[Kallile]

It had been ages since she had last been here. While not home, it was as close as Adiemus could come to a home. When she had began developing the strange markings filling with swirling silver down her sides, her parents had worried. She had seen doctor after doctor with no answers. When they began drawing out silver liquid rather than blood, her parents had forsaken her to the monks of the Temple, hoping that they could somehow heal their possessed daughter.

Last she had heard, her parents had left Evelon for good. Though it saddened her heart, the fact did not plague her mind. She was different; and she could not put the burden of her gifts onto anyone but herself. She had learned that the hard way through most of her life, through the aid of the monks and the wisdom they had shared. This journey life had given her was a solo one and though it seemed daunting she had to face it alone. lest she cost someone near to her something too precious to atone for.


Human Form

From the steps of the Temple she looked down across the canopy of Tengel--a lush green carpet of leaves from her vantage point. A small smile fell across her face and her grip on the staff at her side relaxed completely. "If only all the world could see this beauty."

She had truly missed it here. A few of the monks--father-figures in her eyes, passed and smiled kindly to her. Adiemus nodded her head solemnly. They had taught her the balance of life; the control to her magic--a gift that, they speculated, might one day free the condemned world. Adi was hard-pressed to believe that honestly, but she remained hopeful.

This strange power, this seemingly unholy gift, was certainly meant for something great.

[1]

[Kallile]

A gentle breeze swept through the halls inn the outer circle of the Temple; seemingly chasing after the magic-wielder as she moved quietly along. There was an entire world out there that she could have been out helping, but somehow Adi knew that she'd always find herself back here to refuel and refocus.

Besides, the last battle had left her quite scarred. There was no place like the Temple to meditate and use the magic that she was host to in order to heal herself from the inside out. There were no visitors, or so it seemed, which was odd to the sorceress.

She picked a door into the interior and disappeared though it, the sheer white clothes that covered her beneath the strange armor fluttering in the quickly forgotten breeze.

[2]

[Kallile]

The room she entered was one of familiar structure. Large stone pillars carefully carved into intricate designs. Lush, rich reds, golds, and burnt oranges in the wall draperies and the sparse floor furnishings. A few statues made of gold for the deities which the monks worshipped.

Adiemus carefully undid the fastenings to her boots and left them, forgotten, in the doorway as she carefully made her way into the center of the room. As she walked she picked up a lone candle, the only light in the room save for the small skylight in the roof that allowed a single beam of light to hit the deep crimson pillow that rested in the middle of the room.

The flame flickered as she placed it before the pillow and seated herself, cross-legged, behind it and began removing the arm and leg plates she wore.

[3]

[Kallile]

With the armor stacked carefully to the side with her staff, the young woman was left in her sheer white linens (covered, of course, by thicker blue cloth that matched the tone and make of her armor) on the pillow. The flame was still as she drew her focus to it and began to concentrate.

It was an ancient practice--to try and meditate yourself into a state so still that even the flame before you was still. It was the one thing that allowed her to heal herself. Such deep concentration allowed her to more easily tap into the magic that flowed through her veins; the silver swirling liquid that had earned her banishment from her family.

Along her arms and legs ran small cracks not unlike those one might see on a breaking vase. Each cut was, perhaps, made worse to look at by the fact that tendrils of silver light flowed from within them, same as the small and moving markings that rested on the woman's face and down either side of her abdomen.

She inhaled deeply and smiled at the flame before giving a small nod. "Let us begin, then."

[4]

[Kallile]

Her faded gold eyes slid closed and a soft hum emitted from deep within her throat.

Slowly the cracked wounds on her skin began to pulsate with silver light as the flame on the candle became dead still; not even wavering as it ate away at the wax and the wick. Her hum was steady, strongly feminine, but soothing to any passing ear that might be listening.

The light that pulsated from the cracks of her flesh began to collect in pools of light around her, until they nearly engulfed her entirely. They became like light-serpents; twisting and writhing around her body with a fluid grace that was wholly unearthly.

Bit by bit the cracks began to fuse themselves back together, and upon a closer inspection one would find it was the light itself which was mending the wounds like a spiritual needle and thread.

[5]

[MillietheWarrior]

(Ride - Human Form ------------------------- Mel - Human Form)

“Why are we going to the temple again?”

“Because the forest is boring, and I’ve always wanted to visit it. You can always turn around and go home if you don’t want to be here, you know.”

The armored man sighed, his helmeted head tilting to the side as he seemed to literally slump over where he stood. “Noooo,” he whined. “I’m ‘sposed to look after your annoying self. You and I both know Tal would kill me if anything happened to you under my watch. So to keep all my lovely parts attached to my equally lovely body, I’m staying.” Mel turned and gave her escort a grossed-out look, though kept her confusion about the 'Tal' comment to herself; why would he care if anything happened to her? “Your sick, Ride.” Ride simply shrugged, a grin spreading across his face beneath the helmet. “Hey, you’re the one whose mind went to the gutter, babe.”

Mel paused, her foot on one step of the temple, and turned to punch him lightly in the shoulder. “Perv,” she muttered, before ascending the steps to the top of the temple. A soft breeze lifted and teased her hair, sending the teal curls tumbling over her shoulder. Ride silently reminded himself that she was off-limits; Tal made that abundantly clear. If he even thought of touching Mel, Tal would break his arms, and then play it off like it was an accident; that man scared him. Ride shuddered slightly as he hauled himself out of that train of thought, noticing that Mel had all but frozen in front of him. His first instinct was to raise his rifle, and his second was to check the perimeter to be sure it was secure. There was movement off to his right, and he followed Mel’s gaze to the woman who strode across the temple floors.

She disappeared through a door, and seemed unaware that she had visitors. “Come on!” Mel said brightly, and grabbed Ride’s arm. The man had only a moment to protest, before he was practically shoved down the stairs. “Mel! It’s not safe to go traipsing after some weirdo in a temple!” he shouted, though his protests were promptly ignored. “Oh, come on, spoilsport. How dangerous can she be?” Mel stopped just outside the door, and turned to Ride with a slow frown. “Do you hear that?” she asked softly. There was a strange humming coming from within the room. Mel turned and stared at the door. “I don’t think-” Ride began in a hushed whisper, but Mel ignored him, and instead, opened the door a crack. They peered inside, glancing around the corner of the door.

Mel but back a soft gasp of surprise, and even Ride seemed a little disturbed by what they saw; the woman was…glowing. Weird. Mel tried to go through the door, but Ride grabbed her upper arm and held her close to him. “No way!” he hissed softly. “Your so not going in there!” Mel pouted, trying to wiggle out of his grasp and step through the door. “Come on, Ride,” she hissed. “I wanna get a closer look…” Ride shook his helmeted head. “No kriffing way. You wanna get me killed?” Mel looked confused. “How would you get killed?” Ride growled and tugged her back away from the door. Mel’s hands were still around the knob and it slammed with an audible bang. Mel and Ride both jumped, and then slowly turned to face one another. “Should we run now?” Mel asked quietly. Ride titled his head. “Might be a good idea…” They quickly turned and started towards the steps of the temple.

[1/1]

[Kallile]

The slamming of the door sent a ripple of betrayed anger up Adiemus's spine and the once still flame before her quivered violently. Who would dare try and enter a meditation room?White light rippled like heavenly fire from her eyes as she carefully stood.

From the outside, the door took a swift and curious change of appearance. What was once an aged wooden door with a brass handle suddenly became vividly white. The hinges seemed to melt away and the door itself evaporated into thin air--leaving behind a woman still wrapped in tendrils of white light with gapped wounds pouring over with the same light on her legs and arms. They seemed to be cracking; inching their way into wider wounds by the second.

Adiemus turned her pupil-less white glowing eyes to the pair, frowning softly. "State your name and reason for interrupting my healing trance, strangers, least I be forced to see you as enemies."

[6]

[MillietheWarrior]

“Oh shab.”
“You can say that again.”
“…Oh shab.”

Ride and Mel inched backwards away from the door, their eyes locked onto it as it turned white hot and…evaporated. Ride drew his blaster, holding it aloft at his hip as Mel edged behind him, clinging to his shoulder. “You idiot,” he hissed. “Look what you did.” Mel puffed up indignantly, seemingly forgetting for a moment that there was a very angry lady in front of them. “What I did? What do you mean, what I did? You’re the one who grabbed me and yanked me away from the door!” Ride too seemed to forget about the woman in favor of their argument.

“Well, you’re the one who had to ‘get a closer look’! You couldn’t just forget about it and leave it alone?!”
“Well, at least I’m not a pig-headed womanizer!”
“I’ll have you know I am not pig-headed, you crazy little psycho!”
“Psycho!? Why you…You…You jerk!”
“Oooooh, like I’ve never heard that one before!”
“I bet you have!” Smack.
“Ow! That hurt!”
“Your wearing armor, you pansy! How could that have hurt?!”
“Your wounded my pride!”
“You don’t even have any pride, you idiot!”
“Don’t call me an idiot! Who’s the one with the gun here?!”
“The pansy in the armor, that’s who! I sure feel safe knowing Mr. Pansy is one the case!”
“Stop calling me a pansy!”
“Yeah? Make me!”
“Your gonna regret that!”
“Why? Are you gonna throw flowers at me and whine about how you can feel a smack through your armor?!”
“Why you-”

They were suddenly cut off by the voice form the woman who had emerged from the room. Ride and Mel both turned with slow menace, their faces dark with rage. For a moment, Ride contemplated telling the woman to buzz off, but the glow from her eyes told him it wouldn’t have been a good idea. “What? What do you want?” he demanded, forgetting that he and Mel had been the ones who had intruded on her meditation. Mel stepped forward, clearing her throat. “Ahem. What my idiot friend is trying to say is…We’re sorry for disturbing you. I was just…curious. I’ve never been here before and…well, I didn’t know anyone lived here. Sorry for intruding…Um…we can go now…if you want.” Ride snorted, turning his head away stubbornly. She needed to grow a backbone.

[2/2]

[Kallile]

The glow to her eyes did not diminish but there was a definite childish curiosity that had her tilting her head. Most people, at even seeing the white witchlight fire in her eyes, fled. These people fought; not even with her. With each other. She strode quietly out of the open doorway and as she passed the door began to re-materialize behind her.

"Leaving is not necessary." She stated calmly as the cracks in her skin continued to creep further up, down, and around her legs and arms. She let out a sudden gasp and the fire instantly disappeared from her eyes and the wounds stopped glowing. Instead, they oozed silver. She seemed short of breathe and weary in that moment as she took a step back to lean lightly on the door.

"While I do not apperciate the intrusion, I forsake no man or woman from the Temple. Be it to visit or to become enlightened..." She looked down at her arm as the silver dripped off her skin. it plummeted to the floor and sizzled where it landed--leaving a sizable hole in the concrete. The woman winced. "Please, you must excuse me..."

She turned in a flurry of navy curls and silver droplets as she burst through the door and left it ajar. They should not have seen that...

[7]

[MillietheWarrior]

“Did you see that?” Ride said in shock as the woman whirled and disappeared back through the door. “She was kriffing dripping something…all…silvery! She was dripping, Mel! Dripping! Normal people don’t drip silver. They drip water…and that’s only if they jump in a lake or something.” Mel had to literally bite her lip to keep from screaming at Ride to shut his big mouth. Instead, she settled for stomping on his boot as hard as she could, which elicited a pained yelp from the armored man beside her. “Ow! Geeze woman, are you insane?” Mel just growled at him, flipping her teal hair over her shoulder. She turned to where the woman had disappeared, a look of concern on her face. Whoever she was, she looked like she was in pain. If she was hurt, then it was their duty to help her.

She grabbed a still mumbling Ride’s hand and pulled him along after her. He protested, but didn’t dare do much in the way of pulling her backwards; he didn’t need her more annoyed than she already was. “Come on,” she murmured quietly as she shoved the door open gently. “We need to make sure she’s…” She fell silent, staring around the room they were presented. It was…beautiful. She sucked in a sharp breath, Ride nearly breathing down her neck as he practically snuggled up behind her, and turned her gaze to the woman. “Ma’am…are…are you okay?” she asked quietly. “I…you…I mean…you were dripping weird silver stuff and…Are you…Are you okay? Do you need help?”

[3/3]

[Kallile]

Ignorance was the best that Adiemus could do as she listened vaguely to the newcomers outside the open door. A trail of burning, smoking holes in the floor formed behind her as the silvery liquid continued to ooze from the cracked wounds on her legs and arms. Swiping up her armor she quickly set to reattaching it to her body; covering the wounds with an angry hiss from behind the special-made metal as the liquid tried to eat through it as it had done to the floor.

She did not look up as the voice sounded, nor did she sound entirely annoyed in her response. "One is never as 'okay' as they say." She replied with a tone of distaste for the phrase 'okay'. "The silverbond will not claim me this day...though in future if we are to meet again I will warn you that such actions will end in injury. Now I have much more to heal..."

She sounded as tired as she looked; slumping softly against the wall as she tied on her last piece of shin armor. She let out a shaken sigh and quivered as a sudden cold chill ran down her back. Harnessing her magic was hard enough, however, harnessing it in order to heal the wounds it self-inflicted was tenfold on the level of difficulty. Had she been another woman, Adiemus would have screamed and cursed these two idiots for interrupting such a delicate process. Luckily, she was not. She was well aware that these two had no idea what they had just witnessed or the fatigue they had caused her by undoing all her hard work.

"There is no help you can offer, child. None may aid me."

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

A voice cracked across the speaker's of Ride's helmet--the familiar voice of the Mandolorian who had instructed the Clone to watch after Mel came across smooth and silky.

"Ride, come in. Approaching the agreed meeting point point. ETA 2 minutes."

[8, 1]
((Fail intro to Tal...I has one. XD ))

[MillietheWarrior]

Ride held tightly to Mel’s shoulders, unwilling to let her go very far. He was practically using her as a shield, though he hadn’t intended it that way; he just didn’t want her getting any closer to the weird woman. Mel didn’t try to shrug him off. She was too busy staring at the woman. “Ah…Well…Um…Sorry? We didn’t know anyone was here. We didn’t mean to cause any harm.” Ride snorted behind her, and she resisted the urge to elbow him in the gut; it would just end up in her bruising her elbow. Mel’s eyes roved along the woman’s body, searching for the silver cracks in her skin that had begun to heal. This was all a little weird for Mel, but she’d seen weirder.

Ride was still staring at the woman as if she’d grown another head, watching her suspiciously. “Um…” What now? Ride was freaking out a little on the inside, and Mel was at a loss for words; no mean feat for someone who hardly ever had a silent moment. “Uh…So…” Maybe conversation was a good place to start. Mel was still staring around the small room, feeling a little cramped and confined. This place was…Mel liked it, and she thought it was rather beautiful and fascinating, however…the close confined space, the darkness that closed in around them…Mel took a deep breath. She felt like the walls were closing in on her, suffocating, keeping her locked in place.

Ride glanced at the girl for a brief moment, confusion lighting up his blue eyes, before Mel shoved past him with a squeak and dashed back out into the sunlight. The clone was left in the room with the woman, a very confused look on his face. A voice crackled from his helmet, and Ride glanced down at it. Uh-oh. Well, that wasn’t good. He pressed a button on his forearm communicator. “Er…Ride here. Um…Copy that?” He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head, before he glanced at the weird woman. “Uh…Hi. I’m Ride.” Lame. That was so…lame.

Outside, Mel was leaning against the wall, one hand clutching her heart as she tried to get her breathing under control. She closed her eyes and sighed softly; that was so embarrassing. Well, at least Ride would have something laugh and tease her about later. Lucky him.

[4/4]

[Kallile]

The woman, still coated in the strange silver substance here and there, eyed him with open and honest curiosity. The armor, more than anything, had done well to catch her attention as she carefully reached to the side to retrieve her staff. She looked odd--wearing armor plates that covered very little of her soft, vulnerable sections of her body and wore it accompanied with gold and rather fancy things. She wasn't quite warrior, but she wasn't quite royalty either.

"I am Adiemus." She replied after a few long moments, standing to her full height which still seemed dwarfed compared to the warrior before her. "I have not seen one such as yourself in a place of peace before. It is not in your given nature."

It was, to be blunt, a mix between a casual observation and an insult. These men, men like them, had brought both horrors and peace to many different peoples and cultures. Even one such as Adi knew the armor he wore well.

"Why have you, then, come here, warrior?"

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

Tal made his way up the stairs carefully. Being right next to the rainforest, this place had a nasty habit of staying soggy and slick. And falling down an impossibly tall flight of stairs was not how he wanted to end his day today. He was at least nearing the top; always a welcome sign.

As the Temple finally broke the monotony of stair after stair, Tal saw a very familiar shock of hair come flying out of a room down the way. He paused, frowning, and instantly looked for Ride. The Clone was no where to be found. Expecting the worst, Tal leapt up the last few stairs and moved quickly towards Mel, blaster drawn and prepping.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a gruff pant as his armor audibly hit the wall beside her. His eyes, or eye, rather, moved quickly over the perimeter. All seemed calm enough...but what was going on that that shabla Clone would leave her out here alone?

[9, 2]

[MillietheWarrior]

Ride eyed her discreetly, keeping his observations as casual as he could. He had to admit, for a crazy chick who dripped silver from weird looking wounds on her body, she wasn’t half bad to look at. “Nice to meet ya, Adiemus,” He said with a smirk, folding his arms over his chest. At least he didn’t have to watch over Mel right now; she was probably composing herself outside. He had no idea she was so…weird. Her claustrophobia had been completely new to him. He just hoped she got over it before Tal got here; he’d get his butt kicked if the Mando saw that he wasn’t with Mel anymore. His gaze flickered back to Adiemus, and he frowned, his brows drawing together.

“I like to be an exception to the rule,” he said, clearly not taking offence at her subtly veiled insult. Ride wasn’t stupid; he knew when someone was insulting him, but he also knew when to keep his mouth shut; this seemed like one of those times. “Hey, I just came here ‘cause I’m ‘sposed to follow Mel. She wanted to come here, so I followed. If we’re going to ask personal questions and insult one another…then why are you here, lady? And what’s with the stupid armor? You‘d have to be insane to wear something like that into battle. It doesn’t cover anything important.”

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

Mel took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she leaned against the wall. She felt quite a bit better now, and her heart was no longer racing as fast as it was. She felt like an idiot, being scared of a tiny little room. But phobias weren’t always rational, and they certainly weren’t something you could control. The sound of heavy footsteps coming towards her had her head snapping up and her eyes snapping open. Tal was running towards her, blaster drawn, and looking somewhat worried. He hit the wall beside her, and Mel jumped slightly at the sound, before she quickly reached out and placed a hand on his blaster, lowering it slightly. She hated when people carried those things around; someone was going to get hurt badly one day.

“Tal!” she exclaimed with a smile. “I didn’t know you were meeting us here…” Her gaze flickered to his blaster, and she frowned. “Er, nothing’s wrong. Just me and my irrational fears.” She paused, as if reading his mind. “Ride’s inside that room. We met a…well, we met an interesting lady and…Um…Her room is very small,” she said with a nervous smile, as if that’d explain why she was having a mini-panic attack outside. She patted his shoulder plate, pushing off of the wall. “Relax.”

[5/5]

[Kallile]

Adiemus watch him critically, taking in every slight movement he made; judging where his strengths and weaknesses lie. He was well-rounded in physical strengths, she would give him that, but his mental unwillingness to leave any sort of challenge unanswered was easily noticed. She listened patiently as he retorted, not seeming ruffled by his rather harsh sounding reply.

"This is my home; I am safe only here." She answered, reaching over, she tipped the candle to its side. The flame hit a concealed trough mounted on the wall. The flame exploded into life--racing along the trough of oil until it met the door-frames and stopped. The entire room was instantly illuminated. "The armor is meant not to keep others out, but rather, to keep all of me in."

Though her passive nature had held true this long, she could not ignore his comment of battle. He was trying to get under her skin as she had apparently gotten under his and it was time to let him know just what he was dealing with. In a blinding instant her eyes had fallen to the silvery-white witchlight again as she reached out to him. Rather than her own hands it was the ghostly wisps of silver smoke that curled around her body like living serpents that grabbed at Ride. "Do not be a fool to underestimate that which you cannot fathom. And rejoice in my vow to nonviolence...least you end up as the door."

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

Well, her face wasn't lying. But that didn't mean he liked what he was hearing any better. So...Ride had stayed in a small room...alone...with a woman. While Mel was out here in a panic. The Mando growled under his breath but allowed his blaster to be lowered before switching the safety back and powering it down. He holstered it without further question.

"It was meant to be a surprise, but not quite as much of a surprise as this." He said calmly as he refocused on her with his sole eye. A black patch covered the other--something he loathed but found was needed in public. He looked a little too rough and tumble showing off a milky white blind eye and the scars it bore that had gotten it that way. He heaved a sigh, but then smiled down to Mel.

"Since Ride thinks it's entertaining to leave you on your own...why don't we go see the rest of the Temple and let him find us?"

[10, 3]