Haze

Fear. It was clearly written all over the Weaver's face. Her hazel eyes wide with panic as her body writhed beneath the shadows's tight hold. Her mouth was open but no sound could escape from her lips, neither could a breath enter her lungs. The grasp on her throat tightened everytime she tried to lash out at him, but her efforts were futile. The more she struggled against the hand crushing her throat the harder it became to breathe. She was going to die. Two shadows held down her shoulders while their master looked down on her with eyes empty of any emotion. Just seconds before it was too late the hand around her neck loosened and the shadows dissipated. Unbound leaned to the right in his kneeling position and used his unoccupied hand to hold his head. It was another one of those annoying flashes that distracted him at the most important of times. The girl, still weak from her near-death experience, attempted to make an escape from the castle while Unbound was being assaulted by another hazy memory. It came in short choppy clips, all out of order, as usual they made very little sense. He saw himself sitting in a bed with bandages covering his eyes, a room sealed in darkness by heavy curtains, and the strangest and most inexplicable of all, a brief vision of Kaede.

When the images finally faded Unbound became aware of his surroundings again. The vast room with the blazing fireplace, he was back in the castle that he created for himself. In the distance he could hear the retreating footsteps of the female that he had almost succeeded in killing only a few seconds ago. He couldn't let her escape like that, anyone bold enough to step out against Unbound wasn't allowed to simply run away when the chance arrived. He dropped his arms and stood up, an uninvited pounding in his head almost made him give up on the kill. Giving up because of a little pain, it was highly uncharacteristic of him. He snapped and three shadowy forms sprang up from the white marble floor simultaneously. They stood in a line before him, soldiers awaiting his orders. "Find her. Don't let her leave." His voice was just as emotionless as his eyes. The shadows sank back into the floor and shot off out of the door and down the hallway at an incredible speed. Meanwhile, Unbound made no rush in exiting the room. His face gave away no signs of his inner turmoil, but he was plagued with the same questions he always had after one of his flashback episodes. What did they mean and why was Kaede always included in them?

A feminine scream resonated through the halls and it was clear that the shadows had finally caught up to her. Not too long after Unbound found her again, and his loyal servants once again pinning her to the ground. "It wasn't very smart of you to run away, it only prolonged your torture." Something flashed in his eyes and his face changed the slightest bit. His mouth was turned up in a smirk and his sapphire eyes lit up with excitement. The girl let out a sharp gasp when Unbound's hand drove straight through her torso, right at the spot where her heart would be. Like other Weavers before their deaths, her eyes drained of color and her body slowly faded out of existence. She would be trapped in the void just like everyone else who was unlucky enough to die in Haze. "If only they wouldn't oppose me so much, I wouldn't have to kill them before the Creation." He sighed as his interested expression disappeared and was replaced with the indifferent one her usually wore.

Unbound's ultimate goal was to remodel Haze into a world fashioned completely from his own mind, he often referred to this plan as the Creation since he didn't consider the world he resided in now to be suitable. For that to happen, it would take a great deal of power. He had to prepare himself, but it was close to impossible with so many standing in his way. That was why he hadn't tried it yet. Doing such a thing would take its toll on his energy and if he wasn't careful-and didn't have the proper amount of recovery time, it could kill him. He wouldn't be able to protect himself in such a weak state and that's why he was taking so much time to kill anyone that posed a threat to him. Once the obstacles were all gone he could start his plan and take the time to recuperate without any interruptions.

"If only those damned Dreamers wouldn't interefere so much." They also posed a threat to him. When they reunited with their lost lover and restored their memories the pair grew stronger. If a group of them tried to fight Unbound at once he wasn't sure what the outcome of that battle would be, and he wasn't willing to ever find out. He sought to kill the Dreamers whenever they appeared before something like that could ever happen. "Soon enough my way will be clear of impediments, and then I can turn this hell into something glorious." He almost smiled but his mouth soon fell back into a straight line. Back in the room with the two-story fireplace he flung his hand out and moved it in a spiraling motion, at the far end of the room a throne materialized between two sprawling windows-which displayed nothing but darkness beyond them. He sat down and the room fell silent as he went still. His headache had increased after summoning those shadows and he took this downtime to wait for its end.

Once he was feeling better he would make a point to venture out of the castle in search for Dreamers. Actively hunting them down would help speed up the process and he was growing tired of waiting. If no Dreamers appeared in Haze and the other Weavers were left oblivious of their past, Unbound would finally be able to create his world.

Drip. Drip. Drip

"Wh-... Whyyy is it so cooooold?" The boy's blue eyes flew open, taking in his surroundings. A frozen pond. His breath huffed out, visible in the frigid air, as he wiped the icicles from his lashes. Blinking a few times, Leith looked down at his torso and frowned. "Seems I fell asleep again..." The ice incasing his submerged half began to melt. "I hate when it's cold." Leith whined, tilting his head back and gazing up at the sky with a pitiful expression. His bright eyes carefully followed a single snowflake as it twirled towards the earth. "Down, down, down..."

Drown, drown, drown.

"What?!?" Leith slapped his hands to the sides of his temple and shook his head, what were those sudden, sneaky sneaking thoughts? So annoying... The snowflake landed on his nose. Leith froze and watched it melt, until it was nothing but a droplet of water, sliding slowly off his face. His tongue lashed out to catch it as it reached the corner of his mouth. "It meeelllted," he sang softly; "but it was still cold." He sneezed. "Still COLD!" Leith's hands came down violently, splashing into the now boiling hot water. "I HATE COLD!" The boy stood and brushed himself off, although, there wasn't much to brush- just simple black pants and a jacket that hung open, as well as a hand-knit blue scarf wrapped around his neck. His scarf. Leith loved his scarf. He couldn't figure why; just that it was very very important, and exceptionally comfy. The air now obscured by steam, and his tantrum apparently over, Leith strolled away from the pond with a pompous gait. Steam, fog, steam. Forever through this Haze...

"It seems," Leith began with an over-exaggerated scholarly tone; "The correct path one should take when faced with a situation such as this would be..." He paused, stroking an imaginary mustache, and studied the fog with concentrated scrutiny. "Would beeee..."
"... Around and Around in Circles!" Leith suddenly shouted, gleefully throwing his arms out wide and spinning himself recklessly as the moisture in the air fell in droplets to collect at his feet. Faling in a fit of giggles, Leith slapped another of the puddles, fingers skipping along the ripples he created. "Hehe, I never did understand this place... Do I need to? I don't know, what do you think?" He regarded his reflection in the puddle, patiently waiting. It didn't respond. Leith's eyes narrowed. "Oh ho, So... you think you can ignore me?" His voice grew darker, lower; "Imbecile. You shall rue the day you failed to heed my exquisite predicament!" Water lifted from the earth, as if dancing to a piper's tune, to collect in the boy's hand. "Inquiry to interrogation! Fie! Dare you speak now?... No? Then perhaps liquidation?! Eradication!!!" Face set in rage, he brought the ice-dagger down upon the pond, effectively distorting the image. "Hah. Mock me no longer, fatuous frivolous fragment! You waste my time. I shall travel on!"

Satisfied with the insults, Leith rose, turned, and swaggered through the puddles. "La lu lo, a merry good soul! For what? Two tuts!" Leith's song grew in volume, shoes striking dry grass as he marched along; "And an old shoe crow! Away we gooooo!" His eyes closed as his arms swung. Leith grinned like a cat. "Fu fa fo, today I go! Today I goh! Fooorget me no! I loved you sooooh! Perhaps you know? I am not high, nor am I low. For this is simply really slllooow... waiting on a wonderfully compelliiiing show!" The insane laughter carried out over the rolling hills, tinged orange and gold with dusk's light. Leith was not listening to the words coming out of his mouth, he was too preoccupied watching his feet traversing over solid ground. The movement he noted, was utterly different from that of a person in water...
"Mmmm...I love sunsets..."

Wolf was laying in a fetal position, her hands grasping the place where her heart thudded heavily like a drowsy metronome, as if she was trying to protect it from being torn out of her chest, leaving behind an empty shell and a bloody mess. The vision of blood in her mind's eye was the only thing that made her reluctantly open her eyes. As soon as they were open, though, she closed them once more. Each time she opened her eyes again, she'd see Ryoya, a vision she didn't want to see. Wolf tried to stop them, but, involuntarily, the tears began to well up, and she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her face to hide them.
Maybe she wasn't the Big Bad Wolf everyone at school was afraid of, the mean one that they all thought she was, maybe she did have a heart in that chest.
Maybe...just maybe.
The ground seemed to fall out from underneath her as she seemed to fall into an eternal nothingness. She hit the ground at a bone crushing speed and opened her eyes to find her in a place that seemed to be shrouded by fog and a cold that froze you to the core.
She rubbed the goosebumps off of her arms and sat up, trying to rub away the cold. Wolf obviously wasn't home in her bed anymore, it was as if she had fallen into a whole other world in her inner consciousness. She shuddered involuntarily as she tried rubbing away the chill and discomfort she was feeling in this new place. That's when she noticed something damp and warm on her hands that she was rubbing all over her arms.
Slowly, Wolf looked down and screamed,
blood.
Everywhere, the blood was everywhere, it soaked her body and was in a puddle around her feet. Her heart pattered crazily and she felt dizzy. The smell was giving her a headache and she felt like dying, just dying. Without realizing it, she was running, running away from the puddle. Her knee high stalkings squished against the ground, leaving bloody footprints where she steped, and it became obvious that she wouldn't be able to escape it.
That's when she fell over a sleeping figure, it appeared to be male, and Wolf thought she recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn't see his face, so she didn't know. She huddled up against him, her breaths shaky as she looked down at herself once more.
The blood was gone.

Animal calls and cries rose from the fetid waters, drifting into the steam and mist and losing their way, to dart here and there until their origin became as muddled as the sound. Trying to find a direction was useless; Any path was swallowed by the shifting reeds in moments. Nor could one linger to catch their bearings, as a million wriggling invisible things in the water swarmed over their feet. Black chitinous things with too many legs and rainbow wings darted through the air, the size of a human fist and buzzing like a nest of hornets, and vanished beneath the water as slimy creatures that could have been frogs tore them from the sky.

In a tree, it was safer, and the full expanse of the swamp could be seen on a clear day. For miles around there was the same view- Dead yellow grass and reeds the height of a man that did not blow in the wind, punctuated here and there by glimpses of the black, oily water beneath. Only occasionally was there solid ground, and here grew twisted, leafless trees, long dead but still growing. If one looked their hardest, they might see the edge of this swamp, where it shifted back to the white mists of the Haze.

At the center was the greatest tree of all. One it had been three trees on the same island, but over time they had grown together. They supported each other, their roots holding the island together and forming a sort of sheltering hut built of brances. At the top they seperated again, three tangle boughs stretching away. Miraculously, there were leaves here, small and green-brown, barely alive but still there.

In the center of that natural structure, there was a girl. She wasn't very old; Not old enough to drink, if there had been any alcohol nearby (that is, edible alcohol. A small colony of extremophile bacteria was making good business at the bottom of a toxic lake nearby in chewing up rocks and spitting out alcohols, but they weren't really a viable source of booze). She certainly hadn't been to a mall or anything else stereotypically teenage for some time, swathed in a massive and thick dark grey cloak that had been ripped and torn to tatters over time over a black dress that had been similarly torn up- No skin showed, but instead an undersuit of grey bandages had been wrappped around her body. Only her head was visible, pale white skin where it was clean and grimy with mud and probably blood where it wasn't. Her thick black hair was long and uncut. She also carried a ball of fire in her left hand, the heat of which was kicking of wind around her and making the thick cloak swirl.

With a flick of her wrist the ball vanished but the heat remained, a shimmering spot in the air. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and focused. The shimmering expanded, nearly touching her hand.

Abruptly she gasped and thrust her hand out. The air burst into colored flame while icicles formed on the branches. The girl was flushed and shivering, but the ball of heat now filled nearly the entire space, insulated by another sphere of cold. Then it lost its shape, became a mass of wind and swirling heat, and vanished entirely.

Jordan Foster slumped to the floor, wrapping her cloak around her, wishing the mental cold would vanish from her. She'd long ago learned that making something cold to warm up would only make her skin crawl as it was burning up and freezing at the same time. The only thing she could do was wait.

Eighteen seconds that time, but only two spheres. If I'm going to trap him, I'll need three, and a lot longer than seconds. It was a daunting thought, but her mind was resolute. Someday, surely, she would find a way to hold that prison she'd begun devising. Someday.

But there was some almost imperceptible change in the air, the natural way disrupted. If Jordan hadn't been surviving in this swamp for half a year or so now she wouldn't have noticed, but something was very, very wrong. Or, perhaps, it was something right finally happening. The two were hard to differentiate, here. All Jordan could tell was that someone had intruded in her solitude and study, and that such actions would not be tolerated.

Jordan stood, her cloak wrapped around her but flapping in the wind, and went out to find the intruder.

His bedroom sparkled with a clean smell. Ohira was at his house. His eyes opened as he stretched and looked around his room. He didn't even remember having a dream. He smiled. Out side the window was a beautiful bright sun. He stood up from his bed and looked around his satisfying room. He yawned as he rubbed his well rested eyes. Taking in every breath of sweet air. He was in his nice cozy home. Although it seemed as if the heater was on too high. Little did Ohira know that he wasn't really home. All of a sudden a dog tackled him. Pouncing on him in a cute way, knocking him to the rug by his bed. The dog continuously licked the boys face. The dog's rough tongue tickling his face. Ohira giggled as he was being licked by the tiny puppy. He reopened his eyes that closed from the impact, taking in every detail of the dog, closer and closer. "No-Nori?" Nori. Ohira's dead puppy from ten years ago. His eyes widened as he finally figured out that he wasn't home at all. He was in a dream. More of a nightmare.

The dog turned to ashes and fell onto Ohira's pj's. Staining the blue t-shirt to black. The soft fabric becoming hard from the oils of the ash. Ohira jumped up and brushed off the ashes while screaming. He then jumped back onto his bed and burrowed his face in one of his soft pillows. His pillow smelled like smoke. Ohira retracted from the soft fabric right away. Taking a deep breathe. But all it seemed to him was he was breathing in smoke. He needed fresh air and quick. He darted his head out of his open window. Another deep breathe was taken. Smoke. Everything smelt and tasted like smoke. Ohira started to flip out. Tears dropped from his burnt eyes as he looked at his door. He ran over to the shiny doorknob and turned and pulled. It wouldn't budge. The door blew up into ashes and slid of his wall. Ohira was now crying of pain and of fright. His eyes burning and burning. Ohira sweating as he tried to look for a way out. He could never fit threw his window. Only because his window completely disappeared. Everything else disappeared as well. All into ashes. It was just him and a pile of ashes. As well as some walls. The room then increased with heat.

It was unbearable now. But only when fire started up in Ohira's room did he scream. A little ball of fire. It started spreading around the room. Encircling Ohira. He scream and started to hyperventilate. He screamed more as the fire encased him with walls. His arms and face were burning. His Pj's caught on fire and he acted as quick as possible. He threw off his shirt and took off his pants and underwear. Leaving him naked. The fire was now burning every part of his bod. Which was way worse. It hurt like never before. The fire was scaring him to death. He was starting to lose vision and his throat ached from screaming so much. Then the fire ate him. Sending Ohira into a whirling whole of darkness.

When he opened his eyes he could see a bright light from far off. Fire. He was now in his normal black jacket with fluffy red material at the neck and wrists. As well with some jeans and a black t-shirt. That nightmare scared him. All he could do was curl up and whimper to himself. He didn't want the fire from a distance to come closer. Tears came from his eyes as he burrowed his face into his knees.

Blood, it is always about blood... Ryoya's mind drifted off into deep thought as he walked through his very own Hell. At least that was what he liked to call it. All he wanted to do was maybe kill a couple of people and watch the hopeless looks on their faces as they bleed out. Everything about blood he loved. The way it looked coming out of some person's neck, the way it glistened on his hands, and it's metallic scent. All of this was tied together by the pain it brought the other person. Sighing he felt like he was killing so many people, but he was looking for that one person who would be able to fulfill his lust for blood. Of course killing and watching the other person die brought him some sense of fulfillment, but there was one person he was searching for to possibly end his lust for blood. It would be the ultimate kill. What was he living for? Blood? To him it was his only meaning in life. It didn't matter to him however. If his only purpose for living was to kill others, then he would certainty live up to whoever expectation it was.

A smile played on his lips as he walked over to what seemed to be a house. There was a young boy and his mother in the window. His stride picked up until he reached the front door. Ryoya kicked the door down and enjoyed the blood curdling scream coming from the child's mother. Without saying a word, he move the mother away from her son by manipulating her blood. He pulled out a knife from the kitchen and strolled back over to the mother. "Don't worry your child will be fine." Just as she was going to scream, he stabbed her in her stomach twice. He pulled the knife out of the second wound and allowed the woman to fall to the floor. Her screams sounded like Bach playing only for him.

He stood over the girl watching her trying to hopelessly get over to her son. "I'm sorry." His voice held sarcasm in it as he bent down and stabbed the woman once more. Once he pulled it out she stopped moving all together. He ran his fingers ever so lightly across the blade before letting it drop to the ground with a clinging noise. He saw the child out of the corner of his eye and paused for a moment. The feeling of losing something so important to you was enough pain. Not saying anything, he walked out of the home. As he glided down the lifeless path, he saw a girl with black hair who seemed confused. He smiled and decided to play with her mind a little. He moved the blood from his clothes and hands and made a pool around her. Hearing her scream caused him to chuckle silently.

He continued to walk towards her until she ended up blindly running into him. His eyes widened a little shocked from her running into him. He smile played on his lips as he looked down at her. "You seem scared my dear." His voice held a sinister overtone to it as he ran his hand through her hair. Her blood probably looks amazing... The urge to kill her overwhelmed him, but he tried his best to restrain himself. There was something about this girl that wanted him to play with her some more. "You shouldn't blindly hug strangers. You never know what might happen next." He pushed her away holding onto her shoulders however. A smirk danced along his lips as he used the blood from earlier and created a rose. Holding it in his hand he smiled at her. "Blood rose my dear?" He held it out for her to take it.

This is just the worst place to be. With all the lights on in the room and still the darkness managed to seep through in the deepest of corners. Kaede glanced to them with a dull expression and shivered, turning his face back to the ceiling. His hands were placed calmly over his stomach and although he was staring at the gray-colored ceiling through half-lidded eyes, he wasn't seeing the ceiling, he was seeing something in a completely different world. It was hard to tell anymore whether the visions his mind showed him were memories or mere imagination. Maybe he was going mad. It wouldn't be too surprisingly after being stuck in such a boring, dreary place like this stuck around an angsty sadist like Unbound.

What a stupid name, Kaede could help but think for probably the hundredth time. He liked to repeat himself in his head. It gave him a sense of surety, of memory. If he kept repeating the words, he was sure never to forget them. He didn't want to forget his own thoughts. If he forgot them, then what did he have left? A name? A face? Who cared? If he couldn't retain the memory of anything else, he'd rather lose the latter two as well. If he was going to lose his most precious thing that he held onto, then he might as well lose the rest of himself too. Madness would be horrible.

A scream echoed through-out the halls and Kaede couldn't help it when he shut his eyes tightly. It was a female, young, like him. Unbound. There was no other explanation for it. He was in Unbound's castle, after all. It was all too often for him to hear the sounds of misery ricochet off these stone walls. Sometimes Kaede couldn't help but wonder when it would be his time to die. After all, there was no set contract between him and Unbound that told him he would always be protected from. There was nothing between them besides a slight mutual understanding. Even then, it wasn't a complete feeling. Unbound wanted to control this world and he wanted to be rid of all the Dreamers so he could accomplish this task, as well as with the other Weavers; but Kaede was merely jealous of the others. He didn't care what Unbound did to anyone else, so long as he got rid of the other Dreamers. They thought they were so good, so special, so much better than him. Well, he would show them. He'd show them through the wrath of Unbound.

Maybe it's my fault. Sighing, Kaede knew that sitting here in bed all day wasn't going to get him anywhere anytime soon. As much as he dreaded the thought of stepping out into that world of darkness outside the castle doors, he knew it was better than sitting here and drifting off into a world of self-pity. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to wake up from this nightmare any time soon. As he left his room and took a few turns around a few halls, he just saw the tail-end of Unbound as he left. Weighing his options of whether or not he was even in the mood to socialize--if you could call it that when speaking to someone on Unbound's disposition--Kaede eventually decided he didn't feel like waiting. He might as well go ahead.

Striding forward, though still taking his leisurely time, Kaede left through the very same doors and caught up to Unbound, walking with the boy side-by-side. At first, he had nothing to say. He wasn't too worried about it, but he was afraid Unbound may be in a bad mood after that implied kill. "You're awfully productive today," he said stiffly, not used to using his voice after so long. Still, he somehow always found himself being more casual around Unbound than any of the others. Maybe it was how he could seemingly relate.

"Blood rose my dear?"
Wolf slowly opened her eyes, she hadn't realized that she had them squeezed shut. Her hands shook and she slowly raised her gaze up at the man held out a rose to her.
She gasped, it couldn't be.
It was.
Ryoya. The only person of the opposite sex that Wolf had ever had actual romantic feelings for, in her life. Instinctively, she reached up and touched his face, running her hand across his jaw like she used to. Back when he was alive, it was what she used to do whenever she wanted him to kiss her, but now, she just did it to make sure it was really him, he was really there. "Ryoya.." She whispered, though it sounded more like a question.
That's when she noticed what he was offering her. A rose, made solely out of blood. Her vision blurred as tears threatened to spill out and her knees felt weak, and her throat constricted, she was about to faint.
Wolf clenched her fists and slapped the blood rose out of his hand, angrily. Quickly, she wiped the blood off of her hand from the rose, on his shirt, and used the clean hand to wipe away the tears before they could spill out.
"You idiot," she hissed, venom dripping from her voice, "you know I'm hemophobic!Never do that again!"
She stood there, looking at him, her body shaking from fear and anger, wanting nothing more than for Ryoya to scoop her up in his arms and kiss her forehead, but for some reason, she wasn't going to get that.
She ducked away from him and turned to walk away, her feet felt increasingly heavy as she walked away from her departed lover, but she trudged on, planning to confront him again when she felt much stronger than she did now.
Wolf heard a whimper and she sped up, making her way to a figure, curled up in a ball.
She circled the human ball, and sat down next to him. Catching a quick look at his face, she recognized him as one of her friends.
She put her hand on his back and tried to comfort him, "It's okay, Ohira, it's just me, Wolf." She whispered to him, trying to sound comforting, but she herself was close to tears as well. She looked up to see if Ryoya was following her, and then looked back to Ohira.

Ryoya looked at the girl in bewilderment. Who was this girl? She seemed to have known him, but how is that possible? This was really random. Here he was going to kill her, but then she talks like she knows him? It was too much of a coincidence. Ryoya looked down at her in shock. Was she crying? How did she know his name? A million questions went through his head as he stared down at the girl. Who was she? Maybe he did know her and just can't remember? Shrugging the thought off, he would have remembered her. He has a very good memory, so someone this attached to him he would remember them. She was probably just crazy. Just as he was going to ask her who she was, she stopped crying and knocked the rose out of his hand. What did he do for her to be angry? The light breeze blew through his hair as he watched her run away.

He had to ask her what she was talking about. None of it was making sense to him. After watching her run away, he stood there in silence. "She isn't getting away without explaining herself properly. Who comes up to a random person like that?" He questioned as if he had room to judge how someone treats someone else. Ryoya strolled after the girl. He hesitated seeing she was with another boy, but he had to get some answers out of her. Walking up behind the girl, his glance fell upon the male she was in front of.

"I could care less about this boy, but who are you? How do you know my name? If you came here to try and date me then I'll have to kill you first. Love is useless here and also a waste of time." Maybe if he was his old self he wouldn't think so darkly, but he couldn't help it now. The fact was this girl intrigues him. "Listen just hurry and tell me what I asked for so I can kill you." Ryoya couldn't explain what had intrigued him so much, but it wasn't her blood. No it was something else but he couldn't put his finger on it. Before letting this infatuation with her get out of hand, he was going to have to kill her. It was going to drive him crazy otherwise. He walked next to the girls side and looked at the boy with her. A feeling of wanting to kill the pair started to increase, but he had to know why this girl knew him so well.

At Kaede's sudden appearance beside him, Unbound's form almost instantly went rigid. His body stayed straight on its path but his eyes did look over at the other boy for the briefest of glances. He sat on his throne stiff and visibly aggitated. He normally didn't mind the presence of someone remotely similar to himself, but there were times after he had those images of his past life that left him in an especially foul mood. He didn't answer right away but instead relished in the silence that followed Kaede's words. That pesky headache of his felt like it was slowly subsiding, only someone who was around him a lot would be able to tell when he was relaxed. He sunk down in his chair a little and crossed one leg over the other; his face transformed from a scowl to a look of indifference as he opened his mouth to finally speak. "She knew what would happen if she ever dared to defy me." He rolled his shoulders in a small shrugging motion and flashed a quick grin. "We're going to do something fun today." He laced and unlaced his fingers together as the wheels started turning in his head.

"I believe we have some newcomers, it wouldn't be right if we didn't greet them." He dropped his hands in his lap and stared as they turned into tightly clenched fist. "I would hate to think that any Dreamers got the opportunity to meet their counterparts, wouldn't you agree Kaede?" Unbound released a quick breath and stood up. Maybe it was a bit of paranoia putting him on edge. He was a professional at not showing much emotion on the exterior, but it was hard to sit back and relax when he knew there were others out there working against him. He was always thinking about the possibility of Weaver's regaining their lost memories and rebelling against him. If he could kill of everyone who opposed him, including the Dreamers that posed to be his greatest threat, then there would be no need to worry. "We should introduce them to the wonderful world of Haze."

"Find the newcomers, if possible, their Weavers too. Bring them here." Oh it was going to be an interesting time. A group of Unbound's clones rose up from the shadows in the floor, they looked exactly as he did save for their lack of coloring, ready to serve him. With a flick of his wrist they sunk back into the ground and darted off in search of the castle's soon-to-be guest. In the meantime Unbound made himself busy with preparations. "Kaede get ready, we have to look presentable for their arrival." Unbound clapped twice and the room lit up by a giant chandelier. A grand dining table appeared to take up a great portion of the room and crystal tableware glistened in the light. Unbound's own attire was replaced with a luxurious black tuxedo complete with a blue bowtie. Despite his murderous behavior, his intentions weren't to gather everyone there to kill them. He merely wanted to observe them for another reason he wasn't ready to reveal yet, along with the chance to memorize their faces.

The shadows split off in different directions but they all ended up right where they were supposed to be. They changed into flat squares and made a sizzling sound before disappearing. In their wake were words written in a flowing script. Dear traveler, you are cordially invited to attend a most lavish gathering at Master Unbound's castle. Your presence would be a great honor. Please follow the arrows. Sure enough a trail of arrows had appeared, they led straight to the castle.

Jordan stood at the edge, where the black waters and dead grass of the swamp gave way to the misty flat white that made up so much of the haze. She frowned. None of the intruders were here. Why had she felt one, then? 

"Doesn't matter," she said to the deaf world. ''Just head back,'' she told herself, and stepped back into the fetid marsh. 

The sound of footsteps crackling on dead grass alerted her, and she spun around, her cloak spreading behind her like a cloud of smoke. There, standing nonchalantly at the very edge of the swamp, the place she had thought he could never find, was Unbound, his black hair and well-tailored clothes unmistakable. 

"You!" she screamed, pulling back a hand. Her blood ran cold and hot at once as she began to form spheres of heat and cold. ''Can't know if it will work, but I have to try! Even if it kills me, I have to-''

The clone bowed and shifted, forming into an square that vanished and a glowing letter. Jordan blinked and let the spheres fade from her mind, lowering her hand. "The hell?" she said, confused. "I hide from him for years and he shows up to ask me to a dance?" The implications were horrifying. He knew where she was, he must have known what she was preparing... ''But he didn't care.'' Jordan's efforts mattered less to him than a party. 

Of course, it was a trap. But she didn't care. Her blood was up and she wanted revenge. 

''Sorry, swamp,'' she thought, as she stepped out of it and back into the white Haze, where arrows now lit. ''But I'm not letting this opportunity pass me up.''

Being a good distance away, no doubt everyone else would have arrived when she got there.