Sorana

It's my birthday in summer. So I have summer and presents

Cookie.

Hello and welcome to the shard! Which character did you like best?

Slowly Damaya pushed herself to her feet and took a look around. She was in a wood, or a jungle? Whatever, it had trees. Carefully checking herself for any damage she found some blood on her temple, her left arm hurt while moving, but apart from that, although almost everything hurt, she had been lucky. "Where do you want to go?" Coru asked and she shrugged. "I have no coin with me, so..." turning around she took a good look at her surroundings. A tree, a lake, another tree, and another tree. And then, fighting. "Do you hear that?" she asked him and her Spren only spread himself on her arm. "I do. sounds like a fight." Hesitating, Damaya took a step in the direction and then stopped again. "It's dangerous, if they fight." she observed and Coru only laughed. "Genius. Of course it's dangerous, but they could know a way out of here." Grimacing she started to walk, her body protesting the movement, but in the end she had no other choice. Stay here and die or go there and maybe die. Maybe die somehow sounded better. She neared the noise and then stopped. Lions fighting birds, a man running towards a rock, that was blocking most of her view. "We found them." she whispered to Coru and he only buzzed in response. When she didn't move he buzzed again, stronger and she cursed under her breath, grabed her skirts and edged closer. The man was running, so running was save? "This is stupid." Lifting her skirts higher she sneaked closer and closer and rounded the corner and only then realized, that her stone was maybe a cave. Scrambling over she got in there, almost knockig over someone holding up some branches. "Ummm.... hi." she greeting unintelligently. @Ookla the Paragon @Ookla the Phoenix

Guacamole.

Probably

No idea...

Jim screamed as loud as he could!

I've been invited to our local university to hold a lecture. That's somehow really cool, and I'm excited they asked me!

Ah alright! Thank you!

Voted! Great job both of you. Hard choice!

I loved AF as a child. Definitly some of my favourite books back then. But after watching the trailer I'm unsure whether to watch the movie or not. I have so many great memories of this series, the books even still have a place on my bookshelf until today, and didn't wander into the attic, like many others did. I guess curiosity will win, hopefully they will manage to create something worth of the books...

Just enough to freeze the street over. If this winter is like the last few years, it won't get really cold until January. Until then some snow, some ice, but also a lot of rain and a grey sky... I'm definitly more of a summer person.

So they ate even more donuts.

Wow congratulations! That's really cool! What did you play (the music not the instrument) if I may ask?

Better to eat a cookie.

Althea stood there, her head resting against his shoulder, his hand stroking her hair, comforting. Grieve, so powerful she almost felt empty wrapped itself around her in a suffocating grip, threatened to drown her. Lifting a hand he gently touched her face and she followed his guidance, trusting him, needing the comfort he so easily offered. When he himself needed it as much as she herself did. She looked into his eyes, let his gaze capture her own. He had beautiful eyes, she realized. He understood. Managing. He was doing the same, manage, go on, despite everything, go on and on, even when there was so much pain, that every single step hurt. She wished she could take his helmet off, touch his face, feel his hair, touch him just as he touched her, but instead she lifted her own hand and placed it on the side of his helmet, as close to his skin as she was able to get. I... he said over the link, a hushed voice. I... I think your hair is very pretty, he said, and then winced. Startled she only stared at him. Her hair? He liked her hair? But before she really could understand what he was aiming at, he continued. And I love you. And I promise we'll have time to mourn. The God Beyond knows that time is long overdue. I love you. Her heart skipped a beat and suddenly she was glad that he was still holding her, that she didn't need to stand on her own. I love you. Three words, three small words, but they meant everything. His thumb brushed over her cheek, caressed her and she leaned into the touch, felt an answering smile tug at her lips. Despite everything she answered his ghost of a smile with one of her own. He loved her. Warmth spread through her chest, made her heart beat faster. Mourn, they would need to mourn, she needed to mourn, to understand what had happened, to accept it, to really fully grasp it, and yet, his words offered hope, comfort, a future and that was more, than she ever had expected. But... But now we must do what we need to. For the Alleyverse. For Solace. For the lives who are not yet lost. For us. Althea nodded slowly, glad that he understood, that he felt like she did. They needed to go on, they couldn't stop now. Not as long as Solace was still travelling around, killing people. For us. she repeated his words, and they sounded like a promise. For them, for those caught in this conflict. Looking into his eyes she told him earnestly: I love you, too. For a moment she stayed where she was, not wanting to step away from him, savouring the feeling of his arm around her, of his hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly collected herself again. He was right. Mourning would need to wait. When she opened her eyes again, she softly stepped back from his embrace, taking hold of his hand, unwilling to break their contact completely. If we survive, I want to built a grave for her. I am the only family she had left. Nobody else will care enough. she told him and then pushed her grieve aside, straightened. Did what she always did, when she had to go on. A list, bullet points, reduce everything down to logic, to something easily followed. Wait for Aurell's answer, go to the lab, test our theories, hopefully survive and stop him. And then, then we can take some time for us. To mourn... and to go on.

Althea? Max. She looked at him again, not reacting, tried to stay calm, controlled. Clinging to that control. He took a step forward, reaching out for her again, his voice but a whimper. Althea? And then he was there, grabbing her, pulling her close and she followed the movement, allowed him to take control. His armor was hard and cold, but she didn't care. He was there, that was everything that mattered. "Max." she whispered her voice barely hearable. Placing her arms around him, she pulled closer, rested her head against his shoulder. I reduced my work in the laboratory, agreed to attend the ball because I learned, that she might come as well. she started, switching to their link, because it was easier, than to hear her own voice break when she tried to talk. But she had been kidnapped, and escaped on her own. I've had someone follow her since then. Keeping me uptodate where she was, if she was fine. Because I still couldn't bring myself to confront her, to talk to her. She lifted her head, looked at him, let her mask fall, let him see her pain. He can't find her anymore. She got attacked and now he can't find her anymore, believes she's dead. A pause, forcing herself to go on, her hands clinging to him, to his armor. I've ordered him back. Judging his previous reports he would have most likely died, had I commanded him to search for her. She heaved a sobbing breath and then shook her head again, stopped herself from starting to cry. I'm sorry. We don't have the time for this. I'll manage. Conciously loosening her grip she tried to calm down again. There would be a time for crying, maybe for a search. But not now. Not while every passing minute meant, that Solace killed more and more innocents. And yet, she stayed where she was, arms around him, head rested against his shoulder, not finding the strength to step back. @Ookla the Guacless

Althea saw the red light starting to blink and for a moment she only stared at it. That was too early. The wrong day. Dreading the message she slowly pulled the spanreed out of her pocket, dipped it in ink and placed it on a parchment, using the table Aurell had placed her feet on. Update Status Report: The spanreed wrote. Target presumed dead or missing. Feeling cold she grabbed it. Details. Wrong, he had to be wrong. Target got attacked while in the air, crashed somewhere unknown. Chance to relocate target almost zero. Chance for taget's survival almost zero. Awaiting new orders. Attacked, crashed. She stared at the words, unable to comprehend them. He had to search for her, had to comb through every single mile of the island, had to find her. Almost zero. "No." Brashen whispered in her ear and she halted, stared at him. "It would be his death. Unneccessaryly." Something in her froze over, when she understood what he meant. When she realized what she had to decide. "No search?" she whispered tonelessly and Brashen nodded. Life before Death. Sacrifice the man for someone almost surely dead? She had killed, she had ordered people to be killed, but never unneccessaryly. That was their path. Trade one life for others, work towards a greater goal, accept the price they had to pay, but never without a reason, never unneccessaryly. Bile rose in her throat and she shook her head. "But she could be alive." she protested, keeping her voice low, but knowing that everybody who wanted could listen in. It was silent in the room, since they had been waiting for Aurell's answer. For a moment her self control slipped, her face distorted itself into a mask of fury and grief, helplessness, then she reigned herself in again, put on a cool and controlled mask. "He is good. He found no body, that why it's almost zero." One look at Brashen, giving in, accepting defeat. She knew that he man was good. That was why she had chosen him. Inwardly screaming she stared at her spren. Their path, she had to. She had sworn an oath. If he wrote that she was dead, she was dead. Ordering him on a suicide mission wouldn't change anything. Gripping the spanreed so hard it nearly broke she dipped it into the ink, took a breath, kept her handwriting regular. End mission. Return. His reply came fast. End mission. Return. Confirmed. A pause. I'm sorry for your... Althea didn't wait for the last sentence to be written out completely, she snatched the parchment and folded it, not caring that the ink hadn't dried at all. Packing the spanreed away, she stepped back from the table, leaned against the wall again, her face impassive, her posture mostly relaxed. She had learned to lie with her body years ago.

Sadly no snow, only ice...

Ask Althea

Damaya saw the birds attacking and called out to Mari in surpise. Away. Away from here. The Winged hurled her around and away they flew. With a screech at least one of them dove after them and Damaya clutched tighter to Maris talons and prayed everything would go well. In that moment she decided, that flying wasn't her prefered method to get from one place to another. It didn't go well. After a short while, she heard Mari exclaim in pain and looked up, only to have blood drip into her eyes. Instinktively she shut them, hesitated, debated whether to loose a grip on a talon and try to get the burning and stinging stuff out of her eye, or to leave it there, but in the end cursed and tried to wipe her eyes clean, only making it worse. Above her Mari screamed again, and then they were plummeting downwards, and Damaya screamed, too, fearful clinging to Mari, but the Winged opened her talons and let go, and a moment later she was falling, falling downwards, wind ripping at her cloths, at her skin and then she hit something hard, something unrelenting. The air was pressed out of her body in the blink of an eye and suddenly it was cool around her. It took her a moment to understand what had happened, the she was swimming, or more likely drowning, since she had no idea how to swim. Somehow her head broke through the surface again and she managed to breathe in some air, then she sank down again, her arms and legs flailing uselessly around her. Panicked she inhaled again, water this time, and immediatly had to cough. Water, cool water pressed in on her and black stars started dancing in front of her eyes. Hastly she tried to move up again, but where was up? Her arm hit something hard and she flinched back, or would have done this, had she been able to really move. Her body hit whatever it was and now she clutched at it instinktively, pulled and suddenly her head was out of the water again. Gasping for air, she continued to hold on to whatever it was and tried to get as much air into her lungs as possible. It took her a while, until she was able to think clearly and then she used the branch to slowly pull herself to the shore of the lake and out of the water. Panting she lay down, only now realizing how much she hurt. She needed to calm down, and then assess the damage. And then try to find a way out. "Coru?" she whispered and felt him buzzing slightly on her arm. "I think we may have a problem." He was silent for a moment. "You mean, like being on an island, without a map, without food or water?" he answered and Damaya coughed again, spitting out some more water. It hurt, moving hurt. "More or less." her voice sounded strange and she lay back down, concentrated on breathing. In and out, in and out.

sry...wrong translation -.-

Oh wow... that's a lot of good advice! We definitly have a completely different approach to creating characters. Now I kind of feel bad for simply rolling a dice to determine their investiture so far... I have to admit I seldom do more than think about a rough outline, and then evolve the character around everything that happens. But with our eras being relatively short I guess I should change that.

Salsa... And we could have had chocolate...