Irulia: The Spirit Changers Quest

[DeletedUser37114]

With the veiled boy's support at the nudging insistence of her partner, Kulos managed to get to her feet, though only Seraphim's arm wrapped around her waist this is quite nice kept her up. Though the closeness of the pretty girl only made her more aware of how sweaty and icky she herself felt. The suggestion that they go over to the fire was a good one though, and Kulos tried to make a start over before the girl appeared to recognize her. And panic. "It's okay, I'm not in any shape for pranks right now," she said, trying to reassure her with the truth. "Besides, I haven't done anything to you since you got caught up in that flour dump last year."

That had been a particularly fun one, seeing all of the girls in their year run around looking like ghosts had left Kulos laughing herself sick from her rooftop lookout. Of course they'd found out she'd done it, she was the only one not covered in powder, but it had been totally worth it. Seraphim herself was just not much fun to prank. Flustered was fun, angry was hilarious, furious was fantastic, depressed or miserable was just... sad. She knew there was a group that made it a point to pick on the quiet girl, but they were petty idiots who made it easy to turn traps around on them. She didn't think they ever realized why anything they left alone inevitably backfired on them. And watching all of them dissolve into childish anger and blame was way more fun than watching the pretty blonde's eyes fill with tears after...

Kulos' memories were interrupted by a very nasty thought. The girl had said she couldn't see, it was dark, but the fire provided some illumination. Why...? She looked at Seraphim's eyes, studying them for a second. They weren't following anything, why...? "Are... are you blind, Seraphim?" she asked, shocked. The girl had been fine when they'd left, why couldn't she see? Was that why she had a staff now rather than the throwing weapons she'd used? "Hey, guy with the veil, I'm sorry I don't remember your name," she said to the girl's companion. "Can you come close and bend down a bit?" As soon as he did so, she jerked an arm around the man's shoulders. Or tried to, at least, she ended up wrapping her arm around his back under his arms. She held on anyway, she had enough purchase and enough strength to do that much, even if walking was a strain. "You can let go, Seraphim, he's got me." It wasn't exactly comfortable, the boy was stiff and definitely not as nice to be against as a pretty girl, but if Seraphim couldn't see, she really shouldn't be trying to help her to walk. Kulos knew that she'd have enough trouble walking on her own, the girl's companion could help her walk instead.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Why. Why was the world so intent on tormenting him? Today had been all sorts of screwy for him…he'd almost died, he had an insidious crystal hissing at him to touch it (no, move your hand away from it…)…and he had endured more physical contact than he'd had in living memory…and now he had to do more? Well, if Sera bumping his arm to encourage him towards helping the fallen girl up was any indication, yes. Mandan wanted his gloves back, but they were around the crystal (hand, get BACK) and he knew hesitating that long would be bad…fine. Moving as efficiently as possible to minimize his contact with her, he assisted in getting her back on her feet. Sera then thankfully took over with assisting her towards the campfire, leaving the dark boy to try to calm down again. Sera wound up recognizing Kulos, which turned out to possibly not be a good thing, though fortunately it seemed that she wasn't as mean as Sera thought she was. Once they got to the campfire, he'd be able to get rid of the (don't touch it you moron) crystal, and…

Why. Why did he have to suffer like this? Now Kulos had thrown an arm around him claiming he'd be the one to help her to the campfire. I mean, yes, Sera was blind, and yes, he was more capable, but…it was taking most everything in his power to (NOT touch the crystal) not freak out about this…but as per usual, him reacting poorly would hurt the person imposing on him, so he had to get himself under control…not panic, twist away, and send Kulos crashing to the ground…no, that would be bad…"I'm Mandan," he told her as they started walking, seeing as she'd mentioned not knowing his name twice now. They'd reach the campfire soon…he hoped. Her leaning on him was all too much presence for him to handle…no, the sooner they got there, the better…

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Hearing that Kulos had no intention of pulling any pranks on her Seraphim visibly relaxed as the girl went on to point out that she hadn't actually deliberately pranked her in a while now "Sorry...you're right, but that last one still kind of sticks in my mind is all" Seraphim replied in a quiet voice. It had been…What?...two? Three years ago? And they had all gone swimming down by the lake and although Seraphim hadn't had all of her clothes stolen as she’d feared she had found a rather slimy toad waiting for her in her jacket pocket which had resulted in a rather girly shriek from her. It hadn't been so much the prank itself, as even she could appreciate how silly she’d looked but rather the vicious taunting by the usual crowd that had resulted from it that had caused Seraphim to run away sobbing. Perhaps the fact that Kulos hadn’t done anything to her since, and that Seraphim had managed to get off pretty lightly compared to the others last year meant that she wasn’t such a bad person after all “Thank you for not dumping the entire bag on my head by the way…I did think it was kind of mean what they did to you when they finally caught you” She continued feeling a little more like herself now.
However this wasn’t to last when Kulos suddenly seemed to twig that Seraphim had lost her sight; the girls rather shocked question causing Sera to flinch as if she’d been slapped “It…it happened a few days ago, someone hit me and I haven’t been able to see since” she replied as her useless eyes began to water up again, though she supposed she’d ought to get used to hearing that question from now on.
But she didn’t have much chance to get maudlin over the situation as Kulos started shifting her position whilst speaking to Mandan. It was only when she said that Sera could let go that she realised what the other girl was intending and was suitably panicked “Oh no, Ku please stay with me, I’ll be fine honest…Mandan isn’t great when it comes to physical contact and I’m kind of scared he’ll have a panic attack if you try and hold onto him…he barely lets me hold his hand as it is and I am his sister” Seraphim explained; hoping that Mandan wouldn’t mind her talking about him so openly to the other girl and that he’d understand that she was only trying to help“…lets just go and sit by the fire, I’ll be fine Ku honest, just warn me if I ‘m about to step on somebody” she said with a laugh hoping that Kulos would just go along with her suggestion “…besides I haven’t had another girl to talk to in weeks, its just not the same talking to boys; first they were all fighting over me and now they treat me like I am their mother…well except for Mandan that is, though I’m sure even he’ll be glad to get rid of me for a little while” after all there was only so long that you could stay in one persons company and Sera didn’t want to out stay her welcome, especially where Mandan was concerned as she wanted him to stick around for a good time to come.

 

[DeletedUser37114]

They hadn't made it more than a few steps before Seraphim rejected Kulos' currently-working suggestion that Mandan, who'd helpfully identified himself, do the heavy lifting while the blind girl took care of herself. If the boy had a touch problem, he could deal with it for the duration of a walk. But if she insisted... With a sigh, Kulos transferred her weight back over to Seraphim, releasing Mandan so that he could have his nice, undisturbed bubble to himself. With the blind girl supporting her, she began shambling towards the fire. "Fine," she said. "I've always been bad at girl talk though, so don't complain if it's a quiet walk. Clothes I'll do, but make-up, diets, boys, no. Especially boys." Kulos shuddered against the taller girl at that thought. "One of the main reasons I couldn't stand those twittering idiots back at the academy, never shut up about which boys they liked, which boys they thought liked them. Blech." She paused for a second. "Though if you've got a boy you like, I'll listen, I can do that much." Kulos wasn't really prepared to talk about her own crush or preferences, but Seraphim had been nice enough and never really part of the group that wouldn't shut up. Plus, if she wasn't interested in anyone... probably best not to think about that. It's not like she'd been rejected by Donna already.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Mandan's torture was short lived as Sera convinced Kulos to swap back to her, sighing in profound relief as the girl's overwhelming presence left him. He was able to breathe normally again, and his heart began to slow…he figured people knew he was solitary already, so someone else knowing it was more than what most people thought of when the word anti-social came up couldn't hurt him. With a quiet "thanks, be back shortly," he slipped off…time to destroy this crystal before it got the better of him...and after so much freaking physical contact, it would be nice to just not be near people for a moment or two. He got far enough away so as to not alert anyone with the thing's red glow, then carefully inverted his pocket so the pulsating thing fell on the ground without him touching it. The dark boy made sure to put his gloves back on, so as to minimize the chance of him grazing it with exposed skin, then drew his short sword. He didn't give out a war cry, nor did he hesitate as if he questioned if this was the right thing to do. Instead, he simply took his blade and swung it at the crystal as hard as he could. Good riddance.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

“That’s ok, I am not really any good at girl talk either” Seraphim quietly confessed as she slowly started making her way towards the fire “…hearing all the other girls talking about which boys they liked and kissed and …done other things with always made me feel like a little kid…I mean I do like boys but they just don’t seem to like me” Seraphim said feeling slightly embarrassed for saying as much to the other girl after she’d already made it plain that boys were the last thing she wanted to talk about and so moved on to the other staples of girl talk “I was never really interested in it before but now all the stuff the other girls talked about seem kind of pointless, I mean what’s the point of makeup if I can’t even see it? Though I do have a rather pretty blue dress back in my room that I’d like to wear one day” she had thought she’d get the chance to wear it after Lecta had agreed to take her to the winter dance, though that had since gone out the window, and she doubted that Mandan would want to go. Sure he’d say yes just to keep her happy but he’d hate every minute of it and to be honest she wanted someone other than her brother to take her “So what about you? Have you got something you’ve been saving for a special occasion?” she asked listening to Kulos’ answer as they made the rest of the journey to the campfire where with the other girls help they both sat down at a free space.
Listening to the voices of those around her it was clear that she and Kulos weren’t the only ones currently sat by the fire though she didn’t recognise any of the voices. Moving her arm from about Kulos’ waist Seraphim sat by the fire for several moments feeling the warmth against her skin before speaking once again “Well…now that girl talk is over…” Seraphim said with a quiet laugh “…I don’t suppose there is anything normal you’d like to talk about? Well, so long as it doesn’t involve the Ultimate One that is…gods I hate her, also I am absolutely starving, there isn’t anything to eat around here is there?”

 

[DeletedUser37114]

"I don't really do dresses," Kulos said, replying to Seraphim's question. She very much preferred her snug leggings and tops that gave her a freedom to move and tumble without some stupid skirt or other entangly bit getting in the way. "I think I've got one back at the Citadel, in my closet, but it's probably got a pretty good layer of dust by now." She sighed. "I love looking at them, love seeing girls wear them, but they just don't do it for me when I'm the one wearing them. Figured that out pretty quick." Kulos lapsed into a frustrated silence for a moment. "Guys' formal wear doesn't do it for me either, though I'm not sure if it's the style or the fact that it's a guy wearing it that puts me off." Realizing that she'd been doing all the talking, Kulos stopped herself from going off on a tangent that had taken up a number of her thoughts lately.

As they reached the campfire, Kulos looked around, but didn't see Donna around. She was about to tell Seraphim that they should go look around more, but the girl sat down and let go, effectively leaving her stranded. Not that she intended to, but that didn't change the situation. On top of that, Mandan had also disappeared and she was still too exhausted to stand on her own. Frustration simmered and built, right up until her companion mentioned the Ultimate One as if she had actually met the being. "What?" she asked, more out of shock than looking for an honest answer. "You've met the Ultimate One? Then what are you doing here? And it's a she? That's... actually kind of nice..." Kulos' thoughts trailed off in a very different direction from there. "What did she look like? And why do you hate her?"

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Although Kulos didn’t do dresses, Seraphim definitely did as they never failed to make her feel pretty especially when worn with a nice pair of shoes or boots and perhaps a small touch of lipstick; nothing too bright or trashy just enough to add a little colour to her pale skin. But alas like Kulos she’d long since discovered that wearing a dress in the field was tantamount to stupidity so she often wore tight fitting breeches, knee length boots and a tunic instead. Not the most glamorous of ensembles admittedly but practical and less liable to send you sprawling into a heap whilst engaged in close quarter melee as was want to happen to an Earth Caste.
Hearing the shock in her voice as Kulos started asking her about the Ultimate One, Seraphim found she had to remind herself that not everyone had had an audience with that damnable woman “Well I haven’t actually met her, met her…she kind of…appeared to me in my head if that makes any sense…it was just after I…” Seraphim suddenly stopped finding that she needed to take the mental equivalent of a run up in order to finish her sentence, Just say it quickly and it will all be over…don’t even think about it, just say it and be done with it “itwasafterIlostmysight that she appeared to us all, I don’t really know why she did it…perhaps she felt we needed encouragement, I mean three dead and one…blind…wasn’t good. But either way she appeared to us and told us all some mystic mumbo jumbo about us saving the world and then proceeded to screw with my brothers head, He’s got enough issues without someone going out and doing that!” she said finishing with an angry snarl that she was immediately embarrassed about. Forcing her to take a moment to get her emotions back under control before rather coolly describing her reasons for disliking the all powerful being “She told my brother than he had to change or he would die, what kind of person says that to a boy!? It completely destroyed him! He lost all self confidence, he became depressed and miserable and felt he had no purpose in life, its taken me weeks to try and get him to snap out of it I mean the poor boy can’t even…” Seraphim managed to stop herself from saying another word just in the nick of time. She couldn’t tell her that. She’d promised him that she wouldn’t tell anybody about that and here she was on the verge of spilling the beans to a girl that she only knew on the most basic of terms “I hate her…and she’s going to regret ever messing with my brothers head” she said in an angry whisper; her hands balling up into fists within her lap as she did so. She didn’t know how she would do it but she would get her own back “As for what she looks like, I think it changes from person to person because Mandan always refers to the Ultimate One as a he but I saw a tall, beautiful woman in her late thirties with dark blue eyes and long platinum blonde hair wearing a white dress…go on you can say it if you want to…I’ve just described what my mother probably looks like” she said with a laugh that said she knew how messed up it all sounded. She’d never really given her parents all that much thought because after all like every other Spirit Changer they had abandoned her and so she didn’t see why she should waste any time on them, though apparently at least one part of her mind still wondered what they looked like.

 

[Apelatia]

Lecta sat underneath the roof of the shelter which he had found, up against a solid, wooden wall. He had his slender legs tucked up against his chest, and his head rested atop his knees, insomuch as it gave the impression that the boy was far smaller than he actually was. Unable to sleep, Lecta had instead sat and mused about his current position. Seamus had not come to talk to him, and he wasn't sure what to do. Lecta felt inside that the other boy believed that he held more of a duty towards the group as a whole than towards its specific members. Seamus would want them all to be back together again, as one big, happy family... He doubted that feat could be achieved, but he knew that Seamus would try; that was the way he was wired. However, Lecta had wanted to talk to Seamus about leaving the large group which had been formed. He had come to the conclusion that whilst safety could be gained in numbers, he was more likely to be murdered in his sleep by someone who disliked him should he decide to stay. Thus, as far as he was concerned, the best option for him was to leave. He had wanted the other boy's blessing before he did so, but if Seamus did not come, then he would need to leave alone without his knowledge.

The air felt cold to Lecta as he sat there in silence. He had refrained from constructing a fire for fear of people finding him... Then suddenly, out of the silence he heard footsteps not far from his location. They were soft footsteps, but just loud enough for Lecta to be able to recognise them. Quietly, so as not to disturb the peace of the night, the boy uncurled himself and manoeuvred himself into a position from which he could see outside. Surprise emanated across his face as he recognised Mandan. The dark-clad boy had stopped, and was pulling out something red from the inside of his pocket, though was clearly taking care so as not to make contact with it - whatever it was... The red object then fell to the floor, making an audible noise. Mandan then drew out his short sword, and it became blatantly clear then to Lecta what it was that he was doing. Mandan intended to destroy the object. Before he could stop himself, Lecta had spoken aloud in an inquisitive voice from within the shadows where he hid. "What is that?" Mandan had at this stage been about to strike the object with his sword. He then continued, "It's a strange time of night be out on your own trying to destroy red objects, Mandan..." Lecta then waited to see what the other boy would do, and what would occur if he did strike the object...

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Sam
The boy sat on the ruined wall, a short distance away from the rest of the group, and stared out into the distant sunset. He clutched a small feather to his heart and whispered to it. "We killed a minotaur today. It was absolutely massive, Mandan managed to take it down by phasing through it. He was insane..." The boy paused, either running out of things to say or just simply enjoying the moment. "I miss you." A single tear rolled down his cheek and for a moment he felt very small, very scared, very alone and very afraid. "I see your face every time I close my eyes. And that moment as the sword pierces your back. It's burned on to my memory for all eternity. Their screams too. I tried to sleep, I did, but I can't. They died because I wasn't strong enough Leo. I... I don't think I'm ever going to get over you. I... you..." The boy's voice was broken at this point, clearly being torn up on the inside over Leo's death. As the sun sunk below the horizon he sat there watching and he remained where he was as the camp began to light fires, sentries were organised and the group began to head to bed. Sam barely noticed Donna slip up onto the wall and sit next to him. She smiled sweetly at him and her cheeks flushed, the girl obviously nervous. Sam, however, remained oblivious even to the girl's presence as he forlornly gazed at the sunset. Finally Donna worked up the nerve to clear her throat, the boy barely reacting to her presence other than acknowledging her with a curt nod and hoarsely whispering "...Donna." She flushed a shade of crimson that, had anyone suggested she'd turned such a colour, made her prone to violence and, as she began to speak, she stuttered for a second on an invisible word, not making enough noise for Sam to noticed. Recollecting herself she waited a few seconds and spoke again. "Sam.... I really like you. You're a nice person and I care deeply about you..." She paused for a couple of seconds and Sam, in his distracted state, took this as a sign of her having finished. "Thanks Donna, that means a lot to me. You're a great friend Donna and I appreciate you being there for me like this." He placed an arm round the girl and leaned his head over on her shoulder as she clammed up, apparently reconsidering whatever she had been about to say. It was only a couple of minutes later that Donna extricated herself from Sam's grasp and she hurriedly left the section of the ruined wall, not that Sam paid much attention. He merely continued to gaze wistfully out into the night sky, apparently pondering his fate.

Donna
I am okay. I am okay. Donna kept repeating the phrase to herself as she fled as if it were a mantra that could hold back her tears. She waited until she'd found what she figured was a small, quiet, secluded little spot, not too far from the main group whereupon she proceeded to quietly cry to herself, letting out the emotions of being so bluntly spurned by Sam.

Mandan
As the sword slid towards the crystal Mandan felt a chill run through his spine but as the sword connected with the crystal it passed straight through as if the crystal were made of butter. As Mandan went to raise his sword, however, a strange sight awaited him. The crystal appeared to have fused to either side of his sword. Then it happened. The red corruption of the crystal spread in flash, before Mandan had time to react, up the boy's sword and hilt and onto his arm. A burning sensation seared itself across his flesh as the dark magic of the crystal mingled with his own. The process was over in about five seconds flat whereupon Mandan could feel that his magic circuits were now strengthened, however, his mind remained his. Whatever description he had been given of being taken by the demon changers in school, this did not match it, rather it seemed that he had assimilated the power of the crystal and harnessed it to himself as opposed to the crystal taking his body.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

There were no sparks. There was no explosion. Instead, Mandan's blade sank through the pulsating crystal as if it wasn't even there, cutting incredibly easily. Perplexed, he tried to lift his blade, only to see…no…nonononononononononooooo!!! Before he could figure out how to get the crystal off his sword, for it was stuck there, it had launched itself up the blade and under his sleeve. He groaned in pain as he felt himself burning…great…just great…he'd avoided death once, and now he was dying anyway for trying to do the right thing…this was fair. However, the sensation died away fairly rapidly…he felt as though something had changed about the part of him that he drew his power from…he felt normal otherwise, but…so that meant…he could never use his abilities again. Couldn't phase through anything, couldn't shift even if he figured out why he was having issues with it, couldn't mess with the earth as his element allowed. He was done. Never. Again. He'd gotten extremely, extremely lucky to not have had it take over his mind…the only thing he could do now is never give it the chance to by never tapping into it. He was more than a little scared of the possibility of his physical appearance having changed now as well…how was he supposed to open up and shed the clothing that protected him if he bore some mark of the dark energy he'd accidentally allowed in? No…he couldn't risk it…he had to check somehow…not this moment, as it was dark, but as soon as he could. The dark boy sheathed his sword, only to remember that Lecta had called something as he'd swung. Oh. Crap. He needed to say something, to prove that he was still in control…but what? Quietly but firmly, he eventually muttered, "The thing…messed with where I draw my powers…but I'm still me. I won't let it have me. I'll never use them again. Please don't saying anything about it to anyone." His part said, he turned and started heading back towards the main camp. Let Lecta do what he wanted. Mandan needed something he didn't usually…human presence…something to remind him he was ok, so long as he forsook everything that made him different from a common thief, anyway.

 

[Apelatia]

Lecta watched in horrified silence as Mandan's blade failed to break the crystal, but somehow extraordinarily managed to end up with either side fused to the dark-clad boy's sword. A moment later, the red of the crystal altered into some moving "power" that shot up Mandan's sword, up his forearm and arm and into his body. Not realising what he was doing, Lecta in response jumped from his hiding place and ran to Mandan's side, concern and shock emanating over his face, only to stare aghast at the other boy as he frankly brushed off the incident like it didn't matter in the slightest before striding away from the scene. Lecta realised that Mandan had never been the talkative type, but flat out ignoring him was something else. Not only that, but apparently his very presence there hadn't even remotely surprised Mandan. Had the other boy discovered that he was present at the battle? If so, how? Lecta stared after Mandan's retreating figure, confused at how he had discovered his being in Rakasi, and also befuddled at what had just taken place... He didn't recall Mandan having had a red crystal on his person prior to the split in the group, especially not a red crystal that Mandan would spontaneously decide to destroy in secret. Except, it hadn't been a secret. He had been there to witness it, and Mandan had explicitly asked him not to tell anyone about it...

As Lecta brooded over what had just taken place, he realised that now might be a good opportunity to talk to Mandan about what had taken place, without Sera's involvement. Seamus did not appear to be coming, so someone had to know about his plans, even if that person did not particularly like him. "Mandan! Wait, please!" Lecta called after the boy in a slightly desperate voice. A quick jog to Mandan's position took a few moments, at which point he had come up with what he planned to say. Should Mandan decide to listen, Lecta would speak in an edgy, yet decided voice. "I know you dislike me, but hear me out please. I won't tell anyone about your secret." A pleading look in his eyes, Lecta appeared at that time to be very much earnest in what he was saying. "I've done things which have been...badly thought out. I admit that. However, everyone here hates me, and that Kulos girl would have killed me by now if not for Seamus's interference..." He was rambling, he realised that, but the main point would come... "What I'm trying to say is... I'm leaving. I'm going to go on alone before that Kulos murders me, and before Sera rips me a new one, once she finds out I'm alive and here in the city. That is, if she doesn't already know..." He paused, then continued, "One secret for another, right?" Lecta smiled briefly, before speaking for a last time in a shaky voice. "I have many shortcomings, and I'm probably the closest thing to a failure that there will ever be in this world... It's better for me to not influence the group any longer. It was nice knowing you, Mandan. Take care, and I might see you on the other side..." With that, Lecta turned and began to walk, his intent to find his way out of Rakasi, and then on to the Ultimate One's lair.

 

[DeletedUser37114]

As Seraphim described her experience with The Ultimate One, Kulos frowned in speculation. The being had apparently screwed up her partner pretty badly, leaving him unable to do... something. Seraphim refused to go any further, apparently it was something that wasn't what you'd share with a stranger. A little hurtful, but understandable, considering they'd never really gotten to know each other. Beyond that, her description was baffling. A "he" and a "she," looking like Seraphim's mother, it sounded like the appearance changed depending on the viewer. Definitely odd, though understandable enough for as powerful a being as that. It was entirely possible that... Kulos' thoughts trailed off as she saw a dark shape Donna move around the edge of the campfire, skirting the light and heading towards a spot not too far from camp. She tried again to get to her feet, go investigate, but once again, her legs folded before they took her weight, leaving her with awful dirt grinding into her cuts. Her options were obvious at that point. Crawl over, ask for someone's help to walk, or hope that the figure wasn't Donna it was and you know it. One of those was unacceptable and if she had someone close by to help, then it was easy to pick which option was more preferable. "Seraphim, would you help me again?" she asked. "I think I saw my partner out a little ways from the fire and want to go check on her, make sure she's okay." She managed to keep her voice mostly calm, but there was an edge of desperation there that she couldn't quite hide. Donna needed to be okay after that fight. And Kulos needed to be with her. Now.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Lecta strangely agreed rather quickly to Mandan's insistence that the occurrence hadn't happened…the dark boy wasn't about to complain, but still, that was odd. The water changer didn't let him leave, however, instead approaching to explain in a long winded manner that he was going to be leaving the group. Great. He was going to have to delay his own plans to get back to the main group to stop the impulsive boy from doing something that would quite probably get himself killed. Turning around, he looked Lecta in the eyes, a rarity for him. "You've made yourself unpopular, I agree, but you can't go off alone. You've seen what's happened. Two cities, first Rakasi, now Enylia, everyone turned into monsters. The bull thing. It's not safe alone. Did you make mistakes? Yes. Running only delays fixing them. I hold little ill will towards you. You hurt Sera, you need her forgiveness to gain mine. Kulos didn't seem murderous towards anyone. Should you go back now, while everyone happily celebrates a victory, you'll find it easier to be accepted back. Wounds heal, both physical and emotional. Apologizing helps the latter. Running away helps nothing, and dangerous conditions make it a poor choice. If attacked alone, death is likely." Mandan stopped, then finished with, "Come with me," intending to lead the morose Lecta back to the main group. He wasn't going to let him get himself killed on some self-serving pity fest. No, he was going to get the fool to make up with those he'd hurt so as to keep them all safe.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

She had only just finished answering Ku's questions concerning the Ultimate One when for reasons unknown to her the girl in question attempted to get up and leave only to fall to the floor with a crash "Are you alright?" Seraphim asked, despite feeling just a little hurt that she was just going to up and leave her without a word I...I'm not that bad am I? A tiny voice in the back of her mind asked miserably.
Still feeling more than a little upset over the idea of just being abandoned, she listens as Kulos asked for her help; explaining that she'd just seen her partner and wanted to see if she was ok "sure...I'll help you...though you could have just told me that to start with" she said in a quiet voice as she carefully put her arm about the other girls waist and helped her to her feet. I only wanted someone to talk to she silently lamented; already consigning herself to being a third wheel whilst Kulos talked to another girl; a girl that she actually wanted to talk to.
A maudlin silence descended over her as she followed her companion's directions and helped her walk away from the campfire to wherever the girl’s partner had gotten to.

 

[Apelatia]

Lecta stopped briefly to listen to Mandan's speech. The boy clearly wanted to stop him from going, though why that was Lecta was not sure. Mandan wanted him to apologise to those "he'd hurt". Sure, he would apologise to Sera given a chance, but Kulos, no. The girl was self-righteous and full of herself. The way he felt about it, if anyone was to be apologising in their relationship, it should be the girl herself, and not him. He had tried to protect both her and Donna. They had in turn tried to kill him. There was definitely some ulterior motive to bringing him back to the group... Perhaps Mandan was trying to trick him in order to execute some revengeful plan. "I'm not running, Mandan. I'm leaving. They're two different things." He sighed, then turned around to face the dark-clad boy. "I would apologise to Sera given the chance, but only if she were to make amends for her own wrongdoing. Kulos, no. If I were you, I wouldn't trust her a bit. She'll have a knife to your throat before you know it, and then you won't have a chance to 'make amends'. You'd be gone for good." He paused, then, "It was nice of you to try to stop me, Mandan, but I don't belong with you lot any more. I wasn't a member of your Spirit Changer group in the first place." He turned to leave, then stopped himself, though for what reason he couldn't fathom. "Wounds don't heal. They fester, and when the time of day has passed, and no healing has come, they take on their full effect." Perhaps he wanted the other boy to know about his inadequacy merely to get it off his chest, or perhaps he was looking for some form of sympathy from other boy. Lecta couldn't decide which one it was, but his mind was made up. With that said, he walked away, making for the other direction. Mandan wouldn't stop him.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Lecta was a fool…he wasn't going to listen to reason, that much was obvious, and Mandan didn't know how to change his mind. He was going to leave Enylia and get himself killed all while complaining about not being treated fairly without having the will to work towards improving his stance himself. Well fine, if he was so determined to get himself killed, there wasn't anything the dark boy could do about it. In a slightly angry voice, he responded to the last thing the water changer had said. "Wounds fester if not treated. Your philosophy explains your actions." Let him realize his error…Mandan couldn't stop him and wasn't going to waste time on a futile project. He had more important things to worry about…namely the fact he had a freaking demon crystal inside him. Demon artifacts overpowered and controlled their hosts. His had latched on to a piece of him that he was loathe to ignore for the rest of his life, but it was the only safe thing to do…he would not let it take him. If he was cast out of the Spirit Changers, so be it. He'd figure something out, but he'd kill himself before he let his body betray him and hurt someone who didn't deserve it. As he started back towards the camp, he started wondering how to tell Sera what had happened, or if he even should…siblings were supposed to support each other, but there were some things you didn't burden anyone else with…

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Seraphim was apparently willing to assist her, but Kulos did notice that it wasn't very enthusiastically. "Sorry," Kulos said as they made their way over, between directions and pointing out bits of uneven ground. She wasn't quite sure what she was apologizing for, she didn't think she'd done anything wrong, but all the same it seemed polite to stay on good terms with the girl. Besides, she was sure Donna would love the company of another girl to talk to and hang out with, she was usually more social than Kulos was. Of course, that seemed like a great idea right up until she started hearing the sounds of muffled sobbing. Which probably meant that it was Donna crying and that Seraphim could almost certainly hear it. Also that it might not be a great idea for there to be another person around. Nudging Seraphim down so that they were both sitting, Kulos pulled her close and whispered, "Sorry, it... uh... she... I'll take care of her, go find your partner. You don't need to worry about me. I'll see you in the morning." With that, she nudged out of Seraphim's hold, shooed the girl away, and began to shuffle herself along the wall as quietly as she could. It took her a couple minutes to make it over to where the dark shape curled up, sobbing, but as soon as she made it over, she put an arm around her shoulders and held Donna close. Frustration and rage did their best to make themselves known, but the held them off with a simple plan. She'd make sure that Donna was okay first. Then she'd fix whatever made Donna this sad.

 

[DeletedUser13682]

The wandering was long and filled with various sights. The campfires that dotted the ruins were surrounded by the victors of this battle. Many were sleeping, or nearing sleep, some were still celebrating with what food and drink they had with them. Most of those still awake were talking about the battle, or how they would go to the next town and free that from whatever evil gripped it. Some were talking about random things, subjects that didn't matter, at least to Seamus. But none of the people around the campfires was the one that Seamus was looking for. It seemed that Sam was nowhere to be found amongst the people of the campfires; this necessitated a wider search amongst the ruins. He went to the nearest campfire and grabbed an unused piece of firewood, fashioning a torch out of it and some scrap cloth, using the campfire's flames to set it alight. Seamus then set out amongst the ruins, searching for Sam. It took a fair while; the makeshift torch had very nearly dimmed to nothingness before his target was sighted. Sam was sitting alone on a ruined portion of wall, not too far away from the groups of campfires, but far enough away to not be noticed by any casual glances. "Hello Sam," Seamus spoke, just as the torch went out. Seamus dropped it and sat down next to the other man. "How've you been? How are the others? What're you doing out here alone? I'm certain the campfires are warmer."

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Even though Kulos apologised Seraphim still couldn't help but feel a little used; a convenient method for the weakened girl to get around and nothing more, with the feeling growing even stronger when it became clear that her friend was far from ok by the sound of her sobbing resulting in Sera being sent away.
Without even dignifying her abrupt dismissal with a response she turns and heads back towards the campfire; using the end of her stave to probe the way ahead of her so as to avoid any major stumbles.
With her no longer in the mood to try and make new friends with the groups of people scattered around the ruins Sera found herself a quiet spot away from the others and sat with her back resting against what she assumed to be a wall of some kind and made herself comfortable, fully intending to go to sleep. Sure she was still hungry but she daren't walk up to any of the others and ask for something to eat. If Mandan, Kulos or even Seamus had been with her she'd have probably been able to pluck up the courage, but not when she was on her own, No, better to sit here quietly than risk any further rejection. Besides if she stayed in one place Mandan would find her eventually, it wasn't like she could actually go looking for him by herself...not unless she wanted to get well and truly lost that is.