Abandi

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((Phone is stupid. After "Leoric? " it should not be italicized. ..))
 
His head canted to the side as she mostly disappeared from his vision. An interesting trick. Even in this state, parts of her were still visible. She was wrong, there was no way that she existed as pure energy.

"If you're not a witch, nor a demon," he started, raising a hand towards her shoulder now. His eyes fluttered closed, concentrating on the hand that was moving ever closer to her. There was a determination on his part to not enter in to a tug of war, nor to have power flowing wickedly from one of them to the other, mostly for fear of him being the recipient. He took in a deep breath, his hand finally reaching her shoulder. Instantly his entire arm started tingling, every particle in his limb jumping at the chance to take in more of her. He continued, "then you're a human. Just like me." He opened his eyes slowly, his left eye staying slightly narrowed as he poured his concentration in to this moment. "Never forget that." He forced a smile back on to his lips. His chest felt heavy, his legs felt weak. How badly he wanted to inhale her, to let her fill every fiber of him...

No, this was more important. If he were intending to travel with this group - with this girl - he needed her to appreciate not only him, but herself as well.
 
She tossed her head back, the feeling of him withdrawing energy from her body electrified her, leaving her skin tingling and numb. She had never experienced anything like that before, swiftly jumping back after realizing she had allowed him to touch her. </SPAN></SPAN>

"How can a human do what I can do? Have you ever heard, even in legend of someone who can navigate through shadows?" Why is it that I can travel in that manner?" She crossed her arms in confusion. Aki was the first person to challenge her personal beliefs and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing. </SPAN></SPAN>

Abandi had always wondered what she was, human or not, but from all the stories her brother had read to her…she didn't seem to fit any of them. </SPAN></SPAN>
 
The smile on his face did not fade as she stepped back. He was proud of himself for exerting such control, for perhaps the first time in his life. At the crater he had taken in so much of the energy that it caused him to vomit and yet, here had direct contact with the source and exited the confrontation fine. If he could have pat himself on the back without it being incredibly awkward in the situation he would have.

He shifted his stance so that his shoulder was facing towards her and she could see his profile. He drew a finger over his nose, tracing the outline of it, then his lips, and his chin before it leaped off his face. His whole hand shift, cradling an imaginary sphere in his hands. From the cup-like formation in his hands a small glow began, which eventually transformed in to whipping plasma. A small fire began in his hand, his eyes trained on the center of it. "Abandi, there are many kinds of magic in this world." He crushed the flame in his hand and flipped it over, opening his hand once more and facing his palm downwards. The earth at his feet began to vibrate until the ground itself split open. Rising from the ground as a large rock which climbed from underground up to his palm.

"Some are more esoteric than others." His entire arm whipped to the side, his hand curled up with only his pointer finger extending towards a nearby tree. This sent the rock flying towards the timber. Before it made contact his hand expanded once again, fingers stretching parallel with his face, which stopped the rock just before its collision. His other hand, which had been hanging limp at his side, was brought in front of his chest and it began to move in a circular motion, fingers wiggling back and forth. The rock appeared to be sweating, which quickly turned to a film of water about it, and this water became a sheeting of ice. The ice continued to gather around the rock until the object had nearly doubled in size.

He pulled his extended arm back a little and brought the hand near his chest closer to the other. When they were near each other he grunted loudly and flattened his palms against one another. The rock exploded into little bits, which hung suspended in the air. He shifted his stance once more, his back now facing Abandi, as he separated his palms and faced them both towards the tree. The bits of frozen rock and ice began to move towards the tree, spreading out over it's surface. Further concentration brought more ice around the tree, completely covering its outside. He focused on the air around it, slowing down the particles and lowering the temperature both inside and outside the tree. His neck craned, his chin fell to his shoulder and he eyed Abandi in his peripheral vision. "Not all types of magic are documented." The tree finally gave way to the forces against it and cracked it half, loosing a loud snap that echoed in the surrounding area. He turned back towards Abandi, crossing his thin arms over his small chest. "Whatever you are, whatever you can do, we will find out," and after a brief pause he added, "together."
 
After a lengthy exercise, Gemini finally got tired. Walking towards the camp once again she grabbed a few more fresh branches of leaves and dead pine needles, thinking always better to have too much than not enough. Once she got back and placed the pile down near Ryogen she decided to take a quick bath in the pond. She was sweating from her dance in the trees, and since she hadn't seen Aki in some time, and Ryogen was still passed out, she figured it safe enough. She walked a little bit away from Ryogen, just in case he woke up, or was faking it, so he wouldn't be able to see any details when his eyes opened. She placed her blades on the ground gingerly, knowing they could withstand most any blow, but loving them too much to dishonor them. She stripped her clothes off down to her under garments, figuring this way, if Aki did come back he wouldn't be getting a show. The cool water wrapped around her lithe body as she lowered it into the water, reveling in the feeling of it touching her skin and rinsing off the sweat from the day. It felt as if she was washing away all the pain and suffering she had felt during her practice. Always when she was able to go into the wood and do her dance did she envision the trees as the men who had taken her husband, and always did she end with tears in her eyes. She brushed the water over her strong but slender arms, getting the grime from the day off. The water felt good when it hit her muscular stomach, making the heat of her body cool to a reasonable temperature. She splashed some of the water onto her face and dipped her head in, getting her long dirty blonde hair soaking wet to keep her cool. Walking out of the water she used a long piece of leather to tie up her hair in a pony tail, the end of her hair brushing the middle of her back. She sat on the ground for a bit, letting the heat from the sun dry the under garments she had worn into the water before putting her clothes back on. Once dressed and with her scimitars sheathed she let out a long sigh, letting all her pain out, and took in a deep breath, bringing in any good she could think of. She walked over to where Ryogen was and began setting up for the fire. They had time before they needed to light it, but she wanted to have it ready to go when they did, and she needed to hunt. They had brought no food with them, and while the next town was not that far away, she knew everyone would be hungry, especially Ryogen. As she glanced over at him again while making the fire she gave a small smile. He seemed to be such a good brother to Abandi, she wondered if she would have done the same if it had been her in his place. Leaving town after town, not ever having steady work, and not because of his own making, but because of Abandi. His sister. Gemini understood how it was to not work, she had been doing that for awhile, taking odd jobs here and there whenever presented or when she needed coin. She sighed as she finished placing the smaller branches over the larger to form a tepee of sorts, just crouching there and staring.
 
Abandi watched inquisitively, her eyes full of wonder as Aki showed her an example as he lectured her. She copied him, creating a purple fire in her palm. "Like this, then?" She concentrated on the fire, turning its form into a swirling vortex of cold as it quickly spun up and around in the air. She pushed her hands downward, creating a light purple tinted snowfall. The gentle flakes speckled her hair and eyelashes as she watched them fall, still listening to Aki's statement alluding togetherness. Abandi was an incredible student, fast learning and determined. Possibly, Aki would be able to help her control her abilities better. She rubbed her arm uncomfortably, her eyes searching for something to keep her attention. The thought of Aki being around her at all times made her nervous, surely if he wanted her energy he could suck it out of her with a simple touch; it was dangerous. </SPAN></SPAN>

" Together?" She questioned, a girly infatuation in her voice. She quickly corrected herself, covering her blush with her glossy black hair. She cleared her throat, starting to walk slowly in the direction Aki had originally come. If she ran into Gemini, perhaps she wouldn't feel so nervous around the magician. </SPAN></SPAN>

"Are you sure that is a good idea?"</SPAN></SPAN>
 
Gemini shook her head, washing away the thoughts that were jumbled around in her mind and quickly stood up to head back into the woods. Only this time it would be to catch food.
 
He was amazed by her ability to copy him. For him to do such a simple thing as birth a flame required months of his childhood spent with his tutor. Even now it was something that he had at least had to think about. Switching states of matter so quickly, particularly when plasma was involved, was something that he could not easily do and yet she did it almost on accident. However, he tried to not show any outward signs of bewilderment for fear of scaring her off. She was very obviously unsure of herself and this exploration of self wasn't helping. The last thing he needed to do was agitate her. He could absorb any excess energy that may come from her if she were agitated, but at what point would she recreate that massive explosion? It wasn't something Aki was willing to test.

He followed clumsily after her, stumbling over the log he had found and dropped. Cursing the log's existence he regained his footing and bent down to pick it up. Far be it from him to want to return to Gemini empty handed. "Abandi," he called out after her, "I've been chasing what I thought was a rampant magician for weeks now. There was no rampant magician, only you." His eyes swept over her as he followed, noting every sway and rock of her form. Distance was kept between them, so as to not provoke her. "We either go forward together or I continue to follow you from a distance. Either way, I won't be leaving you." I hope me trailing her here isn't foreshadowing her decision. This whole game will change when her brother awakens and I'd hate to see what a suppressed, self-aware Abandi would do.
 
Abandi stopped moving for a moment, swiveling around on her heel to raise a curved black eyebrow at the man following her. She placed a hand on her hourglass hip, tilting her head as if she was hearing his words, even after he was done speaking. Many thoughts bounced around in her head, one being of a possible trap being set by the magician. And what of the rampant man he said he was under the allusion of following; was there really a man like that out there? Were there others like her, leaving smoking craters in the ground on accident and dwelling into a Shadowy realm for their own personal use? She shook her head, getting rid of whatever fantasy might have been creeping in. There were no others-just her brother and herself.</SPAN></SPAN>

"You are prepared to stalk me?" She laughed, turning back around, her hair fanning out behind her. "There is no reason for such desperation Aki, join us if you wish; just be prepared if you are asked to fight" She smiled to herself, feeling content with the fact that the man was willing to follow her in order so learn more about her. </SPAN></SPAN>

"I do need to ask though, Now that you're aware that we don't know of your masters book, why do you desire to stay?" She kept walking, stepping over a group of grey stones that covered a small trickling of water from the lake. They were close to where Gemini had made camp, the smell of fire wafted under her nose.</SPAN></SPAN>
 
He stopped his trot when she turned, staring nonchalantly at her. Like a dog, he waited for her to turn around before moseying on after her. "Stalk?" He called out. "If you wish to call it that." Her comment about fighting was one he chose not to respond to; if it came to defending his life he'd had no problem doing so, but he would go out of his way to ensure that people were not hurt by his actions. When the villagers attacked, he could have easily swept the whole column of them away, or bathed them in scathing fire. He chose not too, however, and took the relatively less dangerous route. Unless any of them were asthmatics who passed on from the dust in the air, Aki had escaped without doing much more than busting down a wall and severely bruising a man's jaw.

But how did he tell her that he was still afraid of her? He was still cautious of her abilities. Would she ever revert to the previous Abandi and begin to store her energy again? Or was she going to stay like this, seemingly willing to use her powers with nearly reckless abandon. "Well," he started with the tell already, "I've relegated my life to two goals; The reclamation of my master's tome, and the elimination of all things rogue and unjust. Wizards, theives, stray animals - nothing is safe!" He smirked at his own comment. What a self-righteous vigilante he was portraying to her! Only half of what he said to her was true, but he wouldn't let towards either direction. "I think accompanying you might serve both ends."
 
"I hope one day we can help you recover the Tome, welcome to our humble group!" Abandi laughed at him, parting some vegetation with her hands, briskly stepping through and waiting for him to join her. The sun was setting rapidly, and night was going to be upon them soon. She thought about his life missions…was he really as strong willed as he let on? His personality seemed to change when he felt he had a point to make, it interested her.</SPAN></SPAN>

"But I do wonder Aki, what if I was to go 'Rogue', what would you do? She sighed, knowing that she would soon need to go back to her mind-letting her illusion fool her brother back to believing she was innocent. She rubbed her eyes, yawning quietly to herself. The scent of the fire directed her, but when she took her first step onto the make shift camp, she found her brother still asleep and completely alone. </SPAN></SPAN>

"That woman left my brother alone!" She knelt down to check on him, a large knot on his forehead told her was still out for the count and he didn't seem to be waking anytime soon. If it weren't her brother she would have been worried. Ryogen was exhausted, so the more sleep he got, the better. "Something terrible could have happened to him…" She let her fingers draw down her brothers face, a look of completely adoration crossing her face. Her brother was the only person she had in the world. Her only love. First she cleared out the pine needles lain under his head, then she sat next to him, tucking her dress under her rear and leaning Ryogen's head on her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair, playing with the dark strands.</SPAN></SPAN>

"I wonder where she went…" </SPAN></SPAN>
 
Gemimi was in the woods scouting for any animal she could find. Slowly and methodically she went through the foliage, sometimes going up into a tree to look about. No one in their group could be as quiet as Gemini when she needed to be. She crouched on the branch of a large oak tree, watching the animals scurry about the ground and trees. As she sat and watched she thought about everything that had happened. First her husband is stolen from her. Then she trains with the group of ... people, for lack of a better word, in the city of Rondanae, moving on to meeting Abandi and Ryogen by chance when the young girl let the man she was torturing for answers escape. She clenched her fists at the thought of that man getting away. He was going to talk, and she would have known more about Leoric, but instead he got away and she was making Abandi and Ryogen pay her back by helping her with her quest. Another quiet sigh escaped her lips, she thought of Abandi and how she had never felt for anyone like the way she does for that young girl. It's almost a motherly instinct that takes over her emotions when she sees the girl in any type of danger, or under any distress. Gemini closed her deep blue eyes and concentrated on the sounds around her, waiting for an animal to overstep its bounds and be taken out by her scimitars.

As Gemini walked back to the camp with the few animals she had been able to kill her stomach growled. She hoped Aki had come back, and by some chance Abandi as well. Abandi was more of a woman when she seemed to let her magic take over, it was like an entirely different person, and she wasn't sure she liked that Abandi. Another sigh as she walked quickly turned into a small smile. She saw Abandi and Aki with Ryogen around her fire pit. It was just about time to start the fire and make some dinner. Maybe one of them could magic up some fish from the pond, she giggled as she thought it. Yeah right.
 
He pushed his way through the vines and followed after her. The setting sun meant that soon he'd get a chance to rest and recover his energy. In the various events that occurred during his conversation with Abandi, he had spent far more than he had intended to. In the worst case scenario he could expend his last orb but what in this measly forest would challenge them in such a way that he'd need a boost? His power supply was always on his mind, perhaps higher than even acquiring food or shelter. Such was the life of a user of the arcane.

He casually deflected her question. "I'll stop it before it gets to that."It was clear what he'd have to do if she ever became out of control but there were several steps he could take before it got there.

The camp had come along nicely, Gemini preparing a load of dried wood. "He'll be fine. What could go wrong out here?" He casually stepped over Ryogen and knelt down next to the firewood. He carefully placed his single log amongst the other reserve logs and held a hand on either side of the structure. His eyes closed and his brow furrowed as he sent heat through the logs to the leaves and twigs at the base. In moments the material ignited, a small trail of smoke filtering out through the wood. Clapping his hands together he stood, catching Gemini approaching out of the corner of his eye. He turned to her, noticing the animals she carried in her arms. Casually he pointed to the bundle she was holding then back down to the beginnings of flame at his feet. "Hey! Fire!" His brows raised high and a smile leapt on to his face, his jubilation over their combined effort rather apparent.
 
"Wonderful, and how much wood did you bring back? One log? Also wonderful." The sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"At least you could start the fire, I could never do something as amazing as that. Why don't you see if you can rig up something for us to put this on." Gemini flung the 5 animal carcasses at the ground near Aki's feet, rolling her eyes and stretching.

"I'm kidding Aki. Get a sense of humor." She smiled at him and turned to Abandi.

"Nice of you to come back to us." Gemini wasn't sure how to speak to Abandi when she was in her "other" form. She wanted the other Abandi back, the one she could hug and take care of. However much she wanted the younger Abandi back she had to admit that this Abandi had saved them some time and probably helped them from being followed. Between Aki and this version of Abandi they had made it here and were safe, for now.

"How is Ryogen? He seemed fine when I left to hunt." As she spoke she started skinning and gutting the animals, using a small dagger and a large rock as a table. Putting all of the innards and skin to the side, she was sure they wouldn't need to save the rabbit, squirrel or snake skin, seeing as how small it was, but she didn't want to leave this out while they were asleep. Any manner of beasts would come to the smell of dead animal, and that could end badly for any of them.
 
Her eyes watched Gemini as she approached, sensing a lingering aggravation on her. She walked with a heavy foot, stomping the ground as if to punish it.
Aki was excited to see her, but Abandi didn't react. She felt like a liar. Gemini knew only her disguise, not the true Abandi. She opened her mouth, feeling a push of courage.
"Gemini" She started, cut off by Aki's happy exclamation of success with the fire. "We should talk about what happened…to me more specifically" She frowned, unsure is Gemini's scimitar's would somehow end up pointed at her at some event in the night.

She nodded at Aki, looking for his support in the matter, not knowing how to explain.
 
The animal landing at his foot startled him, gaze sweeping from it back to Gemini as she got closer. "Oh. Hah. Yeah, right!" He fumbled on his words as she walked past him to a rock she had laid out and began working on preparing them to be cooked.

"Hey, Abandi. Why don't you," he craned his head towards her, continuing in a lighthearted manner, "magic us up a nice spit for those things?" He studied her for a moment, sensing a serious decrease in the energy she was putting off. Is this what Ryogen does to her? Even his presence can suppress her...

"Hm." He shook his gaze from her and stepped to the nearby tree, reaching up to a couple of the low hanging branches and snapping them off. One of the branches he split into three parts, one long and two short. The other branch he applied magic to, rounding out and notching one end, then split it perfectly down the middle. Stopping by Gemini's station, he requested , "Give me some sinew from one of the larger animals." Cutting the sinew into two sections, he tied the three broken pieces together in such a way that they now had a long spit with a working handle. These constructions were then placed around the now growling fire and he once more clapped his hands together. "Wouldya look at that. We've got a good system going on here."
 
"Yes, we should." Still slicing the animals in a way that they could be cooked over an open fire. "Should you start at the beginning? I don't know where you came from, but I know the Abandi I know was afraid of you. So perhaps you could enlighten me to the fact of why she was afraid of you, and why any of us should trust you when the girl who's body you are in doesn't even seem to." A sigh escaped her lips as she set down the knife she was using on the animals, afraid of butchering them while she was talking so fervently. "What are you?" She spoke looking from Abandi to Aki. "I know he is a magician of sorts, but what are you Abandi? Did you come from the depths of Grygus' castle, from oblivion itself?" Standing up tall and waving her arms as she spoke, getting upset over nothing yet. Turning her attention to Aki she praised him for making the spits for the different animals to roast on.

"Well done Aki." Her voice quiet and tired, she turned back to the animals and gave one of the finished rabbits to Aki. "Mind putting this on the spit while I finish up the rest of these?" Her eyes were low and her voice sad. Gemini didn't mean to get so upset over Abandi but at the same time she knew nothing about this woman. She wanted answers but didn't want to get so emotional about it. She looked up at Abandi and gave her a small smile. As terrifying as this Abandi could be, she had to remember that the Abandi she knew, and was coming to love, was in there.
 
Sharp thunderous cracks of energy snapped in the air as Abandi's temper acted up. She removed her Brother's head from her lap and stood up, the air around them growing thick and harder to inhale. Her body was ridged, quivering with rage. This woman thought she was a demon, a monster! She adored this illusion created by her true form in order to keep herself in check, she didn't even know the real Abandi.

"Watch your tongue assassin" She hissed through her teeth, her veins glowing purple like they had done before. She held her one hand straight, letting her magic resonate at the tips of her fingers, creating the same energy lash she used to punish the villagers. "I'm no demon" The air grew thicker still, the volts of energy transmitting through the air increasing and randomly striking trees, stone and ground. The impact left smoldering crevices, small purple flames lingering over ever surface they touched.

"I've done what I had to do to keep everyone safe! I'm no demon!"
 
He caught the hare and nodded to Gemini. "Will do."

Perhaps it would be best to abstain from whatever was going to take place. He picked up the spit off its supports and took a seat on a large rock opposite Abandi and Ryogen, the fire dancing between them. Care was given to the hare as he slid it upon the spit, always watching the two women out of the tops of his eyes. The words Gemini chose when addressing Abandi were harsh to say the least, words that he had thought to himself but never had the gall to verbally express.

Of course, abstention was not the best course of action when the threat of violence lingered. Calm and composed, he stood up and placed the rabbit-adorned spit back over the fire. "Abandi, remember what I said to you." It was probably not worth alienating Gemini from the two of them so he needed to choose his following words carefully. Turning his attention towards Gemini, he maintained his calm demeanor. "Gemini, she found me while I was, well, collecting firewood. We had a conversation about all of this. I think it would be best if you let her repeat some information before you accuse her of such things." Gemini has no idea what life in our shoes is like. He didn't exactly resent Gemini for her normalcy, and she hadn't jumped at his use of magic in town, but it was extremely easy to classify her as just another of the biased non-magic masses.
 
Gemini looked at Abandi while she showed her magic through her anger. She was afraid but did not show it on her face.

"No, I don't think you are a demon Abandi. All I want to know is what you are. Do not threaten me with magic, I am not afraid of you." Her face could be etched from stone, her blue eyes boring into Abandi's grey ones. "You maybe able to hurt me with your magic, true, but I will not let that stop me from my quest. So do as you must but do not threaten me, I will not cower before you, nor anyone else." Her final sentence made her stand up straighter and lift her chin up higher, letting this Abandi know that no matter what she did to hurt her, Gemini would not give up or show fear. Gemini turned to Aki, who was trying to calm the two of them down.

"Yes Aki, you are right, of course. I do not know anything of magic except that I cannot preform it." She looked back to Abandi, hoping to help the situation die down a bit.

"Abandi, what I say still stands, however I do apologize for making it seem like I thought you were some type of demon in the first place. I let my emotions take control of me and I should not have done so." She let her demeanor show that she was indeed not taking back what she had said about not being afraid, her head was still up and her chin still lifted, but she had removed her hands from the hilts of her scimitars. At some point while Abandi was charging up and Gemini speaking back to her she had placed her hands on them unknowingly. Having them still on there would create more of a problem, and that was not what she wanted. All Gemini wanted was answers.
 
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