed, the menace in his piercing gaze dark enough to kill.

There was silence. The hurt that she felt, that was reflected in her expression, was unmasked, clear for him to see. Yet, in the back of her mind she knew it would do nothing to change his thoughts. She felt meek, humbled from the shock his words had on her. He didn't need her.

But...
"I..."
God dammit.


"I love you."


The stare locked on her and froze. After what must have been an eternity, he shook his head, turned, and walked off.
"Don't," he told her. "There's nothing you'll get back."

Something inside of her broke.

"Never had anything in the first place." she said softly, whispering it to herself as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

After everything that had happened, everything she'd done for him...everything they'd been through.

He didn't need her. He didn't want her.

Duke had long since disappeared into the woods, and it was going to be a healthy period of time before Railynn finally came forward, reaching to touch Taylor's arm. The other looked to her, her face oddly calm.

"I...just hope he gets what he wants." she said weakly, tears threatening. But never once did she cry.

If she wasn't worth it, then he certainly wasn't worth the tears.

Railynn didn't have any idea of what to say, not in the least, but the pain she felt rolling off of Taylor was strong enough to make her throat close. "He needs to think. Needs to do what he's been preparing to do." she said quietly. Then, relapsing to typical feminine tactics, she added,

"Men are idiots."

Lark's mouth opened....then upon second thought, shut quickly without a sound.

Taylor didn't smile. There was a hollowness to her gaze, pain that reflected behind her eyes. She nodded at Railynn, then turned to look miserably at Lark. "Why bother." she murmured, loud enough for him to hear.

"It's late." she added. "Probably should go to bed."

Lark looked at Taylor, her sadness actually causing himself some pain. He wished this hadn't happen, he wished with all his heart that she did not have to feel this way...but there was no way around it.

He wanted more than anything to go to her side and walk her to her room, but he hesitated, noticeably at that. Railynn would probably pick up on his internal struggle as he tried to work up the nerve. But he could not, it wouldn't do anything good. He'd leave this to Railynn, she'd be best to help.

Aha, no.

Railynn glanced to Lark, gesturing to him with a slight flick of her hand. She wasn't going to be the one to deal with this this evening, she'd lived too long, and coaching young women with romance was certainly not her forte.

But Lark was Taylor's friend. He'd known her longer. Even if he wouldn't have the right words to say, his presence...his comfort...would be the one that she needed most right now.

So she looked at him, critically, her eyes sternly telling him to come and take care of Taylor.

Lark shook his head at first, trying to be defiant...but one more glance at the woman he cared for changed his mind.

He walked up to her side and placed a hand on the shoulder farthest from him.

"Come on Taylor." He said softly. "Let's get you to bed."

At first, it didn't seem as though she would respond to his touch, but then, slowly, her hand came up to wrap around his back, and her head leaned against his shoulder. She supported her own weight, but nearly melted into him.

Almost like a child, her only real desire in that moment was to be held.

"Hurts, Lark." she nearly whispered as they came up to the house. "I feel so stupid."

"Don't." He said as he walked with her. "It's nothing to feel stupid about."

He said nothing more as he ushered her towards her room, pushing open the door with one arm.

"I'm really sorry this happened Taylor. I would do anything to make it hurt less."

"It's the worst its going to get." she replied, turning in his arms to wrap the both of hers around his waist.

"It...hurts, but I'm glad I know..."

Yet, he'd feel a warm dampness on his shirt, and she held him tight, unwilling to let go. "It'll get better."

Lark froze up for a moment, but only for a moment, before he let his arms wrap around her shoulders, a hand in her hair atop her head.

"Yes it will. Just have to stay strong." He placed a kiss on the top of her head, and just held her.

Absorbing the warmth that his embrace provided, she took a moment to compose herself, before pulling back just a little.

"Should sleep." she said quietly. She definitely needed it.

Lark nodded and put his hands in his pockets.

"That's a good idea." He tried to put on the best comforting smile he could. "Good night Taylor."

"G'night." she murmured, her lip twitching at the corner, before she turned and headed for her own bed. Hardly mattered.

She just flopped on top of the sheets, and turned to stare at the wall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a few days after Duke had initially left. In spite of her concerns, Railynn noticed that Taylor was faring relatively well. She didn't sit in her room and sulk, and she hadn't cried since the night everything had come to a screeching halt, but she did spend a lot of time outside, working with her new bow, and practicing moving with the armor that she'd received.

The fact that it had come from Nocta had only made her more reverent of the gifts.

Of course, she was always supervised. The last thing any of them needed was just one more catastrophic intervention by some worker of villainy. Taylor needed to recover. They all did.

It was later that evening that Railynn emerged from her house, with an oddly shaped box clutched in one hand. Taylor, who had been sitting outside musing, and Lark, who almost never left her side unless she asked him to (which never happened), would see her emerge, and gesture for them to follow.

"What does she have?" Taylor asked Lark, scrutinizing the box as she stood.

"No idea." Lark shrugged. "Maybe something else for you."

Lark had to admit, Railynn's armor and weapons were of very high quality. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen underground, and he doubted he ever would. He would've felt a little envious, but Lark wasn't the selfish kind. Beside he never had a problem with his own weapon, a creation of his own. It was more than the fact it'd never failed him, it was the pride he had in his own work.

"Shall we follow?"

"You'd better~" Railynn called back, disappearing into the shadows as the woods swallowed her up. Taylor looked a little uneasy, but began to follow anyway, glancing back to make sure that Lark was walking with her.

She'd been jittery that day, distracted, even in practice with her armor. It was unusual, but she was making no verbal complaints. Following along the trail that Railynn had carved out for them, she peered into the distance, her brow furrowing when she realized she couldn't see a single thing.

"Maybe she's going to beat us with whatever that thing is."

"I heard that!" Railynn called back.

"Could you blame her?" Lark laughed. "We haven't exactly shown a lot of common sense lately."
He was curious as to what the purpose of this little trip was. If it was just something she was going to give Taylor, why would she bring them all the way out here? Lark poked the inside of his cheek as he wondered. Most likely, that thing in the box wasn't something simple.

The walk was an unusually long one. Taylor couldn't help but feel a small sense of excitement when the pair finally broke through the trees, coming upon a clearing that was vast, as long as it was wide. It extended far away from them, until the horizon blended with the darkened, starlit sky.

Railynn waved to them, encouraging them to come closer.

"There was something I wanted the two of you to see." she said once they came within hearing. She'd opened the box, and was gesticulating with something towards the night sky.

Upon closer inspection, Taylor realized it was a bow, but not her bow...a violin bow.

A low, melodic whistle echoed through the air, rumbling the ground with the power of it as a massive creature flew over head. Another whistle followed, higher in pitch, but harmonizing with the first.

"Want to see how I play with my dragons?" Railynn could barely keep her excitement to herself.

Lark laughed and took a seat on the grassy ground with a nod. "Sure."

He was very curious at the appearance of the violin. Music was a surefire way to get Lark's attention, you could practically hyponitze the young man with it.

Taylor found that she couldn't sit, even as Lark did. She watched, spellbound as Railynn set the bow to the unique, delicately crafted instrument, playing with the E string. The whistling paused, and in the distance Taylor could see a few of the larger dragons landing, pausing, lifting their heads as they listened to the music. Railynn moved into the full swing of the piece, and that was when the other woman noticed something strange.

Not bad, just...different, and oddly beautiful.

She could see the music.

The sound was rippling away from the elf in waves, all of them in different colors based on the intensity of the sound. When she moved, so did the sound, and the dragons saw that. They launched into the air, racing one another, the colors reflected off of their scales as they dove through rings of sound, and their angelic whistling hung like a low tone beneath

Railynn's playing.

She tossed her hair back, focusing on the massive dragons as the song picked up, the bow a blur against the strings.

She looked to Lark.

"Come here." she said with a grin.

Lark watched in awe, one of the biggest smiles he'd ever worn plastered on his face. This wasn't normal music, it was something more...and it wasn't even because of him this time.

Still he tore his eyes away for just a moment, to look from the sides of his vision at Taylor. The changing colors on the skin of her face, the way she watched, Lark found himself wishing he could smile even more.

When Railynn beckoned to him, he was undoubtley surprised, yet still he hopped up eagerly and trotted over without question.

"You can direct sound," she said softly, the song slowing, and with it, the pulses of sound. "The dragons love flying through the rings. See if you can't move them. Shape them how you like. Change the color if you want." She was almost laughing.

"They'll love you for it."

Taylor was at a loss for words. She lifted her hand, watching as the color bathed her hand before moving on, the rings floating into the night sky before they dissipated.

Lark nodded and grinned. Well it was a good thing he'd done something like this once or twice for the festivals back home. Although it had certainly been a while.

As he stepped a couple of feet away from Railynn, he stretched his arms and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he listened to the music. After a moment or two he put the tips of his fingers together and began to focus.

Suddenly he moved he began to move his hands ever so slightly, similar to the conductor of an orchestra.
Without ever opening his eyes he sent the rings into a set up that would make the dragons spiral around one another, amidst timed firework like displays of color.

Even Railynn was taken by surprise. She lengthened the song, dragging out the melody as colors burst all around them. She drew the bow back and forth, painting a picture of her own as Lark manipulated the waves, and the dragons could be heard high above, whistling with pleasure as they ejected streams of fire into the night sky.

It was all Taylor could do to not burst into laughter. She laid down, looking up, reaching for colors that flew her way, and occasionally watched Lark and Railynn, how fluidly they moved, not as separate entities, but two parts of the whole.

Her smile turned tender.

Lark glanced back at their one person audience and smiled. As he focused on working with Railynn, Lark put in a little something extra just for Taylor.

A small thin little ribbon of every vibrant color imaginable formed in front of her face, floating harmlessly for a moment before it began to flow gently around her head, seductively coiling itself around her shoulders as it moved snake like to get her attention. Finally after a few moments of teasing, it made it's way into the palms of her hands, and their it formed itself into a small flower.

Instinctively, her hands cupped to hold the colors, watching it with no small amount of amazement before she looked up to meet Lark's eyes again. It was incredible. He was...



Not without some semblance of regret, the song eventually came to its end, and the last of the colors faded away from the sky and from Taylor's hands. The dragons, without the rings to play with, eventually settled close by, peering at the three with large, obsidian eyes. One of them was Railynn's blue, and the other a faint, dusky green. They lumbered closer, their heads looming over Lark. Two little ones came and nested by Taylor's head.

"Oop," Railynn said with a grin as the blue nosed at Lark. "Looks like you're going to have to come back and visit."

"Ha ha..." Lark chuckled, catching his breath. He gave the beast a pat on the nose. "Well, I haven't done that since I was in highschool, forgot how fun it is. You're very talented with that violin of yours."

"Thanks!" Railynn chirped, taking a chance to point the bow at Taylor.

"Did you know she dances?"

"Not anymore." Taylor replied sternly, giving Railynn a critical glare. "Don't put ideas in his head."

Stage-whispering, Railynn leaned closer to Lark. "She's really quite lovely with it, by herself and with a partner."

"Hmm? A dancer? Well now..." Lark glanced at Taylor with a grin that did a poor job of hiding his intentions. He then turned and held his head to the side of Railynn's. "Think you got another song in you?"

"I'm not dancing." Taylor said at the precise same time that Railynn said,

"Yup!"

The smaller girl paid no mind to Taylor's protests. She struck up a tune, a sweet, waltzing melody, then gave a pointed look to Lark.

"I'm not leading her to you."

Taylor did her best to glower, but her lip was twitching, and Lark's charm was almost too much for her. "Go away!" she cried indignantly. "No!"

Lark smiled as he stepped over to Taylor, coming to a stop in front of her, bending his knees slighlty so that he could get closer to her level.

"Dance with me?" Lark asked with a grin, holding a hand out for her to take. the look on his face said it clearly enough, he wasn't going to let her say no.

"Lark," she protested softly, for the first time, genuinely shy as she hesitantly put her hand in his. Dancing of any kind was not a pleasant experience for her, not so much because she was bad at it...but because she used to be forced to do it.

But she stood, her cheeks flushing with heat as she put one hand to his shoulder, the other still gripping his hand. She wouldn't look him in the eye, focusing on his chest instead.

Railynn, who was grinning the entire time, began the song again.

"Alright so, I haven't danced in years, so why don't you lead?"

Lark smiled as she agreed, excited. It was all he had just to stop himself from bouncing up and down in anticipation.
But, on the other hand, or more importantly, in his, as she held onto his hand, Lark finally realized what was about to take place, he was actually going to dance with her...

Feeling slightly breathless, Taylor swallowed and nodded, closing her eyes before pulling him into a waltz that timed with
Railynn's music. Lark would pick it up easily, she was sure. Music was something that flowed through his veins, it was a natural part of him, and he always looked so incredible when he manipulated sound.

Closing her eyes, it took a moment for her to relax, and when she did, she rested her cheek against his shoulder, her forehead tucked into the curve of his neck.

"Not so hard," she told herself in a whisper.

Lark was silent as he tried his best to match Taylor's movements, thinking he was doing a decent job at the very worse.
As much as he would consider the use of the word "fun" taboo in light of recent events, this was certainly...amazing. He was grateful for this opportunity, and would never regret taking this chance to live in the moment.

And he would never forget how it felt to hold Taylor in such a way.

Railynn had fallen into playing a few songs, not even remotely tired with the effort of it. She was just happy to see the two of them enjoying themselves, and even Taylor had started to smile.

"Maybe what you think you need isn't what you really need at all," she said in a low voice to herself, but dared not voice the thought too loudly.

Taylor was nothing if not nestled against his chest, moving easily, fluidly with him as they danced in slow circles. She laced her fingers with his, her throat burning, heart pounding as she fought back this unusual, but not unpleasant feeling.
Joy. The simple pleasure of being held.

"Thank you, Lark." she murmured, looking up to meet his eyes for the first time since they'd started dancing. "For everything..."

Lark gazed down at Taylor and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Just don't hesitate to ask me for something when you need it."

They stopped moving, gazing at one another. She felt herself shift, as if she wasn't in complete control of her actions.

And then, just barely, she rose on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his.

A breath of silence. Even the music had stopped.




And she turned, and fled. As fast as she possibly could.

Oliver stood at the head of the stairwell, peering down into the darkness as he gazed at the glossy finish of Ilona's trench coat.

"Ilona, darling. We're expecting company. Mind that you bring the girl top-side so we can show our new guests how much...leverage we have in the situation?" His voice was like a child's, but the look in his eye was a frightening one.

"I can't see it Cap'n!" Zhubin's voice cried from the top of the ship. "They've disappeared!"

"Coming up underneath us no doubt." Oliver said with a sigh, lifting his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Ah well, it wouldn't be any fun if it wasn't a bit of a challenge. Oh, and Ilona, hand her over to Rien when you do come up. He seems to have taken a fondness to her, and I'll need you with negotiations regardless."

"Tau, help me ready the deck guns. Benny, bring us hard to port, don't want Morgan to have a new hole in the engine room." Zhubin was already walking across the breadth of the ships deck, pausing by a small turret housing. He didn't really like this ship's light guns, but he sure had a blast with the long cannons housed in the bow.

But for now, he had a reputation to keep as the master gunner of the Nightingale.

The pirates scrambled to do as they were ordered, each working quickly and efficiently. Ilona disappeared for a while down into the ship's gut, glancing at Zhubin before she was gone.

Inigo stood on the crow's nest, looking out over the clouds for any sign of the enemy. His red scarf whipped out into the wind as they sailed the sky.

Railynn was scrambling, scooting as fast as she could to the wall of her prison that was closest to the outside. Pressing her ear to the wood, she closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she tried her best to listen.

Below. Coming from below. It was her Blue!

"Dammit." she hissed, pulling at the bonds, but succeeding only in bringing up a bead of blood from her already chafed wrists.

Meanwhile, Oliver stood by Benny as the elderly, blind man swung the helm to the left. But darkness worked against them, and their enemy worked to stay beneath the hull of the massive ship.

Doc was on lookout, standing near Zhubin, her sharp eyes aided by the glasses she wore prominently on the bridge of her nose. "Nothing." she muttered. "Not a thing."

----

"They're looking for us." Taylor breathed. Beneath the hull, towards the rear of the ship, there appeared to be some kind of a lip that stood to allow the smaller craft to be ejected from the ship's bowels. The dragon nosed them closer, hovering low, before suddenly, it released a torrent of flame that bathed the ship in fire from bottom to top.

"WATCH THE RAILS!" Oliver shouted.

And, in the chaos, the dragon pushed forward, giving Taylor enough time to jump for the lip and pull herself up.

Lark however clung to the back of the dragon's spine and waved to Taylor. Motioning for her to go on and get inside. He knew that if they lost Blue, they wouldn't have a single way off....well that wasn't entirely true but the alternative was definitely not a good one.

The young man gripped the Dragon's spine and set his jaw.

Let's give them a hell of a show then. He thought loudly.

--------

Ilona came topside with the elven girl in tow, holding her closely. "Captain!" she cried, coming to Oliver. "I thought leaving her with you might do a bit more. You'll be speaking to them, after all. Rien is busy. Gone. Who knows with what."

She let go of Railynn, then began to quickly look for Zhubin. This was just before the ship shuddered from the fire that bellowed up from below. She stumbled into the side, grabbing onto a rope.

Inigo swung down from the crow's nest, holding his flintlock pistol in one hand. His boots made a loud thump onto the deck before he began to sprint for Taylor. "Intruder!" he cried loudly. "Captain!"

"What are you whining at me for?" Oliver shouted back. "Take care of it!"

He took Railynn by the ropes that bound her arms, and dragged her with inhuman strength, unceremoniously up the stairwell towards the aft of the ship.

Taylor, who had managed to get her feet underneath her, wasted absolutely no time. Recognizing the flintlock, and keeping it in her sites, she sprinted for Inigo, closing the distance between the pair of them before he'd have time to pull back on the hammer to fire his weapon. She bounced a little with her step, finally springing off of her right leg before attempting to deliver a powerful kick towards the man's head with her left. He was hit right in the center of his forehead before he could shoot, flying right into the floor. The back of his head hit the ground, rendering him unconscious.

I wasn't ready for this many, she thought to herself, feeling a sudden flare of panic.

Zhubin was amazed with the sight of the huge dragon. He felt a smile creep up onto his face. This was certainly going to be a challenge...Last time he went up against a dragon it put a stain on his reputation, albeit he was able to get it to retreat...

He grabbed hold of Doc's collar and shoved her into place to man the gun nearby. "Keep up steady fire, you don't need to hit it, just control it's movements to keep it around the front. Tau, that goes for you too." He didn't shout, only spoke in a loud calm. Meanwhile, he steadily walked towards the bow, pulling his trademark rifle from around his back.


Lark however wasn't going to leave Taylor high and dry.

Try and circle. He thought, as he brought his arms into to his bow stance. He quickly spotted Railynn being held hostage, which infuriated him. He didn't want to put her at risk, but he doubted they would do anything unless they needed to.

All that was left now was to make them need to.

Taking aim at the gun where Tau would be getting ready, Lark focused the immense amount of sounds energy in the air into an invisible bolt that he sent screeching towards the ship, it would most likely create a small explosion due to all the shouting of the ship's crew and Blue's roars.

The ship pitched to the side, sending everyone tumbling. But Lark's attack did nothing more than cause a low hum to ripple through the air as the ship itself absorbed his attack, and converted it to energy. Oliver, who had a firm hold on the back of Railynn's bonds, stumbled sideways, gripping the helm as Benny held on for dear life, before pointing frantically at Lark and the dragon.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" He screeched. "SHOOT HIM!"

"Lark!" Taylor cried, her panic growing. "Look out!"

"Get below!" Railynn's desperate shout mimicked Taylor's as Oliver shoved her unceremoniously to the side, and looked up.

Ilona began to sprint for Taylor, though, in her rather large heels, it seems her balance was off, especially as the ship leaned to one side, and she slid over to the opposite railing. She cast the ranger a long, thoughtful glance.

Tau was about to abandon his station, but his position at the guns, aiming for the dragon and the young lad on it, was more important. It was infuriating, but he was sure that damned elf below deck would take care of the woman nicely.

Taylor grimaced, struggling to maintain her footing as she dug in her pocket for something, anything she could use. Then...by some miracle, she withdrew an arrow head.

A very specific kind of arrowhead.

She clutched it tight in her hands, then began to move closer to the massive gun, prepared to take down anyone who got in her way.

Lark's brow furrowed as he saw his attack was ineffective.

"Well that's not good..." He muttered as his hands went bone white, clinging to Blue's back tightly as the dragon maneuvered to avoid the guns' fire. It seemed like targeting the ship itself with his abilities wasn't an option....so perhaps he'd do the next best thing.

Fly steady. Lark thought for Blue, placing a hand under his elbow as he formed the pretend pistol with his fingers. He closed one eye as he focused his aim on the man holding Railynn hostage. Lark knew that if he could free her, her and Taylor had better chances of escape. But Oliver saw the opportunity as Lark had. He whipped out his flint-lock, pulled back on the hammer, and fired one shot at Lark, before turning to shoot the dragon in the head.

Taylor was close. All she had to do was toss the arrowhead in. So she wound back, and prepared to do just that.

Tau could simply not handle it anymore. He had to abandon his station- no one was doing a thing about the girl! With a sprint, he drew his flintlock, cocking back the hammer and getting ready to fire. "Down!" he barked harshly, his yellowing teeth grit. "Get down right now unless you want a bullet between your eyes!"

Ilona narrowed her own eyes, trying to get back up onto her feet. She looked between Taylor and Tau. The woman raced toward him, one hand on his arm. "Down, Tau!" she cried, jerking him back. "We need her! Don't shoot!"

Inigo had just been waking up, rolling over onto his knees with his hands to his head. A terrible headache roared within his mind, but he had to quickly shake it off. With his eyes aimed upwards at the chaos, he knew he had already been out too long. He got onto his feet, aiming his own gun at Taylor as he clumsily stumbled towards her.

"...your ass gets down...now..." he said foggily.

The dragon roared furiously, ducking painfully to the side as the bullet richochetted too close to its eye. Taylor watched in horror, her chest heaving, before she finally cocked back her arm and threw the arrowhead.

It struck the closest gun, and the whole thing exploded violently, sending the ship swaying to the opposite side.

Lark had to jerk out of the way of oliver's shot to avoid being struck, disrupting his focus.

Damn he's fast... Lark thought quickly, rubbing the back of the dragon as he tried to calm it. He watched with fearful eyes as Taylor was surrounded, and the ship's deck exploded violently.

Quick, get under it again. Lark asked Blue, hoping the Dragon would listen. He had an idea...but he didn't like it.

Zhubin was sent sprawling across the deck as the ship bucked out from underneath him.

"Fucking...can't anyone handle two little girls without me?" He growled the words angrily as he slowly got to his feet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Down in engineering, Morgan almost cracked his skull open as he was thrown against one of the machines.

"The hell is going on up there?" He grumbled, grabbing one of his pistols off the floor and shoving it into his waistband.

Someone, a figure clad in a flowing orange cloak, walked to the door to engineering. "Dear Morgan. Having troubles?" he laughed.

-------------------------

The ship rocked again, causing dizzy Inigo, furious Tau, and a desperate Ilona to the ground. Despite the turbulance, the darker woman's hand clamped onto Tau's wrist, keeping the gun trained on the sky. The pirate man grit his teeth and pulled his arm back, loading it up before striking the woman across the face. "You aren't the captain, wench!" he cried, getting back onto his feet with his eyes searching for Taylor.

In the chaos, Taylor had made a run for the helm, preparing to attack Oliver in the same way that she had taken out Inigo. But, as she rushed him, she'd forgotten his gun, and was brought up short as he brought it on level with her chest.

He pulled the trigger.

"Taylor!" Railynn shouted as the other woman stumbled back, falling to the deck as she gasped for breath. Blood blossomed from a wound in her shoulder.

Railynn didn't waste a moment, kicking her feet out for Oliver and managing to trip him up. He fell hard against the helm, pulling it to starboard and knocking Benny sideways.

"What in blue blazes!" the blind man shouted. Oliver was dazed.

In the meantime, the dragon had dipped below the ship, looking up as the entire craft started to turn to the right. He began to hum a low whistle of distress, sensing Taylor and Railynn's pain.

I heard it too... Lark thought, his teeth grinding against one another. But If we're going to help them, we have to do this properly. Now, come up under it, aim just left of center.

He counted on the dragon to do it's flying as he focused on harnessing the sound energy of the explosion and the gunshot, all the shouting and the dragon's whistle all into the palms of his hands. He knew what he was going to do, he knew it was a steep gamble.

But he was betting on whatever technology or magic had absorbed his first attack, well he hoped that it would require some kind of break or cool down before it could take another.

Especially for the magnitude of what he was planning.

"I was never one for corny attack names..." Lark growled as the bottom of the ship got closer and closer. "But let's go with Sonic cannon."

He brought both of his hands around to press their sides together, palms aimed at the bottom of the aft section of the ship. The blast would hit like a freight train. And if it got absorbed, good.

Because their would only be a half second before the ship would have a dragon coming up through it's gut.

Tau and Inigo raced toward Taylor and the captain as the elf girl kicked him to the ground. Tau raised his pistol, aiming to shoot at Railynn's shin, while Inigo approached the captain, trying to drag him away from the two women.

As was expected, the sound-waves were absorbed into the body of the ship, causing it to faintly fibrate with the sudden surge of power. As the dragon's body came into contact with the hull, he was sharply rebounded, as though he'd been electrocuted. Dazed, the dragon faltered, falling several dozens of feet before finally recovering.

"Grab her!" Oliver had finally roused. "Grab the damn boarder and shove a gun to her face! Show the boy! DO IT!"

Taylor wasn't going anywhere, but the pool of blood wasn't getting any smaller either. Railynn could barely manage to weakly scoot her way over to her side, but with her hands and feet bound, she could do nothing.

"Lark!" she shouted, knowing he could hear her. "Lark stop!"


"Why is it my life can never be easy?" Lark groaned in a whisper as he clung to the underside of the flying ship, his bladed gauntlet embedded deeply into the material. It seemed like the dragon Ivory blades Railynn had given him had no issue of working their way through them.

He felt like a pathetic spider as he hung for dear life against the bottom, slowly bringing his other hand up to expose the Tekagi in his gloves, apparently he actually did occassionally use the climbing tool for climbing...well...in this case it was more like clinging.

He was really hoping his attack would do something and if not, at least distracted the weird shield this ship had long enough for Blue to do a bit more damage. But apparently he'd had to resort to his auxillary, when the dragon collided with the ship, as soon as Lark didn't see any penetration, he'd leapt to grab hold, putting him in his present position.


"Alright now then..." He mouthed, sending his words to blue directly via manipulated sound waves. "circle high above them and act like I'm still on you, then fall back to make them think we've retreated. I'll call for you again when I'm ready to get the girls off."

"Yes, captain!" said Tau, walking away from Taylor, leaving Inigo to take hold of Railynn. He ran over to a small chest, searching through it briefly before picking out a length of rope that was attached to a rather large and deadly hook. He swung it above his head, much like a cowboy and lasso, and kept his eyes trained on the dragon. When it had gathered enough power, and when the dragon was just flying up, he let the weapon fly, trying to latch it onto the animal.

It caught the wing.

"Stop it!" Railynn all but screamed as the dragon roared in his own agony. He flapped powerfully, but it only served to tear the wing brutally, forcing him to pull away to circle down below cloud level to a safer place. Taylor, stunned and dizzy, tried to get to a seated position, but she was seeing spots, and her stomach was turning. Oliver grumbled.

"Look at what you did to my ship, you worthless little brat."

Funny, since he looked to be about fifteen himself. He approached Taylor, and kicked her in the wounded shoulder.

She cried out, loudly, as Oliver turned to survey the rest of the crew. "Clean this mess up! Keep an eye out for the boy! Either he fell, or he's clinging to the hull like a barnacle. RIEN!" He shouted as he disappeared from the deck.

"Taylor, Taylor don't pass out. Stay awake. I can help, just..." Railynn's voice faltered as Taylor grit her teeth.

"This...sucks..." she breathed.

"...well. It seems like nothing at all is going to work well for me...." Lark sighed quietly before he started to claw his way along the bottom of the ship. It was troublesome, but he had the tools thankfully. The height was what was really killing him. Gratefully enough though, he'd chosen a spot closer towards one of what Lark could only guess was an engine. It was weird though...it didn't seem to have any kind of propellent coming from it...only a low hum.

Lark decided to chance it, finding a small opening for him to squeeze through. As soon as he got inside, Lark made sure to remove his shirt and toss it down. Hopefully it would be enough to fool the lookout into thinking he'd fallen with Blue.

He wasn't going to bet money on it though.

Tau continued to try and reel the dragon in, bracing his feet against the inside of the ship's railing. Every one of his muscles flexed in the effort. Oh, this would be ritch. If he was able to reel in and kill this dragon, who knew for how much they could sell the hide...the ivory...the organs!

"Come on, come on..."

Suddenly, the line went slack.

And then the dragon's head came up out of nowhere, jaws snapping, clasping on Tau's chest cavity and slamming him back against the deck. The dragon didn't clamp his jaw, but perched on the railing, his hot breath threatening to singe the man's nipples off.

Railynn couldn't help but smile.

Meanwhile, Ilona, with a bruise on the side of her temple, snuck down into the ship, away from everyone's eyes.

"Let the damn thing go Tau." Zhubin said sternly. "You're either gonna get yourself killed or drag the ship down. The boy seems to have fallen, and the beast is injured. Time to cut our losses and focus on getting the hostages out of here."

He slowly walked over to where the girls were and towered over them.

He didn't glare though, instead he seemed to observe them...pass judgment of some kind.

Railynn's smirk caught his eye, and he looked the woman straight in the face for a long while. And Railynn met his eye, completely unintimidated.

Taylor moaned softly, unnaturally pale, and that much drew Railynn's attention away from Zhubin. "Need to stop the bleeding," she murmured.

"Doc." Zhubin said, still watching the pair. "Get over here and make sure she doesn't die. A corpse won't serve much purpose."

The woman glanced up from her position, her nose wrinkling slightly as she stood, rolling her shoulders and making her way over to the pair. From out of her pocket, she withdrew her flintlock, opened the chamber, and emptied out a bullet. She popped that into her teeth before bracing Taylor's shoulder with her hand and shoving her fingers into the wound.

The girl went rigid, jaw clenching as Doc fished out the bullet, tossed it away, then removed her bullet from her teeth. She unscrewed the end of the round, emptied the gunpowder into Taylor's wound, then, without much further ado, snapped her fingers.

The wound ignited. Taylor screamed.

"Done." Doc looked bored. She glanced back to Zhubin, then to the dragon. "Is anyone going to help Tau?"

"He's a big boy. Let him deal with his own catch." Zhubin shrugged, continuing to watch the pair. As Taylor cried out in pain Zhubin spoke to Railynn.

"Help your friend up. I'm putting you someplace where you both won't be a problem." He quickly removed one of his blades from his waist and placed the edge to her binds. "I'd advise against anything stupid. You'll only add this girl to the list of people who die because of you."

With a hard stern stare, the man cut her ropes and loomed over her, waiting to see what she'd do.

Railynn didn't waste any time. She rubbed at her arms, her wrists raw and bloody, before rubbing circulation back into her ankles. She only gave the briefest of glances to Zhubin before she crawled over to Taylor and knelt at her side. The other woman was barely conscious, cringing as Railynn brought her arm underneath her head and pulled her to a sitting position.

"I'm so sorry, Railynn..." she managed as the elf got her good arm up over her shoulder and behind her neck.

"Don't be. I would have done the same." She looked to Zhubin, getting her feet underneath her.

"Get her at the waist, or we won't go anywhere." she told him, her eyes like shards of green glass.

---------------------------
Morgan paused as he was faced with this new stranger. "Who are you?" He asked, his fingers slowly wrapped around the handle of the hatchet that hung at his side. But Morgan's demeanor was not violent, more so curious, even afraid.

It was clear he was not like most of those up on the deck.

"Oh! Don't play daft, little slave boy." The elf stepped into the room, narrowing his eyes at Morgan. "Shouldn't you be at the top helping our friends?" Rien sang.

"That's not in my job description." Morgan growled as he stared at Rien. Hate. It was all he ever felt when dealing with him and Oliver and Tau. At least with the other's there was a bit of pity, though with Zhubin it was more wonder than anything.

He released his weapon and turned to go back to the machines. "I'm supposed to making sure this thing stays airborne." He grumbled as he picked up a small box of tools. "Nothing else. You all want to get into your fights than fight, just don't be surprised that I'm not exactly into the idea of protecting your lives. Now if you excuse me, I have to go check if that explosion caused any damage that'd be troublesome. I hear Oliver calling for you, why don't you leave me to my work and see what he wants?"

"I thought you might be interested. There's quite a lot going on...and I thought you would be concerned about your own survival. It looks as if this ship might go down. You do know what the first thing to crash into the ground will be, don't you, Morgan?" Rien continued. He splayed his fingers upward, gesturing to the room they currently stood in.

"All of this. Boom."

"Will you shut up and leave already?" Morgan muttered as he walked past the Elf further into the bowels of the ship. "Go help up on the deck or something. I'm busy."

"Very well. I just didn't think anyone would want our favorite little pet to be lost when we go down." said the elf, tapping his fingers together before he retreated.


Morgan was glad to be left alone, and with a heavy sigh he opened the door leading to one of the engine rooms. It really amazed him that these idiots owned a ship this complicated but didn't know how to work it...

"I can't belive I have to do everything around he-" He was literally incapable of finishing his sentence as an arm wrapped around his neck and immediately started to choke the breath from his lungs.

Lark's face kept a solid expression as he set his jaw, stiffening his arm as he choked Morgan. The poor engineer brought his hands to claw at the arm that was threatning to end his life.

"Wai-" He coughed, pleading. "I'm not-"

Lark heard, but the only response was tightening his arm even more.

Morgan felt his eyes sweeling, and the room getting darker. "Please-" He barely breathed.

Suddenly he felt the pressure release from his throat and air charge down his airways. Morgan swallowed as much as air he could, almost choking on it all.

The relief he felt was drained away as soon as he flet the cold chill of a blade being pressed against his throat.

"I'm giving you two seconds to make your life's case." Came Lark's voice from above him. "Go."


"I- I'm a prisoner of these pirates. Pklease believe me I'm not trying to help th-" Morgan's pleading was cut short and Lark raised the baldes furhter, forcing the man to look at him.

"That was two seconds."

Morgan's eye's went wide as he realized this man was about to kill him. He felt all his energy vanish and his body go limp.

"You weren't lying." Lark said, breaking his silence. "So I'm going to spare you. Hide me.I can hear someone coming, but god as my witness you rat me out I will make sure I kill you."


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The aftermath was almost louder than the conflict. Railynn and Taylor had been herded into a room, dark, and deep within the bowels of the ship, with only a single cot to spare. Taylor had been laid there, where she'd quickly fallen unconscious from pain, blood loss, and exhaustion. Railynn had stayed at her side, whispering prayers in her strange native tongue, begging the spirits that watched over them to keep her safely where she needed to be while she recovered.

Is Lark really gone? she thought, a surge of pain ripping through her chest as she smoothed her hand over Taylor's brow. It's going to kill her...

But Taylor was far away from the ship, walking in a sea of grass, and clinging to an arm that was soaked in her own blood, useless to her even in the Between. She didn't know where she was walking, only that she had to keep doing so. Maybe, if she walked far enough, she'd find the Light that Melanie had shown her. Maybe she could force her way back to consciousness.

"What have I done?" she said out loud, feeling miserable, hopeless. "I've lead us to disaster. What on earth are we going to do now?"

Two moons stood sentry over her lonely walk, and they were the only witness to her words, for now. From the horizon, a thick wall of mist began to move in, swallowing the rolling hills and the light of the sun, which had all but died behind the fog. It moved in, like a patient, giant beast, with full knowledge that none in its path would be able to escape.

She looked up, her brow furrowing for a moment as she observed the massive wall. It approached, clawing at her, eventually swallowing her up in a cool blast of damp air. She closed her eyes, shivering hard, and then ducked her head against the mass of it. It filled up her lungs, but didn't choke her. She felt like she had been lost in the midst of it.

What is this?

As the mist continued to embrace the woman, it would reveal a dark shadow in the distance, slowly growing in size as it approached. It took several minutes for it to grow to any significant size, sometimes disappearing as sections of the mist grew thicker. It would always come back into sight before long.

Soon, the figure began to take shape, from a blot to something much taller than it was wide. The rhythmic up-and-down bobbling signified a calm walk towards Taylor.

Eventually, the fog cleared a tight circle, both around Taylor and the blob.

The blob that became Duke, wearing the same tattered clothes he had when she had first seen him.

As the fog cleared, and the man came into view, her eyes widened, softening the expression on her face to calm surprise. She looked him over, still clinging to her useless arm, and took a step closer, further closing the distance between them. As the fog circled around them, she reached out to gently touch his arm.

"You lost the armor." she murmured quietly.

"It didn't pass over here," he replied.

"Are you hurt?" She glanced to the tatters of his clothes. "Not here, but...elsewhere."

"Not as much as you." he replied, eyes twitching over her form. "Where are you now? Railynn's? Did Suri return?"

Her jaw clenched. She looked down at her arm, burning at the fact that she couldn't so much as twitch her fingers.

"Railynn was kidnapped." she said. "Lark and I went after her. I...I think I got shot. I don't remember a whole lot." She was waiting for it, and her eyes closed in anticipation.

Duke's own eyes closed, hands turning into fists. He reached forward to take her wrist, lift it, and open her hand with his fingers sprawling out from the center of her palm. Something was placed inside of it. "You're close, but I can't help you." he said. "Someone else will."

"It's okay." her voice sounded thick. She clasped the item tightly in her good hand. "I...need to be able to help myself."

She opened her eyes, surprised to find that they were damp. "Am I going to see you soon?"

"No." he said simply. "Not for a while." His eyes darted to the ground, and he was silent a while. Then, softly, came an "I'm sorry."

The mist moved back over them, and slender white hands curled around Duke's shoulders, pulling him from view.

Her breath caught in her throat, a pain ripping through her chest as she lurched forward, reaching for him.

"Wait! Please! Duke don't leave!"

But her hands curled around mist, and her hand clenched painfully against the object he'd placed in her hand. A vial. A clear vial containing a small blue light.


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Down into the belly of the ship Rien went, his fingertips touching gently to one another. This time, he wore not the orange cloak, but the doublet and breeches of any ordinary pirate. His long ears were adorned with a myriad of golden piercings, which were only the best and the ritchest of the pickings. His hand wrapped around the door to the prisoner's quarters, spilling white light onto their crestfallen faces.

"Wakey, wakey," he purred, taking a few fluid, silent steps into the small room. He reached out for Railynn's arm, lifting her lightly to her feet. With Taylor lying so close to her, and in no condition to defend herself, Railynn couldn't do more than obey. The hand of the arm he held clenched into a fist as she rose, gazing up at him with an expression she left carefully blank. There was no disguising the shiver of disgust. She hated him touching her. Rien, however, did not mind it at all. "Why don't we go without you making a fuss? Not that I'd mind."

With a wicked laugh, he began to tug the elf girl upstairs, to the captain's quarters.

Railynn turned her face away from him, her brow furrowing as he began to lead her away. She looked back to Taylor, her eyes worried, before the door closed and locked behind them, leaving the woman alone in the shadows.

As Rien began to take her to the Captain's quarters, she took a good look around the ship, memorizing detail, and looking everywhere except at Rien. When they came to a stop, she looked down at the hand on her arm.

"I'm not going anywhere." she promised. "And if you keep touching me, I'm going to cut off parts of you that you wish you didn't have to lose." The glint in her eye told him that she was being completely serious.

"I adore you in much the same manner," Rien said to Railynn lovingly. His grip tightened, with his nails digging into her skin. "There isn't much you can do right now, little elf." he continued. To further prove his point, he lifted his opposite hand with his palms faced upward. The small razor spheres floated out of his pocket and around his form. "And as much as I'd hate to make mince meat of someone so precious...well...if it has to be done, then it shall."

She grit her teeth, wincing as his nails dug into her skin. Clenching her jaw, the woman glanced from his face to the spheres, refusing to speak, refusing to show any semblance of fear even as the door to the Captain's quarters suddenly swung wide open.

"Ah! Good! Rien I'm going to need your help with this anyhow. I sense that our little guest isn't going to much like what I have to say." Like Oliver should talk. The man wasn't much taller than Railynn herself. "Come in, come in. Might as well get this overwith quickly."

She was ushered into the expansive quarters, all mahogany and gold and plush carpetting. Antiques lined the walls, priceless paintings and precious artifacts. A pirate's trove. The door was closed behind them, the lock sliding home, and Rien's hand was still wrapped firmly around her upper arm.

Oliver went to his desk, removing something from the top left drawer, before dangling it over the desk surface. It was a strange, thin, black length of fabric.

A collar.

"No." Railynn panicked immediately, turning to push at Rien to try to wrench her arm out of his grip. Oliver made a face, approaching the pair with the collar dangling from his fingertips.

"Hold her still." He told Rien. The elf pirate did just that, hands tightening around her wrists as he locked them behind her back.

There came a loud rapping at the door.

"Captain." Came Morgan's urgent voice. "Captain I need to speak with you, Now you dolt."

The blonde lifted a brow. "Did the slave just call me a dolt?" He looked to the elven pair. "Keep her quiet."

Then, without further ado, the door swung open of its own accord.

"What the hell do you want?" he barked.

"The ship is falling." Morgan said matter of factly. "I've done what I can, but until the cells have time to repair themselves, we're going to keep descending. Apparently someone let someone else blow a huge hole into the side of a main thruster."

Morgan sighed.

"And we're in Sozo territory."

Oliver made a face.

"Well, that's unfortunate. Suppose we'll have to prepare for an emergency landing. Do me a favor, Morgan. Give Benny the coordinates for the nearest patch of landing strip we can find, and preferably put us in a place where we won't be in the middle of a warzone." He lifted a brow. "Namely, Madeva. You're dismissed."

And the door slammed in Morgan's face.

Turning back to the elf, Oliver began to smile. "You know what this is?"

"It isn't going to accomplish what you want it to! It doesn't work that way!" Railynn cried. She grimaced. "Please..."

"I'll do as I like." Oliver pointed out. "But I'm curious to know how a Terran spirit-holder has any kind of idea what this little contraption can accomplish. Unless you've seen one before."

He chuckled. "No matter. You're going to be bound to this ship if my life, my youth, depends on it." He came closer, but Railynn viciously kicked out at him, causing him to stumble sideways.

"Dammit. Rien, you put it on her." The captain seethed, tossing the collar towards the other elf. He grinned wickedly.

"Of course, captain," he said, taking a step forward to snatch up the collar and curl it around Railynn's throat. He stooped low, pressing his lips to her ear. "Now, won't this be an experience you're not readily going to forget, little elf?" She shivered, her eyes wide as she gripped the front of his shirt, arching her back and trying to pull away from him.

The second the collar touched her skin, it melded with it, becoming a part of her, much like a tattoo. Black tendrils poured from it and spun around the elven woman, creating despairing faces of the spirit bound to the collar, which caused it, in turn, to bound Railynn. She went rigid, the breath stolen from her lungs as the seal was completed, something that rooted to her very spirit, and when the feeling faded away, she merely stood there, limp, leaning against Rien's chest as tears burned the corners of her eyes.

What happens now?



----------------

A knock came on Ilona's door.

"It's me." Zhubin's voiced clearly came from the other side. "May I come in?"

She should have known he wasn't going to say much more, it was how he was of course. Always concise.

"Yes, come in," came Ilona's voice. The doorknob twisted, and the door itself flew open, revealing the tall brown-skinned woman, her trench coat tossed onto the small bed, wearing only a tunic and a pair of shorts she was able to borrow from Doc. "What is it?" she asked him.

Zhubin stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He waited for a moment before turning to face her, his look inquisitive, yet suspicious.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

Ilona perked a brow, then put her hands on her very wide hips. "And what do you mean by that, Zhubin? If you're so curious, no. I haven't been sleeping with half the ship." she jested, lowering herself to sit on her bed. "Now, really, tell me. Why've you come?"

The bigger man blinked repeatedly, the joke catching him off guard. "Ah...well. Ahem." He cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why were you helping those women?"

"Which women?" she said with a tight smile.

Zhubin didn't grin, or even budge at all, his expression was stern as he waited for her explanation.

"Honestly, Zhubin. What makes you think I've been helping them? I haven't done a thing!"

Still no response, it was like a parent who was waiting for the confession.

Ilona's eyes closed, trying to avoid that stare. "Really, can you blame me for being afraid for that little elf woman? Rien had his hands all over her. I felt compassionate. Is that such a crime?"

"No." Zhubin said, a small smile coming on to his face. "It actually pleases me to know that you aren't like the others on this ship." He let his hands fall to his side as he began to turn. "Well that was all I was here for. I suggest you start packing anything important. We're landing soon, and we may need to leave the ship if worse come to worse."

"Understood," said Ilona, squinting as he walked out. "Though I'm far ahead of you."

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"It's done." Morgan said flatly as he walked into the engineering level. "Oliver doesn't suspect anything off about the landing, the idiots I'm forced to work for will believe almost anything if I start speaking anything technical."

"Good." Lark said, staring at the dragon Ivory blades. "How long until we land?"

"About three minutes." Answered Morgan with a sigh. He looked at this guy with a raised brow. "do you really think this plan of yours is going to work?"

"If the past is any indication....no." Lark answered. "But I have to try anyway."

"And you promise to help my daughter?"

"you have my word."

"Then...." Morgan sighed once more. "Good luck to you stranger. I hope your able to help your friends....you may want to hurry though...it sounds like that creeper and the 'captain' are doing something with the girl you came to rescue."

Lark was quiet.

"Remember. When we land you'll have only a small window to get away. Find the closest city, from what I can tell, there will be one to the East, follow the river we should land by. These pirates are wanted in all of Sozo, just try and inform officials of their presence, and you should be given help. These guys are strong but I don't think they can fight off a proper force. Not without a working ship."

It was early morning. The sun had not even decided to rise above the horizon yet, and left the air chilly and the ground covered in dew.

This did not bother Duke, who wore a a long, brown leather duster he'd stolen some time in the past. It hid the stone of his left half fairly well.

Flopping over into his eyes was his thick, and currently very greasy blonde hair, which he had not felt the need to give care for quite some time. He just kept walking, hands stuffed into his pockets, limping with every step.