[Elektra]

Love.  Hate.  Happiness.  Joy.  Even the thought made her hurt, mentally, and physically.  Her pale skin was covered in bruises, and tears ran silently down her face.  No matter how hard she tried, something always managed to make her take a side.  And, because of this so called 'gift', it literally hurt to do such.  Shaking her head, she focused, drawing herself in.  So many loves, so many joys, lost because of this.  If she was to love someone, she would pay the price.  The first time she did that, she almost killed herself.  The second time was no better.  From then on, she was nothing but what seemed a hollow, cold shell of her old self.  Her beautiful pelt, which had always been kept in a prestine fashion, and her radiant teal celestial markings glowing slightly under the full moon, making her look like an angel that had fallen.  But one could still see the bruises and cuts on her, some fading, while others were fresh and tender.  Sighing, she cried herself into a deep sleep under a nearby pillar.  Sorren was her name.  Sorren, a girl with a curse.  She wasn't evil, even if she acted like it.  She was well...  She wasn't evil, just, twisted...


(0.1)

[Elektra]

The sun was just above the shrine when Sorren awoke.  She wasn't sure what had caused her to stir, but now that she was up, there wasn't really any point in going back to sleep.  Why couldn't there be a place where there was no pain?  Where there was no one else, no one else to hurt, to love, to care for?  Some place where she couldn't be affected by others.  Their emotions were so powerful, causing her to constantly sway from one to another.  Her curse, her life, her pain.  She was the source of it all.  Or, rather her 'gift', as she would say sarcastically.  A gray elemental.  There were many ways that you could end up as one.  And there were many consequences to being one, many not worth the price.  Sometimes you lost your sight, your speech, your hearing.  You could fight within yourself, which would either kill you, or give you the 'gift'.  Sometime, you were just born with it.  The same went for what the effects were.  Some were powerful beyond belief, others almost dead on their feet for the rest of their lives...  But with Sorren, she couldn't love.  She couldn't hate, couldn't be happy, couldn't be mad.  Neutrality was the key, but an almost impossible key...  For years she had struggled, and all she had ended up with was a beaten up body, and tired spirit...  It seemed there was no hope.  And that was why she had come here.  Her last effort.  If this didn't work, perhaps...  Perhaps death would bring the peace she sought...


(0.2)

[Elektra]

The shrine loomed over her, its mere presence casting a sense of dread over her.  Breathing in, she looked around.  At least there wasn't anyone there to break her concentration.  She had to be careful here, not to feel anything.  This wasn't the time, or the place, to get hurt.  There wasn't much around the shrine, and most people wouldn't take in a girl in her condition anyway.  Ignorant people, she would always say.  But it wasn't like she expected them to see who she really was.  It wasn't her fault, how she was.  Right?

[Elektra]

"Is anyone here?" Sorren asked, her monotonous voice ringing through the ancient halls.  There were different markings on the walls, each seeming to play there own part in an eternal story that began before time itself.  But only one who could understand that mysterious language could read those markings.  Could understand such a deep, mysterious story.  She longed to be able to do such.  For her, the answer might be hidden in those marks.  Perhaps that one of the wild species that lived in the Shrine had the answer to reading the ruin marks...  If only she could find one.

[Elektra]

Something deep inside the Shrine had awoken.  How she knew, that was a mystery, but there was a change in the atmosphere.  Some kind of change was evident.  All that she knew was that from now, she would have to go on with caution.  If only Taurmynt were here with her.  Groaning, she watched as the bruises appeared on her right arm.  Once again, feelings...  Such a trouble.  For years, she remained indifferent, but...  Then he had to come along...  He was a man to be messed with, never backing down, never giving in.  Perhaps that was what set him apart from the others who would try to court her.  But no, love wasn't an option in her life...  Oh, how she wished it was though...  Of course, if she could manage to love him without the constant pain, perhaps she could settle down.  If only, though.  If only.

[Mousen]

Taurmynt let out a growl of frustration. He leant against the cool wall of the temple, they couldn't leave him alone could they? The scarred, murderous, Taurmynt. They should have realized by now, whoever the sent to arrest him was going to end up dead, the investigation was becoming more and more desperate. Still, this time they'd had the sense to send two men; he'd killed them both will relative ease, even if he had gained another scar from it, a deep wound cut across his shoulder. At the moment, a while scrap of cloth was bound around it; the only part of his attire that wasn't patched and covered with the dust of the desert.

The monks were the only people who never questioned who he was or why he was here. Being away from the Wilt'no was a welcome change. The cold of the place was almost soothing, it steered him awa. He'd alreaduy guessed who he'd find with in the shrine, he'd made a slight effort for one of the two people he cared abot. His damp hair clung to his scalp, unbeknownst to him, a little bit of pond weed was stuck in his dark hair, making it look as if he'd stuck his head in a puddle, in reality it had been a river, but nevertheless.

Inside the shrine was cool, a respite from both the humidity of the jungle he'd once lived in and the freezing winds outside. The humidity reminded him of his childhood, he didn't say, however, he would like to spend an eternity in it. He walked around the halls for a moment, his footsteps silent, even on the stone floor. His spear was firmly tied over his shoulder, normally it would be by his side, Taurmynt's slight limp meant it was often used more like a staff than a weapon. Though, from the slight staining it was obvious how much bloodshed it had seen. Gently he turned his head around the corner, oblivious to Sorren's thoughts of him, though it wasn't only her condition that stopped Sorren settling down, if this was her choice in guys; Illusive, emotionless serial killers, that follow obscure religions and come from tiny tribes in the Tengel do not make the best of boyfriends, to be quite honest.

"Sorren, tlazotli." He was being affectionate, in his own way, his eyes didn't show it of course and his face remained as it ever did, severely scarred and emotionless. The scar ran from the bridge of his nose, right down his face. Often when he hadn't seen someone in a while the memory of how vivid it was against his slightly-darker-than-olive skin tone had been dulled, infact sometimes, they seemed quite shocked by it. Taurmynt half wondered if this would be the case this time.

[Elektra]

Whirling around, she came face to face with Taur, as she would call him.  Of course he didn't like it, but hey, he didn't really stop her from calling him that either.  "Tlazotli Taurmynt." she said, smiling, even when the bruises began to appear again.  They were beginning to hurt though, and she broke eye contact.  Noticing his limp, worse than ever, she shook her head.  "How many this time..." she asked quietly.  She wasn't ashamed of his life, or his acts, not at all.  She was ashamed for worrying over him.  Ashamed, and scared that he wouldn't be there the next time she needed him.  Walking over, she nudged the staff, putting some of his weight onto her own shoulders.  He had lost some weight from being on the run so much, which made it easier to support him.  Of course, there was a new scar on him, and a nasty one at that.  "Don't you ever think before stabbing?"

[Mousen]

He scowled at her for a moment. "Atleast try not to kill yourself." he said. Taurmynt was obviously annoyed at the fact she obviously hadn't meditated enough recently. As for Sorren's question he just shrugged, taking his time to answer, he did not enjoy talking about such a subject. "Two. It was a shame." No one had ever really questioned his motives, and he did have motives. It was just that they were connected to several very hard memories, he'd avoid thinking of those at any cost.

He moved away when Sorren tried to help him, just raising his eyebrow in a manner that suggested he was fine. Quite honestly Taurmynt hated being taken care of, so much so it was almost a pet hate of his. Still he wasn't annoyed at Sorren, as if to please her he sat down on a set of stone steps.

At her last question he smiled wryly, obviously amused by her. "Oh, that depends." He was being very open today, well open for him. "I am fine, you know. Nothings' changed." Aside from him almost dying a while ago, but he'd rather not go into that. After all, he knew Sorren would throw a fit. He didn't really have the energy to take an emotional outburst from Sorren, that and he knew she'd be recovering for days afterwards.

[Elektra]

Sitting down beside him, she calmed herself, trying to make sure she didn't suddenly begin a fit.  The last time she'd done that, she had technically been dead for over an hour before waking up.  The doctors called it a miracle, but in all honesty, she'd rather have stayed dead.  For the time she had been in the other realm, she could feel love and joy, and without any pain.  It was amazing.  If only that could happen here.  But no, she was doomed to be the anchor of neutrality.  To be the one person in the world who would take on the role of a gray elemental.  Who would sacrifice any chances of a love life so that others could have their own.  "I know, so just shut up." she said grouchily.  It was obvious that he was angry at her lack of meditation, but he wasn't exactly following the rules himself.  "So, you gonna teach me some more about jungel life?  You promised you would." she said bluntly, although she was interested.  He had taught her but a few words from his native tribe, but what she really wanted to was to be able to learn to use a spear like his.  Once she proved she could keep steady, he said he could make one for her.  Of course, knowing that she would never be able to do such a thing, Taurmynt probably promised her such a thing because of that.  Shaking her head, Sorren morphed.  Her tail and ears somehow stayed this time, but it didn't matter.

[Mousen]

Taurmynt looked at her for a moment, before rolling his eyes. He always found her little outbursts amusing, like a little kitten trying to be scary. When she was really angry; she was a force to be reckoned with; otherwise her small bursts of temper were almost sweet.

"You won't like it, you know." Taurmynt was surprised at her persistence, he really couldn't understand why she wanted to know more about his culture. The tribe was a tiny one, obscure, it was quite honestly dying out; there was barely ten people left. They had never recovered from the two pandemics that decimated the tribe.

"How have you been, anyway?" Sorren was one of the few people the worried about, he knew she was quite capable of taking care of herself, that was never the thing that worried him. It was the fact that she was a grey elemental that got to him, even though it took alot to fully tip her one way or the other, it was a delicate line she balanced on.

(Fail.  DX )

[Elektra]

"Once again, you're nothing but annoying sometimes..." Sorren said, a small smile coming onto her face.  Of course, it faded when he mentioned she wouldn't be interested in his tribe.  "You know that I would be interested, don't say that I wouldn't be.  You're trying to hide something there.  But I don't care.  Even if I did..."  Looking up, she was a bit surprised at his last question.  He never cared about anything, much less anyone, other than himself, and even then, it was only for his safety that he worried.  For him to have been worried about her was, well, new.  She knew that she loved him, even if she couldn't express it very well, but for him to admit that he to cared for her made her feel different.  "Fine, I suppose.  One or two minor tips, but I suppose that they weren't that bad compared to my last one.  And you're not that good.  So don't even try to change the subject.  I want to know, and I also expect that you'll hold to your promise of teaching me how to use the spear.  You said you'd take me once I did, and I'm prepared to learn."

[Mousen]

"I do try." he said simply. Trying his best to keep his tone and face impassive. After a moment a smirk crept onto his face. "I'm not sure you would it's rather boring for someone such as yourself, anyway. Besides, we are not even remotely interesting, aside from myself, there is a temple made of pure malachite but nothing more interesting than that." He couldn't help but look disinterested at his the talk of his tribe, really he didn't like venturing into his past and he hoped to Cipactli that no talk of his childhood or teenage years would arise.

He'd caught her by surprise- there was a first. "Good to hear, but you could try harder." There was no harm in his jibes. After a moment he stood up. "I'm not sure the monks will appreciate us practising in their hollowed grounds, as such I suggest we take it outside. It's probably the best idea." He held out his hand, offering to help her up.

[Elektra]

Smiling, she took his hand, and once she was up morphed again into her quad form.  She inched toward Taurmynt slowly, then grabbed for his spear.  It was heavier than she thought it would be, but once she got it balanced, Sorren experimentally moved around, giving a small twirl to the spear.  Of course, when it almost knocked a torch off of the wall, she decided that it would probably be better to go outside.  But then again, the whole purpose of her trip was to seek out the Halls of the Lost, located deep down in the Shrine.  Supposedly those dreaded Mekkeyana's were said to live near there, but they were rare, a tended to linger near the Halls.  As long as she had Taurmynt though, she might have a chance at getting down there.  "Hey..." she began.  "First, I want to know about the Forest, but I also came here for a reason.  When you first enter here, there are some symbols in each of the rooms, and somehow they're connected.  In the third room, known as Halls of the Lost, there's some kind of marking, and I want to know what it all means, since I think it might help me.  So..."

[Mousen]

He smiled as she almost knocked a torch of the walls, he almost found it amusing. Infact it was the funniest thing he'd seen all week. He just sighed, seemingly exasperated with her. "The jungle?" he asked, sounding vaguely surprised. "Well, it's like the Tengel is, wet, humid, full of bugs, large and green. It's a five day trek, three if you know the place well, to civilisation. So the tribe is pretty far in."

[b]"If you have a reason for being here, we'll go check it out first before we attempt to go anywhere." [/b]he shrugged, not really bothered about what she wanted to do first. If she had an objective he'd be very happy(relatively speaking) to help her. He did however want to get to the Tengel with all swiftness, Cualli's birthday had came and gone and he felt bad for not going to see her. "Lead the way." he said gesturing with his free hand.

(Another fail. X.x)

[Elektra]

Nodding, she smiled slightly, and took off.  Sure, she might not be the most open person, but she sure could run.  Speeding down the halls, she didn't know how exactly being able to go so quickly in an unknown place was even possible, but at the time, something was telling her where to go, and she trusted it.  Not once did she turn to see whether the Taur was following her, but trusted that he was.  After all, he had traversed all over the Tengel; surely he wouldnt' have such a hard time following her, right?


Finally, she skidded to a stop.  In front of her was a grand entrance.  Above the door was the mark of cursed pets, telling her that this was the place she was looking for.  "Taur..." she muttered.  This was the place.  Entering, she felt a strong breeze, and a low moan started up.  But suddenly, it died down. "This isn't the place you're looking for young one..." a low, ominous voice whispered in her ears.  


Her head hung low as she exited.  Her look probably told her partner what had happened, and that she wasn't in the mood to talk.  "Hey...  Well, may I accompany you to Tengel?  Please..."  She hadn't found what she was looking for, and wasn't sure anymore if there was any hope of something like that out there at all.  But perhaps a trip with him would help.