[Silversky]

Z'rae.....Kael

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

Sunlight was one thing she had forgotten. Z'rae needed darkness and shadows, not light and fire. The dawn held no meaning for her, not the way she was now. Not as a lost, lonely, forgotten soul.

Kael watched the dawn with triumph growing inside him. How could the dawn not bring light out of him too? The warmth and the light seemed to shine within him, as he watched the sun.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, Kael shook himself back to reality. He stood on a stone ridge, overlooking part of Roraldri forest. For the first time, he was truely free.
Well, sort of.
There was the small problem of Z'rae.
He wasn't sure exactly how he had gotten himself into this mess, but at least for now, he was stuck with her. The Battlefield Tali scraped his paw along the rocks, sending a mini avalanch of pebbles cascading down the side. It wasn't fair.
The Void Tali seemed to only yell and snap at Kael, and he had no idea why. He hated it. She was so preoccupied with herself, and so infuriating. It felt like she could read his mind, too, with all her creepy staring and the way she commented on things that maybe she had picked up by watching him, but he sure hadn't said out loud. And sometimes it was like he could feel the hurt and anger coming off of her and infecting him. No, thanks.
Why couldn't he have a different traveling companion?
Kael sighed and looked off into the distance, back to the sun. It was too late now. They would just have to start their journey. They'd go wherever the dawn would lead them.

[Silversky]

Z'rae narrowed her eyes, concentrating. She reached out with her mind, feeling the slight mental jolt of disconfort that came whenever she opened her thoughts to anyone else. She rifled through Kael's mind.
He was annoyed. Annoyed with her! Well, fine. She didn't like him, either. When he bounded down from the ridge and trotted past her she snapped at him, growling.
He ignored her. Of course. Z'rae hissed and stalked down the the water's edge. There was a stream running past the ridge, which was why they stayed there last night. The Void Tali waited, impatient, until she saw something shiny and sparkly dart by. Lashing out a paw, she swiped the fish from the river and bit at it, claws and teeth flashing, taking out her fustration on her meal.

Kael rolled his eyes as the other Tali growled. He started trotting downstream, but then, sighing, he turned and looked back. Z'rae had grabbed a fish from the river and was tearing at it with her claws.
He rolled his eyes again. "Z'rae, now how are you going to actually eat that?"
No response.
Fine. Let her ignore him. Kael stepped backwards, realizing too late that he was close to the water. With a yowl, he slipped over the side of the bank as dirt crumbled under his paws.

[amapup]

There was a small puff of green smoke as a Drakelph suddenly appeared in the forest. The smoke disappeared quickly, and the Drakelph adjusted the witch hat sitting on her head, before taking a few cautious steps forward on her hind legs. Suddenly she was down on all fours, running up the nearest tree and leaping off a branch, spreading her arms out as she glided past the trees. When she was about 6 feet off the ground, she folded her arms up. The Drakelph's body suddenly plummeted, but a foot off the ground it spread out its legs again, to try to glide the rest of the way.

Too late. There was a small oof as she hit the ground, her face sliding through the dirt for a few inches. She got up, shaking her head as she dislodged the dirt from her fur. The Drakelph got up, dusting any excess dirt off with her tail. She had been trying to see how low she could drop before continuing her glide. The results were kinda obvious. That wasn't the main reason she'd come here, though. Actually, she wasn't even supposed to BE here right now. She hadn't gotten her "owner's" permission to come here, though the human had been nice enough to tell her where this place was. This was the Drakelph's first time here.

She cocked an ear at the sound of babbling water. A brook. Or stream. Either way, the Drakelph walked in the direction of the sound. Coming out of the trees, she saw two Talis next to the stream, one of them trying to eat a fish. The Battlefield suddenly fell into the moving water, and she hurried over as quick as she could, saying a spell under her breath. Pots rethaw 4 tuuf sueedaar Eelat Lutabdleef

Part of the river stopped  moving, the rest of the water just flowing around it. The Drakelph knew that that was were the Tali was. She just hoped it had enough sense to swim to shore.

[Silversky]

Water swirled around Kael as he plunged into the stream. The shock of it froze him for a few heartbeats, until the noise of the rushing water and bubbles faded to a dull roar. He tried to gulp in air before he went down, but the Battlefield Tali only succeded in inhaling water.
He couldn't think straight.
Air. Need air, first. Up. Swim up!
The stream rushed around him, swirling and dragging through his fur. Suddenly the rushing liquid let go, and he spun around, suspened in a quiet pool. Kael clawed at the water, finally getting to the surface and sucking in air. Gasping, he paddled to the bank and dragged himself onto dry land. A little less disoriented, he finally had time to wonder how he had gotten out of the water. What happened?
He shook himself, spraying water everywhere to get it out of his damp, limp fur.
Glancing around, he he noticed Z'rae standing farther up the bank, watching him impassively.
It figured.
She probably wouldn't care if I did drown.
Blinking, he kept looking. THere was someone else here! A green drakel, wearing a witch's hat. What were they called again? Drakelphs. Yes. They could do magic, too, if he remembered correctly.
"Hello?" called Kael.

[amapup]

The Drakelph released her hold on the magic as soon as the Tali was out, and the rushing water quickly swept it away, leaving no trace of its temporary existence. She watched the two Talis' silent exchange and decided they didn't like each other. Though if that was the case, why they would be out here was a mystery to her.

"You're lucky you didn't drown," the Drakelph said, in response to the male Tali's hello. He was apparently a bit distracted at times, but that could happen to anybody. She waved to the Void Tali experimentally, in case it was unfriendly. She turned back to the Battlefield. "What's your name?" she asked politely, knowing names were usually good ways to start off introductions. It had apparently been a good decision to come to the forest today, even though saving other animals hadn't been what she had planned to do.

[Silversky]

"I'm Kael," said the Battlefield Tali. "And that's Z'rae," he added, flicking his tail toward her. Z'rae was still simply watching them.
At least the drakelph seemed friendly enough.
"Thank you," said Kael. "You saved my life; I've never been able to swim very well."
He padded up alongside the river, closer to the drakelph, leaving a trail of water as his fur still dripped.
"We're out here to explore," he said brightly. "At least, I am, Silver said I had to take Z'rae with me or I couldn't go, I don't know why, i just-"
Kael shut up in mid-sentence.
stop rambling, he thought.
"Anyway."
He paused.
"What's your name?" he asked.

[amapup]

She was bit disappointed the Void Tali didn't respond to her wave, but decided to brush it off. Maybe she was absorbed in eating her fish. Her ears perked as the Battlefield started talking. Kael; fitting name. "You're welcome," the Drakelph responded, taking off her hat to clean off the dust she'd missed earlier as he approached. She listened to his story, intrigued. An adventure? That seemed to explain some things, and she assumed that Silver was their owner.

At Kael's question, she gave her witch hat once last shake before responding. "Don't have one, don't need one." she simply replied, positioning her witch hat back on her head. In her opinion, there wasn't any point in having a name. You could recognise one animal from another, and as far as she was concerned that was all she needed to know. And once you had a name there was a bit of a fuss on whether it suited or not, and if you should change it... not for her.

The Drakelph sat down, fixing her tan gaze on Kael. "Are you exploring for anything special, or just roaming around aimlessly?"

[Silversky]

"Well, I'm not really sure. I'm just looking, anyway. This is the first time I've been away from our owner, and it's exciting to be out here for the first time."
He had a better reason, though. Not that he would ever tell. Really, he was looking for something. Kael was looking for a place he could make a difference. He didn't know where, and he doubted he ever would, but he was searching for it all the same. He wanted to be someone important and do things people would remember.
But that was private. He wan't going to tell the drakelph that, however nice she was.
He wasn't going to tell, anyway.
Z'rae, on the other hand, could read his thoughts.
Kael looked up to see the Void Tali padding lightly along the edge of the river toward them.
"No," she said, smirking slightly. "He's out here because he wants to be special. He wants to be important to the future of Evelon."
Kael bristled. He should have known.
But how could you hide anything from a Tali who can read your mind?

[amapup]

The Drakelph was about to say something to Kael when a new voice joined the conversation. She turned her head to the right as Z'rae cockily padded up. "How's the fish going?" she asked, neither friendly nor rude, as she turned her eyes to the Void Tali. Her gray tail swished slightly as she stood up. Her ears were alert to her surrondings as she waited for the Tali's reply. Although Moonlings were in Barakka, who knew if one might turn up in the forests of Lambastia? It was still good to practice being on the lookout, for when the time did come. Although she didn't know all too much on the creature's behaviors... maybe she'd go to the library later.

[Silversky]

Z'rae stared coldly at the Drakelph. She didn't bother responding; she didn't care about such trivial things as courtesy.

Kael cringed inwardly as Z'rae didn't respond. Did she always have to be this unfriendly?
The Battlefield Tali decided to break the uncomfortable silence. "I'm sorry," he said. "She's not always like this. Maybe it's just because she doesn't know you."
Well actually, she is always like this. I'm not telling you that, though. Maybe she'll loosen up eventually.
"I heard that," said Z'rae, glaring at Kael. He wasn't sure whether she meant the words or the thought.
Kael sighed. "Sorry," he said again. "So, why are you out here? Just exploring, like us?"

[amapup]

At Z'rae's cold stare, she hardened hers too, matching the Tali's stare perfectly. The Drakelph didn't like people who were rude without justification, and gave them the the treatment she felt they deserved. She turned back to the Battlefield, deciding Z'rae wouldn't be given attention unless it was needed.

"I've always been interested in Moonlings, and I've been trying to figure out the best way to capture one of them," she replied, her eyes shining slightly. "By the way, would you anything about Moonlings that you can tell me? Although I'm intrigued by them, what I know about them is quite low."

[Silversky]

Kael searched his memory. He ussually didn't have much interest in pets that were not solid, and real, and from what he had heard Moonlings teetered on the edge of that line. Still, he knew a little about them, because of Silver. She had tried to drum in every little bit of information she could into them before they left; Kael guessed she was just worried.
"I know they're usually in Tengel," he said. "They're hard to find, but when you do find them they're hostile. They can phase, sort of, so they aren't anlways solid."
He had to admit that the problem of capturing one intrigued him. He started to think, dissmissing plans in his head and thinking of new ones at the same time.
"But maybe... do you think it would be possible to talk to one?"

Z'rae smirked. She knew something they didn't. She knew exactly how to fight one. She had the skills too. It was part of her new darker side, and she was learning how to control it. She knew. But she wasn't going to tell them that. She would jump in if she was needed. And if she wanted to.

[amapup]

The Drakelph listened intently to what Kael had to say. Most fo what he said she already knew, but the part about phasing sparked her curiosity. In and out of a solid state? She hadn't known that before. Tricky little blighters these were going to be...

She dismissed the Tali's suggestion with a wave of her paw. The warnings about traveling into the Tengal alone were enough to assure her these weren't creatures you could walk up to and chat with. Her mind when back to the phasing. Did this mean that they could pass through solid objects?

A small snigger made her turn her head to Z'rae, who the Drakelph was sure had something that cold be added to the conversaton; the smirk convinced her. "Do you know anything about capturing them?" she asked curiously, her eyes gazing keenly at the darkly colored Tali.

[Silversky]

"I know enough to know that I'm the only one of us who can," Z'rae said haughtily. "I'll try to let you figure it out on your own though. If you're smart enough you won't need my help. Besides- why should I?"

Kael uttered a low growl, furious at the Void Tali. His fur bristled and he had to force himself to make it lie flat. "If you're just saying this to make us angry, fine," he hissed at Z'rae. "If you're delusional enough to really believe it, fine. But if you truly can, and you're holding out on us, you're going to regret it."
The Battlefield Tali was almost surprised by the force of his own reply. But it hurt, knowing that he had been good enough to bring her along and she wouldn't even help them. Besides, the Drakelph had saved his life! He owed her more than he owed this self-centered Tali with an anger-management problem. What was her problem, anyway? It was like she did things purposely to anger him.
Slightly embarrassed, he waited for the others' reply.

Z'rae was slightly puzzled by Kael's reaction. She hadn't seen this side of him before. Usually, he just ignored her insults, or only reacted a little. What was so different now?

[amapup]

She's the only one who can? She doubtd that. And if it had anything to do with bing Void or a Tali... the Drakelph remembered Soreto at home. That wouldn't be a problem.

She was shocked though at Kael's outburst. "No need to get hostile!" she said, moving in front of him. The anger surprised her; she hadn't thought he'd have that kind of personality. And as she turned to face Z'rae, apparently niether had she. Though the Void Tali was taller than her, the Drakelph met her with an even gaze, answering the question. "Why shouldn't you?"

_{sorry I took so long}