Yui-chan

I'm a little amused, tonight. I finally managed to write the bits of the new version of Duality that incorporate what I wrote so long ago in the old version that begins this thread. I'm not sure if anyone really cares, but I thought it would be entertaining to let the Pen see how the two versions compare. Here's a chunk from about 40 pages into the new Duality. Just don't tell my editor that I showed it to you! _________________________ Five hours later, the young Toi had forgone worrying in the face of the need to put foot in front of foot, a process that was becoming increasingly challenging. The men had not stopped walking since the morning, when Djaz had suddenly chosen a direction and grabbed hold of her arm, tugging her off across the frozen tundra as Pellorin followed, and they most certainly hadn't bothered to inquire as to her comfort. Not that she'd have told them her woes even if they'd asked. No, exhaustion was a state she could live with, as were the aches and pains of her abused body: the bruise across her shoulders that pulled miserably every time Djaz jostled her arm and the stinging blue-black welts that poor, dead Craedi had left on her neck. Her stomach, which was still tight with cramped muscles and tender to the touch, was a little harder to take silently, but she kept her peace by biting her lip whenever it stabbed her especially hard. The real challenge lay in walking without a limp, as her feet had become more and more tender, having progressed from pain, through agony and numbness, and on to excruciating torture. She had never walked so far in one day, before, let alone on hard, often icy land and in boots that were a size too big and stolen from a farmstead near the mountains. Adreina found herself nearing despair as she reflected on the fact that the sun had not even quite reached its zenith, yet. By the time the day was over, her feet would be bleeding, if they weren't already. She refused to glance down and find out. But more stubbornly, she refused to tell any of this to her Kohlanmer captors, simply walking along as best she could, keeping her silence while they chattered back and forth, droning on and on about things she neither knew nor cared about. There were cities she'd never heard of and taverns she'd never set foot in. Pellorin told a few tales about his wife and children, none of whom she would ever see; and Djaz laughed over some bawdy jokes that she couldn't quite understand. She rather imagined that the words she didn't recognize were anatomical references, but she didn't care enough to ask. Instead, she just watched the ground and willed one foot in front of the other, continuing on that way for what seemed like an eternity. "You realize that you’re weaving about like a drunkard, don’t you?" Adreina blinked, noting the change in Djaz' tone that heralded his attention had swung to her. She lifted her head for the first time in hours, staring at him as she took a few seconds to recall his words and then a few more to properly translate them. Her thoughts were alarmingly sluggish. "Gi haivem 'darunkard' arut’ord souvharen?" She didn’t realize she’d failed to translate her thoughts until he frowned. "Um... What is it - a 'drunkard'?" He shook his head. "You really are quite out of your league hereabouts, huh? I’ll never understand how you made it all the way to Madorif as you are." She may not have spoken his language all that clearly, but she certainly understood his tone and the derisive snort that followed. His scorn stung, strangely enough, and the young woman found herself looking away from his cool eyes. "A drunkard is someone who’s had too much booze, princess. And you’re looking as unable to walk a straight line as the worst of them. What’s wrong with you, hm?" Adreina didn't know how to answer that question, so she glanced over at Pellorin where he walked a few paces away. He, too, was watching her, though his expression held far less scorn and even a hint of concern. It was such a welcome sentiment that she had to struggle with her face to keep it from breaking into a smile. Of course, she'd already lost the battle to keep herself from recognizing and appreciating the kindness that the big, dark man showed her. It was going to be hard to avoid trusting him. "Hey!" Fingers snapping in her face drew her attention back to the man at her side, who was staring down at her with a frown drawn across his thin lips. "I asked a question, highness." The only answer she gave him was a noncommittal shrug that darkened his violet eyes with anger. She wasn’t about to tell him that she was surely dying from exhaustion, or that she was pretty certain her feet were bleeding in preparation for falling off if they walked another pace. She may not have had much, any more, but she still had far too much pride to mention to this ruffian just how much she was suffering. Then again, if either he or Pellorin realized it for themselves, she probably wouldn't argue. Unfortunately for Adreina, men have never been the most observant of creatures. Djaz stared at the young woman for a moment, then raised his brows in the classic 'suit yourself' expression, shrugged, and turned back to the plains, dragging her after him. Adreina didn’t have much choice but to hurry on his heels, swallowing a grimace as her body protested. Pellorin's boots crunched on the ground behind them, and she could feel his dark-gold eyes on her back, leaving her to hope that her limp wasn't too pronounced. Chapter (14) Inquisition "I'm thinkin' that stand o' trees over the ridge might be a good place to take a break an' find somethin' ta eat, Djaz. There's a stream runs by there, an' we 'aven't 'ad a drink since last night. Whadda ya say?" came the deep but quiet voice from Adreina's left, breaking into the haze that had closed in around her. She licked her lips with a dry tongue and tried not to think how nice a cool drink of water sounded. "You read my mind, Pel. Think you can find us something tasty for our lunch?" Djaz answered, drawing them both to a halt so that he could look at his friend. The big man looked slightly affronted. "O' course. I saw a kevitch trail jus' a few minutes back that looked nice an' fresh. I'll meet you two over there, then?" Djaz nodded, his expression falsely light, and intoned, "Sure. Just watch your back." "Always, kid," came the response, and Pellorin clapped a reassuring hand on his young leader's shoulder. He ignored the other man's raised brow at the invective, countering it with a warm grin. "You just keep an eye out for yourself an' the mite, 'ere. You're 'oldin' onto what they want, after all." "Pssh." The Hunter answered with a snort, rolling his eyes. "Get going, you big lug. I'm damned hungry!" As am I, Adreina thought, keeping her eyes on the ground lest her anticipation show. She wasn't sure whether they'd even bother to give her some food, but her knotting stomach relaxed somewhat at the very idea. In fact, every part of her weary body was looking forward to a rest, no matter how short it turned out to be. Pellorin left them, then, heading back the way they'd come while they continued on towards the scraggily trees that were just peeking over a low hill in the near distance. The young woman would have been very glad to make the trip in the same silent misery she'd been traveling in for hours, but it turned out that Djaz needed a new chatting partner in his friend's absence. Regardless of whether she wanted that honor or not, Adreina found herself firmly volunteered for the position. After only a few heartbeats of peace, his voice broke into the cold plain's silence. "Just for the record, it was the dustbunnies that gave you away." She blinked, lifting her gaze from the frozen grass at her feet to squint in puzzlement at the man walking beside her. "Huh?" The young man smirked, glancing down at her. "Dustbunnies. You know, the little fuzzy balls of fluff that gather under tables and in the unused corners of a room? They look like little miniature rabbits, all hairy and such..." When she simply shook her head, Djaz rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Southerners." He said it as if that one word encompassed all that was wrong with the girl, but she imagined that he probably could have provided a longer list if asked. The silence stretched out a few paces before he groaned and turned an annoyed glare down at her. "Well? Aren’t you going to ask?" Adreina grimaced and closed her eyes for one brief moment, wondering if the man would ever just be silent. She knew better, really, but in the end she just met his gaze coolly and shook her head. It was a very deliberate and probably foolish gesture, but she really didn’t care a whit about his dustbunnies. Of course, he wasn’t overly interested in her opinion, so it didn’t hold much sway over his next words. "They’d moved, you see." She wondered why he acted as if that explained everything, but she wasn’t about to ask. "Oh, for the love of the Spirits," he exclaimed, stopping short. She nearly ran right into him, but his grip on her arm forced her protesting legs to stop just in time. The sudden change made her grimace as a muscle in her calf stabbed at her, but Djaz didn't seem to notice her discomfort, turning to her with another roll of those violet eyes. "Would you just try to think for one second? Your little nook was a damn good hiding spot, but you didn't know that Fergal never bothered to clean that corner. Every time you moved, the wind blew those little dirtballs around. Geez. Just think about that for a second, wouldja? You owe all this to a few piles of fluff and some careless movement." Adreina sighed heavily. She didn’t want to think about it at all, so instead she dropped her gaze once more to the frozen grass at her feet, the weight of inevitability heavy on her frail shoulders. She could feel the young Hunter staring at her, but she didn’t want to encourage him by looking up. She just wanted to be left alone. "By the—" He cut off the curse, flopping his free hand helplessly against his side. "You’re terrible company. Come on." A quick tug on her arm had them both moving again, and none too soon for her tastes. The young woman was rather surprised that it'd been so easy to escape his desire for conversation, but it proved a short-lived respite as he tried again after only a few minutes. "So, how did you make it in this far, anyway, princess? Did you have contacts along the way?" Djaz tossed the questions casually over his shoulder as they climbed the low swell that would end at the trees, but Adreina wasn’t fool enough to miss the weight behind them. Here was a dangerous subject and a man looking for conspiracy. "Nai," she muttered, keeping her eyes cool as she stared straight ahead. She didn’t need to translate, nor did she intend to elaborate. Her recalcitrance earned her a skeptical snort. "I seriously doubt that. You’re not exactly built for the kind of journey it must have been." He stopped once again, turning the full measure of his gaze on her as if he could bore the truth out of her head with his eyes. Staring into those violet depths, she wasn’t entirely certain that he couldn’t. "Did you find some way to ride to Madorif? You can barely walk three hours without starting to limp." Perhaps he wasn't as unobservant as he seemed. Adreina fought the blush that threatened to rise into her cheeks, dropping her gaze to her boots. Even flexing her toes was enough to tighten her lips against stabs of pain in her feet. He didn't need to know that she'd used frequent breaks and light healing cantrips to enable herself to travel before she'd taken to hiding at Fergal's tavern; he'd either assume she was lying or probably hit her for daring to mention her magic. Clearly, it made him and his companion nervous to think about spellcrafting. Besides, she may have given away the secret of her ability to speak their language, but she still needed to keep whatever advantages she could. Magic was about the only potential weapon she had left, and even that was weakened by the ropes around her wrist and the unending hunger sapping her energy. Of course, he wasn't going to let her just not answer. Djaz slipped his fingers around her chin, raising her face to his inspection. She was surprised to find that the anger and derision were gone from his expression, leaving confusion and something akin to ... pity? "Why are you here, princess? What on earth would have motivated a young, soft woman like you to come into these lands, knowing you wouldn't be welcomed? You're going to die here." The warmth in his tone nearly undid her, leaving Adreina blinking back the tears that sprang into her eyes. Put so bluntly, his pronouncement of the inevitable fate she faced was like a punch to the gut, and she trembled in reaction to her own fear. It was terribly embarrassing, not only because of the discerning gaze her captor kept on her, but also because of what it meant about her nature, what it said about her lack of faith. She closed her eyes because he would not let her turn her head away and fought to control her reaction, reminding herself that she had been set upon this path by her god. It had been his will that had sent her across the Guardian mountains, and she now served his divine purposes, knowing that her mortal punishment would be execution. She should have been able to take joy in doing his will. She should have been able to look forward to death, knowing that she would be rewarded with eternal favor in his arms because of her sacrifice. Ah, but she was weak, and those thoughts didn't bring her comfort. Death held only uncertainty and fear for her, and she missed the life she had loved among her people. Her father would have been so ashamed to see the lack of piety in her heart, to see her failing this test of her soul so miserably. She couldn't seem to just hand her fate over to her god's will. Every time she faced death, she resisted instead of accepting. Every time she was offered kindness or compassion, she grasped at it like a desperate child instead of standing strong against the temptation. Every time she was tested with pain, she responded with weakness and failure. She -- "You're not going to answer, are you?" The young man broke into her self admonishment, his voice surprisingly soft. Adreina opened her eyes again, and there he stood, willing her to tell him her secrets. She felt the tug as a nearly physical thing, as if every part of him was pulling at every part of her, starting with the tingling place where his fingers held her chin. It was a strange feeling, though not quite unpleasant, and one so weak that she couldn't quite be certain whether she was imagining it or whether it was real. Was he even then working on her mind with some obscure Kohlanmer talent? She couldn't have said it was impossible, but her heart refused to be afraid of the sensation, whatever it was. "Nai," she whispered after a few heartbeats, watching his eyes harden at the rejection. "It... don't matter any more..." For some reason, she found it uncomfortably painful to watch the candid warmth in his face die away, replaced with that old disdain and no small amount of anger. "As you wish, princess," he muttered, releasing her chin to offer her a mocking little bow. His voice was so cold that she shivered as he turned and swept away with a purposefully long stride, dragging her after him. For her part, she was too busy struggling to keep up and biting her lip against the protests of her tender feet to notice that he rubbed his free hand against his jacket, trying to rid himself of the strange tingling he felt there.

Brute! I'm so glad that you found this and brought it here. I remember those long-ago days and laughing so hard at everyone's entries. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? Anyway, so when are you going to reclaim the Decanter from Wyvern? He's only abused it a handful of times (which is admirable restraint, considering who we're talking about), but aren't you getting a little too dried out without your infinite supply? Yours, ~Yui

((Note: Falcon, I changed the ending of this just slightly from what I showed you last night, so be sure to reread the last few paragraphs. )) Three hours later, the Huntress was beginning to realize her mistake. She sat in the empty place on the back side of the shadows, her hands folded in her lap, her head aching abominably from her futile attempts to call out to the creature that had attacked Cioden. For all her effort, she hadn't had a single hint that anyone had heard her, and she was beginning to doubt that whatever link might have existed between her shadow plane and the site of Cioden's battle still existed. Perhaps it had been created by the creature, or perhaps it had been a fluke or a hiccup that had been just lucky enough to save the dark mage's life. She sighed to herself, a futile exercise in the soundless shadows. It was time to give up. Unfolding her legs, the young woman rose and stretched, straightening her twisted cloak until it settled down against her shoulders. She was just about to turn and leave when she felt a strange, sudden blast of cold against her back. Blue-white light erupted from the front of her chest, startling her, but as it sped away into the darkness, she realized that it looked only half tangible, another phantom. Yui spun around, not particularly surprised to find the tall, four-armed creature standing a few paces behind her, its great, blue eyes narrowed in rage. Its form was dim and blurry, like an image seen through fogged glass, and as she stared, bits of it would shift in and out of focus dizzyingly. It looked as though it were twitching its tail back and forth in annoyance, but she couldn't be certain that it wasn't just a side-effect of the unstable form. Cioden thief. Not-being. DIE! Its words were ugly with rage and frustration, and its four hands blurred in the darkness, weaving a spell with incomparable speed. Before the human could even identify what it was casting, the energy erupted from its palms, a wall of dimmed flame engulfing her. It tickled slightly, tingling against her skin in a way that made her want to scratch at her arms to ease the sensation away, but she stood there for long moments, completely unharmed as the soundless fire roared around her and in her and through her. Yui even smiled slightly, awed by the beauty of the ever-dancing fire. It brought to mind thoughts of Merelas en'Bella and his tales of dancing in the bonfires of his fire-elven village. An enraged scream recalled her attention to the moment, prompting the woman to step out of the intangible flames. She faced the strange, pearly-skinned being once more, staring up at its nearly-featureless face. I will not die. You cannot touch me, and I have no intention of touching you. The response to her calm rationality was a sudden cessation of the Blaze spell, and a shouted BRING CIODEN! Yui shook her head, watching it impassively as it shook all four fists at her. Why do you want him? What are you? Cioden's power calls. Master of Shadowplace must have all power. It thumped its albino chest, jutting its chin out proudly. Whatever race it was, it clearly was the 'Master of Shadowplace'. Not-being will obey. Not-being will bring CIODEN! When the creature suddenly leaned forward, fixing her eyes with its own, the Huntress felt a chill skitter down her back, recognizing a danger she hadn't foreseen. Those huge, oh-so-blue eyes glowed softly with power, drawing her attention deeper and deeper as it quietly wrapped tendrils of will around her own. She was being mesmerized. No! Yui gasped, ripping her gaze away from the creature's milk-white face. Her heart skidded wildly in her chest, and she pressed a hand over it as if she could still it with her palm, sucking in a few steadying breaths. In all her Ages of existence, she had never been so nearly or so easily caught. No... she repeated, this time with more conviction and less panic. No, I will not bring Cioden to you. You may not have him. Rrrrargh! It didn't speak so much as to blast her with rage, swinging at her face with its clawed arm. She felt the pressure of its blow more keenly this time, grimacing as a slight sting on her cheek had her stepping back, eyes wide. The creature dimmed slightly in her vision, as if the distance had obscured it with more of the fog of shadows. WILL have Cioden! WILL have not-being! It spun, and its tail swung out of the darkness, swiping harmlessly through her side before she could do more than blink in surprise. Though she didn't understand what was going on, the renewal of its complete intangibility restored her confidence and her determination. What created you, oh vicious Master of the Shadowplace? The Huntress straightened, raising her chin stubbornly. She watched the creature through narrowed eyes, careful never to linger on its hypnotizing gaze. What is your race? Master is OF the insipid light. Antithesis. Destroyer. Ruler. Master will be ULTIMATE. Though she wasn't sure it was possible without a mouth or eyebrows, she would have sworn that it drew itself up proudly and offered her a darkling smile. Maliciousness rolled off of it in waves, and despite the crudity of the words she could glean from it, the being was obviously far from brutish. There was intelligence in the way it had tried to ambush her and in the powerful will behind those huge, round eyes, though she suspected that its temper often dulled the rest of its mind. Yui decided to test her theory with a little prick. Ah, but Cioden is ultimate. NEVER! it roared, lunging at her once more. She smirked a bit from the cover of her cowl, watching the light of its eyes dim as its anger unraveled a bit of its reason. Yes, that would be a weakness to exploit if necessary. It reminded her a bit of a dragon or an elemental... That thought stuck in her head and clicked as she turned to watch the lanky creature recover from its futile attempt to attack her. An elemental... of light? Did they exist? Perhaps, like a dragon, it was an elemental in the form of an animal... or in this case, a twisted human. It could even have been a human at one point, and perhaps been twisted by some elemental magic... Possibilities whirled through her head as her eyes followed it to its man-like feet. Tell me about your kingdom, Master of the Shadowplace, the young woman inquired on a whim. It blinked at her for a moment, then narrowed its eyes, trying to gauge her intent with the question. Apparently, its rage was as fast to fade as it was to flare - another point to keep in mind. All four of its arms spread wide, and it made a grand gesture, encompassing the entirety of the black nothing that was around them. ALL is mine. YOU dance boundaries, but those, too, will be MINE. Not-being will be mine. Cioden will be mine. POWER will be mine. Yui winced under the weight of its mirthless laughter, then, the sound assaulting her already-pounding head. Despite the fact that it had no mouth, that there was no sound, it threw its head back in an all-too-human gesture, its malicious thoughts booming through the emptiness. She dared a glance at its eyes, and they were laughing at her, mocking her, threatening her; and she knew that she'd get nothing more from the self-proclaimed Master. It would take some thought to puzzle out its cryptic words, but for that, she needed to go home, get away from a haven that was no longer fully safe. What little she had learned would give her the bargaining chip she needed to break the ice with Cioden. Backing away from the ghost-creature, the Huntress fumbled almost blindly for a shadow that would take her back to the light side, desperate to get away from the choking 'volume' of its mirth. She wrapped her talent around the first to answer, nudging it into a portal, and then stepped through, letting it snap shut behind her with great relief. Exhaustion bowed Yui's shoulders as she glanced at the night-dark corridor around her. She didn't recognize the architecture or the decorations, but with the relative silence, she was too relieved to care. The oppressive laughter of the creature had fallen away, and so she took a moment to lean her back against a grey-stone wall and let herself sink to the smooth, marble floor. All she needed was a moment to rest and try to relax away some of the headache behind her temple. If the Huntress had been tired before her encounter with the ghost-creature, now she felt absolutely drained, as if just being around the thing had sucked what little energy was left right out of her body. Undoubtedly, it was the mixed result of staying on the other side of the shadows for too long and exerting herself during their brief conversation, but she noted the reaction clinically, adding another fact to the all-too-short list of what she knew about the shadows and their effect on her. Her eyelids drooped, and she rubbed her hands over her face, stifling a yawn. The sudden sting on her cheek startled her, prompting her to pull her hand back and stare in some confusion at a thin streak of blood marring her palm. Green eyes widening in the darkness, she touched her face again gingerly, feeling along the shallow cut that sliced across her cheekbone and halfway down to her mouth. A frissure of alarm skittered down her spine. Clearly, she wasn't quite as entirely impervious to the ghosts in the shadows as she thought. It was a realization that drew a deep furrow between her eyes and made her head pound all the harder. "Ugh." Yui muttered aloud into the empty hallway, resting her head back against the wall behind her. She'd ponder the implications later, more concerned at the moment with stealing a few moments to rest and recover her energies before she left this unknown place. It most definitely would not do to linger too long in someone else's hallway. The small woman relaxed against the wall with the intention of staying only a moment, however, thirty seconds later, she slipped sideways to rest against a beam that jutted out from the wall, already fast asleep.

... I'm thankful for people like Falcon, who make it a personal goal in life to make sure that I don't forget my responsibilities. *runs off to start writing*

By midnight, the library was like a tomb, utterly silent and so still that it felt as if time had frozen solid in the dusty spaces between the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Most people found it an alarming time to visit, but to the self-proclaimed keeper of the library, those peaceful hours of the deep night were the best. A flickering candle and a few hours of solitude often combined to form the solution to whatever challenge she was facing. However, as Yui pushed her way through the sturdy doors, she didn't have much faith that the darkened aisles and walls of books could help her. She'd already watched Cioden fervently pore over the resources available in the public section, and after last night's thorough search of the Ward Room, she was convinced that the ghostly creature within the shadows was not yet in any book. If its record didn't exist in the Pen's massive collection, it most likely didn't exist anywhere. No, instead she had come to her favorite place in the Keep merely to think, to ponder the angry puzzle that was Cioden as well as the strange incident on the other side of the shadows. It wasn't every day that a man shouted at her for saving his life or claimed (foolishly) that he could have beaten a creature that had him unconscious and utterly at its mercy. It was pretty hard to mistake the blue-eyed thing's intent, given its fondness of 'shouting' KILL CIODEN. Yui smirked and shook her head. There was stubborn pride, and then there was ridiculously self-destructive pig-headedness. Cioden certainly was tending towards the latter, lately, but she knew that answers lay in the 'why' of it. She most certainly didn't know the dark mage well enough to even guess at what hid behind his irrational actions. The Huntress played with a lock of long hair that had slipped free of the loose coil she'd tied at the base of her neck, considering whether she could ask William Azunost about his friend's actions without pricking that massive pride. The nature of their acquaintance wasn't all that clear to her, though, and she felt certain that if it wasn't a bond of absolute brotherhood, anything she said to William would get her speared with Cioden's hateful glare again. While his raging eyes hadn't quite drawn blood in the infirmary, she'd found his anger just unsettling enough that she wasn't eager to face it again. No, she thought, shaking her head as she wandered over to the sitting area under the darkened stained-glass window, if I want to understand Cioden better, then I'll have to go about it the traditional way. I'll have to speak to him, get to know him if he'll let me. The little woman sighed at that, plopping down into one of the understuffed wing chairs. She wasn't comfortable with the idea of trying to approach someone who worked very hard to stay unapproachable, but she had tried to forget what had happened on the other side of the shadows for two days with no luck. She didn't understand what she'd seen... and not seen, and the questions were plaguing her. The sensation of opening a shadow rift and pulling someone through was very familiar to her, and yet when she'd touched Cioden and made him solid, it had felt utterly different. She hadn't needed a shadow to form the link, hadn't felt the pressure of the light that bound her portal. Yui-chan frowned and pondered what those details meant, but she couldn't come up with an explanation that made sense to her. Finding some answers was going to require talking to Cioden, but after seeing his fevered eyes earlier in the evening, she knew that simply walking up and holding a conversation was out of the question. He had been like a caged beast while he'd been researching, snapping viciously at anyone who dared to interfere with his search for information on his alien assailant. The young woman considered herself thick-skinned enough to handle his ire, but she didn't want to have to ask her questions in that kind of environment. Rage and distraction make poor conductors for information. "What I need," she muttered, "is a bit of bait to dangle before Cioden-san. Trade seems more his style." Yui nodded to herself, reflecting on just what she could offer him. She certainly hadn't had any more luck in the library than he had, but perhaps her advantage lay in the fact that she could get close to the ghost-creature without being vulnerable to it. There was no need for book information if she could bring him first-hand facts about the object of his obsession. It was a realization that had her grinning at nothing, because it was foolproof and so well-suited to the man she wanted to deal with. Kindness wasn't a motivation he understood, but she felt certain he'd be more comfortable with a little bit of barter. Decision made, the young human stood and stretched, pulling the cowl of her ebon cloak over her golden-blond hair. She had no need for a weapon, so she left her dagger in its sheath and turned towards the far wall, where a deep shadow beckoned with the promise of a trip through the quiet non-place on its other side. Yui smiled fondly at the whisper of it in the back of her mind and answered with her power, opening the portal that she could feel there. She disappeared through it with nothing more than a step and a quick flip of her cloak.

The stairs to the Elder tower were quiet except for the soft rustle of fabric and the rhythmic tap of leather-soled boots on the stone steps. The sound bounced lazily around the circular stairwell, dancing among the dust motes that swirled in the thick rays of sunlight and then returning to be swallowed up in the dark fabric that draped its source. On other days, Yui-chan had actually been amused to feel the tickle of the echoes within the Tower, but today she was preoccupied with heavy thoughts and a burgeoning headache. The young woman sighed and rubbed her temple in an attempt to stave off the inevitable. "Someone's taking her job too seriously," she mumbled to herself, setting her hand against the brass plate that spanned the seam between the two halves of the oaken door. The wards glowed gently in recognition, and her hand slipped through the seemingly-solid wood, followed shortly by the rest of her. The Huntress paused in the hallway on the other side and turned around to the still-closed door, tapping it once to make sure that the material had resolidified. It felt like nothing more than wood, and for about the fiftieth time, she shook her head in wonder at the trick. She had yet to quite determine what manner of magic allowed the door to become insubstantial like that. A mystery for another time, she reminded herself, pulling her cowl up and over her blonde hair. Right now, it's time to get back to the matters at hand. The shadow Elder ticked off the list of resources she'd need on her fingers, mentally running through the elements required for the documents Ozymandias had asked her to write up. Nearly everything was in the Pen's library, which meant a quick trip across the courtyard and about three hundred more steps than were strictly necessary. A statue in a small alcove provided the shadow needed to shorten that distance, and Yui-chan stepped into the darkness with instinctive ease and no small amount of relief. The nonplace on the other side of the shadows was a comfort to her for some reason, like a warm, safe haven against the harshness of the light, against the scrutiny and judgment that came along with being exposed. There was no one in the empty shadows, no one who could see or hear her, who could watch her in the unguarded moments when she was uncertain or afraid or imperfect. Or headachy, she smirked, pausing in the shadowplane for a calming breath and an attempt to relax away the pain that was blooming behind her eye. She tried not to reflect in general on her feelings of insecurity, on her irrational fear of being judged - perhaps of being fully seen, but it certainly had to do with the parts of herself that she didn't like much. ... and maybe it was also related to the fact that she was just a perfectionist. With a roll of her eyes, the shadowwalker shifted her thoughts to the step sideways that would bring her out into the library. She had almost lifted her foot when she heard it - a sound that wasn't a sound, an echo of thought in the emptiness. KILL. CIODEN-KILL. Yui paused, blinking. Cioden? That was William Azunost's friend, a rather angry character that she'd seen once or twice around the Pen. She knew almost nothing about him, save the fact that he didn't make many appearances, but the fact that he was William and Falcon's acquaintance meant that she could not ignore whatever she had heard. The Huntress turned away from the shadowrift to the library and did something she had never really tried before. She turned her attention to the empty darkness and searched, scanning what should have been nothing with first mortal, then supernatural senses. There were the usual specters and echoes that sometimes wafted across her path when she was traveling between places, things she saw on the rare occasion but never understood to be anything more than reflections of things that existed in the light realm. A floating corner of a building hovered a handful of 'steps' away. A fountain statue's face blurred in and out of existence further away. To her right, an unclear figure that could have been a human wandered in the darkness, oblivious to her presence. She frowned, squinting as she searched harder. There! A moving light appeared for an instant on her left, and she concentrated her attention on that spot, daring to take a tentative step into the darkness. Nothingness frustrated her for a moment, but then there were more flashes, white light followed by red. Yui was shocked by the incongruity of it all. The shadow realm was empty and defined by darkness. Was light even possible in such a place? It struck her how very little she knew about the non-pace she loved... Argh! The shout was an echo of pain in the darkness, and the Huntress gasped at the familiar timbre of the voice. It was Cioden, undoubtedly, but where was he? Was it an echo of something happening in the light realm? She surged into motion, focusing on thoughts of his face as she let her instincts guide her. Cioden. His ghost-image appeared in the near distance, burns on his chest smoldering and his eyes wide with pain. Even as she watched, a white form became visible behind him, an indistinct thing with a long tail and spare arms that bent up and over its shoulders. It held his arm at an unhealthy angle against his back with one pair of hands, while the other pair reached for the back of his unprotected head. The creature's thumbs pressed against the base of his skull, glowing with blue energy, and he arched back with an abortive cry. Yui gasped as Cioden slumped forward in his enemy's pearl-white arms, his hair falling across his face Stop! she shouted, earning the attention of the ghostly attacker. It fixed huge, impossibly-blue eyes on her, squinting as if she were every bit as translucent as it was. The Huntress stepped forward, knowing that she needed to do something, but uncertain just what she could accomplish in a situation she didn't understand. It couldn't harm her, of course, but she wasn't entirely certain she could harm it either. It released the other Pennite, letting his limp body fall, and turned towards her, its four arms weaving together to cast magic missile and another that she didn't recognize. The young woman watched, fascinated, as the bursts of blue energy detached themselves from its fingers, cutting the darkness like luminous blades as they flew towards her heart. There was no reason to dodge, nor anything more than a slight tingle as they passed through her chest and out her back, disappearing into the emptiness. She couldn't help but grin at the surprise on the caster's insubstantial face. Its thought-voice reverberated through the shadows, more perceptions than words. Impossible. Fall! Kill phantom! I'm sorry to have disappointed you, Yui shrugged, closing the last step between herself and Cioden's unconscious ghost-form. He was breathing evenly, but his shoulder bulged in ways it shouldn't have, and she had no way of gauging what the creature had done with its strange blow to the back of his head. She leaned down and reached out to him, putting her hand on his uninjured shoulder. With a wrench that made her stomach drop, she yanked him out of whatever place he'd been and into her place-between-places, feeling relieved as his form became just as solid as hers. NO! KILL CIODEN! the white form screeched, swinging a clawed hand at her. The Huntress shied away instinctively, turning her face away. There was a strange pressure as its intangible body passed through her but nothing else, and she could see rage in its eyes when it landed in a heap a few paces away. It seemed to be a good time to leave. Yui leaned down behind Cioden and carefully thread her arms around his chest, concentrating on the Pen's infirmary. A shadow cast against the wall answered her call, and she tugged on it, pulling open the boundary between reality and the darkness. Ever wary of his injured shoulder, she dragged her peer through and closed the doorway behind them, ignoring the enraged screams that echoed in the dark.

#15 Nerves Blink, blink. Drip, drip. Feel the moment skip, skip. Feel your heartbeat trip, trip, stumbling over doubt while you stand there, staring out. Cough, cough. Tap, tap. Feel the closing trap, trap spring shut with a snap, snap, as loud as any shout while you stand there, staring out. Gasp, gasp. Gulp, gulp. Insides feel like pulp, pulp. Mouth can't get past "Ulp! Ulp!" no matter how you pout while you stand there, staring out like a frozen hunk of trout or a big, fat, drooling lout. Wait, wait. Breathe, breathe. Watch them as they seethe, seethe ... ... Then drop the mic and leave. Leave! ___________________ ... the second most stupid poem I've ever written.

I like both of these. There's a contrast between the warm, organic emotions in them and the cold technology that makes them just... fascinating to me. I love your phrasing in places and though your words aren't blatantly visual, I find that the poem Automation evokes a lot of concrete images as I read it. I'm impressed. The only thing that made me stutter as I read these two pieces were the first two lines of Automation. Probably, this is on purpose, but I just thought I'd point out that it was a sticking point for me because of the confusion. I couldn't figure out what a 'middle finger thumb' was, at first. Besides that and what Peredhil mentioned, I loved them both. Thanks for sharing, Wyv. Yours, ~Yui

I hope your move goes very smoothly for you, Annael, and that we see you and your butterflies around here again in no time. Best of luck, ~Yui

"Shhh... do not try to move..." Kaleyra gazed down at Timothy with soft eyes, gently pressing back the hand he'd tried to raise towards her. Jagon was beyond her ability to help, but this man was well within it, and she had left the seraphim to the others to help their companion, using the knowledge she had earned from her studies to catalog his injuries: four broken ribs, a deep laceration across his shoulder, various contusions to his arms and chest, a third-degree burn to his face with undetermined damage to his eye, fever, blood-loss and a skull fracture and certain concussion. Myth's bandage and the molten metal of his own blade had taken care of his most bloody wounds, but a gash on the back of his head still seeped through the torn wad of cloth she held pressed to it. Still, though he was weak and delirious, life had a tenuous grasp on his body that told itself in the slow, steady beating of his heart. The woman brushed a lock of hair back from his burned face, careful not to touch the wound, and his good eye flickered open to stare up at her unseeingly. She fancied for a moment that she could see the sensations she felt from his mind in that blue-eyed gaze, and the though brought tears to her eyes. The damage to the outside of him was only the beginning and nowhere near as concerning to her as the terrible chaos of his mind, the scattered fragmentation that she could feel down into the very core of what he was. It was a kind of damage within that she had never experienced before, not even in books, and she felt woefully inadequate to help him. Inadequate and ignorant, for she was also certain that there were important aspects of the man called Timothy that she didn't understand, mysteries that had yet to be solved. The raw power of his mind frightened and confused her, and it swirled and rippled, tore apart and merged again like a raging river. It was too much for a human, too keen and expressive, too quick to reach out to her and try to pull her in, and it threw everything she thought she knew about him into doubt. His ruined eye had been able to transcend time. His determination had been able to transcend the limits of his injured body. His rage and desperation had been able to pierce even Jagon's mind with his thoughts and feelings. And the echoes she felt within him, that familiarity of the pattern upon which he was built... Kaleyra tumbled the evidence around in the back of her head, letting it lead her towards a conclusion that seemed as impossible as it was unavoidable. He could only be -- "Aah!" The intrusion came from outside them, and she was suddenly recalled to the battle ending behind her by the stab of a blade through her heart. Except it wasn't hers. Kaleyra fought for a moment to separate the sensation from her body, feeling her own organ stutter in sympathy for the seraphim's demise. Timothy moaned softly, and she curled protectively over him, the action both physical and mental as she flung the net of her thoughts around his, walling him off from the emotions in the room around them. Considering that she was still super-sensitive and unable to erect her own defenses, she was relieved to see him relax visibly under her protection. For that reason, Kaleyra didn't realize she was crying until she saw the first drops land on her friend's blood-stained tunic, and for a moment it confused her. They weren't her tears. The fear and anguish weren't her emotions. Perhaps because of the intensity of the sensations, she was slow to return to the fallen seraphim, slow to realize that on the edge of death, he had finally recognized the truth Timothy had tried to show him. He was afraid as he had never been in all of his immortal life, afraid and wracked with guilt and regret, and Kaleyra shook with the reaction his dying body was incapable of producing. The Avian couldn't have blocked away his emotions if she'd wanted to, but she found that despite the pain of it all, despite what he had done to the faithful in that church and the battered man lying in her arms, she did not want to. Empty death crept towards him, and she could not leave him to face his regrets alone; despite what he might have deserved, it wasn't in her to watch him suffer. As Jagon died, the young woman gently extended a thought to him that was little more than a clasp of his hand, a moment of warmth and comfort and forgiveness. Perhaps he felt it, perhaps he did not, but he faded suddenly from her mind, consumed by the utter nothing of death. The tears turned into her own, then, and Kaleyra hunched across Timothy, stealing just one moment to mourn a misguided soul. She was just quieting, swiping the back of her hand across her cheeks to dry them, when Gyrfalcon crouched down beside them both. The Avian didn't need to look at him to know that those tilted, green eyes were clouded with worry, but she wasn't quite sure she was capable of delivering the smile that his victory deserved.

Yui regarded the stranger in the room with hooded eyes, standing rather protectively between him and Salinye. In her hand, she held a strange, black dagger that looked severely inadequate for the situation, but there was no hesitation in her stance or her expression. "I don't know who Aria is, but this isn't her," she said after a long silence, indicating the woman on the ground with her free hand. Jirah jumped slightly, surprised that she'd heard his mumbled word, but kept his silence. "Her name is Salinye." Again, the assassin stayed quiet, watching the woman before him carefully. "I am Temae Yui." She waited for his response, her gaze deceptively calm. "Jirah," he relented after a slight pause. The black-cloaked woman nodded slightly, freeing him from her grey-green gaze long enough to glance down at her unconscious charge. "Well, Jirah, Ozymandias seemed confident that you're not an enemy. If that's true, then I could use your help in watching the door. If not, then I wish you'd attack already and let me defend my friend." She raised her face back to his, razor-sharp determination written on her features. The man blinked, not quite expecting such plain dealing from her. She looked unassuming - petite and lightly armed and rather fragile. It was hard to imagine her defending herself, let alone the woman on the ground beside her, whether from him or from the undead monsters outside. He'd have to stay of course, to see to it that neither of them came to harm. Damn that conscience... He nodded slightly, turning to close the door behind him. "I'm not part of the attack. I'll help you." Yui breathed a sigh of relief that the man didn't get to see, for one moment, letting her exhaustion show. She glanced over against the wall, where Lethia still slumped, unconscious, but she was too reluctant to move that far from Salinye's side. "Jirah, the serving woman..." He glanced up at her, then followed her gaze to the one person in the room that he hadn't noticed before. "Is she dead?" "No," Yui shook her head. "But I doubt she'll be able to defend herself any time soon. Could you...?" She gestured, pointing to the floor beside herself and Salinye. Jirah nodded, his senses alert despite his apparent calm. Of course, it'd be easier to defend the unconscious women if they were together. He walked over to Lethia and easily gathered her into his arms, bringing her across the room to the small woman's side. She watched the door and windows of the room warily while he laid his burden beside Salinye, clearly as aware of his moment of vulnerability as he was. Still, as he stepped back and retrieved his daggers from his belt, he was rewarded with a genuine-enough smile. "Arigatoo." She didn't seem to realize that whatever she'd just said was gibberish to him as she leaned down to carefully check both women's vitals. She also didn't seem to care that she had given him her back for the first time. Jirah watched her for a moment and then stepped back over to the door, cracking it enough to glance into the corridor outside. Yui had clearly decided he was trustworthy, and at the moment, he had no reason to refute that conclusion.

Thanks for your comments on both of them, Wyvie! I had a more-than-average amount of fun writing both #13 and #14, so I'm extra glad that you enjoyed them! Yours, ~Yui

#14 Arrow Fly to the end of a runaway world where the sky burns in such sweet shades of bright azure and gold. Dance with the wind that is plummeting free from the cliff's face to fall so far to the cavernous deeps. Feel all the life to be discovered there on the razor edge where hearts beat hard to fight mercury time. Arc on your path to a ballistic end where you will bloom in a moment ripe with exquisite death.

"I say we, like, totally should lynch that Jim guy! And then beers for all!" Georgia grinned and bounced excitedly, cuddling up against Barclay's side. He looked like he could be rich enough to buy her some nice gifts and even better alcohol. She started bouncing the question of whether she'd rather have a beer or a Jack and Coke around, and in the empty space between her ears, it made a significant echo.

Georgia turns to 'Scarlet', who still conveniently has his arms around her. "Um... like, is it bad that he was a wolf-whatever or good? Does that mean we're not going to die?" She blinks at him with wide eyes.

"Ohmigod! Wolves?!" Georgia gasped and pressed her hands to her chest. "That totally sucks. I mean, like, he probably got all chewed and stuff, so not only did he totally get dead, but he got rat-nasty ugly, too." She chattered on and on, working herself into a proper frenzy. "Ohmigod! Maybe I'm next! I totally don't want to die ugly! I have Gucci nails and, like, a Versace bikini. I'm way too expensive to get chewed to tiny bits!" With a great, heaving sob, she turned to IM Clueless beside her and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head against his trenchcoated shoulder.

"Timothy!" The scream echoed about the cavern as their companion stumbled back, his hand hovering over his burning face. He hurt so much! Kaleyra winced as she rushed to his side, fighting to close the doors in her mind that Jagon's counterattack had fused open. Gyrfalcon's pain and determination, Myth's fear and frustration, Jagon's own confusion and rage and hurt -- they all battered at her, but none with the frantic power of Timothy's. His pain was such a mishmash of physical and mental, past and present, strength and vulnerability. She couldn't close it out, no matter how hard she tried, so she turned her power to easing his aches, taking them into herself as she reached down to try to staunch the flow of blood from the jagged gash down his shoulder. The avian felt Jagon's thoughts behind her as well, whirling chaotically as he watched her put her body between the archangel and her fallen friend. She didn't seem to care that she gave him her unprotected back, so concerned was she with her friend's pain. The archangel frowned, staring down at the wings that were like dirty copies of one pair of his own. It was selfless, this act. Redeeming. Good. His face became more twisted with the contradiction. The mortals were not supposed to be good! They were corrupt! It was some kind of trick! Jagon screamed with rage, once more raising his sword, this time prepared to drive it right through Kaleyra's back and into Timothy's heart. Gyrfalcon surged into motion despite the burning pain from the gash across his chest, but he was too far away. Even as he raced across the room, he knew he would not be in time, and his heart constricted as if bracing itself for grief. "No." The word was quiet, but it brought Jagon's motion to a halt, his sword held poised above his head. He watched as Kaleyra slowly turned her head so that she could look into his eyes, and what he saw in those midnight depths jolted him. "You won't harm him, nor anyone here any longer. You have been corrupted by this realm, seraphim. It's time we helped you regain yourself."

The snakes were slithering across the dance floor, and people were either watching in bewilderment or scampering out of the way. Wyvern was hissing ferally, wrapped like a Christmas package in the wires from the stage, while around him lamps and microphones and speakers were crashing to the ground because of his struggles. Peredhil and Elladan had already stepped into the fray, the elder's expression bespeaking some severe consternation, and even Elrohir had popped into existence to offer his support. Yui-chan nodded politely to the older twin and followed a few paces behind him, her face quickly falling victim to a worried frown. That the Peredhil family had all gathered together to take action was not just worrying, but alarming. She may not have been paying attention to the entirety of William's song, but she'd tasted the power in it and seen him fall at the end. Obviously, they'd sensed more danger than she in the simple snake-charming. Knowing that they could handle the magical aspects of the problem, she split from the half-elves, easing through the crowd towards where she'd seen William collapse. He might need her ascendant training. She only made it halfway across the room before Peredhil's Words stabbed needles of pain behind her eyes that twisted and grew as Guido's spell warped it. The energy spun into something completely different, propagating like a wave along the floor of the room. An alarm went off in her head as she felt her senses dull, and she stumbled, tripping over a wire pulled taught by a flick of Wyvern's tail. All around the room, there were sounds of surprise and murmurs of confusion as perceptions shattered and then realigned, the world flipping and the settling down in a different place. The Huntress blinked, shaking her head as she looked around. The other party-goers were recovering themselves as well, some obviously just regaining their feet. Gyrfalcon, standing not far away, looked as bewildered and confused as she felt, and she watched as he raised his hand to his face. It may have been a strange motion, but it wasn't alarming until she watched him wiggle his fingers experimentally and flick his tongue out of his mouth. Yui gasped, and the ranger turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing warily. But it wasn't Gyrfalcon behind that gaze; there was too little thought and too much instinct. The snakes. Yui squirmed, intending to get up, but she couldn't seem to move properly. Her arms and legs were held together as if they'd been tied. She frowned and wiggled her fingers. Sure enough, something moved - she could feel the digits against her side. Her mouth was even held, wrapped by what felt like rope around her nose. She mumbled as best she could, watching as Gyrfalcon's body slowly stepped towards her, his teeth bared. He looked for all the word as if he was going to bite her, and she really wasn't keen on the idea of hanging around to find out if that was true. The young woman squirmed all the harder, hoping to dislodge whatever held her, but the only result was the clatter of something heavy hitting the floor to her left and a tightening of the bonds around her. Only her tail was free to -- her tail?! Yui nearly squeaked aloud at the thought, her blood freezing. Her mind racing, she strained to turn her head enough to look down at the rest of her body. The moment she caught sight of red scales and black electrical cords, Yui Temae did something she had never in all her life done: her eyes rolled back in her - er... Wyvern's head, and she fainted dead away. Above the chaotic dance floor, Ayshela and Guido sat safely in the rafters, staring down at the aftermath of Peredhil's spell with no small amount of chagrin. The party's hostess was grimacing and wondering what she could do to properly apologize to everyone (after the snakes were gone, of course) while the guinea pig bodyguard was practicing his apologetic speech and trying hard not to imagine Peredhil's frown. Their eyes met across the dome of the ceiling, and they shared the same thought. This had the makings of a long, long night.

Thanks, guys. We'll see what happens, right? Yours, ~Yui

As 'Scarlet' pushed his way further into the room and 'Eek' dove under a table, another figure appeared in the doorway, her ample curves silhouetted by the much brighter light in the corridor. After a moment's pause, she stepped into the room, putting her finger to her lips. "This doesn't look much like a beach..." she mumbled, blinking vacantly. "I thought this was supposed to be a Hollow Weenie party. Like, where's the volleyball net? Where's the grill? This is so totally weird." Georgia frowned and attempted to get her empty head around the problem for about three seconds before she gave a shrug that created a rather pleasing giggle behind her bikini. "As long as there are beers and boys."

{Note from the Author: This story is now under contract, and as this counts as 'internet publishing', I'm going to have to remove it. It's no real loss, seeing as this little tidbit didn't show you any of the cool stuff. As a teaser, this is from about ten pages into the story, too. I'll leave the announcement up for a day or two, then delete the thread. Sorry for the inconvenience!}

The Huntress approached Ayshela with a pleased look, stopping a bit outside of hugging range. She bowed slightly from the waist to honor her new peer's success. A very deserved promotion, Ayshela. Your Fall Ball is a smashing success, and I hope we can have similar events in the future. So saying, Yui's sober expression gives way to a bright smile, and she hands Ayshela a box containing her new silver-and-wood quill. Although similar to Annael's recent gift, the pattern of metal channels in the wood were as utterly unique as Ayshela herself was.

Elladan's smile was obviously rather foreign to his features, but it was clear from those little details about his posture and body that she got as warm a reception as the wary man was capable of, despite her mistake. Yui-chan was unaccountably pleased with both his acceptance and his understanding, and her smile brightened. But when he let her hand go, his expression changed so suddenly that she worried she'd done something to alarm him. She tasted Power in the air for a moment, then Peredhil-of-the-many-hugs turned and put his arms around his son, and it all faded. Yui watched the exchange worriedly, wondering if she'd somehow threatened Elladan, but when Peredhil turned back to her with nothing more than a smile and a polite question, she decided to let the moment pass. "So, will Aegon be coming?" The smaller woman's smile became a bit brittle. "I'm afraid it's not very likely. He had a ... last-minute problem that needed his attention at home. It will probably keep him too long." She followed the statement with a little shrug and a concerted effort to brighten her expression. Humor seemed the way to do that, so she winked and added, "I'll have to thank Ayshela for giving me the perfect excuse to leave and let him do all the work, won't I?"

As always, as expected, Peredhil was a bastion of warmth and security. Yui returned his hug gratefully and blushed slightly at his keen discernment of why she'd stayed hidden for so long. She didn't think she was so transparent, but then... this was Peredhil. Even if he hadn't known her as well as he did, his heart and mind were so sensitive that shielding the truth from him was a challenge of epic proportions. She hadn't managed it, yet, and for some reason it was a bit of a relief to her. At the elder half-elf's question, she grinned. "I've had the lucky opportunity to speak to Regel a handful of times in recent weeks, Big P. Don't trouble yourself. I will make sure to say 'hello' to him soon." A motion on Peredhil's other side brought her attention around to his son, and she offered him a smile. "Good evening, Elr--..." She paused, mortified with herself, as he met her eyes. That hard, cynical and wary line in them was unmistakable, and she realized just which son was with his father. "Elladan..." she finished after a little stutter, trying very, very hard to deny the blush that she felt creeping into her cheeks. "I'm glad to see you've made it." She offered him her hand by way of a greeting, feeling foolish and inept. Her first mistake, already? It didn't bode well for the rest of the night.

The sudden, startling appearance of Wyvern's (rather smelly) cart of colorful chemicals in the real space just outside her hidey-hole within the shadows was enough to break Yui out of her miasma of worry and insecurity. She bit her lip, scowling darkly at herself. Enough is enough. You're going to a party, dammit. Move. Her thoughts were as sharp as her anger at her own weakness, but not quite sharp enough to get her legs actually moving. Instead, she scanned the room, looking for a familiar face she thought she might not disturb. The Huntress smiled slightly as Peredhil took up a relaxed position on the wall beside his son, Ellrohir, the two of them combining in the light to form a nice, healthy shadow against the wall behind and beside them. Peredhil, a friend good enough to easily be a substitute anchor. Her apprehension faded. With a thought and a few sideways 'steps' through the strange non-place within the shadows, the little woman's point of view changed. She waited just long enough for the shift in Peredhil's attention that let her know that his ring had alerted him to her presence before she tapped the wards between her and the Ballroom. At their answering chime of recognition, she grinned and pushed through the now-permiable barrier built around the reality of the Pen, stepping out of the Shadows and into reality, emerging from the darkness at Peredhil's left side.