Sorana

"Did you get the butter as well?" Shana asked and tried to balance the things she had selected. "And I think we meet them somewhere close to the ceck out counter."

Shana hugged him quickly in thanks and then walked off to search the garlic. She found it, still a bit green and young, perfect to be smashed into butter. Smiling she packed some into a bag and then grabbed some cherrys as well. Maybe some strawberries as well. And apples. She liked apples. On her way back to Edwin and Ben she saw some crackers and loaded another two packages on her arms. They were so many and all of them hungry. Crackers never hurt.

Attayl sighed when John fell asleep in a corner. Putting the cloth she held in her hands away she hesitantly walked over and sat down next to Nerin and Brillin. Hopefully it wasn't too much if she joined them, and she didn't disturb them. She brought her drink and some water, in case they prefered something cold. A shy smile on her lips as greeting she looked at the two of them. It was a real smile, none of her masks, no part of the armor she usually wore. She liked them and here, right now she wished nothing more, that they liked her as well.

"Where are you from? You mention so strange things, know about the chalk lines. You are from the south? I heard they have foreign traditions and tools there." She asked him, never stopping to polish the glasses.

"Thank you." Attayl replied to John, although she had no idea how you could contact someone. Maybe it helped you write some letters. He seemed lonely and so filled him a glass with something to drink as well, unconciously looking back to Nerin and Brillin. Nerin, Brillin, Lance, their futures were intervoven with her own, somehow, but she knew that it was the case. Maybe she could help them. Be a thera- whatever. Brillin had said she was good at it. A smile touched her lips, then she poured herself a drink as well.

Attayl made some tea and put it on the table in front of the two of them. His eyes were so blue. Nerin was right, he had beautiful, blue eyes, but she kept quiet, left them alone. She felt strange, unsure of her role here, her place. Nerin was in no shape to direct anything, Brillin had made clear he wanted to be left alone. But then he had walked over to her. So maybe it had been no hint to go, but a suggestion to help the others. Maybe he had meant, that she was doing a good job. She shook her head and continued to wash the glasses. For years she had only had one goal. Survive. She had known the rules. Here, right now, she had no idea what to do. She had never been in a similar situation before. Realizing she had stared at them she blushed and averted her glance. She busied herself behind the bar, cleaned it up as well and then looked around, to see who else was in the room. @Invocation

Attayl heard his reply, saw Nerin's face and groaned. She left John standing where he was and turned towards the two of them. "Sit down. Now. Both of you." She pointed at two stools and stepped closer to catch Brillin should he fall again. "Your book will be great Brillin. You can write about all of this, and about us. But not if you break your neck, stumbling drunkenly though a room." Her face softened when she looked at Nerin. "And you should stop drinking as well. I'll make a tea, and yes, I cleaned everything up. John helped, he took care of the floor, I took care of the rest. Go upstairs, finish dressing yourself and when you come down the tea is ready." @I think I am here. @ZincAboutIt

Lena shook her head while she put the cream aside and started to prepare a dough. "I doubt we'll be able to contain it Alask. The heros of the Seven Day War couldn't, and we are just four, none of us hero like them. If we call it here, we have to accept, that it will probably try to kill every living being in this city." Which meant, that she had to get Mart out of it before they started their plan. Sorrow crossed her face, when she tried to think of a good place to go. Alask's question sparked a thought. "I heard a rumor, that some pretty strong people are running through the Sewer's right now. One of them is said to be able to influence people in a strong way. One of the Canton leaders." @I think I am here.

"Mind control." Lena repeated and got up again. She couldn't think while sitting down, doing nothing. Her legs shook, but less than before. A good sign. It meant she maybe could skip around the valium this time. She took a few steps to the side and started to prepare dessert. Usually that was the moment, where she would start brewing a poison of some sorts, but she doubted Alask would like that. And she didn't dare confront him about it, as long as Mart was in need of a place to stay. "Let's say you are right. And we can get it here. How do you ensure that it doesn't kill innocents?" Her eyes rested on her son when she asked that question. Alask knew her good enough to know, that she didn't really care about innocents. All this heroic fighting for strangers wasn't for her. "And, unless you," She nodded at Eve, "Can mind control something like the Phoenix, then I have no idea who should." Grinning when an idea crossed her mind she pointed with a spoon at Alask. "You are a genius! You propose we travel to its nest, don't you? That would be fun. There are legends, that it lives on an deserted island, next to trees that burst into flames every morning. Some others claim, that it has a nest high in the mountains, and then there are those, that believe it lives somewhere in a desert." "We could try to find out where it lives, travel there and ask it to come by. Then we don't need someone who is able to control it and the journey itself sounds liks a story worth to be told." Mixing cream and sugar she paused. "We might be too slow. So maybe it's better to find someone able to control it and then get him to work with us. I'm sure I can think of a way, that makes not helping unattractive."

Attayl filled a bucket with water and returned to Nerin’s room. She undressed slowly, let her bloody dress fall to the ground. Wordlessly she stared at herself in a mirror, at the cut in her side, it had stopped bleeding, not deep, not threatening, mostly painful, at the dried blood on her skin. She looked at herself, tried to see what people saw in her figure, what they liked about her. The soft curves of her body, her face. When she turned it do the side and hid the scar, there was nothing but her dirty blond hair around her face, nothing to distract from her eyes and her mouth. She never understood why some called her beautiful, why they sighed when they saw the scar, told her, that she had such a pretty face, if only her cheek wasn’t destroyed that much. Using a rag she cleaned herself, washed the blood off with the water, until she was shivering in the cold air of the morning. Nerin had allowed her to take whatever she wanted, and so she selected a dress, that looked like it had been worn several times. It’s hem was slightly frayed and the colour had lost some of its former intensity. Hesitating, she looked at her own, blood soaked underwear and then took some of Nerin’s as well. She could repay her – she couldn’t. She had no money left. Quickly she dressed, had to put the dress back and select one, that was wider around the chest and the hips. It was a bit too long and too wide around her waist, but at least it wasn’t showing off her womanly features anymore. She braided her hair back and walked downstairs again. Making sure the sign “closed” was still hanging from the front door she saw the guy whose name she had forgotten and placed a smile on her face. He had apologized about forgetting the bodies, whatever that was supposed to mean. How could you forget a corpse? Probably only when you were used to them. With a sigh she emptied the bucket and placed it next to Brillin’s stool. More alcohol, some water and now a bucket. If she added a pillow he could stay there until he was sober again. Then she leaned against a wall again, careful to keep an eye on Brillin. If he fell asleep, or started to throw up, she would probably need to help him. “What is that thing, that makes noises?” She asked John politely, partly because she was curious, partly because she wanted to break through the silence, that had followed the death of their attackers. @John Flamesinger

Zokora cursed as soon as Lusk was gone. He’d left her. Left her alone on this bridge. She closed her eyes, counted to five, then opened them. Only staring at the device she used to report to Althea, she typed a report, attached everything she might need and then added a plea for her to come, to leave whatever she was doing to someone else. She was alone on this ship, probably now in charge of directing their troops, of supervising them. With Lusk gone there was no one left to do it. Alone with the ghosts and the space marines. She send the report, prayed for Althea to come, to be able to come and then stared at the screens Lusk had observed. She saw the city, their troops, saw where some of them got in trouble and were killed, and saw others succeed, kill the monsters instead. Hesitating she reached out for the controls directed a squad to help another one. It was easy, and she smiled when she saw how the monster lost and her men won. There was something to standing here, in control, mighty and powerful. A shadow passed behind her, but she only barely noticed it, concentrated on the controls instead. The guns n’ ninjas were still questioning the scientist, maybe they could learn something from him as well. Another shadow, this time closer and she whirled around. A woman stared at her with wide eyes. Her throat was open, her eyes empty. And dark. She reached out for her, her hands thin and like those of a skeleton. Zokora stared at them, saw them move closer and closer and then she screamed, screamed and scrambled backwards… Her hands hit the control panel and she whirled around, quickly stopped whatever she had accidently started. Looking over her shoulder the woman was still there, her hands closed around her throat, pressed and pressed. Zokora touched her skin, forced herself to breath, even though it felt like she was dying. The woman vanished and she leaned forward, pressed her hands against the panel, gasped for breath. Lusk didn’t know, she’d never told him, or the council. Only Althea knew. A list she needed a list. She needed something to hold on, something she could control. They would vanish once she was in control, once things were organized again. Whimpering when a man stepped towards her, his skin pale, a deep wound in his neck, where she had showed a knife up to his brain. They always told you, that you would forget, that the faces would blur. But they never had. They followed her around, they were always there. She never had learned how to detach herself. Once she observed someone for a while, got to know them, they would follow her around. At first it was only a shadow now and then, but now they were here, they were with her. Especially at places where ghosts lived. Like here, on this ship with its creatures, where the rules of mankind had been turned upside down. He stabbed her and she doubled over, a hand pressed against her stomach. With shaking fingers she took out a pencil and started to write a list. Look after the troops. Make sure as much people as possible get evacuated. Rely any information to Lusk. Keep Althea up to date. Breathe. Send an Underling to Oasis to fetch my folder. Maybe there is some kind of emergency protocol I can follow in there. She started with point five. That one was easy. The woman stared at her surprised, but she rushed of, when Zokora snapped at her. Point four was harder, but she managed. Point 3 and 2 were already done, that left her with point 1. Zokora concentrated on what she was seeing, changed a few of Lusk’s orders, to distribute their forces better. She didn’t care if they were helping TUBA or a single individual. It was about the people. She was surprised, that Lusk had send many to the Bakery district, and left them there. It was about the people, not about guilds, at least not for her. There were times when you had to care politics and times when you had to focus on what was really important.

Shana shot Ben a worried glance and whispered to Edwin: "Let's stay together. I'm not sure how long he's able to walk. And while I can carry him with some stormlight, that will catch everybodies glances around here." "Or you stay with him, while I fetch the garlic?" @Eluvianii

Attayl watched Nerin head downstairs, and stood there for a while, then she followed, without changing. No use to clean herself before they had finished cleaning up. She stepped outside the parlor and used her last coins to tell a boy to send them someone for the corpses, then she returned inside. Nerin had vanished and John was cleaning up the floor. That was good. Quietly she placed a glass of water next to Brillin, without talking to him directly. He should lie down, but she was hesistant to tell him that. She respected decisions, that was all it was about. Without saying a word she left John to the main parlor room and headed to the kitched. Nobody had been here yet, and she cleaned up as well, covered Jeb's body. When the men came, she paid them, and they took the corpses away, promised her to bring Jeb to next cemetary and that the others would vanish, as was custom. It took her a while and in the end she pulled a rug over the remains of the blood on the woodden boards. They would need to polish them again, get rid theit top layer to rid them of the stain completely. When she returned to the main parlor room, the floor had dried and John was doing something with this device of his. Men. How they always thought cleaning up was done, when the floor was clean. Still silent she rearranged the stools, stacked the broken chair and smashed table in a corner. Then she cleaned the tables again, until the room looked almost, as if nothing had happened.

Lena smiled at Tels. He had never heard of the Phoenix. "I'm not sure what summoning would entail, but as you heard of the creature." She placed sat straighter and smiled at him. "Let me tell you a story." Leaning back in her stool she thought about it for a while, tried to find a good way to start. "The Seven Day War, was a guild war that happened around two decades ago. The guilds called their armies to this very city and they fought each other. In their fight they came too close to the territory of the DA, they threatened the alleys and the worldspike itself. So at one point, the DA stepped in. Their abominations roamed the city and killed everything and everybody they could find. Even then some of the troops were focused on evacuation, the Ghostbloods, I'm not sure about the rest, but I know that the Canton opened its doors and invited everybody seeking shelter. And then the Phoenix came. Despite all the creature roaming the ground, it was the one that drew eyes, as it was flying in the sky. Many heroes died, fighting it, and in the end it flew away. Then they nuked the city, to get rid of the other abominations, created the crater we see today." "The other time it appeared, was a little more than a year ago. At Oasis City, which I suspect you know? I've never been there, but everybody saw the Phoenix, when it attacked the shields, tried to get through. This time it simply vanished at one point, and didn't return. Don't ask me what happened in the city, people talk about a try to take over leadership, a massacer." Thoughfully she took a bite of her taco. "But if it was called by blood and people dying, then it would already be here?"

Shana shrugged. "Let's start with the marshmallows." She led them to a shelf full of sweets and looked for the marshmallows. Hrabbing some packages she handed them to Edwin and then a few smaller ones full of jelly beans to Ben. "We need flour, olive oil, butter, garlic, salt and pepper. I think we have most of it at home, so maybe let's only fetch maybe two kilo flour, two packages of butter and some garlic?" @Lunamor @Eluvianii

"When that guy tried to overthrow the Council at Oasis City. And during the Seven Day War." Lena replied. "Great stories. Of heros and pain and fear. I love them." Mart had fallen asleep and she carried him over to the bed Eve had used earlier. Lovingly she draped a blanket over him and wiped his face and hand clean. She returned to the table and grabbed a taco. "You can grab dinner, of you want to Tels." She offered and then focused on Alask again. "You want to reproduce how it was called? Summon that thing to the city?"

Surprised Attayl shook her head, stepped into the room and closed the door. Nerin cared. She wanted to know if she was alright. "No, not really. Maybe. I'm not sure." She sat down on Nerin's bed. "More importantly, how are you?" She asked, and was about to reach out for her hand, then let her hand sink into her lap. She'd already scared Brillin away with her endless touching, Nerin was the last one left. Still it felt strange to sit here, doing nothing and so she thought about something she could do. Maybe that seemed less like intruding, and more like actual helping, if she was doing something, and not only sitting here. Smiling she looked around the room, saw a closet and walked over, selected a new dress for Nerin and took it in her hands. It was of a darker colour, which probably fit Neri's mood well.

Shana waved at Edwin. "Do you want to come with us?" She asked and smiled at him. "No need to stand around on your own?"

She wanted for him to leave. He had caused their problems in the first place. Without him, Jeb would still be alive. Without him Nerin would be here with them, instead of in her bed. Rest. She would have needed a friend. Not rest. But was it her decision. Brillin had already told her to go away. Politely, but she had taken the cue. She had intruded, had tried to help and had only made things worse. He was staring at his table with his eyes, drunk, lost in some memory. She put the knife away and lowered her glance stepped away from Lance. Who was she to tell anybody what to do. She was nothing but a whore. Pulling up her shoulders she stood there for a moment, lost admist all these people, a stranger between all these faces. She had forgotten her place, had glimpsed at something, that might have come true, a better way, a better version of herself. It had called her and she had given in to the dream for a moment, had allowed herself to believe that she could belong one day, that she could be more than a whore, someone who could help, someone who could change things. Quietly she turned and walked towards the stairs. She had felt so good when she had talked to Brillin, when it had seemed as if he was thinking about her words. But Lance was right. And he was wrong. Nerin wasn't her friend. His sigh echoed in her ears, annoance, but that's what she was. Annoying, a hinderance. Attayl looked at her hands, and the parlor, she had messed more up, than only her conversation with Brillin. She had known, she had warned them. But she hadn't been prepared. Jeb's death was her fault. Wordlessly she walked up the stairs and then knocked on Nerin's room. No reply, so she stepped inside. Nerin had to be really bad if Lance had to carry her upstairs. Maybe she could help her clean up, there was no other woman around. And then, then she would finally take her cue and leave. She had no place here, no home. She was alone.

Gratefully Lena leaned over, started to read through the notes. The phoenix. It was enormous, she hadn't expected him to have so much information, lest about a creature like this. She continued to read, her hand absently minded continued to brush over Mart's hair. "I don't think finding him will pose a problem. We'll just stand on a roof and call out into the city, that we want to talk him. If we want to do that." She replied distractedly, focused on the text. What was his plan, and what would he do about Tels? A Ghostblood, here. Contrasting Alask she had no problem with the guilds. They had their flaws, but then everybody had. Without them, the world would be as dark and sad, someone else would grab the power. The only difference was, that many people would die in the process. Not that she would tell Alask. If he felt like opposing them, it could only be interesting. And to use the phoenix, that was maybe the most exciting prospect after they had jumped on the plane. "What is your plan?" She asked quietly and drank some water.

Zokora held the message out for Lusk to see. Someone. Singular. Whoever went would be in danger. A smile touched her lips, when she considered Lusk stepping back from the risk. "Do you want to go, or should I call Althea?" She asked and looked around nervously. Whatever he decided, hopefully it didn't end with her staying on this bridge. The ship was scary, too many ghosts were flying around. @I think I am here.

Mike kneeled down next to man and smiled. "Just tell us what you know about it. We don't plan to hurt you." @Ax's Boyfriend

Lena packed her bag again, then rewrapped her other arm in a new bandage. She listened to Eve and Tels talk, saw Alask pick up the sheets of paper Eve had read when she had disturbed them. Her hand closed around Mart’s and she walked over to a chair close to Alask, sat down, and leaned back. She felt jittery, her body not calming down, despite the time she had spend sitting, but she didn’t mention it. They knew she wasn’t feeling well and it was nothing that would change soon. Mart climbed on her lap, curled up against her chest, with his bear in his hand. Smiling warmly she wrapped an arm around him, gently caressed his hair. It had been a while, since she had been able to spend so much time with him. She wasn’t able to care for him in a way he deserved and so she stayed away, only visited now and then. It was a leftover from her deal with her grandmother and while she had started to drop by more often, it was nowhere as much time, as he deserved. She knew it, but to change it, to take over responsibility. Her smile faltered and she leaned over to Alask, took a perk at the sheets of paper he was holding. Pages full of notes, every single space used. The Phoenix. She raised an eyebrow at him, when she thought about it, tried to follow his line of thought. The Phoenix was powerful. Everybody knew the stories. But as it wasn’t here right now, it only could mean one thing. Did he want to summon it? A grin touched her face. It would be funny. "Or maybe it was something completely different. There are lots of stories about beings that only exist because they reached for immortality and failed. Some are even supposed to live inside a water bottle. And whoever drinks out of the bottle can wish for something." She shrugged. "If we want to know, we have to go, search for him and ask. The Haunt was so hungry for attention if we flatter him a bit, we might be able to get a lot of answers."