The Forbidden Art

Falks smiled. "Ever since I met you a few days ago I felt a draw I didn't feel with Rose. It took me a while to realize that I was meant to be with you." He hugged her tighter, then let go and turned to the newcomer. "Hi, I don't think we've met. My name's Falks."

---

Cee watched as the groups began to come together. He was looking for the perfect chance to appear without causing to much distress. There was something about Falks. It was as if they new each other and Cee had that same feeling he had when he had been the stalking the man and his wife through the forest. He jumped down from the tree without a sound and walked into the clearing.

Kailyn watched the battle end and the men shake hands, she shook her head and said something along the lines of, "Men," before looking down and seeing Azrael, again. She grabbed her branch a little tighter.

"So... you're not going to eat me?" She asked timidly, peering down, "Or take my soul and boil it in oil?" Kailyn watched Azrael conjure up a pie and give it to Drake, "PIE!" She half screamed. She scurried down the tree and tackled Azrael in a giant hug, "You always were my favorite Crusnik."

Vera looked at Falks and gave him an enthusiastic wave, "Hey-ho! I'm Vera! Wind Mage extraordinaire! I leave trails of broken hearts in my wake and I'm going to have sex with that guy over there!" She said, pointing at Vexoz.

"I'm going to assume you don't want people to know you're not human, right?Hand me the mirror and I'll tell you exactally what it's for.... Sound fair? You tell anyone what I can do and I'll tell people you're not human. A secret for a secret!"

Azirak looked at her for a moment, then laughed.
"You are strangely clever for a human. Alright then..."
He handed the mirror to her.
"Ok then. I wont tell anyone. I promise."

"That guy over there?" Falks said while laughing. "A little piece of advice, sex isn't play, it's love. You have to know that you're doing it with the right person." He said with a sideways glance at Mira. He felt a presence behind him and turned to find Cee standing there. "Cee! What you doing here?"
Cee just stared at Falks. "Tell me where I know you from."

Vera sniffed snobbishly and replied, "Pah! Love doesn't exist. It's just a chemical imbalance that leaves you all happy and prancy until you realize that it's not all fun and games and the person you're in love with, wait for it, actually has flaws!" She threw up her hands dramatically, "I can get the good feeling without any of the disappointment, well, most of the time, from sex!"

Kailyn looked up, "I disagree," Said the flat-chested woman. Vera shrugged it off, "Good for you then. But when the honeymoon's over don't get all glossy-eyed and tear faced!"

Vera jumped up, "Oh hey! It's Cee-Cee! Vee-Vee, Cee-Cee, and Re-Re are all together now!" She said, clapping, "Although I still don't think I like Re-Re. It reminds me of something but I can't remember what."

"Hey wait a second, what are you doing here?" Vera continued.

Azrael laughed at Kailyn's sudden affections and hugged her.

"I'm the only Crusnik you met. Unless…" Azrael grinned. "It's great to see you again Kailyn, and you as well Drake. I see you took notes from our chat."

Drake laughed at Kailyn's reaction and then started to eat the pie.

"This is delicous Azreal... Why can't anything like magic pie powers be given to me... on second thought... Nevermind"

He ran over to them and tackled them. "Group Hug!"

"A little piece of advice, sex isn't play, it's love. You have to know that you're doing it with the right person."

Vexoz was about to say something when Vera interrupted. Then it seemed that everyone had something different going on. There was the woman who was arguing with Vera over sex and what he could only assume was a vampire making... pies? Whatever, Vexoz quickly glanced around the corner to see Vera's trail led straight here.

At least one of them was a mage. Using reasoning, he quickly dismissed that Drake could be a mage. Anyone who could use magic wouldn't train with a blade as extensively as he did. That left the vampire, the man who apparently thought he was a love expert, and Drake's girl. Vera was right before, they had no way to know if any of these people were against the Chosen or not and he couldn't just come out and say it. Vera and him would just have to stick around them and try to bring the Chosen up subtley.

Did he just think of the words 'subtle' and 'Vera' in the same sentence? Fuck! There's no way this would work! Suddenly, he noticed the man from the Chosen village appear. What did Cee think he was doing!

Cee just stared at Falks. "Tell me where I know you from."

Vera jumped up, "Oh hey! It's Cee-Cee! Vee-Vee, Cee-Cee, and Re-Re are all together now! Hey wait a second, what are you doing here?"

Good question.... Vexoz wiped his hand off on his pants, awaiting his response. If he tells them we're with the Chosen either directly or inderectally, then we'll have no choice but to fight! The warrior tried to change the subject.

"So... who's the mage?" Sure, that didn't sound suspicious at all.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

June took the mirror from him. "Well, human mages have to be sly. How else would we avoid people who don't like magic?" Just by holding the mirror she could tell Vladimir wasn't close by. "I'm not supprised you've never heard of mirror magic," she continued as she carefully took out her right contact. After blinking a few times, she showed him her eyes were really yellow. "Mirror magic's pretty rare. You get all the downsides of being a mage with the most stupidly specific abilitys the world's ever seen."

Slightly focusing, she held the mirror up for Azirek to see. On the reflective surface was a view of Asinoir from a nearby puddle. "Don't worry, he can't see us. It only works one way." Getting a little carried away, June also took a moment to stick her arm through the mirror, stopping around her shoulder. It just felt good for her to finally show someone what she could do. She pulled out objects, put stuff through the mirror, and even mentioned her ability to track reflective things. Finally a smile crossed her lips as she put her contacts back in. "And that's all I've figured out how to do so far."

Without warning, her smile faded and she remembered what she needed the mirror for. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my... one of my firends." She started going back and waited for Azierk to get out of her way.

Azrael was tackled by Drake, sending the three into the ground. They all laughed, getting up and dusting themselves off.

"It's good to be here again. Say, have any of you two seen Vladimir? He went to go talk to a "Mira" or something."

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my... one of my friends."
Azirak nodded. "Ok then. i need to find my frie...um...aquan...um...people i know here. Bye!"
There was a flash of light, and he shot through the sky towards vera and vexoz. He landed in a small town, where he could see vexoz and another human shake hands, with swords in their hands.
"Aww...there was a fight and i missed it?"

June wasn't sure what to think. If anything, she expected him to hold her up, keep her from continuing, or ask some kind of question about her magic and how exactly it worked. But he just dissapeared. If Asinoir was looking for him, he'd be pretty dissapointed. Before stepping out she decided it would be best to think about things ahead of time. She checked the hand mirror's surface for the larger mirror she set up earlier. Seemed like there were more people outside of it than before!

It seemed like Vladimir was next to some kind of lake. Shaking her head, June looked back at the puddle she originally came out of. It seemed like Asinoir wasn't looking at it. Maybe she could run across and dive straight from one location to another? She already trusted one man today with what she could do, it would be stupid to think Asinoir would be as truseworthy....

A determined look came over her face. It was worth risking it. For Vladimir! He wouldn't just leave unless something was really wrong, right?

Her face became serious. Ready? She ran as fast as she could to the puddle, just hoping it would be big enough to fit through. As her feet lifted off the ground and she leaped through the air, it didn't seem like Asinoir saw her. But he definately would have at least taken notice.

The next thing she knew, she was hurled slightly into the air before being surrounded by water. It actually worked! A smile crossed her face before she realized she needed to hold her breath. A feeling of panic set in for a moment while she flailed around trying to crawl to the shore. Spitting out some salt water, June finally tried to regain her composure as she walked onto land, completely drenched.

"Vladimir? You around here?" June called, wiping her hair away from her face. Where was he? He should be right around here! Starting to doubt her abilities, she took out her hand mirror and tried to locate his sword again. But where was.... It took a minute for her to focus her attention on it. Sticking out of the ground was what looked like Vladimir's arm, still clutching his blade. Still armed even in death. It took a moment for it to sink in, things seemed like it was impossible. He was just alive a few moments ago and now... now Vladimir was dead and burried. It couldn't have just happened like that, it shouldn't have happened like that!

A single thought crossed her mind on what could have killed Vladimir. His self-proclaimed dark side, Romanov.

She wanted to cry, but couldn't bring herself to in her anger! June punched the sandy ground before grabbing the sword. The thing that had brought her to this tragedy.

"Romanov! What did you do to him!" She unsheathed the blade and started hastilly walking around like Romanov could not only hear her, but could appear at any moment. "I'll.... I'll kill you! You hear me, swine!" As she started breaking down, all that mattered was making the one responsible suffer. "I'll avenge him, Romanov! I will cut off your fucking head! DO you hear me!"

"Romanov!" June screeched, thoughts only on harming the being responsible. Not on Vladimir. They were not on the others, or the not-human she had encountered earlier. Not on trying to see how he had died or any love she believed she once had. Only on finding the bastard who did this and making him pay!

After pacing around until she couldn't pace any more, June fell to her feet. It was crazy, she only knew him for 5 minutes, but still.... And there she was, sitting on her knees on the coast, with sword in hand, vowing revenge on Romanov.

Azirak walked up to vexoz and the other guy.
"So who wo..."
He heard something. It was quiet, but it sounded like some sort of shout from far away.
"Romanov! What did you...kill you...swine! I'll avenge...I will cut...fucking head! DO you... me!"
He looked at the others.
"What the fuck was that?"
He warped into his form, and shot through the sky towards the shout. He didnt pause for one second wondering if heading for it was a good idea.
HE landed on some strange form of land. A large section of the floor was some sort of liquid. He turned to see the woman from earlier. He was about to shout another greeting, but he looked down, and he froze.
A man, on the floor, quite obviously dead. The woman...was mourning him.
Instantly, images flashed through Aziraks brain, his mouth want dry, remembering so many things...things his mind had kept deep buried. Things...that explained why he had become a kyren in the first place. Things...that he had seen before.

He could have helped. He could have tried to comfort her. But he didnt.
Azirak walked back into the shadows, giving June the honour of mourning in private.

It seemed like, once again, a thousand things were happening at once. Vlad had apparently left in search of Mira but Mira was right there. Mira also said that she was doing some double agent stuff, finding out Ret's plans and apologizing. A lightning bolt with the body of a human popped up only to disappear. Some redhead and a warrior showed up, one of whom fought with Drake, and now they had some sort of brotherly ego macho post fight brotherhood thing going on. Men. They say women are confusing! Add that upon the reappearance of her once deceased friend (who brought pie), and the ramblings of aforementioned redhead, Kailyn was sure her brain was going to explode.

She rubbed her temples with her forefingers, slowly moving away from the throng of people. She leaned up against a tree and allowed the cool bark to touch her tan skin. Her dark brown eyes glazed over as she processed the entire happenings with a frown. It was just too much. On top of all that, they STILL had to find the manaflayer and do... something... anything, about the Chosen. She had to stop the genocide. Just had to...

"Oy!" Called a deep voiced man. He was waving at the group, "I's got places ta be, people ta take to and fro, we be leaving anytime soon? Can't be 'ere all day, gots to leave now."

Kailyn nodded, "I suppose we will find Vladimir later or he'll join us. It was nice meeting you... I think," Kailyn said to Vera and the warrior, "Mira you can come with us if you want to talk."

Kailyn walked away and started to climb into the carriage. When she looked up, she saw Anne sitting on the bench inside. Surprised, she yelped and fell backwards, her grip loosening on the rails and falling onto her back. Groaning, she sat up, her bum on the dirt road, and rubbed her ever pounding head.

"The hell are you doing here?" Kailyn snapped.

"I don't suppose you know where you'd be going without me," Anne replied in her cool voice.

Kailyn felt the world shift as she was pushed to the side so she was laying flat on the ground again. A squeak ruptured her eardrums as it cried out, "Annie with a Fannie! Is that you?!"

"H-Hello Vera," Anne said, some of her composure crumbling. Vera let out another squeal and jumped into the carriage, using the back of Kailyn's head (which was still on the ground) as leverage. Vera floated towards Anne and sat down next to her. Kailyn groaned and tried to find the desire to stand up. Unfortunately, she found none and continued to lay face down on the ground.

In hushed whispers, Anne hissed at Vera, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

As if someone doused her with cold water, Vera's face changed. The mischievous glimmer in her eye faded, replaced by a glare that seemed all knowing. The quirky smile dimmed and her lip curled into a smirk.

"I know what I'm doing," She said, her voice dangerously low, "Do you?" Vera asked, raising an eyebrow. Vera took a piece of paper out of her pocket and placed it inside Anne's open hand. In return, Anne handed her a piece of something that pounded with power. Vera smiled and stuffed it in between her breasts.

"Ain't nobody gonna rob me and check my titties!" Vera said in reply to Anne's shocked look. Vera bounded out of the carriage, stepping on Kailyn's head once more. She blinked to Vexoz's side.

"Ready?" She asked, her usual facade returning.

Drake was shocked by the ordeal, but quickly went to help Kailyn up. "You okay?" He turned afterwords and saw the carrige waiting for them. He motioned for everyone to follow him if they were coming. "C'mon Azreal, Kailyn... Everybody! We've got things to do!" A sudden thought crossed his mind. "Azreal... Can you make Steak too? If so..." He said with a sudden flabergasted look.

Mira drifted away from Falks to allow him to talk to Cee and was about to sit down on a tree stump (AGAIN), when she heard someone saying her name.

It was Azrael. She started moving towards him to ask what he had said when the carriage Falks had mentioned arrived and Vera jumped at it, throwing Kailyn to the ground in the meanwhile. Mira couldn't hear what she said to the woman that was inside the carriage, but it seemed that she was serious, and that seemed really weird.

Vera jumped out, hitting Kailyn again and going back to talk to... What was the name of the man? It didn't matter, Mira thought, she decided that she wouldn't keep trying to find out about the plans. It would only be a chance to lose Falks, and she didn't want that to happen.

She went back to where Falks was and hugged him again, ignoring Cee this time. "I think that I will stay with you..." She whispered "Can't risk losing you..."

She kissed him briefly and then went towards the carriage.

Azrael shrugged, helping Kailyn up as Drake inquired about creating steak. Azrael formed another batch of pie and handed it to Drake.

"It tastes like steak, trust me. You'll taste more steak than pie." He then picked up on faint screaming. He picked up on the word "Romanov" and looked around. His claymore faintly hummed, reassuring him the worst had occured. He nudged Drake to follow him.

"Can you come quickly? Something's not right." He leaned in to Kailyn and whispered. "I'm borrowing Drake for a minute. Don't worry, if we're late I'll fly him over to your moving location." With that he quickly took Drake to a cliff top and flew him down. By the corner he noticed two people and a body. The two rushed to the body and gasped. Drake covered his face in shock, Azrael shaking his head in sorrow. Drake rested a hand on Azrael's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Then he looked at Vladimir's hand. "This was...unexpected. Very."

Falks smiled a bit as he watched Mira walk to the wagon. He headed off into the forest. When he was sure that no one could spy on him, he released the Guardian.
"She will hate you for this...." The guardian said in his raspy voice.
"Are you sure you can't do anything about my magic?"
"The only way I can remove it is for you to have an heir."
"Why can't I just use the barrier protecting the manaflayer?" Falks said with a frown.

Drake put his hand on Azreal's shoulder once more. "I don't mean to interupt, but I need to go back to town." Azreal nodded, and flew him off to the town. When he finally got there, he nodded to Azreal, and watched him fly off. "Where is she?" He asked himself.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Robin was sitting inside of the inn when a familiar face came in. "Drake? Is that you? You've grown so much!" She said and smiled when he nodded.

"It's me, you've shorly gotten... Wow..."

She giggled, "Not to bad yourself big boy" She had once had a crush on Drake, and had helped him when they were much younger. Now the crush had faded, but she still had strong feelings for him. "Well... I'll assume that you knew I was here somehow? You've always known were I would be..." She flashed a smile and pressed he body against his.

Drake blushed. "Yeah... I can't Robin, As much as I'd like too, I've come for your help. For old times sake?

She nodded. "Well Lets go!" She followed him to his group and examined them. She noticed immediately his attraction to the brown haired one. She whispered to him so that no one could hear. "She the one... I can tell..."

Drake nodded, "Everyone this is Robin Krei, A friend from a Long time ago."

After Vera's unscrupulous head-stepping, Kailyn's face was covered in dirt... as well as the rest of her body. She tried her hardest to brush off while waiting for Drake and Azrael. However, it seemed like this type of dirt liked to stick and never, ever come off. She was desperately brushing off when Drake reappeared...

With a woman.

Jealousy did not bode well with Kailyn. Its tight fist squeezed her heart and her stomach, causing an uncomfortable feeling. It didn't help that the redheaded head stepper decided to chime in.

"Ooooooohh, she's really pretty. Old friend, huh? More like old fuck mates," Vera commented, nodding and looking Robin up and down. Kailyn ground her teeth, her eyes darkening. With a near growl, she spun on her foot and climbed into the carriage.

"Are we leaving or what?" Kailyn grumbled, crossing her arms.

Drake frowned at her comment "Why would you even suggest that? It could have happened before I met Kailyn, but that's no one but my business."

Robin smiled and walked over to the redhead. "Your not exactly ugly." She said with a wink, and pressed her body against hers. She pressed her breasts into her face and then quickly ran off. "Drake! C'mon! You're friend is waiting!"

Drake quickly followed and got in the carrige, sitting between Robin and Kailyn.

Vera blinked.

Boobies?

BOOBIES!

Awwww, and now they're gone.

No, Vera! Snap out of it! You're a taken woman! Or wait, actually, no you're not.

BOOBIES!

Still... Vera was sure she saw that underlying look of lust in their eyes. Their body language said they had something, even if it was from a long time ago. Maybe the Robin girl was trying to make Drake jealous? How'd Robin even single Vera out anyways? Did she look like a lesbian? Did she have some sort of aura? Vera glanced down and tried to see past the mountain of flesh that was her chest. She wasn't wearing her "I love tatas" shirt today. In fact, her outfit was downright plain. Vera scrunched up her nose. Ought to fix that.

"Hey, Vee-Vee, where are we going? Did you get any answers yet? Are we going to follow them? OH! I could show you my super sneaky ninja mode!" Vera said. In the blink of an eye, she crouched down and had her hands out like a T-rex. She waddled around for a little bit, every once in a while shushing a stick when it cracked beneath her.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" She said, straightening herself out so that she was upright again. Not only that, but she was damn curious about this whole Kailyn-Drake-Robin thing. If looks were anything to go by, Robin would win. Kailyn didn't have kahunas like that lady!

In the meantime, Kailyn scooted a little bit farther away from Drake, arms still crossed. She only unfurled them to comb her hair with her fingers, grumbling something about a stupid ginger who didn't watch where she was going.

Mira frowned a bit when she saw Falks going into the forest, but got rid of the thought as quick as it appeared "Falks may have his secrets..." She mumbled to herself "But I also have mine..."

She was about to enter the carriage when Drake appeared again with a friend, and damn, Mira had struggle with herself so that she would stay in place, but couldn't resist to giggling slightly when Robin pressed her breasts against Vera's head.

And Vera kept being weird. Mira got into the carriage and noticed that Kailyn was getting a bit away from Drake, most likely because of that other woman that was with him.

Mira thought about talking to Kailyn about it, but realized that she had nothing to say and simply sat down next to her, waiting for Falks.

Azrael landed softly by the carriage, shrugging his wings back into his back. He noticed that the carriage was becoming increasingly full and looked into the sky. Not the best condition for flight but it was manageable, needless to say. He bent his head in and spoke to Kailyn.

"There won't be room by this point in time. Ill follow you guys airborne." He backed from the carriage and sprouted his wings once more and flew up. He stopped just above the trees and thought to himself.

"Vlad...you will be avenged."

Vexoz tried to think of something cleaver to say so he would be able to judge wether they were with the Chosen or against them. But what? It had to be subtle enough to get past thier radar, yet specific enough to get a real answear. He didn't even notice when Falks left or when Drake arrived with a new girl.

"Hey, Vee-Vee, where are we going? Did you get any answers yet? Are we going to follow them? OH! I could show you my super sneaky ninja mode!"

"Well, Vera, we have to find a subtle way of asking.... But they probably do know something." What was the most subtle thing he could ask without drawing much attention.... Screw it! Subtlety wasn't his style, and it wasn't Vera's style! He thought of a good way of putting it, but came up with nothing. "I'm with the chosen, you know," he blurted out. Potentially one of the dumbest things he had ever openly said. Readjusting his face guard, he closed his eyes for a moment. He was ready to draw his sword at a moment's notice.

How will they react to the information? Vexoz could only wait to find out.

Fallks walked back to the village, the information Guardis had given him weighing heavily on his mind. He watched the activity around the wagon, then walked closer when the man who had fought with Drake walked closer.

"Oh I've know you guys were Chosen for quite a while now." He said as he climbed into the wagon's driver box. He rummaged around under the seat, hoping to find the item he hoped was there. Finally he grasped a long piece of iron, and pulled it out to reveal a blunderbuss roughly three feet in length.

Falks pointed it at the man's head in a threatening manner. "Try and follow us and I blow your brains across the forest without hesitation."He rested the gun in the holster on the front and grabbed the reigns. With a quick flick of his wrists, the horses reared up and took off. "Hold on!" He yelled to the people in the wagon. Hopefully his bluff had worked and Vexoz didn't realize the gun was unloaded.