Venefyxatu

In between his rituals Andreas got lost in thought again, even though he knew how important it was to mainain focussed. All of us must have at least some influences with the Kine - the Ventrue twice as many as all of us together if the stereotypes are anything to go by. Still, one contact would be enough to cause all this, if it was the right one. No help there ... When one of his wraiths almost got him, Andreas chided himself for not paying attention. After demonstrating to the wraith exactly why that was a bad idea he decided to quit for the night. Getting himself killed would do no good, though it might start some interesting rumours. Rumours eh? I wonder ... the Kine catching some news about these strange deaths would be bad for the Camarilla's oh-so-precious Masquerade. But if the right rumours were started they'd be no more than a distraction : the Camarilla would be briefly sidetracked trying to cover up, the Sabbat would jump at the opportunity to complicate things even more and the independents such as myself ... well ... they'd have a peaceful night unless they started stirring up trouble themselves. With these thoughts in mind, Andreas started typing up a few memo's and leaving some voice mails. OOC : As do I, my dear Lasombra Vote for Mardrax/Francesca.

Even though the Nosferatu were good at keeping their secrets, news of Sylas' death eventually reached Andreas. After all, the dead were not under Nosferatu control and had their own ideas of what needed to remain secret ... Making sure once again that the curtains were closed and keeping the moonlight out, the Giovanni sat down in his leather desk chair. Fortunately, he'd fed enough last night; he wouldn't need to go out tonight. Even though he didn't need to breathe anymore, he sighed as he started pondering - somehow it still helped get his thoughts on track. Another final death. That made three, in addition to the Prince. While he wasn't overly concerned or joyed with the deaths of the Cammies - they'd mostly stayed out of his way, and he'd stayed out of theirs - the fact that the local Kindred population was being systematically reduced was worrying him. What if he was next? He'd have to start taking precautions, make it harder to get into the mansion. With a short nod to confirm these thoughts, Andreas got up and got to work, calling upon his Necromancy skills. A haunted place would be a whole lot harder to get into than a regular mansion ... OOC : Holding off voting for a while ... it's someone else's turn to start chaos this time

One of his servants brought the letter to Andreas, who scanned it quickly and and put it with another stack of opened letters. He continued poring over letters, writing replies to some, filing others vertically, for an hour more before looking up. He was getting hungry ... As he did so often when he went feeding on cloudy nights, he left the mansion on foot. He walked a few streets, nodding a good evening to those who were still up at this hour - most of them familiar faces - heading for the streets that were still busy at this time of night. After trying his luck in a few alleys, he found one student who apparently hadn't started partying yet. A gloved hand over a mouth, a whispered threat followed by a very muffled cry of pain. That's all it took, and a few moments later Andreas' hunger was stilled. After closing the wounds, he left the still-unconscious body slumped in the alley and made his way back to his correspondence ... OOC : What, no votes yet?? *looks at OOC thread for a list of players* *rolls some dice* *waves a few chicken bones* *rolls some more dice* *closes his eyes and randomly pushes a button on his numeric keypad* *discards all the previous results, closes his eyes, and pics the first name they focus on when he opens them again* Merelas, I choose you! There, that should set things rolling ...

Andreas was one of those who left the building alone, slowly, pensively. While he wasn't the biggest fan of the Camarilla, he didn't mind them as much as some of the other non-members. Now that the Prince was dead, however, the relative stability they had offered the town would be shattered before the night was over. The Sabbat would surely use the opportunity to try and drive the Cammies out, whereas the latter would not only be fighting the Sabbat, but each other as well. Perhaps the time was right to hand out a carefully measured dose of support in exchange for some favours... With his mind racing, Andreas got into his Mercedes and had his driver drive him off ... the night was young, and there was much to do ...

Mardrax : one could say that this is right up my alley ... whether that alley includes a juicy mugger or not Andreas Giovanni folded himself out of the backseat of his black Mercedes. The tall man nodded curtly to the driver, who was holding the door open, and looked left and right down the empty street. A chilly breeze ruffled his black suit and made him 'tsk' with disdain. He couldn't care less about the temperature, since he hadn't noticed those for a long time, but he did smoothen his suit again before walking to the front door purposefully. After all, he was here for a reason ... Name: Andreas Giovanni Clan: Giovanni Generation: 11th Nature: Competitor Demeanour: Perfectionist Concept: Criminal (lawyer). Those who are offended by this are cordially invited to see this as, "a lawyer who is mostly in it to help his criminal friends out". Those who can take a lawyer joke ... well ... I don't need to make you a picture, do I? Sire: Marcus Giovanni Disciplines: - Necromancy (Sepulchre path and first steps on the Ash path) Apparent Age: 32 Real Age: 103 Height: 2m15 Weight: 150kg Flaws - Prey Exclusion : Asians ("I never did like the Asian kitchen, I don't see why I would like the cooks ...") - Light-sensitive Merits - Enchanting voice - Huge size Andreas looks like he was roughly hewn out of solid rock, a stark contrast with his gentle, alluring voice. Even though he looks like his place is on a sports field, he wears his suits comfortably and has no problem keeping an entire room hanging from his lips. His head is completely bald and he keeps his eyes hidden behind sunglasses as black as the suits he wears. Besides being raised with a fierce loyalty to his family, Andreas was also educated with all the inns and outs of American law. After graduating, but before his Embrace, he quickly made a name for himself as a lawyer with a perfect record. When Marcus, his uncle and half-brother, deemed him ready, he started putting his affairs in order, climbing to the top of the law firm he was working for in a matter of months and arranging to run it from behind the scenes. The Embrace itself was, though painful, quite uneventful : he'd been preparing for it for several years, serving to Marcus as a ghoul as is common in the family. It was partly Marcus' doing that Andreas rose so quickly. Wherever Marcus didn't help him out but he did need an edge, those who were in his way would suddenly start becoming more and more distracted, some of them going outright insane. None of them, however, have ever explained what was distracting them. In the years following his Embrace, Andreas made it an art to steer the firm only when absolutely necessary, giving him a lot more time to spend with his necromantic studies. Here, too, his perfectionist side helped him in getting where he is right now.

In completely other news : poetry is now the new weapon for crime fighters. An anonymous poet who was one of the witnesses to a murder has been leaving an anonymous poem near the murder scene. The full article (with poem goodness), can be found here.

Venefyxatu heard the announcement and sat down on a bench, quietly watching the variety of gifts being dragged in and magicked up. After a while he got an idea and got up, starting to work on some magic of his own. Various incantations, gestures and mutterings later, a rusty iron fence rose up in a rather remote corner of the garden, surrounding a set of gnome-sized, ancient-looking gravestones and mausoleums. Remarkable about those was that, except for a few decorative carvings, they had no inscriptions whatsoever. Several of the gnomes that had come to watch were frowning pensively. "Your very own graveyard." "But ... erm ... we're garden gnomes. It's not like we're going to die, you know." From the back, a voice piped up. "And what about that incident with the broken shovel and Ma Dofclay?" "Shut up! We're garden gnomes, we don't occupy graveyards." The Nether mage sighed and chanted a few more spells. An eerie fog crept out of the graves, clutching ghostly fingers around the tombs. Faint moans could be heard, as well as rattling chains. "There. Your own haunted horror-graveyard. Enjoy ..." With that, the necromancer went back to his bench to take a seat again.

Lemme think ... About a character, obviously!

*tries desperately to control his breathing in order to avoid laughing so loud the entire building will come over to watch* Hee hee hee ... made even funnier by the fact that I can, easily, imagine this to be real.

Now that it's over, I can say I've learned a few things : Personal deadlines mean diddly-squat to me, if that much Stress is something that either doesn't exist, or happens to other people I've elevated lazyness to a new, post-professional level SATA/300 is backwards compatible with SATA/150* I assume I don't need to mention that "falling short of the wordcount" is a horrible understatement in my case? The good thing : it did get me started thinking more seriously about my very own personal world *No, it has nothing to do with the Nanowrimo

1. Name of Female Pennite : Salinye 2. Name of Male Pennite : Racouol 3. A Mythical Title : The Bringer of Gifts, Cake and Horrible Doom 4. Noun : papercut 5. Verb, past tense : sliced 6. Name of Another Pennite : Kikuyu Black Paws 7. Adjective : gleeful 8. Verb ending in “ing” : speeding 9. A Liquid : The Dip 10. Adverb : fiery 11. A Time of Day : @418.7 12. Noun : scenario 13. A Weapon : suicide granny 14. An Exotic Article of Clothing : straw skirt 15. Verb : record 16. A Piece of Furniture : grandfather clock 17. Plural Noun : jars 18. Part of Body, plural : eyeballs

*has two buddies on his list now* *jiggies* *decides that this is a very un-Necromancer-like thing to do and stops it, resuming his dignified stance* I'm planning ... in a way As in : I'm trying to get a general idea of setting and a few waypoints. That should give me at least something to stick to, while leaving enough freedom *makes mental note to replace keyboard with a more head-resistant one when he gets home*

Thanks for posting - now I finally both saw this on time and had the courage (momentarily? ) to sign up! Good luck! Venefyxatu in both places

-- modifications generally to be taken with a bucket or two of salt Some more serious ones : Smile, even if you feel down. Your brain will think you're happy because you're smiling, and you'll start feeling better. If someone is getting on your nerves, give them a wave and a friendly grin rather than the finger. If nothing else, it'll surprise the heck out of them. Works well in traffic, too. If you're late, don't hurry. You're late anyway. If you're going by car, don't speed - you're risking several lives, not just your own, in order to gain 5 minutes at most. There is a funny side to almost everything. Similarly, almost everything can be twisted into something it was never meant to be. Tee hee. *needs to follow Appy's more often**decides to ignore the one about cursing. It relieves tension like nothing else, and often provides solutions* Ozy, Sweet, Appy, no offense meant - I just couldn't resist the urge

That's what interns are for, isn't it? Seriously, though ... almost there, don't give up now :-)

pong!

YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH!!!! ... What? It says shoutbox, doesn't it? Katz, thanks for the clarification, but I think that since I didn't suffer sudden changes of direction in gravity when entering or leaving the bathroom, I'll conclude that it's not on its side after all.

The sound of a loud groan woke me up and it took me several moments to realize it was me who was groaning. Slowly I sat up, looking around the room by the light cast by the street lantern outside. The mess was incredible : clothes strewn over the floor, the chair at the desk lying on its side and the desk itself a mess of papers I hadn't looked at in weeks. The trash can standing next to the desk was so full that adding anything else would probably cause a fountain of garbage to spray through the room and there wasn't a single frame on the wall that wasn't hanging askew. From where I was sitting I could also see the bathroom, its door slightly ajar. At least that was still as tidy as when I moved in here, probably because I hardly ever used it. Every now and then I'd wash myself, because after all even one in my condition gets dirty sometimes, but that was about it. I let my attention drift away from the room as my gaze moved to my arms. The veins there were standing out, pulsating as if they wanted nothing more than to burst open and add the blood they held to the mess in the room. I hated this. It was like being hungover, only not as pleasant. And it came back almost every evening. “Allergies.” The word suddenly bounced through my skull as if wanting to ricochet itself beyond the mere speed of sound. “Allergies.” All my life they had plagued me. Oh, not the thirteen-in-a-dozen allergies that everyone suffers from. Nothing so simple as watering eyes and full handkerchiefs in spring, or spots on my skin from eating too much pork. I'd never had anything itch in dusty rooms either, and neither did I ever have to bolt because there was a cat in the same building. No, my allergies had always been different. Sometimes exotic and fascinating, like that year my fingernails kept turning all colours of the rainbow and then some every time I walked through a doorway, sometimes inconvenient, like my arm jerking to one side every time someone wearing a shirt with a floral print walked on the other side of the street. I'm still grateful those things went out of style – crossing streets was hard with traffic being what it was. At times, they'd been downright creepy, too, like those months I kept throwing my voice to the other end of the room every time I turned off the light, asking myself in a hoarse whisper if I could get me a glass of water. At first I'd flick the light back on in a reflex, wanting to see who was asking. Then, when I realized it was my own voice, I'd have to turn the light off again and, naturally, I'd throw my voice again. The first night it took me a while before I got some sleep ... Fortunately for me, though, I'd never had any permanent allergies: some stayed for a year, two years maybe, others only lasted for a single day. As soon as I'd discovered that I'd stopped seeing doctors. I'd grown to hate their incessant prodding, the way they'd keep asking me the same questions over and over and never seemed to learn anything new. They tried everything they could think of, but it never worked. Fortunately it never made things any worse, either. At least that was one advantage to my new condition : I'd never have to see another doctor. In fact, if I did, they'd never set me free again. It gave me a real reason to stay away from doctors : my freedom depended on it. When I realized that my veins had returned to a more normal condition, that being underneath my skin and with a whole lot less throbbing going on, I interrupted my ponderings. As I got up to pick some clothes from the ones on the floor I was really hoping for this one to pass as quickly as possible because this, no pun intended, sucked. When I woke up one evening and realized what had happened I was surprised at first. I mean, in all of the stories, and in the game too, the ones that didn't get any education always took forever to find out that they'd died and needed blood to keep them moving. It wasn't like that for me at all : the fact that you're not breathing and that you don't have a heartbeat is not something you can ignore for very long, not even if you're not trying. And the way you keep thinking about drinking someone's blood fresh from their veins is also a, once again no pun intended, dead giveaway. Once I'd reconciled myself with the idea I quickly accepted. I was all ready to enjoy the whole vampire scene : the mystical powers I'd no doubt discover, the hot women practically offering me their gracious necks, the inhuman strength to get rid of their angry boyfriends, I was ready for it all. So why, why in the name of all that is undead, do I have to be allergic to blood!? _______________________________________________ See, this is what you get if you let four nutcases play Vampire the Requiem together and, even worse, allow them to get sidetracked. Add to that the fact that one of them is someone who enjoys writing but is greatly out of practise, and you get excuses for stories like the one I just posted here. One of the ideas that came up during our game last Sunday was that of a vampire allergic to blood. It stuck in my mind until today I finally decided I'd do something with it. While I'm not completely unhappy with the way it turned out, I feel it needs a whole lot of work before it can truly be called a nice story. Since it's more of an idea vent than something that came straight from the heart I'd appreciate any feedback anyone might be willing to give, no matter how harsh. Feel free to add comments in this thread, or start a new one over at the Critic's Corner. Please do stick with one choice, though

Like Rune, I, too, am merely "good". Where's my Angelic tag, dang nabbit!

"Ooooohhhh no missus ... no way I want to have anything to do with ALF business, they'll be bombing the place and setting fire to it while trying to drown us all if they even think the VLF tried interfering, so please get out of my way so I can leave and keep you all sa..." The little figure's rapid speech was abruptly interrupted as a shriek pierced the room. It spun around and started racing towards where the shriek came from without looking, making trumpetting noises and yelling, "Have no fear, Tom is here!" The second it noticed the spider, though, it shrieked as well, spun around again and darted once more for the exit. "OutofthewayoutofthewaymoreALFactivitiesandcauliflowersdon'tlikespidersanywaygetoutoftheway!"

A little figure in a black cloak hops in, races around the room to check things out and stops abruptly at seeing the rubber chicken. "Oooohhh no ... this is not a matter for the VLF. The ALF gets so angry whenever we interfere ... I'm outta here!" That said, the little figure hops out even faster than it hopped in ...

So ... umm ... we have a bathroom with green floor and white walls at home. Does that mean it's lying on its side?

A low-pitched warbling pushed aside Tanny's wonder, invading her thoughts with urgency. "Amareyha Sh'ren Illonia, Erkan't'ley..." There was a slight pressure in her mind, and she was aware of words forming questions she didn't understand. She blinked, uncertain, but before she could actually think she heard herself speaking. "Tanryell of Leyanne, Clan Daughter, Dyrenne's Chosen... the Shadowmere is my land, and Myrienne's my bl..." She gasped in horror, catching herself before blurting something else. From her side, Stephen's voice came - also abruptly interrupted. "Stephen von Hascodem de Tinservale, eldest son of Lord Marcus von Hascodem and Lady Sepultra Irene de Tinservale, heir to the Third ..." No! I'm not, I left all that behind me! Stephen struggled to block all sounds, keeping his face straight and bowing to Amareyha. Part of him sensed Tanny's distress, and one of his hands reached out to hold hers. Tanny barely felt it, concentrating all her attention on Amareyha and on the effort of ignoring the now soft sounds coming from her throat. A while later, sitting on a bed with her aching head rested on a soft pillow made of feathery leaves, Tanny looked at Stephen. There was a fine mix of feelings coming from him - wariness, puzzlement, and a touch of amusement. She accepted the cup of tea he had prepared on the small fire in the center of the room, sipping it and enjoying the warmth. "I hope you do know what you put in this." "I always do, Wolf-Lady. And actually, I'm betting your headache isn't worse than mine." Putting away his herb-pouch, Stephen picked up his cup and sat besides Tanny. He tried to relax, slowly sipping his tea and giving in to the herbs. It didn't take long for them to do their work, and he enjoyed feeling the headache fade away slowly. Then he moved to sit behind Tanny and massage her temples, knowing that the herbs would need more time for her since she probably hadn't used them before. Tanny sighed, closing her eyes and getting lost in the comfort that came from Stephen's gentle and sure touch. He waited a little longer, to give Tanny's headache a chance to lessen as well, then spoke. "Tanny..." his voice was soft, careful. "About... Tanryell of Leyanne?" She shook her head lightly, but answered in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "My real, full name... as I suppose Stephen von Hascodem de Tinservale is...?" Stephen nodded, his face unreadable. "My father was a skilled merchant who had the talent, luck and foresight to get ever richer and marry a noblewoman. As such, I was born into a noble family which is something I'm not proud of. From the day I left until today I thought I'd left it all behind me ... the politics, the backstabbing, the fake friendships, the ... humanity." From the way he pronounced the last word it was obvious that he didn't consider it to be a good thing. "It's not something I enjoy thinking about. What about you? Your name didn't sound like what my ... family would call a commoner's name..." Stephen could not see her face, but it took a faraway expression, her eyes suddenly unfocusing. Tanny felt suddenly very tired, the headache coming back at once and almost blinding her. "I've never used Tanryell out of the Clan lands. And yes, you're right... not a commoner's name either... I am, or was, the Clan Daughter. In the absence of a male descendant, the guidance of my Clan would have come to me after my father's time." Stephen nodded, and kept prodding carefully. "Leyanne ... is that your mother's name, your Clan's, or the location where it is set?" "Clan name. One out of ten." One out of ten, one both blessed and cursed. "Dyrenne's Chosen... another title?" "Dyrenne is our Mother Goddess. All Clan Daughters are dedicated to her, and act as Her priestesses for some years. As I did, before I left." And where I should have ... stayed? "Myrienne...?" There was a pause, something knotting deep in Tanny's heart and mind. She whispered something in a language unknown to Stephen, then she turned suddenly away. "I don't want to talk about it." Not wanting to press the issue, Stephen nodded again and lapsed into silence, trying to sort out his thoughts. He could feel she was deeply disturbed, and instinctively went back to massaging her temples, willing her to relax. Meanwhile, he wondered what had driven Tanny to leave her Clan and everything associated with it behind, and why both of them had started using their full names again at the same moment. Tanny let her mind wander - something quite difficult when she felt a hammer pounding every brain cell against an iron anvil. But little by little, Stephen's reassurance worked its way through, and she once again pushed back memories she didn't want to deal with right then. Trying to remember how the chanting of the priestess felt, a vague memory of air touched her, and resisting the urge to shut it out she examined it carefully. "Stephen... there is... magic in their words. Elemental magic," she whispered at last, not hiding her surprise at her conclusion. "How so?" "Air... there was a touch of Air threads... and... I think that was a kind of... truthspell..." Stephen replied while thinking that over. "A truthspell? What are you saying; that they want to make sure we don't lie to them? I'd be surprised if they even understood us ..." Tanny shuddered, a sudden memory crossing her mind and making her go rigid. Stephen, now gently rubbing her shoulders, sensed that. "What?" "Just... I'm quite sure that for a moment... my True Name crossed my mind before answering that greeting." "True Name? What are you, then ... a Demon?" Although Stephen was sitting behind her and she couldn't see his grin, Tanny caught the humour in his voice and couldn't help but chuckling. She visualized a wolf-demon with a tanuki's markings on his face and a tanuki tail, and knew that it came from Stephen's mind; she started laughing, surprising even Stephen. The outburst made Tanny finally relax, and after some time to catch her breath, she tried to explain to Stephen the concept of True Names. "No, not a Demon... yet... " She grinned, and continued, "But they aren't the only creatures to have True Names. Every one of us has a True Name, which is born with us and woven deeply into our very soul and mind. The knowledge of one's True Name gives a measure of power over them, because it resonates so close to their own being that it cannot be resisted. If magic is woven through the True Name, it touches the very essence that makes us what we are; that's why True Names are kept a close secret. You know yours; you usually don't trust it to anyone you cannot trust your life to. "I thought only Demons had them ... but you're saying that I have one as well?" With a grin, Stephen started tickling Tanny. "I'm feeling a lot more evil all of a sudden!" While he said so, however, his mind was racing and came to a conclusion as he stopped tickling her. "So why don't I know mine? I'd imagine that if you have a True Name, you'd know about it, even if you hide it from others ..." Tanny observed Stephen with a cautious look as she talked. "We come into our True Names around the time our body and mind mature. Whether you want a True Name or not, at one moment you do get that knowledge. But not everybody is conscious of it for longer than a few minutes, and then... some just hide it so deep their own mind ignores it. Not trusting the knowledge." "Seems like most people manage just fine without knowing theirs ... if it can be so dangerous, why sea..." At that moment, Amareyha came in and bowed. "Ti'kranell, sh'ran Eltaran." With a gesture, she indicated that they should follow her. "What now?" whispered Tanny, tiredly. Stephen's answer was mostly a shrug. "Either some other ritual, or they're preparing to eat us in some canibalistic feast..." Tanny snorted, and composed her face when Amareyha looked at her with a querying look and purr. Amareyha felt rather happy, in spite of her nervousness. The Chieftain had been warned of the Spirits' arrival, and as proper hadn't talked or identified himself in any way during the Welcoming Ritual. All Chieftains knew that only the rank of Priestess mattered for the Spirits, and imposing his own presence when the time wasn't ripe was the most certain way to be doomed; but there were legends of at least one proud Chieftain, cursed his name be, that tried to disavow the High Priestess and had caused both his and her downfall. Amareyha respected deeply the wise Letharen, and knew that had nothing to do with the fact that he was her father-brother. And remembering all his wisdom, she buried the nagging fear that he would do or say something improper - they only had the ancient lore to guide them in the rituals, but they would have to do. The Spirits would certainly understand that memory was too short to keep rituals when it was so long since they had abandoned them to their own fate. Or had they come to test their faith, to see if they had kept the knowledge and learned from past mistakes, to be worth again their blessings? The priestess suppressed a sigh, willing herself to calm down and murmuring a soft prayer to Illonia. Once again they stood in the middle of a circle, with a soft chanting drumming into their ears. Tanny and Stephen both held tight to the earth threads, aware of the way the chanting affected their mind. Amareyha bowed to them, starting a high-pitched wailing chant that suddenly became too acute for their hearing. Their bodies could feel it, though, and Tanny gasped as she felt the threads she was holding as a shield start to vibrate and fight her control. From Stephen, she sensed the same surprise. The crowd around them parted at the end of Amareyha's chanting, and a tall, muscled warrior walked slowly to kneel in front of them. Stephen could sense the respect permeating the crowd, and Tanny noticed the golden chain around his neck. ::He is a warrior, and strong. But I think also he is old, and something in his eyes... there is pride, and wisdom. And leadership.:: ::Chieftain?:: ::I'd say yes. ::

~OOC : Many thanks to Tanny and Panther - without them this never would've been written! ~ Tanny, after working her shoulder a bit and making sure it was alright, hooked arms with both Panther and Stephen and half-led, half-dragged them towards a nicely branched tree some meters away. Her mischievous grin made Panther frown and try to (delay), which just made her grin wider. ::You're basically a cat - you can surely go up there!:: "Just because you're basically a dog, I wouldn't ask you to go tracking rabbits..." "Though wolves like hunting, and so I guess she could enjoy getting a couple rabbits for our dinner, Lord Panther," replied Stephen softly. ::Stephen... don't you forget that we will have other Carnivals... And that I can always help you finding your way around the Pen when you don't find fun activities.:: Tanny still wondered about the way Panther was able to listen to her mindspeech in an apparently consistent way, but decided to come and talk to him later. Right at that moment, Stephen's curious assessing of the tree in front of them caught her attention, and she also extended her senses to feel the delicate earth threads that flowed around and within it. "Are you suggesting that we start from up there?" Stephen didn't need to see to feel the height of the upper branches, and sounded skeptical. "You aren't a tanuki, so I certainly wouldn't suggest you to get on top of someone's head. Of course you could just jump from the sign at Mynx's booth, as she has done, but I don't think rangers are made for that sort of climbing... though you can always choose the Walls of the keep. They're actually a higher ground than this." Stephen visualized easily her facetious smile, and didn't need more than half a moment to decide that the walls would be too high .. especially for a first attempt. Shrugging, he touched the wide trunk and concentrated on extending his senses into it. It didn't take long for him to sense a way up to the first branches. He knew he wouldn't possibly break anything in a fall from the height he could guess, but his mind pondered on how he would miss the ground. Unfortunately to him, he couldn't shut his awareness of the ground - he was too used to keeping the light contact with the earth at all times, and he doubted that he could convince himself that the ground wasn't there once he knew it was. The equivalent of a poking intruded on his thoughts, and he heard Tanny again. ::You're worried to the point of broadcasting... seriously, do you think that you could actually miss the ground if you don't have any idea where it is?:: ::See like this, Wolf-lady... if I loose an arrow I usually hit because I know where my target is. If I didn't know, I'd miss. Also, a baby usually doesn't get seriously hurt in short falls because it doesn't know it can hurt; it doesn't tense muscles, nor try to actively protect itself by doing the opposite of what should be done - like curling up in a ball. Panther should be able to tell you that a cat might also present the biggest surface to impact so it doesn't get too badly hurt...:: Tanny nodded, and at the same time relayed to Panther a summary of the conversation. ::So, if you don't know whether the ground is near or far... or, on the contrary, if the ground is nearer than you think so that you don't have the time to worry whether you're hitting it or not...:: Stephen let Tanny think, sensing she had some budding idea. After a while, her voice came again. "I think I can shield you from earth." Should be easy to weave the threads in a way to block his contact... "That ought to help ... now if only gravity would take a break ..." Stephen muttered as he started to climb up. After a few moments he continued climbing without thinking, and when he suddenly felt the earth vanish he was so surprised that he let go. Unfortunately for him, gravity did remember where the earth was, what direction Stephen was supposed to travel in and, after some brief calculations, at what speed he was supposed to move. The result was that Stephen was reminded of the earth's location in a rather unsoft manner. As he got up, though, he wondered ... "Say ... I believe I heard someone mention that CheerMynx did manage? How did she do it?" When Tanny answered that she'd apparently just forgotten that she was falling, Stephen nodded. "So we need a distraction during the fall. I'll leave it up to both of you to find something that'll distract me enough. Maybe that, combined with me not feeling the earth, will do the trick?" Tanny looked at Panther, somewhat at a loss. She knew she could shield Stephen's awareness of earth, but distracting him at the same time would certainly be difficult. "Any ideas, Panther?" The mage frowned, going through the spells he could use. "Well, blowing out the ground right under him wouldn't probably help much... a volcano eruption under him maybe?" His voice was serious enough that Stephen actually blinked, while Tanny giggled at the amused expression on her feline friend. "At least he wouldn't worry about the ground anymore..." A sudden idea came to Tanny, and she excused herself to Stephen, pulling Panther aside. "Tell me... I know this is a crazy idea, specially in this close quarters... but is there any way Anguis could be of any help?" She smiled warmly, remembering Panther's mount and how much she had enjoyed the ride on the occasion of their date. Panther thought for some minutes, considering the place where they were, and what Anguis could do. Panther grinned back at Tanny. "Well, Anguis would certainly do the trick, but do you really want me giving everyone that much of a heat burn calling him? You do remember how warm it got in the clearing, right? Plus, he has a way of instilling fear in those who can actually see, unlike our blind ranger here..." She nodded, remembering well that clearing and her first reaction at seeing the red dragon. "Can he fly over the Keep in a safe way for him? You know that I don't want him to get hurt by anyone thinking he's attacking... but if he was seen, people would scream and wonder, and all the ruckus would probably distract Stephen..." Panther thought for a minute, gazing at their surroundings and quickly assessing all dangers and possible outcomes for both Anguis and the Pennites. He knew that he could react quickly enough with a spell in case someone threatened Anguis, and he also knew that the dragon's skill and intelligence would enable him to perform that stunt harmlessly. He looked at Tanny, who nodded in understanding. "I can freeze the shield around Stephen for a couple minutes, and then make sure that earth gives reassurance to everybody here. They'll be more marvelled than terribly afraid after a couple seconds. No harm will come to them." "Can you do that?" Panther didn't hide his surprise at Tanny's words. "For a short time, yes - specially here at the Pen. Earth is a source of reassurance, as you know... I can weave a web of sorts and keep it for some minutes if I need to. " Tanny wished Stephen good luck and he started to climb up again. As Tanny put her shielding in place once more, he hoped that they'd come up with something, or at least put a mattress underneath him ...He kept climbing for a few moments before letting go. Though he couldn't "feel" the ground anymore he had a sensation of falling into an endless, black void which was suddenly interrupted by screams coming from the Keep. Both Tanny and Panther looked amazed at Stephen as he actually stopped falling for a moment. When Tanny breathed, "Impossible", even though it was the barest whisper, gravity was reminded of its duty, turned its full attention back to Stephen and, with the equivalent of a "Hey you, keep moving!", made him thud once more into the earth. Rubbing a few painful spots he got up, muttering, "Enough foolishness for the day. I doubt this'll ever work." He could feel both Tanny and Panther staring at him, though. "Stephen, you actually did ..." "... fly? From the sore spots I doubt it, though I couldn't feel the ground coming closer so I wouldn't know." The slight grin playing around his lips belied his serious tone, though ...

"Hmmm, as a wolf ... why didn't I think of that? I would've loved offering you my translation services again ..." It cost some effort, but he managed to keep a straight face as he said that. Tanny ... Tanny didn't even look at Stephen, but all of a sudden the spot his foot stepped on became a hole, and he lost his balance. As his instinct compensated for it, his other foot was caught by a small entanglement of grassroots and he ended up sprawled on the ground. With a grumble he got up, muttering, "That's the last time I offer you a favour." He couldn't hide his amusement, though. "Oh?" Tanny made her best to keep the grin out of her face and voice, without much success either. And all of a sudden, Stephen felt wisps of air ruffling his hair, entangling it into breezy fingers that later tickled the nape of his neck before disappearing. Somehow, Stephen also sensed a distinct Tanny-feeling behind the odd breeze, and blinked.She stopped, sudden cold running through her spine as she sensed both Stephen's surprise and something from inside herself quickly curling up in a hidden corner of her mind. ::Hm... Wolf-Lady...? Stephen touched her arm lightly, not quite sure about what was going on, except that not everything was as it should be. ::Air... no, not possible. No.:: Stephen's light touch in both arm and mind dispelled her uneasiness somewhat, and she touched his hand. ::Later... for now, we both have flying lessons, and Air threads will possibly help ...:: The odd reference to Air did not go unnoticed to Stephen, and he nodded knowing that she would be back to it later. As they moved on to their flying lesson, Stephen wondering whether he was the only one who saw his lack of wings as a problem and Tanny getting more and more curious about what CheerMynx' flying lessons would entail, they didn't notice that behind them, the next bachelorette had stepped onto the stage and started presenting herself.