Healing
Shalana Elf
Shalana laid a gentle hand upon Iriana. "I am a healer" She said softly. "Don't try and stand. Stay here." Slowly she took a breath and stared deeply into the woman's eyes. Many question flowed through her, but for now, she would not ask. Since Iriana gave permission for the healing, Shalana smiled and ran her hands down Iriana's legs to her feet. She could tell by the widening of the
woman's eyes that she was feeling the bones mend and strengthen. Shalana released a dream of peace and comfort around them as she continued to concentrate. Smiling she quested and did a quick physical check …releasing health to Iriana's entire
body. Shalana stood and offered her hand, helping Iriana to her now healed feet. She could tell by the dazed expression what occurred was not exactaly what Iriana had expected, for she now faced them in perfect health and clean.
Lunzie watched as Shalana worked her spells
(Lunzie-Tiger) Lunzie Istari
and would have gone over to help the young woman up but for the fact that she didn't wish to scare her further. Seeing a rather large Tiger come at you or seeing someone change form suddenly could be quite a shock. Lunzie stayed back a ways and kept
an eye on their surroundings. Was it her imagination or was the snow thicker where the girl stood than anywhere else?
Mirror, Mirror on The Wall
Dragon Phoenix
The hooded figure crouched over an iced pond. It was watching the group, and their newfound traveler.
"Hmmm..." It mused. "This should get even more fun."
Moving on
Elyen Elf
Elyen frowned as the new girl hung behind with Shalana. The group was continuing on their way, and the whole while, the girl -- Iriana -- seemed to be even more helpless as days go by. There was a pattern somewhere in her behaviour, but the elf couldn't figure out what exactly.
Either way, there was more to the girl than she let on.
Still consumed by thoughts of secrets, he stepped onward, never noticing the girl watching ...
As they started off again
(Lunzie-Tiger) Kamiana Calrissian
Lunzie noticed Elyen frowning at the newest addition. Padding up to the Stripped one, Lunzie turned her head inquisitively up at him. Elyen? What's bothering you? Is it Irianna?
Lunzie was worried about what was happening to the planet, Abrosia was supposed to be a tropical jungle, not an ice world like Niagara. But as worried as she was about that, she was even more worried about her friend's strange behaviour. El was normally racing Galain to be the first to get to know any new females, and Galain's absence shouldnt' have mattered at all.
Worries
(Iriana and) Elyen Elf
The elf turned once to look at the girl, seemingly shy enough to avoid the men before looking back to regard the vampire.
"That girl doesn't... seem right. Think about it, Lunzie. We're on a prehistoric world. We're not even supposed to be here. Don't tell me that she's native, because last I checked, the natives were gargantuan reptiles who would like to have us for lunch."
--
Iriana absorbed everything that the elven woman told her about her travelling companions. About their quest for one Lantri. About the portal. And most importantly, about the girl Flute.
She must know about the girl. She must want the girl.
The dark-haired girl stumbled slightly and smiled gratefully at Jess as he caught her before shying skittishly away. Iriana caught the male elf regarding her and ducked her head. He suspected.
He must be the first to go.
Lunzie listened to what Elyen said.
(Lunzie-Tiger) Lunzie Istari
It made sense. Why hadn't anyone else noticed? Could this girl be the person or one of the persons they were looking for? Could she be helping keep Lantri hidden? Lunzie had to know.
Slowing her pace untill she was with Jess, Shalana, and Iriana, Lunzie listened carefully to what was being said. Sniffing the air casually, Lunzie noticed that the girl didn't smell right either. She smelled like magik. . . dark magik.
Narrowing her eyes, Lunzie did something that she NEVER did without permission. She tried to read the girl's mind. Nothing. Lunzie could get nothing from the spot where Iriana was walking, just emptyness.
Fur ripplling in irritation, Lunzie pulled back further. Though she couldn't see the others, she could still hear them so she knew approximately where they were.
Oww!
Jaina Jade
Some people are atheletes, capable of great physical feats. Some are fit, smoothly toned and fairly muscled. And some...
...some are Jaina Jade, who can't even walk right. *Crack!* went the dead branch she tripped on and down fell the woman. *Wham!*
Everyone (who was awake *g*) turned at the loud thump. Jaina was biting her lip deeply and trying to pull her leg free, all the while in obvious
pain. She gritted, "I think I pulled something... don't seem broke." Her grammer was shot to heck, right beside her pain threshold. Her tongue appeared crimson when she asked, "Can we just sit awhile? Camp? Please?" My leg feels like it's been dino roadkill, so let me just sit a bit! "Flute's still asleep. Why not rest from carrying her?" Gods, don't make me walk. No walking! No!
She gingerly felt through her sturdy boot to her ankle. Since she'd only tripped, not fallen from a ledge or branch, odds were she only had a bruise or sprain. At the moment it felt swollen. Best leave the boot on for now. Damn!
Surrounded by Klutzes. . . .
Elyen Elf
Elyen turned back as Jaina cried out in pain. Great, another wounded.
"I think we'll stop." Elyen said, coming to a squat beside Jaina. Without asking, he reached down and touchd Jaina's ankle. As she hissed, Elyen looked up and pronounced the ankle not-broken before reaching into his pouch removing an ointment.
"You might want to apply this on your ankle. Helps with the pain." He tossed the small bottle to her before sitting down. "We'll break here for a while," he looked at Lunzie. "No point pushing when it might aggravate her situation."
Here's a fine pickle
Jaina Jade
Wonderful. Just wonderful. Her foot still screamed for attention. Maybe the ointment would help -- okay, so it would -- but somehow removing her boot from her sore ankle didn't sound quite right either. Such a dilemma.
On the other hand, it wasn't broken. Hurrah for that. Jaina healed fast for a human, and the injury was more from a sharp tug/twist than a hard hit. With a little luck, it might subside enough to hobble on before long. There were subtle advantages to the Order of vampire hunters after all, and self-healing ranked high on the list of perks.
Scowling at her own anger, she tried to ease her pounding leg beside herself on the ground. It did feel slightly better already -- very slightly. She'd be okay if she could just gather her thoughts. They seemed to have left for Bermuda.
I need food. . .
Flute Istari
Flute woke slowly. Finding herself in Jess' arms, Flute half turned in his arms and asked, "What happened???"
Jess looked down at Flute with concern, "Don't you remember, Little one?"
Frowning, Flute thought hard before nodding. "Guess sleeping made me forget for a while."
Looking around, Flute noticed Jaina holding her foot not far away.
"What's wrong with Nana??"
"She hurt her foot but she'll be alright soon."
"Ohhhh....."
Feeling eyes boring into her being, Flute looked around and finally saw Iriana.
Two pairs of eyes continue looking at each other. Feeling that something was not quite right, Flute looked away and turned to the nearest tree.
*What is it?* - Flute to tree
*.....* - Tree
*What is it?* - Flute asked again
*..... Beware, Chosen One* - Tree
Sighing with irritation, Flute mumbled, "You always say that. Riddles and warnings. A direct answer would nice once in a while."
Catching up to the group Luznie noticed Iriana staring at and awake Flute, and Jaina rubbing her ankle and looking confused.
Padding over to Jaina, Lunzie sat down keeping a weary eye on Iriana. What's wrong? Lunzie could see the look of pain on Jaina's face and could see the faint throbbing of her ankle, but still asked.
Hearing Jaina's explanation, Lunzie didn't know what to offer for advice. I dunno J. Do whatever will make you feel best. Running with scissors Iriana sat with the group, slightly apart. She didn't quite understand why so many were looking at her wierdly. Well, maybe she did, but she still didn't quite understand how they may have caught on so fast.
Sighing inwardly, the girl brought her knees up to her cheeks, hugging her legs to her. Things weren't going well, no they weren't.
She looked over her knees at the girl, Flute, talking about those trees again. Curious, Iriana tentatively reached out and touched the little girl on the shoulder, catching her attention.
"Hello... Flute? My name is Iriana..." Pain of Separation. . .Fear of Loss Shalana blinked when Elyen delayed their journey. She was quite capable of healing Jana's ankle in but moments. She sensed however that her kin was uneasy, as he watched the girl and she too could not but help wonder, how had Iriana had arrived on this planet. Shalana withdrew a piece always from the group as she scanned the land around them. She had no doubt that someone was behind the delays, the death of the tree, and perhaps even behind bringing Iriana into their lives.
Suddenly pain rushed through her body, momentarily paralyzing her, as it drove her to her knees. JESS Her mind screamed as she realized what had happened. With blank eyes she slowly turned to where Jess had been. Her mother was at her side within moments. "Amil…" Shalana whispered then trailed off uncertain.
"Stay here…help you aunt." Enchanted whispered softly as she held her daughter close. "In this I am better equipped." She said "No arguments. We will return." With one last hug she turned to the group and then approached her beloved sister. "Someone has changed time. There are powerful forces here….to have taken Jess so…" Enchanted broke off then hugged her sister tight. "I will be back….don't stop or wait…I can find you again."
Looking at Elyen she nodded…entrusting to him her daughter and sister …there were few outside of Galain she trusted this deeply, he was one. She knew no matter what would see them through. Flashing soul she traced the time anomaly and then with one last encouraging look toward her daughter, she cast a portal and stepped through.
Shalana watched her mother then turned back to her aunt. "Nisha?" She whispered then bowed her head as tears slowly trickled down her face. Everything up in the air Thinking quickly (you know, for a change), Jaina removed her boot, slathered her ankle in Elyen's ointment and replaced the footwear. She healed exceptionally fast, thanks to a gift for her vampire hunting, but it still hurt like a mother. Despite it all she hated injuries. They made her act like such a wimp.
She hobbled over with a branch-cane to thank Elyen, but the portal opening cut her off. Great. Now they were fewer against gods only knew what.
At least Flute has waked. One bright spot.
Iriana seemd to be eyeing everyone's activities except Jaina's. Perhaps she felt lonely in such a close-knit circle. The vampire hunter knew the
feeling, so she drew herself up to the female elf. "Suilad, Iriana. I'm Jaina, klutz extraordinaire. Feel like talking?" Before the elf could reply, Jaina continued. "You have such a lovely name, I must say. What brings you to this wild world, since we're talking?"
(Jaina has two conversational modes: shyly tight-lipped and enthusiastically rambling. Take a guess which she's in now. *g*) Lunzie reverted to her human form when Shalana screamed. She silently watched the actions of her sister and niece with a blank expresion.
Ñisha Shalana's word brought Lunzie back to the problem at hand. Placing her arms protectively around the female Elf, Lunzie took Shalana a ways behind the group, but still within viewing distance.Standing with her back to the Group, Lunzie gave Shalana time to pull herself back together before they returned to the others.
Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Lunzie saw Jaina on her feet talking with Iriana. Shaking the last few moments off, Lunzie went over to Flute Flute, where do we go now? We need to keep moving. We can't afford to stay in one place too long, we can't lose anyone else. She added silently to herself. Hehehe. . . Cackling, the figure watched the goings-on through the still pond. "Two down. How lovely. Now, if only that Flute...And this Iriana...a time vortex? What will she say?" Move along Elyen saw Jaina stand up and move over to speak to the new girl, so he gathered that she was okay by now. He raised an eyebrow in Lunzie's direction.
"Maybe we should make a move on now? JJ seems fine enough."
Iriana allowed a shy smile to cross her face as the other woman rattled on. She couldn't get a word in edgewise.
"I'm Iriana..." she blushed as the woman gushed about it being a lovely name. Murmuring a soft "thank you", she thought of a reason to give the woman.
"Rogue portal." She sniffed, as if the memory hurt her. "A portal took me from my home and dropped me in a green field. Terrified by the roaring, I had run... and tripped on a root." Moving along Shalana shuddered and clung to her aunt for a few moment before stepping away and wiping her eyes. She knew that Jess was alive, she could feel that much. Now was not the time to fall apart. When Elyen joined her she smiled softly and nodded. "Yes. I am…I am alright." She said with determination and looked around the group. "We better move on cousin, before something else happens." Am I still in the air??? Jess' sudden disappearance caused Flute to land abruptly on the ground. Blinking in surprise, Flute looked around. Finally realising that Jess had disappeared into thin air with no particular reason, Flute started to feel frightened. Getting to her feet, Flute rushed to Elyen who was the only one available at the moment.
Grabbing Elyen's leg, Flute whispered, "Ellen.... I'm scared...."
Just then, Shalana & Lunzie returned. With a frown on her face, Lunzie approached Flute. "Flute, where do we go now? We need to keep moving."
Flute looked up at Lunzie with frightened eyes. "North where there's mountains and snow. Not around here.... somewhere far away."
Finishing, Flute tried to flatten herself into Elyen's legs. North? Mountains and snow? Are there snow capped mountains on this planet? Lunzie stood up and looked around, the foliage here was dense, but not as high as it had been. Looking North she could just make out the snowy hights Flute had mentioned.
Well, let's get moving. Elyen, I guess you get to carry Flute now. Jaina? Will you be needing any assistance? North it is. . . Elyen frowned in worry as he picked up the girl and carried her over his shoulders. "There, comfy?" He craned his neck up so he could look into Flute's eyes.
Her answer was a bounce or two.
The elf turned back to Shalana and winced as she grinned slowly. "Well, if you need anything..." He let the sentence trail off. She understood. Just as they were preparing to continue Lunzie felt a familiar presence. Whirling around her face went from that of worrying about their future to that of complete joy. 'SHANE!!! YOU MADE IT!
When Lunzie finally disentangled herself from the Draconic-looking male she turned to her friends and introduced him. 'Shane, these are the friends who are aiding our search. Elyen, Shalana, Flute, Jaina, and Iriana. There were a couple others but something happened and Jess and Enchanted had to leave rather abruptly. Gang, this is Marshane, my Husband.
Flute's eyes grew large as she looked up at Marshane from her perch on Elyen's shoulders. Ohh! He's BIG! Bigger than Giant and Firebird! Flute was actually quiet for a change.
Añe. I bring news and come to help. We'll find no more clues of Lantri here. We must journy to the barren ice desert of Hoth for the next part of this quest.
Catching Shalana's gaze, Añeshia? Do you think you could manage a portal? I'll see what I can do for proper appearal. Lunzie shut her eyes and concentrated. A few seconds later, there was a pile of heavy winter clothing for everyone except Lunzie and Marshane.
'Shane was already in his natural draconic form, and Lunzie quickly joined him in her natural felinoid form. Waiting until everyone had doned their new clothes, Lunzie again spoke to Shalana. Whenever you are ready añeshia. Surrounded by. . .er. . . The snow gear brought Jaina's lower lip tumbling down. "Snow? I hate snow!" Lunzie knew better than to say anything. Jaina would get her gear on sooner or later.
After a few moments, the redhead mumbled what sounded like Huttese curses and pulled the furs on. She tested her ankle. Perfectly healed from her healing factor.
She didn't even twitch an eyebrow at Marshane. Everyone around her seemed to shapeshift or portal or whatnot except herself. Grr. Another reminder she didn't quite fit in. The emotion made her epidermis pulse light, but it barely showed beneath the layers.
"Fine. Let's get going." Can Lunzie tell why I'm so terse, or has Shane's arrival filled her senses? she wondered idly. "While I'm not frozen, people!" Shalana visibly pulled herself together Taking a deep breath the young Rebern Elf recieved an image of Hoth from Marshane and opened a portal. One by one the group of friends went through.
Cold. Bitter, numbing, raw, cold.
Brilliant, blinding white attacked their eyes and there was not a pair of eyes that went unshielded.
Over there! We need to head that direction! Yelled Marshane as he pointed towards the distant mountains across the windswept wastelands before them.
Squinting against the glare, Lunzie looked towards their destination. Everyone hold hands, we need to stay together and the winds here can be visious. If only there were some Banthas around that we could ride! This last was directed towards Marshane. Following Suit "What?" The hooded figure stood tall. "Another one? Well, no matter. I recognize Marshane."
Watching and listening, the figure contemplated, and then decided.
"To Hoth, it is."
A ring slipped onto a slender finger, and the mystery person disappeared. I hate Hoth. . . Elyen grit his teeth, looking down and leaning against the wind as they tumbled into the ice-enshrouded planet. The elf held Flute wrapped in his jacket, holding on to him. The girl burrowed deeper into the jacket as the wind bit.
The elf cursed the planet. He hated Hoth... well at least it wasn't night. They would die in the cold if it was. And last he checked, there were no banthas on Hoth. No, there were funny animals that ran on two legs instead... A tauntaun?
The elf shrugged as the group bundled together to share in the body heat. Gods, if that Marshane fellow was a shapeshifter... Dante's Ninth Circle Teeth chattered. Jaina's only visible flesh was some of her face, but it glowed like a lantern. Strong emotion tended to make her flare like that. Today the emotion was anger.
She grabbed Lunzie by the arm. "This better be worth the cold," she said. "It feels like Dante's deepest level of Hell, where the devil himself in
encased in ice. The devil, Lunzie, that's how bad it feels!"
She sighed. "That was out of line. Still, this better produce results, Lu. Otherwise I'll have to get annoyed or something." Lame, lame, lame! But it
was all Jaina could come up with on short notice. She tightened her hood around her face and trudged forward. Produce results? Of course they were going to get results. Why wouldn't they?
Lunzie stared after her Vampire Hunting friend for a few moments before following the group. It's not too bad here, a bit cooler and windier than back home, but still kinda nice.
Marshane caught this line of thought and grinned. Yes, it is nice to us, but to your friends, it is very cold. They are not designed to whether the extreme temperatures like we are. He explained. It was so windy it was almost impossible to hear anyone verbally,
much easier for the Niagarans to speak directly to each others minds, and hope the others wouldn't mind if they were spoken to. Back at Enchanted's home in the Elen forest. . . Arising Phoenix and Reina were getting woried. There'd been no word from the others since they left. Arising and Reina had stayed behind in case Galain returned and to keep the house in one piece.
Reina lay out in the sun just past the door to the house watching the skys for Lunzie. The great Tigress was worried, Lunzie had never been gone so long without sending word to say that she was still ok. Something was wrong.
Arising cleaned, and recleaned the house from top to bottom until she couldn't take it anymore. She headed into the Forest. Reina followed, not wanting to be left alone completely. Together, Arising and Reina wandered the forest eventually ending up back at Enchanted's home.
(Luznie-Tiger) Lunzie Istari
(Iriana) Elyen Elf
Shalana Elf
Jaina Jade
(concerned) Lunzie Istari
Dragon Phoenix
(with Iriana) Elyen Elf
Shalana Elf
Flute Istari
Lunzie Istari
Elyen Elf
(Marshane and) Lunzie Istari
Jaina Jade
(Marshane, Shalana, and) Lunzie Istari
Dragon Phoenix
Elyen Elf
Jaina Jade
(Marshane and) Lunzie Istari
(Arising and Reina) Lunzie Istari