Storms over Neorah

Neorah was a simple sort of place. What passed for "leadership" for the island consisted of a chief who was shown respect only when he needed to have his head deflated and several elders who liked to talk more than they liked to actually do anything. It worked rather well for them, because the people of Neorah really preferred to live on their own terms.

There was a shard of crystal, though, in the hut that was used both as the chief's living quarters and as the town's meeting hall, that enabled communication between villages and the main Crystal in Mother-of-Pearl. All the villages were supposed to have them, particularly with the storms that roared through every summer.

That was how the news of the death of the Great Keeper had filtered down to even this remote village and even now the chief and the elders were gathered around the crystal waiting for information about whatever Summoner was chosen by Bahamut as the next Great Keeper.

Crucent was walking back into the village when she saw light coming from the Chiefs hut. It was fairly late in the evening, and usually everybody were in their own houses by then.

Curious as to what was going on, and sneakily playing on the fact that she wasn't a native to the island wich meant she was allowed a bit more leeway in the dos and don'ts of accepted behaviour, she decided to go inside and possibly try to find out more about what was going on these days.

She thought too herself Besides, despite Leias moms feelings and the fact that I am a stranger here, all my adventurer instincts are screaming at me that something big will happen, soon. And it will change many things for some. I'd not be worthy the title of Adventurer if I don't at least try to learn what is going on...

As she entered the hut, she saw the Chief, with the Elders in a semi circle around the Crystal, all in hushed conversation with eachother. Nodding towards them all Crucent walked in and sat down on an empty chair.

Speaking to the entire room she said "Forgive me, Chief, and Elders, for barging in like this. I know I am a stranger here, but in my past life I was an Adventurer, and I learned quickly that patience may be a virtue, but action has its time too. So, here I am, introducing myself as it may be. I am a well-trained monk, quick-thinking and not a stranger to fights. Without boasting, I think it's fair to say I have fought more people alone than all of this towns villagers put together considering this is a small town and somewhat left to itself. And If I may hear what is going on now that one of the Great Keepers have passed over, and a new one will be chosen soon, I may be able to help in ways I suspect most of the other villagers can't."

Looking at them all for any reaction, she figured even if she got kicked out, at least she had tried.

Crucent, though a recent arrival, was known to each of the elders and especially the chief himself. In fact, given the size of Neorah they all knew about her before she knew any of them even by face. It's a lot easier to learn the name and face of the one stranger on an island than it is for that stranger to learn all the names and faces around her.

The older men and few honored elves looked at each other for a moment before several seemed to visibly shrug. The chief, Leia's father in fact, looked at Crucent with something akin to sympathy. He liked the strange woman who had become such good friends with his daughter. "Sadly," he said, "there is not much that we of Neorah are likely to be able to contribute to Artegal at large. This is a small island, away from the common trade routes. If you would wish to travel to Astraea to greet the new Great Keeper, then that can be arranged, but it is not likely that we will meet the Candidate, or help him as he travels from Nation to Nation before going to Bahamut to take the Seat."

One of the other Elders nodded his head in agreement. "It is so like the young to wish to be in the thick of things when great events happen. We who are older and more tired simply wait for the news to reach us of what the younglings do."

Smiling at their last comment, Crucent nodded and replied
" It seems there's a slight misunderstanding Chief. I have no wish to travel anywhere right now. I simply wished to inform you all that if you need anybody to do so, I would be happy to do it as a way of saying thank you for all the hospitality I've gotten since I first came here. Thank you again for listening to me, impatient tho I may be."

Standing up, she gave a small nod to them all and walked out into the evening air.

Crucent had been gone from the room for several minutes when a voice came crackling through the Crystal, distorted with distance. "Neorah, are you still there?"

Ahntoor looked at the elders around in curiosity and then spoke up. "Yes, Neorah's Elders are still here. Has something occurred?"

There was a slight chuckle through the distortion. "You might say that. Expect a vessel to be arriving within the next hour or so. They've been delayed a day or they'd already be there. We just got the news that the delegation from Astraea is headed your direction."

There was the distinctive silence of held breath in the room. Finally the elven man forced himself to speak. "Our way? Why would any of Astraea come to Neorah when they need to be looking for the Summoner Candidate for the Great Crystal?"

"That's just it, Neorah. Bahamut named the Candidate. She's born of Neorah, some woman named Lei'Ahree."

The connection ended and the room was utterly silent.

Leia managed to keep her focus as she and Crucent made their way back to the village. She was not going to allow this Ichabod see how desperately upset she was. She entered the hut to see the elders looking stunned and her father . . .

She took a quick step forward and then stopped herself, made herself walk slowly, no matter how much she wanted to run to him and hear him say that nothing was wrong, that he would make everything right again.

"Father," she started, her eyes round with the emotions she was holding back, "Father, this stranger says that he has been sent by the Emperor of Eremaki to find me, that my name is known to Bahamut."

Ahntoor looked at his daughter with an expression of sympathy and pride. His little girl, and she would always be his little girl, but she would be so much more . . . He took a step forward to meet her. "We just received the news from Mother-of-Pearl." He reached up to take her face in his hands. "Leia, you've been named as the next Great Keeper."

Leia's hands flew to her mouth. "No, no, it can't be possible." She shook her head. "No, this isn't happening."

---
Outside, a great ship pulled up to the docks near the village. The Venta Neptus had finally arrived.

When the Airship finally landed near Neorah there was little time for anyone to get ready to dock the airship firmly in place before two figures shot off the boat like bullets, it was Laharl and his pet/friend Lenneta. It seemed by now Laharl was sick and tired of the airship and wanted off extremely badly and so did Len, when they hit the beach a few men turned to look at him but he just ignored them to look at the airship and yell "I'M GOING TO DO SOME OF MY OWN SHIT NOW, YOU CAN PROTECT SOME GIRL ON YOUR OWN ADVOCAT!" with that he ran off at high speeds through the village to find something to do with Len following right after him.

Only a few moments after that the airship was docked and the walk way was lowered, with that Advocat, Washu, Eiko, Mala, Ema, and Talvi walked out in single file. Advocat looked over at where Laharl had run off to and simply shook his head as he said "Oh I suppose he does deserve a little time on, he did have to deal with you and Ema trying to catch him for a few days." He looked down at Washu who smiled a bit then tried to act innocent "Oh I didn't do anything to him Advocat." "I am not a fool you know, I am quite aware of any lies you make." "Oh darn, you no fun to tease. Since this is going to be a simple escort mission or what ever, mind if I go and do a little field research on my own?" asked Washu as she looked up at him.

Advocat thought about it for a little bit before saying "Very well I see no reason why not, just be ready to return to me if I call for you Washu." "Now don't worry about that, I'll come if you need me. Don't need my prized specimen getting hurt." Said Washu before she walked off while cackling her insane laugh. Talvi and Ema were following her to ensure the mad genius didn't get into too much trouble, as for Advocat he looked at Eiko and said "I expect you to behave yourself, I intend to make a good first impression with this Leia." Eiko fidgeted a bit then said "Oh ok I won't cause trouble." with that Advocat nodded his head and now waited for Miuka to come out, he did not know what the girl looked like so he would not know who to look for yet. All the while Mala was playing in the ocean swiping at the waves and then jumping out of the water when something touched her.

Crucent stood watching her friend in utter surprise, Leia as the next Great Keeper, this was incredible! But she didn't seem to happy about it, and Crucent didn't blame her. She was just 17, and was about to get all the responsibilities and pressures of the highest seat dumped on her, wether she wanted to or not.

As she stood there thinking, she saw through the windows that an airship had docked, and this in itself was so unusual on Neorah, that she walked over to the Chief and said "Excuse me, but an airship just docked. There are several persons hading into town. Would you like me to go and greet them?"

...He'd hoped she'd find out once well away from the islands. Would've been easier. But now, she had the opportunity to put up an ugly fight.

Then Ichabod was made aware of the new arrivals, and he was chilled to his core.

"NO, you mustn't! It is best we leave as soon as we are able."

These new arrivals may've very well been the ones after Leia. Knowing the emperor had sent a ship for him, he knew how to escape... But how to do so without being seen? ...But then, that was simple enough. Evasion was something he knew well.

"We must away to the port; a ship awaits us. I doubt we will be noticed, so long as we bring no attention to ourselves."

At least, that was what he was counting on...

Miuka disembarked from the ship, following the others onto dry land. Once her feet touched the soil she stretched and looked around. "I believe our best chance of finding this 'Lei'Ahree'," she said, "is to ask for assistance from the leadership of this island. Doubtless they will lead us to her eagerly. It is a great honor for a child of Neorah to be called to such a position."

She motioned towards the huts. "Surely we will find her there."

In the hut, Leia felt completely overwhelmed by what was going on around her. She wanted nothing more for the whole thing to end, for her to wake to find that it was all one huge nightmare.

She shook her head. "No, I don't . . . I don't want to go anywhere. I don't . . . I don't want to be the Great Keeper." She looked up at her father with a desperate expression. "Someone else will have to be the Great Keeper. I don't . . . I don't want it."

Ahntoor blinked. He should have been surprised, really, his daughter got her strength of will from him, after all. "Leia, minnow, you are needed." He looked up at Ichabod. "The arrivals are doubtless the delegation from Astraea. They were supposed to be here yesterday, but a storm delayed them."

Leia shook her head again. "I don't care." Her voice was rising noticeably, and had a remarkable timbre, one which would carry clearly for distance. "I'm not . . . I don't want this!" She backed away, towards the door. "I don't want any of this!" She whirled and ran from the hut, past the startled form of the Moogle who was just about to enter.

Miuka looked around the room and lifted a curious eyebrow at Ichabod. "I haven't seen you in a while, old friend," she said, "I presume that was the Summoner Candidate?"

Advocat looked at Miuka as she talked and when she lead the way he followed her at a respectable distance, he knew that she could stop at any moment and that would make it important to not be too close when she does. He doesn't want to accidentally trod on her or anything, Eiko herself though was looking all around the place turning her head every which way while holding onto Advocat's shirt. He didn't mind too much with her doing that, it was only when she tugged on it that he started to get a bit bothered.

Then he heard a shout of sort then a rather....attractive girl ran out of the hut Miuka was heading toward, he had avoided being pumped into by her but Eiko was not so lucky as she was bumped into and spun by the force of the impact. She landed on her backside in the dirt before turning to look at the running girl and yelled "HEY DON'T YOU KNOW NOT TO KNOCK A YOUNG LADY DOWN!" Eiko wasn't happy with this at all, she got up and dusted herself off before crossing her arm and puffing up in annoyance.

Mala by now as getting tired of playing with the water and was able to see Leia run by and being the curious little imp she was, Mala followed after her but only to see what she was doing. Mala even shrunk herself down into her smallest size to be less seen. As that went on Advocat heard the part about that being the summon candidate and to that he thought *Hmm...so it wasn't some old sage of a woman.......but a young rose......oh this is interesting......* He turned to look at them all and simply said "Based on what I have seen it appears the girl is simply frighten of the great changes, if you try to force her to leave....I do believe she will be very upset with us, and will try to loose us at every chance that comes her way.........oh and it seems my pet Mala is following the girl.....she is curious as to what this.....Lei'Ahree is up to." He now looked at Icabod and arched his eyebrow, this man was far different than the rest.......he seemed like his race could be cousins to a race of demons in hell.

"Yeah that went well. Now she's run off, you morons! I'll go find her."

With that Crucent went out. As soon as she got outside, she saw the people from the airship. Some of them had also gone after Leia, bloody fools. The last thing Leia needed now was more strangers chasing her

Barely noticing the Chief and the Elders who had also come out to look after Leia, and were starting to search the town Crucent ignored them completely as she thought. At least she had a notion of where Leia would go to be alone. Back to the cave.

Muttering curses over everybody from Bahamut himself down to that idiot Ichabod she walked off quickly, making sure none of the townspeople or anybody else followed her.


....................................................................................................................


Just as Zoro was getting restless, alot of things seemed to happen at once. The sound of a female talking loudly floated out of a window beside him, and an airship came to land in the docks. A group of people came walking out of it. Then that girl Crucent had walked with to the hut came running out, looking very upset as she ran back the way they had come from.

Getting to his feet, Zoro was about to go after her, when he heard Crucent's voice. "Oh boy, someones angered her. More pity to them then" he thought to himself, grinning a little. Then she came out of the hut as well and stood there thinking for a little while as others came out too. As they milled about, apparently looking for someone, probably that girl, he saw Crucent walking off in the direction of that cave from before.

Thinking fast, he walked quickly after her, determined to meet up with her before she got there. Staying a little behind so she wouldn't notice him, he followed her easily as he saw her slender body weave gracefully but quickly in and out among the rest of the townspeople who were all outside now, looking worried and searching everywhere for that young woman.

As they got to the edge of town, the houses along with the people started to thin out more and he noticed that they were getting closer to the cliffs again. He upped his pace so that he was only a few feet away from her now. Catching up to her, he reached out his hand and grabbed her arm.

"Crucent, it's so good to see you again."

Leia just wanted to get away from all the people, away from the crystals, away from the looming shadow of Bahamut over her future. She didn't want to leave Neorah, not like this! She'd dreamed of visiting Eremaki, but that was always a visit in her mind, one that would end with her return to Neorah.

She never wanted to leave her home forever!

And now there was a man from Eremaki claiming that she was in danger, and her father telling her that she was to be the Great Keeper in Astraea and she KNEW how being away from her home tore at Crucent. They'd talked about it, just not often.

She didn't want that kind of sorrow.

She didn't want to be anyone except Lei'Ahree the pearldiver, Lei'Ahree the beader, Lei'Ahree of Neorah.

She ran through the forest trails seeking some place where she could be alone. She didn't go back to the cave, that would likely be the first place that Ichabod would look. She made her way down to a beach beside a cliff face and ran headlong into the water, swimming as far down as she could go.

The salt of the ocean carried away any tears that might have streaked down her face.

She briefly considered staying down in the water long enough for all the strangers to leave, give up on taking her away from her home. It was very tempting.

Hearing that voice, Crucent stopped dead in her tracks.
Barely daring to breathe, she turned slowly.
"is that... is that really you Zoro? I'm not imagining things again??"

Grinning widely he nodded "It is me Cru, honest."
Pulling her closer Zoro held her at arms length and looked her over.
"You look beautiful as ever, Elvaan. I've missed you so much."

Looking at him for the first time in months, she was in utter shock and barely able to speak
" how, what, your here?!" Tears swelling up in her eyes from joy, and her body trembling slightly she threw her arms around him.

"It IS you! I can hardly believe it. I have missed you so very much as well and I'd love to hear about how you ended up here, but things are really chaotic right now, I need to find my friend. Can you help me?

Nodding he replied "Is your friend that girl who just ran off from the hut you were in? Cause if she is, your going the wrong way, she headed down to the shore."

Drunk with relief and happiness Crucent smiled at Zoro. "Great, let's get going." Taking his hand into hers they walked off quickly to the shoreline.

While Leia was running toward the beach little Mala was close behind following either by running on the ground or flying after her, though she would always dive behind something when ever Leia looked her way. She was having fun as she thought this was a game of tag with the added fun of trying to catch the person without them seeing you do it, when Leia went to a wide open place like the beach Mala crossed her arms and huffed a bit as she said "No fair, Mala can't hide there. Girl smart." She finally just followed down hoping Leia didn't look her way and when Leia disappeared into the ocean she flew down to the beach, she started to paw at the water a bit with her hand but always making sure to avoid getting IN the ocean.

Mala didn't know how to swim that well so getting pulled into the ocean would not end well for anyone, too bad fate wanted to be an ass by having a freak wave roll in and smash into Mala. Due to her being in her small form the water dragged her back into the ocean, she quickly started to thrash about in the water trying to get out as she was too startled to concentrate on trying to fly out of the water as she yelled out "HELP HELP! MALA CAN'T SWIM! HELP!" if no one helped her she would drown easily, that would then piss off Advocat beyond measure.

As Crucent and Zoro came out of the trees and down to the beach they saw nothing at first as they scanned the ocean. But then they heard a small voice screaming for help. Someone was drowning, and Crucent saw quickly that the strong currents had already taken the person too far out for Crucent to swim out and save her. If only Leia had been here, she could have reached the person easily as she was a far better swimmer then Crucent ever could be.

"Shouldn't we try to help?" She could hear the worry in Zoro's voice. "Yes, we should but neither of us can swim that far. The only one I can think of who is capable of that is Leia, but naturally she isn't here! Frantic with worry, they could both see that the drowning person had all but stopped splashing by now and was floating very still, wich usually meant only one thing.

Crucent waded angrily into the water, and shouted at the top of her lungs to apparently nothing but the ocean " LEIA! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME. WE NEED YOU; NOW. THERE IS SOMEBODY DROWNING BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR PANICING! IT'S TIME TO STOP PLAYING LIKE SOME CHILD AND START ACTING MORE LIKE AN ADULT, NOW PLEASE COME AND SAVE HER!!!"

Holding his breath, Zoro didn't dare speak as Crucent came back onto the shore. He was half-expecting some kind of reaction to her words, odd as it seemed. He hadn't seen her this angry for months, but he knew that when she got this upset, the best thing was to leave her alone until she got what she wanted, or the anger passed. Walking up to her, he laid an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's at least sit down and rest, standing here with wet pants on isn't gonna help anybody." Taking her further up the beach, Zoro took off his Cloak and wrapped it around her as he sat down beside her to watch the ocean.

(Wow, I'm stranded in the dark ages for a day, and all this happens!?!)

"By the stars! Miuka!?!"

Now, this was a surprise. He'd thought this one would've passed on some time ago. Of course, he knew better: she was too stubborn to die.

"You're quite the sight for these old eyes; you've not aged a day. And, you're spot-on, as usual, though she seems to be less-than-thrilled at the prospect."

Of course, when he saw precisely who she was travelling with, his slightly elevated mood went crashing to earth, dug a burrow, and holed up within like a spoiled child in his room.

It wasn't Advocat that caused this, though. There was something very off about him, to be certain. He could feel the man's energy. This man was, perhaps, as ancient as he. His magic, too, was VERY familiar. He wasn't a Dullahan, no. He lacked the raw magic power. But he DEFINITELY had the skills that would be attributed to one. He was one to be respected. ...No, his ill will was directed at another.

"Although, dear friend, I'm quite disappointed in your choice in company. What is that dokuyaro doing here?"

Meeting Tiernan's eyes, he glared at him in such a way that the young politician should be happy looks cannot kill.

(Note: "Dokuyaro", here, is taken to mean "Venomous Bastard".)

((Well, we kinda got impatient. Sorry, my friend.))

Miuka looked at Ichabod and then over at Tiernan and lifted a curious eyebrow. She knew that matters between Eremaki and Glaisne were troubled. It was her primary worry with the way that the former Great Keeper had pulled himself, and Astraea, away from the rest of the Nations. She'd disagreed with that interpretation of neutrality, but she wasn't the Great Keeper, it wasn't her choice to make.

She sighed. "Old friend, please, he's here to aid in the journey of the Candidate, not to start up another war." She glared at Tiernan. "Right?"

Tiernan shrugged. "I'm here to make sure that the Candidate completes her journey, take that as you will." He was actually glad that it looked as though the Candidate were a young woman, that would make the journey ever so much easier for him in some ways. If he could endure this tin-can of an Eremaki barbarian. "In the meantime, I suggest we locate the Candidate before she runs into something that means we have to go looking for some new Candidate in another Nation, what say you?"

Miuka sighed. This was not going to be an easy journey, for any of them.

---
For her part, Leia wasn't aware that she was being followed, much less followed by a small creature as tiny as little Mala was, or that Mala would end up following her into the water. She was deep enough, though, that she wasn't aware of the vibrations of the little imp's struggles . . . but she wasn't the only one in the water.

Leia did see the waterdog, though, who noticed the struggling imp. Watching the carnivorous predator led her eyes up to Mala, just as she caught the muted sound of Crucent's screaming. Damn, poor little thing.

She kicked herself up and caught the waterdog in the stomach with a blast of water, knocking it away long enough for her to bring her hand up underneath the imp, lifting her slightly from the water. She saw Crucent and a stranger standing on the shoreline and yelled to them.

"Waterdog!"

She put the little imp on her head. "Hold on to my hair and hold your breath, little one, this won't be long." Once she was certain that she wasn't going to lose her in the water, Leia submerged again, but only long enough to kick forcefully and reach the shallow shoreline so that she could stand.

Once her feet were secure on the beach, in water too shallow for the waterdog to follow, she reached up and extricated the imp so that could look at her. "What were you doing out there, little one?"

She looked up at Crucent. "That was low, accusing me of acting like a child. Someone else can be the Great Keeper. I sure don't want it."

Advocat arched his eyebrow a slight bit when he heard how this Ichabod reacted to Tiernan and when he saw how angry the being was toward the other man he opted to keep out of the situation, it was then he felt a slight twinge of fear from Mala which caused him to tense up a slight bit in worry. Luckily for everyone on this world the fear from Mala disappeared after a bit which allowed Advocat to calm down a slight bit, he then quietly walked away from the rest of the group with Eiko right with him.

He saw the little girl was following him with her little pet dragon poking its head out of her shirt for a moment or two then ducking back into her shirt, he let out a sigh and said "Well Eiko it seems the hollow being known as Ichabod has great hatred toward Glasine, so before you inform him you grew up there be sure to have me with you. I do not want to run the risk of him being verbally violent with you, though I doubt he would try to physically harm you." Eiko looked up at him and nodded as she said "Ok Advocat, I'll make sure to stay right with you." She held onto his shirt to show she meant what she said to which Advocat thought *Oh lucky me....*

___________________________________________________________________________________

Mala was very close to passing out before Leia reached her and got her to cling to her head, Mala was able to take a quick breath of air before Leia dived once more with her clinging tightly to her hair. When they finally got out of the water Mala was clinging tightly to Leia's hair so it wasn't easy to get her to let go, Mala quickly clung to Leia's arm tightly with her claws ever so slightly digging into her skin making slight pricking pain for her. Mala coughed water out for a few moments then looks around trying to figure out what the hell happened, she finally got her barrings before she started to cry quite loudly as she wanted Advocat right now as she clung to Leia's hand.

This quickly caused a burst of darkness energy to appear from near the village as Advocat could clearly sense Mala's distress as well as faintly hearing it, this caused Eiko to let go of his shirt as she knew if she didn't she would be dragged along for the ride. Soon Advocat was off like a shot toward Mala's location with his eyes glowing bright red with rage and a hint of worry, his scythe was already out and he was hacking through any plant or monster that tried to get in his way.

It only took about a minute for him to reach the cliff that was near the beach, he jumped from the cliff after putting his scythe away and when he landed on the ground he was not hurt but he still ran over to where Mala and the rest were as he glared and said "What happened." he didn't yell but you could tell by the tone in his voice that he was not exactly happy. All the while Mala was trying to get to Advocat so he could hold her and calm her down as she still cried but not as loudly.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Back at the village Eiko crossed her arms and huffed as she said "Lucky Mala........wish Advocat would do all that for me if I was crying........" she turned to look at the others as she knew they was going to notice this as she said "Ya something happened to Mala, so he won't be back till he makes her feel better and kills what ever hurt her.......so guess I stuck with you guys in finding the other girl." Eiko didn't know that Mala was with Leia and neither did Advocat till he got there.

Leia was actually scared for the imp when she started crying so abruptly. She wrapped her arms around her as she would a very small child to hold her close and hopefully offer comfort. But then the strange man appeared and he was obviously the one the creature wanted most so Leia, as gently as she possibly could, set imp in his hands.

"She was in the water. I don't really know why since she doesn't seem to be much in a talking mood right now. A waterdog noticed her, though, all that flopping around looks an awful lot like a distressed fish to a waterdog and they . . . well, they desire to end distress. I got to her in time, but she didn't start really crying until we reached the shore."

She smiled at the imp. "I think she's just realizing how close it could have been. She's alright now."

Walking over to Leia Crucent wrapped the cloak around her.
" I'm sorry I said that, but I was worried for the Imp, and that was the only thing I could think of that would get your attention. However running away won't help sort out this matter, so perhaps it's best we return to your father's hut where we can all talk about it calmly."

Squatting down and looking directly at her friend Crucent continued "And I do hope you understand that if you really have to go, I will not leave you to do so by yourself. If you want me to, I will go with you. Maybe I could be your handmaiden." Grinning at the notion, she stood up and walked over to Zoro again.

Advocat listened to what Leia said and so by the time she was done talking and had given Mala to him, his temper had faded away into oblivion. He looked at Leia for a few moments and said "Thank you for helping Mala, I do believe I owe you a debt now." he then focused his attention on the small imp as she clung to Advocat and cried for a little longer, he stroked her hair gently as he said "Now now, don't cry Mala. Everything is ok, don't worry Advocat is here to keep you safe now." she slowly started to calm down before sniffling a bit and said ".......Ocean mean to Mala.......Mala hate ocean......." She was now tired and curled up in his arms and started to sleep, to which Advocat simply sighed in relief that she was not harmed in permanent fashion.

She started to squirm a bit and he figured it was from the water scare that she was having a bit of a time sleeping, and so his body started to give off a empty dark void like aura that seemed to also give off a sense of death. Normally this would of course make anyone have an extremely hard time being relaxed around him, but for Mala it was a very comforting energy due to how the Aura is distinctly Advocat's and made her feel engulfed in his powers. He looked up at Leia as the other female moved away, he then said "So you are the hopeful Great Keeper, well my dear I am quite glad you are not an old sage. They are quite dull to travel around with........of course that is if you wish to travel. Due to you helping Mala, the least I can do is ensure that you are not forced to do something you don't want to do. As I detest someone else taking away another person's freedom and independence." Advocat could now notice that she was wet and figured she might wish for something to warm herself up.

To that he caused an entire tea set, a table, and a few chairs to appear on the beach through a few flaming portals, he couldn't quite use the portals for anything fighting wise but they do make getting tea sets, tables, and chairs to new locations very easy. He looked over at Leia and said "Though allow me to make you a cup of tea, I am sure you would like something warm to counter act the chill that wet clothes make." He walked over to the tea set with Mala resting in his arms, he then used his right hand to fix up a nice cup of English Tea as it gave off a wonderful aroma before he looked at her and said "If you like your tea with Cream and sugar, I have those too. I just not exactly sure what type of tea drinker you are, there are so many these days it is hard to keep track with all the different types."

Ichabod calmly watched the events unfold around them. Of course, he cared little. Life was important, but, in this case, some more than others.

"...Tiernan. A moment?"

He pulled the young ruler away from the group. None besides him needed to hear this, Leia least of all. Leading him into the brush, he glared at Tiernan.

"Let me make this very, very clear to you. I am uncertain what you scheme. I know not your goals. Nor do I know your methods. But I know your kind. And I will not allow Odin's Mistake to endanger this woman. This will end one of two ways: You will depart of your own volition, or I will find reason to expel you from this group."

Leaving Tiernan in the brush, he moved to rejoin with the group. He heard Advocat's words. And he became concerned. It WAS her choice, but those snakes would do everything in their power to make her travel. He had to, as well, of course. Even if it was for her own good.

"While pleasantries are all well and good, stranger, this is neither the time or place for such. There are those-"

He paused to glare back at Tiernan again. His suspicions were VERY apparent, and he took no action to conceal them, or apologize.

"Who would wish to do harm to Lei'Ahree. We must away to Eremaki, lest her pursuers find us here, and make their move."

Tiernan shook his head at Ichabod's blatant prejudice. The Dullahan was obviously as backwards and provincial as all of barbaric Eremaki. Trapped in the sensibilities of ages long past. Eremaki's days of dominance had long since past.

It was a truth he knew.

Just as he knew that he could not allow Lei'Ahree to travel without him, no matter what the Barbarian said.

Miuka looked at Lei'Ahree with an expression of sympathy, but she could not allow that sympathy blind her to the truth of the situation. "Girl," she said as she fluttered her wings to carry herself forward, "Bahamut has called your name. He did not merely say, bring me Candidates that I might choose of those who want my power. He said that you, and you alone, were the one to whom he wished to lend his strength."

Leia sighed. "I don't want it. Let someone else have it."

Miuka shook her head. "Child, there likely is no one else compatible with Bahamut. Do you think that there are so many Summoners for him to choose from?"

Leia looked away, flushing lightly. She'd never thought much of the talent, had never made a big matter out of it, but she knew that Summoners were rare. She also knew, from her friend's stories, that she came from a place where they were not highly regarded and she hadn't wanted to lose her friend's good opinion. "Surely there's someone else."

Tiernan watched the conversation. He knew, more than most, how much rode on Leia accepting her role. "There is no one else," he said. "Summoners are vanishing from all Nations, some dying, some just disappearing. At least with us you would be safe for a time and maybe seeing the world would not be such a terrible thing." He shrugged. "But I, for one, advise setting out for Brimlad and commencing your journey as soon as possible. The sooner you visit each Crystal Shrine the sooner you can be in Astraea and giving your answer to Bahamut."

Eremaki could wait for last, in his mind.

Leia looked uncertain.

Now Advocat was starting to get annoyed greatly at the actions of the one called Icabod and Tiernan as he could clearly see the hate and distrust they had toward each other as clear as day, but the worse part was they would not relent on trying to tell the girl where to go and finally he simply had enough. He lifted Mala and placed her down in his seat before putting a sound-proof bubble around her to keep her from waking up, he then said "It is a sad day indeed when the most demonic person in the group is the one that is more sympathetic toward a woman, I am quite shocked and amazed this is so. Do you three honestly find it perfectly acceptable to swoop in and snack a young woman from her home like some bird of pray, I mean for pity's sake at least give the girl a day or two to get ready and say goodbye to her friends and family. For even if she does refuse the offer straight to Bahamut's face, she will still be gone for quite some time during the trip."

He walked over to Leia and placed a calm hand on her shoulder and gave her a slight smile to show that she had an ally in him, he then turned to look at the two males directly due to how the next part was only directed at them. He then spoke "To further increase my utter astonishment you two wish to even control where she will go on her journey..........my word.......could you two at least give her the common decency to allow her to plan her own trip. It is the least she deserves based on the current circumstances, and before you two start to bicker with me remember the reason why we are here. To assist her and help her with her journey, we are not to be her wardens or masters......I will make sure of that fact even if I must spill blood to ensure it."

With that Advocat was now calm enough to go back and drink his tea and calm down but he finished the little.....lecture with this "Also.......we want a Great Keeper........not a puppet........so let her learn from her mistakes........many a great men and women got to where they are due to such a process of trail and error.........Lady Lei'Ahree I am quite sorry you had to see me go on and on. I am simply against one taking the control away from another by force." His eyes were still glowing red though to show he was still more than willing to get up again to talk the men down, and if that didn't work he always had his summon to give him some assistance in intimidation.

___________________________________________________________________________________


Back at the Village Eiko was sitting down to pout on a bench as she said "........they ditched me..............no manners at all....."