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Post by Sprow on Sept 6, 2011 21:14:05 GMT -5
Julian was going 'lightly' on Artemis so far. His reasons weren't just because he was trying to toy with him, it was because he was cautious of the energy he had seen earlier. If it had been Annalese, she would have rushed into the energy foolishly. Julian was more wary when he sensed something was up. Having managed to hit Artemis, he landed on the ground catlike and watched the human land.
Oddly enough, the dark energy did not go right through the boy. He was definitely made of tougher stuff. Even stranger, after hitting Artemis, the kid got back up and something weird happened to the air around them. It suddenly got colder.
Looking at Artemis, he scrutinized him for a moment. "You are not an elemental yet you weild powers as if you were one." It wasn't a question, merely a statement.
Luckily for Artemis, Julian only had darkness powers. "Well, this is going to be more fun than thought!" Julian stated before encasing his hand in darkness and aiming a punch at Artemis.
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Annalese was beside herself with tension. She wanted to get moving! Hearing Lakari speak to her in this fashion, she just couldn't help but feel antsy. He was an old man and he was acting as if there was nothing to worry about.
"S-Sorry! It's just-Julian!" she said, clearly still on edge as she lead him through the forest toward where she knew Julian and Artemis would be.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 21:36:16 GMT -5
Artemis was barley rising to his teeth when Julian claimed him somewhat an elemental. Well he was not an elemental in truth. But he could use some of the elemental energy. So Julian had that much right. But Artemis's abilities were never about elements. His technique was always in his own strength and speed. It just so happened that the enemy was a bit faster and stronger.
It was at about this time that Julian charged forward. Artemis was faced with a decision. He was to slow to dodge the attack. He had to rely on the armor to block him.
Lakari and Annalese arrived on the scene at just about the time that Julian was coming at Artemis with a hand charged with dark energy. The fool had formed a shield of ice around him. The ice would soften the energy but it would still pack a punch. Lakari sighed as they came on the scene. The things he did for these fools!
Simply waving a hand, a wall of light energy formed in front of Artemis. If the enemy did not stop he would find himself smacking into a wall of energy and his momentum would be carried and thrown back at him. If he did. Well then he would.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 6, 2011 22:51:50 GMT -5
Julian wondered how powerful the ice armor was around this human. It looked pretty thick but would it be enough to block Julian's attack? Vampire's strength was greater than that of humans but that didn't mean the armor wouldn't protect Artemis. It was worth a shot for Artemis to try it.
It really looked as though Julian were about to send his fist through the rigid, hard ice. However, someone or something didn't seem to want to allow Julian that opportunity even if Artemis's ice armor could have blocked it.
A sudden barrier of light emitted in between them. Who it was from, Julian hadn't a clue but he couldn't stop the momentum of his punch then. So, the force of his fist that would have made impact with Artemis's armor had been stopped abruptly and thrown right back at Julian. The force had been so strong, it sent Julian flying backwards tent to twenty feet, skidding in the ground leaving a trail of dirt for skid marks.
His pupils narrowed again into cat-like slits as he looked around for the source. "Who dares to interfere?" he snarled.
Annalese stayed close to where Lakari was but not enough to impede him should Lakari feel the need to rush at Julian. "Y-You should stop, Julian!" Annalese called out to her older brother. Julian just scoffed at her but didn't reply as he looked at the new arrival. Some sort of old man was standing there yet something didn't seem right.
"Who's the old man?"
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2011 10:54:29 GMT -5
Artemis was saved by Lakari. Thank goodness too because he wasn't all to certain that the attack would have been stopped this time. Rising to his feet he let the ice armor around his body disperse before nodded to Lakari. "Thank you for coming. Perhaps if we attack together..."
"Shut up." Lakari told Artemis mid-sentence. His eyes never left Julian however. Artemis had no idea what was going through the old man's head but he had not expected Lakari's sharp tone.
Lakari watched the exchange between Annalese and her brother. When Julian asked who the old man was, Lakari lashed out once more. "Silence!" And with that lash came an attack. It was something that Artemis and most likely Annalese, had never seen before. Light and Dark energy came from the old man's hands and disappeared into the ground.
Artemis had no idea what the point of that was. At least he didn't until the ground suddenly started to rumble beneath them. At first he thought it was an earthquake. After all thats what tends to be happening whenever the ground starts shaking. But something broke through the ground. Artemis watched with amazement as the skeleton of a large mammoth busted through the earth.
"Hmm. I wonder vampire.... Are you as dead as this creature here? For if you are, then you are mine!" And with a sudden pump of the arms that same energy sailed through the air towards Julian.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 7, 2011 21:05:04 GMT -5
Annalese looked over at Lakari when he just told Artemis to shut up sharply. Blinking, Annalese wondered what had come over Lakari. Usually, the elderly man held a calm, gentle nature. Ever since her biting Red, it seemed as though Lakari had become gruff. Just what was the issue lately? It didn't seem like the old man but then again, they hadn't known him for all that long. None of them knew anything about his past.
Julian narrowed his eyes as he looked upon Lakari. Just what was this old man made of? He knew something wasn't quite right here. He gave a start when Lakari told him to silence. As he did so, a sudden energy was emitted from the old man.
Annalese fell on her bottom as she looked, gaping at the crack the split in the earth. Out of it came an enormous mammoth skeleton! Julian was rather surprised by the power the elderly human had shown. Bringing his gaze back toward Lakari, he gave a start when he aimed the energy his way.
Having just seen an undead skeleton come to life, Julian had a very nasty feeling that what he was facing right now wasn't anything human. He was warned of those with such powers. It was those of the necromancers and vampires could easily fall to their will if they weren't careful. Already, Julian was unnerved. How could he even hope to fight him?
Seeing energy shot his way, Julian turned and ran from the spot. Glancing over his shoulder, he threw a nasty glare at Lakari. "I won't let you take over me!" he snarled at him.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2011 11:10:01 GMT -5
Lakari was very much not fully human. In fact he wasn't even a human at all. Of course no one really knew that. His magic was beyond that of a mere human, that was for sure. He could have ordered the mammoth after Julian when he turned from the spot and began running. But there was no way the mammoth would be able to catch the vampire.
Letting the creature return to rest, the large mammoth fell to the earth in a heap of bones, as Lakari let go control. However as he let go of the control of the creature he raised his hands. A twelve foot wall of light energy suddenly formed right in front of the vampire. But Lakari didn't stop there.
Using even more power he made the wall longer and longer until it surrounded them all, trapping them in a circle. Of course so much magic had forced Lakari to drop his human disguise. Standing in the place where Lakari stood was a tall dark elf. He was dressed in the same clothing of Lakari but he looked to be no more then his thirties. His hair was long and white and eyes sharp and purple in color.
If Julian ran into the wall he would be thrown back. If he managed to stop... well there wasn't much places he can go.
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Artemis watched the exchange with awe. When suddenly Lakari was replaced with a dark elf... Well alot of things suddenly started making sense right about then.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 9, 2011 17:55:36 GMT -5
Julian hated having to run but he had to at this point. He was never told how to fight one of these fiends except to avoid them at all costs. Unfortunately, it seemed his sister knew one and he was about to get his ass handed to him. Darting through the trees, after snarling at what he had thought to be an old man, Julian was surprised to find a wall of light forming.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, trying to beat the wall's forming before it encased him in a ring of light. Unfortunately, the wall formed quicker, as if it were sensing he were trying to beat it. Making impact with the wall of light, Julian grimaced as he was thrown back with full force. Now, he understood how Annalese felt when he had hit her earlier.
Landing in a heap on the ground, Julian quickly rolled over and looked up. As he did, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as his eyes settled on something clearly not human. An elf? It seemed like one. One of the races that had endless lives that could rival the longest living vampires. "...I knew it!" he stated, pushing himself up off the ground slowly. His eyes were on Lakari and he was obviously quite wary of him. He hadn't encountered one of Lakari's kind before.
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Annalese's jaw dropped when Lakari's appearance suddenly changed. After all that wall conjuring, Lakari's appearance had become this elf being. She didn't think this elderly human had been an elf. Her senses had definitely been fooled.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2011 21:20:09 GMT -5
Artemis was suddenly clutching his dagger. Lakari had hidden many things. This was the most surprising of all of them. An elf! Artemis had heard of the creatures, but he had never expected to meet one. The question was, why hide? Why was Lakari playing such a charade in the first place? Well Artemis could not question him at the moment. But he planned on doing just that when all of this was over.
Lakari did nothing but watch as Julian was practically thrown back at them. As he spun around his demeanor was obviously change. Gone was the confident vampire. Lakari raised an eyebrow at the vampire. "Well what do you plan on doing now, vampire?"
His attention though turned to Annalese instead of listening to an answer that the vampire might say. "What do you wish me to do with your brother. Lakari's arm suddenly flew forward and another wall of light rose from the earth in attempt to trap Julian in a circle twelve feet high.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 9, 2011 22:54:43 GMT -5
Julian's confidence had definitely been removed. Now that he was entrapped in this large walling of light with the elf, his sister and that human...he wasn't sure what to think anymore. However, he wasn't powerless. He was just unsure of how to handle the situation right now. It was true that Lakari posed as a greater threat than the other two.
So, his caution was more so fixed on Lakari. He wasn't sure what to make of this elf. When he spoke to him, Julian's eyebrows just furrowed darkly in response. He stood stock still before the guy had him suddenly encased in a circle twelve feet in the air. Once again, it was of light.
Julian's teeth bared when he found himself in a dome-like spell.
"Annalese, how dare you bring this abomination into a family feud!" he growled.
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Annalese watched as her brother got thrown about. Compared to earlier, it was a nice change to see him thrown around a bit. He definitely needed to see what it was like being on the receiving end of things. When Lakari asked her what he should do, she saw how her sibling was lifted up in that dome of light. Was it too much to think that they had him in a tight spot right now? She had seen her brother do some pretty gruesome things in the past. His power had been remarkable.
"Make him know how it feels to be beaten for a change, please." She didn't know how she found it in herself to say it but she knew that she wanted to see Julian in pain for once. Maybe if he knew how it felt, he would change?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2011 23:37:13 GMT -5
Artemis watched Lakari's eyebrows raise when Annalese responded. "He already experiences defeat, but your are correct. He has not been beaten per say." Artemis felt a bit uncomfortable when a sly smile rose on the edge of his face.
Something was definitely off about Lakari. He'd have to bring this up with the others as well. Lakari turned to Julian, trapped in the wall of light. "Well then vampire. You have heard your sister's wish. So I shall do it."
Lakari raised his arms with his hands open. As he closed them into fists, suddenly part of the walls started moving. Part of the wall suddenly pushed into Julian. The point was that it would shove Julian into the other side of the wall, which would then send him back with his own force. However seeing as the space was enclosed, Julian would simply continue being push from one wall to the other like a ping pong ball.
And each time he hit the wall, the amount of force would be stronger and stronger. It was a very cruel thing to do. And something no "human" could have ever hoped to survive. However Julian wasn't human. And that was what Lakari was counting on. He wouldn't die easily under such an attack. But there were other ways to hurt a vampire.
Artemis though had no idea what Lakari was doing with the wall. He could only wait and see what would happen.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 10, 2011 0:55:15 GMT -5
Annalese couldn't believe herself with what she had said. Yet, there was a part of her that wanted Julian to understand how it felt to be in her shoes all the time. Maybe then he would reconsider doing her and others harm if he knew what it felt like. An eye for an eye, if you will.
Silently, she stood by as she watched her brother get smacked around inside the sphere Lakari had him trapped. Glancing at Lakari, she wasn't sure what to make of him now. The fact he had so much power and looking over at the 'helpless' way her brother seemed to be acting...was it really worth to allow this to go on?
Annalese looked back over at Julian and thought hard for a moment. She was reminded of all the times he did her harm. Ever since she had become horrible with her memory span, her ADD always having been with her, she had been shunned by her brother. It wasn't of any fault of her's that her memory had become wretched. What had happened back then, she couldn't remember. All she knew was that it might've been linked to the time when the others of their family had died out. Now, there were just a handful of them left. Julian was the only one closest in relation to her.
Julian's body kept bumping around in the sphere for a time. It was pretty painful to have to sit there and watch but he was getting his own taste of his medicine. 'I'm sorry, brother but you need to learn!' she thought sadly. It didn't occur to her that Lakari had something else in mind concerning the sphere he had Julian bouncing around in.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2011 13:08:44 GMT -5
Artemis watched the vampire get tossed around like a rag doll. He found himself glancing back at Lakari. The elf showed no signs of pleasure or disturbance in doing this. He took Julian's pain in with a straight face. What was the elf thinking? Why the secrets?
Lakari stretched out his hands and suddenly started chanting in a language that Artemis did not know. His ears couldn't make out the words nor repeat them even if he wanted to. As the chanting continue the yellow circle that surrounded Julian began to glow and turn into a bright white.
There was one word that Artemis could make out. And it was the last word in the chant. "HOLY!" Lakari shouted as the yellow wall turned into a wall of holy magic. Artemis didn't know how holy magic effected people like Annalese and Julian, since they were pure vampires. But a normal vampire could be killed by holy magic.
Of course Lakari had no plans on killing Julian. Annalese wanted him punished. Well punished he would be. To the point where he would never go after Annalese again. At least that was the plan.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 10, 2011 23:56:11 GMT -5
Annalese watched as Julian got thrown around like he was just a toy. It was different to see him on the receiving end of things but he deserved it. She knew that she felt sorry for him but it was a lesson he needed to learn. It would make him rethink causing pain unto others and hopefully change his ways. Still, it was doubtful if this would even make Julian change. He was too used to being a jerk to everyone he came across.
Suddenly, the sphere began to glow brightly. Just what was Lakari doing? Suddenly, he shouted 'Holy' and the spell engulfed Julian within! Annalese's eyes widened at the spectacle because she knew such a spell was dangerous to be cast on her kind.
Within, Julian just knew he was thrown into a nasty world of pain right now as Holy engulfed him. When the light disappeared, he fell to the ground in a slump. He didn't move for the time being as he just laid there. Pain! All he knew was pain! However, he wasn't dead. He wasn't moving but he was most certainly alive. His shut eyes, his agonized look on his face made it obvious that he wasn't dead.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 0:07:28 GMT -5
At last Lakari was finished. Artemis wondered if Julian was still alive. The vampire was beat up pretty badly. Lakari waved his hand and the wall that surrounded them all disappeared. When it did the elf that was known as Lakari was no more. In his stead was Lakari the old man. "I have done what you asked."
Artemis's eyes were locked on Julian so he never he looked to Lakari when the man spoke to Annalese. But he did become aware of the man when suddenly his arm stretched out and grabbed Artemis's forehead. Artemis's arm reflexed instantly, dagger going to slice off the arm.
But it stopped midway when Lakari entered his mind. Similar to Sain he had no idea what was really happening till it was to late. Lakari had blocked his contact with his body. And then, just like with Sain, everything that had just happened was changed. Lakari did not come to the battle to just now. Artemis had beaten Julian to a pulp.
As Lakari's arm fell back to his side he looked to Annalese and said only three words. "Not one word." Of course Artemis had no idea what they were talking about.
"Anything you want to say to your brother before we leave?" Artemis asked.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 11, 2011 0:24:25 GMT -5
Julian had really been beaten for what he did today. Annalese just hoped he would learn from it. As her brother lay still, Lakari allowed the walls of light to drop down and disappear. As he did so, his form shifted back to the old man that she had thought of earlier to be Lakari's true identity. Why was he disguising his true form? She couldn't help but wonder at this before Lakari suddenly grabbed hold of Artemis's forehead.
As if on reflex, Artemis made a move to strike him but faltered. Something was going on within that Annalese knew nothing of. All she could do was look on confusedly for a moment as Lakari had done what he did to Artemis as he had once done to Sain before.
When Lakari released Artemis's forehead, Artemis seemed off for a moment. Just what had happened? Annalese knew something weird must have happened but she didn't know what. She peered over at Lakari when he stated that he had done as she had asked. "Th...Thank you!" she said but couldn't help but feel something was wrong here.
She blinked as Lakari stated that she should not utter a single word about it. Just what had he done? Artemis didn't seem all that shocked. Looking over at him, she heard what he was saying. Should she say anything? Her eyes turned to where her brother lay.
Walking over as he lay there, she peered down at him when she got close enough for him to hear her through his pain. "I'm sorry, Julian. Maybe now you will understand how it feels to be beaten all the time." With that, she turned and left her brother there. None of them knew that already, Julian was making plans for revenge.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 0:39:04 GMT -5
Artemis returned with Annalese and Lakari to the camp. No one had returned yet from training. Artemis didn't even know if they would be back till two days. Artemis watched Lakari as he returned to his cot. The book was exactly in the same place he left it.
Glad that the whole fiasco was over, Artemis returned to his tree top overhead. He was exhausted over the battle. He was surprised that the battle had gone so well. Once he had brought out his dagger it was only a matter of time. The vampire could do nothing against a blessed blade. With the help of his fire element he was able to beat Annalese's brother.
At least that was how Artemis saw it. He had no idea the reality of the situation. With Annalese sworn not to say a word of it. And Lakari definitely not going too, it seemed like it would never change. Artemis was proud himself. He had saved someone's life for once. After so many deaths it was good to give one back. Artemis hung onto that thought as he slept till the next morning.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 11, 2011 0:52:44 GMT -5
Not knowing what happened with Artemis, leaving her brother behind, Annalese made it back to camp with the two. She hadn't said anything about the incident since it happened. Lakari, once they got there, returned to the cot he had. She watched him go for a moment. Why was he wandering around as an elderly man when he was a dark elf? It made no sense to her why he would hide it unless he was looked at as if he too were an abomination to others.
Artemis seemed quite happy about something. She had no clue that he thought he had been the one to teach Julian a thing or two.
None of the others had returned that night since they were all out training. Perched upon a tree branch, Annalese looked out at the silent jungle. As she did so, her memory soon lost that whole event without her any the wiser.
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The next morning, Annalese landed on the ground and looked about the camp. No one had returned since yesterday, not even Red. "They're still gone?" she said aloud, not intending for anyone to even hear her as she looked around.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 1:04:40 GMT -5
Artemis had awoke early the next day. "Nope. Haven't returned yet. I don't expect them till the night." Artemis spent the day doing some exercises. He leaped from tree to tree flexing his legs and working his arms. Who knew a jungle was such a good place to get exercise.
Lakari spent the day relaxing and reading. He was every bit the old man he expected everyone to think he was. The book he read was a good one. And between reading it and cooking some stew for everyone, he had a complete day.
It was later that night when the sun had begun to set that Red finally entered the tent. The first thing Artemis saw was that his clothing was in ruins. There were tares and scratch marks all over his body. In fact he even seemed stronger. Somehow Red had managed to increase his muscle size to the same as Artemis in a matter of two days. It was something Artemis had never seen before.
Just where he got his training, Artemis did not know. They were all sitting around the fire sipping stew when he came. He said not a word to all of them. Simply took a bowl and filled some stew in it. He devoured it as if he hadn't eaten for months.
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Post by Sprow on Sept 11, 2011 1:18:02 GMT -5
Annalese looked over at Artemis when he approached her and answered her question. None of them had returned and he was assuming they would return later that night. "Hope they get back soon and unharmed."
Most of Annalese's day went by with random happenings. She was usually sporadic like this, going from one thing to the next. At times, she would be cartwheeling about just for the heck of it before just sitting there and gazing out at the lush green jungle. Her ADD made her seem more hyper, having her skip from one thing to the next in just minutes.
By the time night fell, she hadn't even noticed it really. All she knew was that now Lakari and Artemis were sitting around the fire and eating. Annalese sat herself down near the fire too but didn't eat the stew. Unlike them, she didn't need that sort of food to sustain herself. Since she had been here, she had been careful to try and drink the blood of animals. It didn't taste the same but it wasn't too bad. She still preferred human blood over animal blood though.
Out from the night, Red suddenly arrived and began to eat, seated at the fire. The way he ate made it seem like he hadn't eaten for a while. The state of his clothes were torn and worn. He had definitely been training a lot since he seemed to bulk up a bit but Annalese didn't notice this detail because where she would make observations of someone, it would fly out the window in her mind just as fast.
Sain, Ryu and Dyne arrived ten minutes after. All of them sat down by the fire, Ryu immediately sitting Indian style and closing his eyes in the silence. It was obvious that he was meditating. Dyne plopped down next to Artemis and Red, his eyes focusing on the flames. Since he couldn't talk anymore, he was always silent.
It was Sain to greet the others first. "Hello again!" he greeted.
No sooner had those three arrived, Jean and Rowen did next. Both were rather quiet but it looked as if they had gotten a significant amount of training. Rowen had improved the most out of the two. His strength change wasn't as obvious since he still had his armor on but during those two days, he had gotten stronger as well. Jean's speed was slightly faster but in their current setting no one would know this until she used it.
"How have you all been?"
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 13:40:32 GMT -5
Red stayed silent. His body was exhausted. What had happened in that temple... Different scenes flashed through his head.
He walked across a single only three inches wide. Down below was a dark pit of nothingness. Red knew that one false step would result in his death.
Red climbed up a large wall. He moved as fast as his body would allow. All the while the screams of the creatures of the dark coming from below. They were coming after him. He needed to hurry.
He was surrounded by giant spiders. His keyblade slashed one as another tried to attack him from the side. He could barley get his blade up in time to block those large pincers. Kicking out with his leg, he drove the creature back. But another got underneath him, and Red could only watch as they all pounced.
Red rose slowly from his crouch. His hand tightened on the keyblade in his hand. Moving in unison with him was the creature he had come for. The creature that had driven him out of the world before. The tiger had no name. None that Red knew. But it owned this jungle. Both moved in unison, sprinting towards each other.
These scenes and more flashed across Red's mind. He could still feel the mix of emotions that came with each scene. Fear, anger, courage... All of them still fresh. Red was pulled out of his thoughts with the arrival of Jean and Rowen. They had all gone to train it seemed. Was it enough? Red didn't know. Tomorrow morning they would be heading to Gaia once more.
It was Artemis who spoke up and answered Jean's question. "We've been good. But you all look exhausted." Lakari handed them all a bowl of warm stew and moved over so that they might sit by the fire.
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