Through the Rift v. 2.0

Joey stared blankly at the fire. He thought he should be angry, or upset, but as it was he was empty. He didn't know how he should feel at that point. Everything was confusing, nothing made sense. His thoughts were a complete mess--perhaps that's why he felt so blank. There was no room for emotions at that point, only confusing thoughts and fears about what would happen next.

The elf --Ithilwen, that was her name, but he could never remember it because he couldn't pronounce it-- had explained everything. Why they had been torn away from home, why Rhiana had displayed some odd magical abilities earlier, what they were all expected to do. How, though, did anyone expect a small handful of teenagers to save an entire land? He had never believed in gods or prophecies and now he was being told to put his life into the hands of just those things. Magic and dragons and everything else in between. Were he not witnessing it all firsthand, he wouldn't have believed a word of it.

He rubbed his eyes under his glasses, finally breaking his gaze away from their camp's fire for the first time in half an hour. He wanted to go home, or wake up and find out that this was simply a vivid dream created by his imagination. Unfortunately, neither scenario seemed likely to happen anytime soon.

Joey glanced around briefly at his companions, none of whom he expected to be any more excited than he was about the situation. Then he simply hid his face in his hands.

How were they supposed to do it? Tomorrow loomed ahead, the first day they had to save a fantastical land, and he hadn't the faintest clue where to begin.

Rhiana sat her legs crossed with her back to the fire, her eyes were closed and if in the moonlight a faint shine surrounded her eyes and ran down her cheeks as the moons light highlighted the trails that her tears made. She was not coping and now was the time she let it show. She was the one who had been attacked, she was the one whose powers kept showing themselves and scaring the crap out of her and making her feel not human, and most of all she felt this separated her from here friends.

She opened her eyes and looked down at the blade in her lap, it would no longer fit in its sheath as it has turned from a thick dagger into an impossibly thin long-sword. The dagger had been twelve inches long and was now a meter long in blade, the metal although stretched so thing that it should break refused to. Bane had tested that, and annoyed that it was so flexible yet hard had shot it from his bow into a tree, the tree had fared the worst and the blade came away easily and intact. Looking up from her new old blade she noticed a to tall figure in the forest, but tired as she was she took it as a trick of her eyes.

((You will love this character.))

Natalbera (Nat-al-ber-raa) stood between the trees looking at the small camp that had been in the small clearing. The 9 foot tall female create stood and moved without a sound as the trees ether side of her were rocked by the gentle wind. Her moon skinned frame was of the same shape as many human models except for her height and her toned body. She was a being of the forest and one of the few remaining people of her race, she wore no clothes to a human opinion but instead fresh green leaves made into the shape of a bikini although they were not held together with any type of string or glue, only by magic. Her skin glowed lightly in the moonlight and as the moon slowly angled itself towards her it become more obvious she was not a tree or any other part of the scenery.

Veronica was sitting between her two friends, sitting at an angle so that she could see both of them. She was as lost as the other two, with a hopelessness in her mind. How were they supposed to do any of those tasks that Ithilwen had told them about? It seemed ridiculous, for three children to be here fighting against things they knew nothing about. And powers? What the hell did that even mean? Clearly, Rhiana had demonstrated this already, but still. It seemed so impossible. And she didn't know about Joey, but she sure didn't feel special.

Veronica sighed, pushing her bangs out of her eyes and glancing at Joey from the corner of her eye. She leaned her shoulder into him lightly, to show her support, just to touch him? She didn't know, but it didn't really matter either. "So..this is..fun right?" She said with a half smile on her face. Of course she didn't really think this was fun (it was the furthest from it), but the awkward silence between the three of them was starting to get on her nerves. It made her more anxious than she already was. "I don't..I don't feel special, or different...or anything really." She said for lack of nothing better to say, her eyes moving over to Rhiana and resting on the blade that she was holding in her hand. Veronica was fairly sure that she couldn't do anything like that, that was for sure.

Nervously, she twisted one of her arm bands absently, staring into the fire. "Do you think...we can do this?" She asked, looking between Rhiana and Joey solemnly.

Joey glanced over at Veronica when he felt her lean up against him. There used to be a time where he would have shoved her off immediately, detesting any form of physical contact; now, though he wasn't overly thrilled by it and had no way to reciprocate it, he let her be. He had grown used to friends being touchy and, given the situation, he wouldn't have had the heart to tell her off anyway.

When she asked that question, he tried to respond--he opened his mouth as though to speak, but his voice didn't come until a few seconds later. "I don't know," he replied helplessly. "I honestly don't." He didn't think they could. He was almost certain that they were going to die in the process--after all, if the entire land had been enslaved by a dragon, what hope was there that three teenagers would fare any better? He didn't say his fears, though. He didn't know if the others were any more hopeful than he was, but he didn't want his pessimism to drag them down.

He let out a long sigh and fiddled absently with a loose thread in his left wristband. What was going on at home, he wondered. Would their families know they were gone? In the case of Rhiana, there was no worry, but he knew his own mother would begin to panic if he didn't return home by the end of the night and so would Veronica's family. There was nothing any of them could do about it.

Joey forced a smile and added as a light joke, "But I am so going to be fired from work by the time we get back. I feel bad for whoever has to cover my shifts until they hire someone else." Having been a waiter at a nearby diner at home, there was too much work to be done for an employee to simply go missing.

Veronica smiled lightly at Joey's joke, giving him a slight bump with her shoulder. She was, unfortunately, thinking along the same lines as he was. When would they get back? Would they get back at all? It was nice of Joey to try to make a joke about it, even though she knew he was sharing her thoughts. She and Joey would be missed almost immediately when they didn't return, and Ronnie felt a wave of guilt for her family. She pushed those thoughts away momentarily, her gaze drifting out away from their camp.

Bane was standing watchfully at one end of the camp, his bow tight in his grip and his face turned toward the stars. He didn't want to come to close to them, because while he would die protecting them, he certainly didn't like any of them. But he was watchful none the less. Veronica opened her mouth to tell them they should think about going to sleep, when she felt a sudden strong tingle in her mind.

A small gasp escaped her lips, and one hand jumped up to touch her forehead. The other clutched Joey's arm suddenly in slight shock. It had been slightly painful, but yet curious. As though someone was invading right into her thoughts (and unbeknown to her---they were). But almost as soon as it happened, it was gone again, leaving her blinking in confusion.

"Something..just happened to me." She said uncertainly, looking up finally and moving her hand from Joey's arm slightly embarrassed. "Did you..feel that?" She asked Joey and Rhiana, glancing around as though someone was standing right behind her. But there was no one besides her two friends and the centaur. Just like there always had been.

Rhiana shrugged when Veronica asked if they could do what was being asked of her. For her it didn't matter, she already felt defeated and she didn't know if this would change, what point was there for her to do all this anyway?
She turned her head at Joey's joke "No one will miss me. I had quit the job I was in just yesterday." She turned around before they could see the tears in her eyes.

As Ronnie gasped Rhiana flipped over the log that she had her back against and jumped over to where the other two sat. She held the sword in her hand and gave it an idle twirl as she scanned the darkness with her eyes, as the minutes passed nothing happened and lowering her sword she turned to the others "No Ronnie, I didn't feel a thing and I don't know what your talking about," she said kindly. Something at the limits of her vision made her spin and bring the sword up again. Out of the trees walked a moonlight framed figure.

Natalbera watched the humans with interest, there was one girl who seemed very distressed, while the other female was trying to cuddle up to the boy. The male for his part seemed oblivious to the obvious. She felt another presence and she quickly made sure her defenses were in place before she caught the presence and sent a message along it, "Keep away from my mind." Simple yet effective.

She walked forward now, not making a sound for it seemed that the other female had a gift in which the psychic arts had a hold. As she walked she noticed the distressed girl spin and face her and so she stopped "I felt it little one." She said softly before moving forward more. "My name is Natalbera."

((Err I accidentally got rid of half of what I wrote...))

Joey's reaction was considerably less dramatic than Rhiana's--he looked at Veronica, then down at her hand where it gripped his forearm, blinking once. He was a little startled, but didn't feel it necessary to show it much--especially since the only thing for him to be startled by was Veronica.

"No, I didn't feel anything either," he said. "Sure you're feeling okay, Ronnie? Maybe you should sleep." He started to stand, thinking to go to bed as well, tired though the ground didn't sound like a comfortable bed at all.

He was, however, interrupted as another figure emerged from the woods, approaching their small campsite and stopping in front of Rhiana. Joey stared at her, eyebrow raised as he tried to think of what she was. He guessed a dryad, though he had no way of knowing for certain. What may be called one thing at home could be different here.

"Do you need something?" he asked, perhaps more bluntly than was polite. He was tired and wanted nothing more to do with anyone.

Veronica glanced around at her two friends who seemed surprised by her question. Apparently, neither of them had felt the intrusion on their minds, which bothered her a bit, though she had no idea why. "No, Joey..I don't want to sleep-" she started to say, shaking her head in annoyance at him. But then she stopped talking, because Rhiana had apparently seen something. Ronnie glanced at her, then Joey, and stood up walking over to stand behind Rhiana.

And then the figure came into view, speaking to them. For a moment, Veronica didn't know what to do, only huddled slightly closer to Rhiana (who had the sword, so it seemed like a decent idea) and stared blankly. Then she heard the sound of hoof beats, and turned around slightly to see Bane reappearing. He had been at the other end of the camp, staring away from them at the stars, but the sound of Joey's agitated question and an unfamiliar voice made him reappear.

"Natalbera." Bane said, stopping a few short feet away from her and stomping his hooves into the ground. He had not yet felt the presence of the other lurking individual, but that was probably for the best. "What is going on here?" He asked, more to the three teens than the mysterious female. His tail swished in annoyance, eying both Joey and Rhiana with a slightly narrowed gaze. They were the two more likely to cause trouble he had decided, especially the female. None the less, he knew Natalbera--she was a creature of the forest like him, and therefore was not concerned about her. That meant that all his annoyances were focused on the three kids yet again. But this shouldn't have come as any surprise.

Without knowing why or even wanting to know why she flipped her sword and passed the hilt to Joey. Then taking Veronica's hand she stepped back so she could look up as the figure in front of here. She must say, she was impressed with Joey, nearly any other guy would have lost themselves to this, Natalbera.
She licked her lips and looked around at the others before looking back at Natalbera "I am going to guess that your are friendly since he knows you." She said as she pointed at Bane.

((~Timewarp!~))

Natalbera smiled but otherwise ignored the boy. But the appearance of Bane made her grin like an idiot "Oh Bane, it has been many years. Until today I had feared that you had lost your life to this fight." She said heartedly before stepping forward and embracing him.

As she let go she turned towards the children "The easiest way I get you to understand what I am is saying I am a forest element or a spirit of the forest." She explained before sitting on a log. As she sat and her flesh touched the log the once dead grey wood turned deep healthy brown and sprouted small leaves from the intact branches.

Natalbera frowned for a second before turning to face Bane "I hope these children have been taught about what is happening to this world?"

Joey sighed and ran a hand backward through his hair, a common habit when he was tired or didn't know what to do. At least this being wasn't hostile; he wasn't sure what he would do if they'd had to fight or run on top of everything else that had happened in the last few hours. Natelbera seemed to be preoccupied so he went to sit down as well, only pausing to, in slight confusion, take the offered sword from Rhiana.

He sat cross-legged where he had been and rested the blade across his lap to examine it. The metal was so thin that it should have shattered, but it still maintained its shape. It was Rhiana's doing, he knew, which made him curious. Would he and Veronica have any powers like Rhiana seemed to? It was an exciting notion, but it still wasn't enough to make him want to stay in this land.

He flinched visibly as he heard Natelbera speak, referring to him and the girls as children. He said nothing, preferring to keep out of the conversation, but he wished he could correct her. Bane already acted as though the three of them were nothing but troublesome kids--Joey hardly needed another referring to them the same.

Veronica let Rhiana pull her back, more than willing to do whatever her two friends told her. She watched Joey as he took the sword from Rhiana, and gave him a little shrug but didn't join him. Instead, she looked between Natalbera and Bane, a relieved smile crossing her face. This..well whatever she was wouldn't hurt them. She let go of Rhiana, and wondered over to sit beside Joey once more, still keeping her eyes fixed on the newcomer (just in case). She finally turned away to watch Joey fiddle with the sword, resting her head in her hands no longer paying attention.
----------
Bane did not smile as Natalbera did, but this was nothing different for the centaur. He stamped a hoof into the ground, his eyes trailing back to the three teens. "Ithilwen has spoken with them." He replied in answer to her question. Of course the noble elf had told them almost everything. But to even think that they were up to the task was to hard to believe. But he had to believe, not only in Ithilwen, but also in the skies and what they told him.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could get a word out an intruder literally rolled into their camp. Bane jumped, reaching for his bow and knocking an arrow in a quick motion. He pointed it at the stranger, not actually recognizing this one. It hardly seemed needed however, considering he was trying to put out a fire on his robes, tripping over logs. Either way, Bane narrowed his eyes, holding his bow steady and ready to release at the very first sign of attack.
----------

Joey started in surprised when yet another figure barreled his way into the campsite. His hand clenched tightly around the hilt of the sword in his lap. Yet, it didn't seem to be necessary. The figure panicked and struggled to put out the fire on his robes, only to trip over onto another log and snap it with the force. Either this one was entirely incompetent, or drunk. Joey would have been unsurprised if it were some combination of the two.

"Would anyone else in the forest like to join us for the evening?" he asked sarcastically, shaking his head. He kept an eye on this man, unsure of his intentions, but couldn't help not feeling as threatened as he might have been otherwise. If there was no way for the man to stay on his feet, Joey felt no need to jump to his own.

Besides, he thought dryly, it wasn't likely he could be able to do much. He had a decorative sword and a dagger, both for display, at home, but he certainly couldn't use the blade he held now for much more. He imagined swinging clumsily at a more competent swordsman, only to be impaled with hardly a blink. Considering how little he knew about where they were and what threats would approach in the days to come, it wasn't a comforting thought at all. He dismissed the thoughts even as he lightly rubbed the hilt of the blade. Perhaps, given the chance, he should get a weapon if they were to stay . . .

Rhiana jumped when the man come rolling into the camp. Her immediate reaction had been to place himself between the man and Ronnie. After the initial reaction she actually watched what happened, and as the mans robe caught on fire she could not help but start laughing, a gentle giggle turned into a complete fit as he fell over.

After a minute she stood again as she had fallen down laughing. As she pushed her hair out of her eyes she caught a glimpse of Joey and nearly started giggling again, he was rubbing the blades hilt with a mixture of what Rhiana took as annoyance and wishfulness. After a minute she turned her back on the spectacle and went to her 'bed'.


Natalbera sensed the weird man who had made mental contact earlier come closer. He was sneaking up on them when she kindly asked a vine which lay in his path to trip him she was delighted by the result. A smile warmed her lips as he fell and she ordered the roots to rise and entangle him, and as they finished making him into a human cocoon of many weak roots Natalbera stood and moved over to him. As she stood over him she stared to form the question "Are you friend or enemy," when she felt many a presence come into the forest.

She stood silent, her mouth gaping open from the shock of what she could feel. There was about a hundred and fifty beings called Shh'rarts, they are dwarves crossed with lizards of some sort. They had thick scales which acted as good armour against arrows if not swords or clubs, and they had the agility of there small relatives. In general their race was four and a half foot of scaly monsters with clubs, ever one of them with little man syndrome and all loyal to the dragon due to family bonds or something. (Bad written humor FTW)

Natalbera's mouth snapped shut after a minute, the Shh'rarts would take some time to get to them and they all needed some rest before they could engage anyone even with Natalbera's help. So keeping quite she pondered one question "Did the man at my feet bring them." Wether through his careless probe or other more aggressive means, it did not matter for now, she would find out soon enough.

Veronica had jumped up in surprise as the intruder came tumbling into their fire, and then despite her initial shock, had instead had to stifle a laugh at the man. Between tumbling into a fire, then breaking a log, and now standing there with a large and rather goofy smile on his face, it was kind of a funny sight. She coughed to try to hide her growing laughter, which perhaps was more just a gut reaction to the shock of the entire thing. She couldn't do anything helpful, even if this intruder was dangerous, she felt safe enough surrounded by Bane and Natalbra. And of course Joey. She covered her hand with her mouth, to try to quite her laughter and went to sit beside him again.

"It's like a party..." She replied to his statement of anyone else joining them, her shoulders still lightly shaking. She was trying very hard to compose herself, but the one thing about her was that once she started to laugh, she usually kept laughing. And with all the stress of the evening so far...this was just one thing to much. Of course, she had no idea of the danger that lurked around everyone corner. Clearly, she knew about it, but believing it...that was different.

She leaned her shoulder against Joey's again lightly, like she had been doing all evening. Because he was there, because he was a comfort to her. And mostly because, if anything was going to happen, and they were going to get separated, she wanted to be with Joey and Rhiana. Leaving them seemed to unfamiliar, like something she couldn't handle. Despite the way she acted at home, like she was a rebellious independent person, she was probably the least able out of their little group to be able to handle situations like this. She hated to be alone, and was definitely the one who needed the most protecting.
-----------------------------

Bane shot a glance to Natalbra, stamping a hoof impatiently. He lowered his bow slightly, knowing that Natalbra had eliminated the threat for the time being. And the intruder seemed to be....well, Bane wasn't sure what he was doing except standing there with a dumb smile. The centaur frowned, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"State your business with us here." He said, emphasizing the words with a stomp of a hoof. He trotted a bit closer to the stranger, standing between him and the three children he was in charge of.

"I don't like parties, though," Joey said to Veronica. "And this is a terrible party anyway." He managed a little bit of a laugh, but felt too tired to be particularly joyful about anything, especially given their current situation. He kept a small amount of attention on their newest "partygoer," just on the off-chance that he got up and attempted to do something. Granted, Joey suspected that if the man were going to do anything, he would have done so by now and would be making more of an effort to fight back.

He relaxed himself, about ready to go to bed. He was exhausted and just wanted to forget about everything that was going on. Somewhere off in the forest, a bird made an odd call, and the noise made Joey tense again. Hopefully, the entire night wasn't going to be like this. Unlike Veronica, he couldn't simply relax by leaning against somebody else.

"By the way," he spoke up suddenly, looking over to Rhiana, "why did you give this to me?" He gestured at the sword in his lap. "Any particular reason, or . . . ?"

As Rhiana's head hit her makeshift pillow she was asleep. She fell into the dreamless slumber easily and so did not hear Joey's question, nor could she have replied if she did.

Natalbera answered for Rhiana as she looked at the man who now appeared to be drunk "I would say she gave it to you because she trusted you to protect you all."

She turned suddenly and walked into the woods, the vines and roots lifted Kai and dragged him after her. From no distinct direction came Natalbera's call "Bane child, come I need your opinion."


((Sorry for the lameness but I had a bit of a mental block.))

Bane looked between Natalbera and her capture for a few seconds, and then turned to look back at the children. Of the three of them, one was asleep, and the other two both looked on the verge of drifting off as well. He supposed moving a short distance from them wouldn't be dangerous, and so after glowering at both Joey and Veronica for a moment, followed Natalbera. "Don't get in trouble." He said over his shoulder, his tone falling back into it's usually gritty tones.

He loosened his grip on his bow, but did not put it away. He wasn't that comfortable. As he caught up with Natalbera, he heard the monk's gibberish, and he stamped a hoof. He had no patience to try to decipher what he was on about, being a creature of short temper. But he said nothing further as the monk seemed to calm down enough to speak calmly. Bane looked at Natalbera, and then at Kai on the ground. "What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Bane asked her, his temper a little shorter than normal thanks to their unforeseen guest on the ground.

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

Veronica looked at Joey on more time, and then at Rhiana who had fallen asleep. She put a hand up to her head once more, rubbing her temple where it had hurt earlier, but didn't bother saying anything about it again. "I think she has the right idea." Ronnie said with a little smile to Joey. She tried to stifle a yawn, but failed at. "It'll be okay, Joey." She said, her eyes searching his for a few moments, offering him a weak smile. Finally, she got up and wondered over to Rhiana's side, laying down beside her and staring at the sky aimlessly. At least, she hoped it would be alright, that was. Eventually, she too was lulled off into a rather troubled sleep.

Joey glanced at Natalbera, then the rambling monk, and finally back down at the sword in his lap. Protect them? He hardly trusted himself to take care of himself, let alone anyone else. Certainly he would do whatever he could to protect and help his friends, but . . .

He hated to have anyone rely on him. It always seemed inevitable that he would fail--especially with something so serious as this.

Joey shook his head and set the blade aside. It was pointless to think about. He gave Veronica a weak smile as she stood up to go, then lay on the ground, rolling onto his stomach. He stared at the grass a few feet away. Physically, he was exhausted, but his mind still buzzed. He crossed his arms and rested his head on top of them, continuing to stare blankly at the grass as though it held any genuine interest. It would probably be awhile before was truly overtaken by sleep.

Bane looked at Natalbera, a slight frown tugging on his lips. Already they were in trouble, and they had been out here for such a short amount of time. He knew quite well that Natalbera was capable, as well as her forest creatures, but it was risky. "We leave. Now." Bane decided quickly. It was far to risky to allow the children, who still knew nothing of their powers or how to so much as hold a weapon, to be caught among the Shh'rarts. Even with the protection of Natalbera, her army, and Bane. He had made a promise to the Lady to keep them as safe as possible, and that was not the way.

"If we hurry, hopefully we can get away. If not, we will fight. But only then." Bane told her. "Thank you for your warning, and you offering of help," He continued, bending his knees a little in a slight bow to her. "We may need you yet, but for now.." The Centaur allowed his sentence to trail away as he turned around quickly, stepping around the 'monk' on the ground.

"And this one?" Bane said, over his shoulder, effectively having ignored Kai's pleas to be let free. "I do not think he will trouble us further...What shall we do with him?" He asked, stopping his movement and looking down at Kai on the ground once more. He felt no threat coming from the man anymore, and believed his claim that he was only a travelling monk. Perhaps....perhaps he could prove his worth to them, although honestly, Bane wasn't sure how much he could possibly prove. He looked to be no more than a stumbling drunk. But of course the Centaur knew better than to judge by appearances alone.