Ooc: I drop hints all the time; I didn't drop it that time, though.

It does very much reek of curry.

IC:

Sakiko automatically began to withdraw her hand as soon as Arrika made a move to grab it. However, the thief was unrelenting in her tight grasp, and gave the mage no luxury of refusal. Zeze, as if feeling left out, grabbed Sakiko's other hand. Sakiko grimaced as she grumbled silently, what are we, a big happy family or something?

The mage flinched as the shadows began to creep up around her. She was not really one for liking such modes of transportation.

But really, the shadows were very much appropriate indeed; the place that Arrika had led them to turned out to be even more creepy than the shadows. Sakiko expected that this was only the beginning of it, though. Contrary to Arrika's expectation, Zeze landed as gracefully and silently. Her years of gymnastics certainly hadn't gone to waste; fortunately, she was mindful enough to grab Sakiko's arm to ensure her safety as well.

Soon, Arrika had left them in the darkness, quickly scurrying away to some passageway. Sakiko peered out into the black shadows, and could almost smell mold and some weird type of vegetation secretly maintaining survival. The mage allowed herself a small glow of light on the tip of her finger, making sure it wasn't big enough to attract too much attention. She definitely was not going to allow herself and Zeze to be left at the mercy of darkness. Besides, Arrika seemed way too unstable to be trusted to that extent.

Sakiko and Zeze began to follow hurriedly, wondering where the thief was leading them.

OoC: ...it doesn't reek of curry right now though, best friend? Best friend, I hope I have not offended you in the past few days that I have not even seen you, best friend, although I could see myself capable of doing that.

IC:

The passageway was more like a pitch-black stone tunnel. Fortunately, Arrika could naturally see in the dark. She flinched when she sensed the magical light behind her.

Relax. It's just a light. It may as well be a candle. She thought, steadying her nerves, but instead let out a high pitched cackle that echoed through the corridors. She started realizing what she was doing- first of all, this was dangerous for Sakiko and Zeze, if not herself. And second- she wasn't so sure why she'd brought them down here, and she had lost the urgency to kill them. She thought the entire situation was so desperately hilarious that she could not contain her laughter. Tears gathered in her eyes and she stumbled multiple times, gasping from lack of oxygen.

Rats scurried around them, among other unnameable, repulsive creatures that thrived in such a dank environment. Arrika led them through a myriad of seemingly random sharp turns that was near impossible to keep track of. There were some parts of the maze where the ceiling or floor would drop or rise without morning, but these small obstacles did not deter her. She had grown up running through these dark paths.

Finally she stopped by a wooden door on the right wall of the passage. "Here," she called out, so Zeze and Sakiko would not run right by.

The room was cozy despite resembling a prison cell. There were two narrow beds in the corner, a small table, and a large dresser. She quickly lit a candle that cast eerie shadows about the room that seemed to sway and dance upon the walls.

"Home sweet home," she said sardonically, and although she had gotten used to living in such a desolate place she could not forget the luxuries she had once had.

OoC: I'm sorry! I haven't had much time for using the computer, and now everyhtings already moving along without me even replying once! I'll try to make a post out of this in the next day or so, maybe today. ^^; Its good to see ya'll though!

IC:

The whole time that Zeze, Arrika, and Sakiko had been having their... 'Reunion', and Keychain had been nagging him about his pipe, Sovelis had passed out under the tree, his pipe gone out when it fell from his clenched teeth and landed in the grass next to him. It wasn't his intention to fall asleep with people around, but the Tempest was physically drained. His power had taken a massive drain upon the return trip to Hyrule. Where he had been? You could say that he had gone on a journey to find himself. So naturally, he had closed his eyes and blocked out everything until he was in a rather deep sleep.

About an hour later, he awoke when a woodpecker started to tap on his skull, more to the point, his temple. With a shout that could have woken your great-great grandfather from his grave, Sovelis swatted at the intruder of his sleep.

"YOU ANNOYING LITTLE $%&#&@$ I'LL TEACH YOU TO LOOK FOR BUGS IN MY HEAD!"

To the dismay of the bird, the mage pointed at the feathered pest, a look on his face that would make a Goron cry. A bolt of black lightning shot out of Sovelis' fingertip, obliterating the woodpecker, and causing a sonicboom to shatter the quiet of the town. With innocent bystanders gawking in fear and shock, The Tempest scooped up his pipe, his staff, and his sword.

As he turned to leave, his eyes narrowed, and he stroked his stubble-covered chin. "I feel a pressence... one I haven't felt in a long time. Could it be?" Curiosity had always been one of his many weak points, so with his cloak wrapping around him from a light breeze, he strode off in the direction of is former pupil.

OoC: Have fun chasing us in the sewers, Sovvy
and Saki- went to Barnes and Noble today with Madeline. Target X was not present.

IC:

"Sit, sit," she encouraged them with a strange sense of hospitality, indicating two cracked crates under the table. The thief crossed the room in swift strides and plunked herself down on the foot board of one of the beds. She swayed unsteadily and ended up hanging upside down off the bed, her only support one foot curled around a corner post of the board. She burst into laughter again, her face flushing, until she swung back up. She watched Sakiko and Zeze intently, and the shadows in the room swayed back in forth. Although the entire room was very dimly lit, the darkness seemed to be concentrated solely around the Sheikah thief. From her little corner, a sly smile spread across her face, and her brilliant crimson eyes glowed.

"I suppose you want to know... about the way I come and go..." she sang in an eerie, lilting voice. "Really though... I do owe you an explanation," she said, the smile dropping from her face and her tone suddenly sane.

The thief raised one hand, ghostly-pale and perfectly steady. She pointed at Sakiko, and from the pool of shadows around her rose two dark figures, only slightly smaller than real life- one was a small, waifish girl, and the other a tall, handsome young man. The girl laughed and danced with the young man, while dark stars flickered above them in an inky nebula. Time passed, and the girl grew taller and fuller... the young man remained the same. Two other figures joined them in the meantime: a mage, unmistakeably Rhyss, dragging a small boy with him, Seth.

Shadows snaked up the walls of the small room, forming masses of nameless people that swayed back and forth. It was as if the girl and the other three figures before Sakiko and Zeze were in the middle of a crowd. The shadows seemed to pulse to the same beat.

With a sharp jab of the thief's hand, the handsome man vanished like smoke, and the girl danced alone, as if to a song only she could hear. Other shadow-people came and went- a powerful, immortal man with a demon lurking on his shoulder who led her in an intricate tango; and then a young mage woman with silvery hair. When the girl danced with the latter, their movements were often sporadic and jerky, but with interludes of the smoothest waltz.

The thief hissed from her dark spot in the corner of the room, and with another violent motion of her hands, the girl's two closest dance partners disappeared.
"That was Arrika," she said in a low whisper, and for a moment every shadow she controlled in the room hung suspended. "And this... is where I lost her."

The shadows burst into a flurry of movement again. The handsome man, as youthful as ever, returned. He held the girl as intimately as the demon-man, but their reunion was fleeting. He became cruel, and the girl fought him. He struck her, and the pulsing rhythm of the room, the balance of that dark puppet universe, erupted into chaos.

"Kobas. I searched for him for so long- you remember. What a pathetic, naive little idiot I was," the thief spat. "What I thought was charity was nothing but lust, gluttony, avarice..."

In the handsome man's place was a great wolf. He attacked the girl, who was powerless to fight back. At the last second, Seth and his Twili cat appeared, whisking the girl away. The wolf howled and prowled across the room, but she was gone. The wolf dissipated and and the shadows on the walls quieted.

"Kobas is immortal," the thief said, breaking the stillness. She hung her head, and curled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself. "He is over one hundred years old. He is a true thief- ever since he found me on the streets, he's been leeching my own years away from me through a very complex form of dark magic. Rhyss knew. Seth knew. They kept it from me all those years... But in the end, Seth gave it away. Kobas nearly killed him for it."

With a sigh, the figure of the girl reappeared. The shadow puppet crowds on the walls were gone, and instead there were shifting dunes of sand and wind. A pulsing, glowing orb of shadow shone in the corner of the room. The sun.

The girl wandered. After a time she stumbled back and forth and collapsed. A group of female warriors appeared- a tribe of Gerudo. They picked up the limp girl and trudged away through the mountains of sand.

"I don't know how many years he's stolen from me. I don't know how many I had to begin with, or how much longer I have left. It's possible that I can take back the years that are mine, and even a few more, if I wanted. Possible, but extremely difficult. ...But if I can't take back my life, the least I will do is end his." While the thief spoke, a lone figure emerged from the dunes of sand.

The figure walked with her shoulders back, a predatory feel to her movements. The puppet strode directly in front of Sakiko and Zeze, head held high. The shadow threw back her head and laughed in the same cackling way that the thief had done when she led Sakiko and Zeze here, to this small, dismal room.

A moment later the candle flickered brighter, and the shadows all receded, the sudden contrast giving the room an almost cheerful ambience. The thief was laying on her side, facing the wall.

OoC: That was lengthy.

OoC: Psh-shaw~! Chasing rats through the sewers is for amaeturs.

IC:

Silently, a doorway of grey smoke formed in the opposite corner of Arrika's tiny underground room. The swirling shape seemed as if it would blow away if even the slightest breeze if one was there. Sovelis stepped through the mist apparation, without his usual red cloak, his staff, or his sword. "You know, living down in the sewer isn't necessary... Arrika." The smokey door faded away, melting into the smoke that drifted out of his long-stemmed pipe that he held in his right hand.

The Tempest had a grim expresion on his ageless face, his eyes digging into Arrika's. wordlessly, he stepped across the room to her, and loomed over the thief. "You should have kept living in my home in Rauru. You would have been safe while I was gone." He took a drag from the pipe, still staring down at Arrika, like a scolding teacher. "I leave to dispose of the one thing that was killing me and everyone all thinks they can march through the seven gates of hell like its a stroll in the park? I thought I had taught you enough to keep you from throwing common sense out the window! Look at you! If I had not left a tracing spell on you I wouldn't have know it was you..."

He smiled sadly, his face showing the years of loss, of pain, and of what he had given up in his absence from Hyrule. Only for a second, then he was the same youthful looking mage. "If I had know what happened would have... I'd have taken you with me,"

Arrika felt her old teacher's presence without seeing the door of smoke. "Hope you heard all that, because I'm not doing it again," she said dryly, and for a moment the old Arrika was back.

"You did what to me? A tracing spell?" Arrika's eyes narrowed dangerously and she shot up. "How long has it been on me?"

A normal, sane person would have happily embraced him. Said she missed him. Asked him where he had run off to. Any number of things. But all that was overrode by Arrika's new fear and distrust of magic. She had trusted the Tempest, but instead he'd done something to her without her knowledge and left her without much notice or explanation. It was a very familiar situation to her and it hurt to know that she had fallen into the same trap once again.

"I couldn't stay in Rauru. He knew I was there too."

Ooc: I was writing this lengthy, detailed, awesome post and the computer turned off. So now I'm really mad, and I'm going to write a short, summarized post. bleh.

IC: Sakiko and Zeze looked around the rather dismal home, feeling sympathy and pity for the thief. They sat down to Arrika's bidding, surprised by the sudden show of hospitality.

Then, the ghostly puppet show. The mage and bard sat as if hypnotized, at first confused. What was this story trying to tell them? Then, Sakiko realized that it was the betrayal of Kobas. She suddenly understood why Arrika had changed, and why she had kept to herself all this time. All traces of anger and misunderstanding evaporated as Arrika explained furthermore, in detail, how Kobas had broken the thief's trust.

Zeze bolted up, ready to embrace the sullen girl. However, Sakiko grabbed her wrist tightly, pulling her down to the humble seat. She hissed, "Choking her to death won't do anything."

That was ironic; Sakiko didn't know what to say to bring about comfort for the girl who had acquired a deep scar in her heart. But fortunately, she didn't have to. Sovelis had barged in, and declared that he had followed them to the underground chamber. Impressive... while he was sleeping, too?

The two girls didn't fail to notice the panic and anger in Arrika's voice as she attacked her former teacher, and Sakiko felt her mouth going dry. Well....at least she's treating everyone equally bad. The mage asked in the softest voice she could muster,

"What are you going to do, Arrika? Are you thinking of ways of revenge?"

Ooc: Was Madeline disappointed?

OoC: Oh, I bit, and I was too. No matter; we'll get him eventually.

IC: Arrika laughed bitterly. "I don't have to think. I already know exactly what I'm going to do." She swept back the edge of her cloak, revealing the collection of serrated knives and daggers, along with the rapier.

The thief felt disgusted, as if she could feel Sovelis's tracing spell creeping across her skin, or as if it was a layer of grime that she could not shake off. She gritted her teeth; if needed, she would take care of him too. But she needed him right now; she was not strong enough to face Kobas alone.

"We can talk about that... spell later," she said, trying to calm herself. "...I know I don't deserve it, but I need your help. All of you," she said, nodding at Sakiko and Zeze. Although Sakiko's ability was nothing in comparison to Sovelis', it couldn't hurt to have more back up. "I'm going to track Kobas down, before he does to me. Sovelis, do you think you could use a variation of that tracing spell to find him?" She sighed. "I know I sound despicable right now. I would understand if you won't help me- after what I've done to you, I don't blame you. Don't do this for me, then- do this for all the other people he'll take advantage of once I'm dead. I was far from the first, and definitely won't be the last if we don't stop him now."

OoC: Get ready for some Sweeney Todd in the next few posts.

"There's no real need to talk about it. It'll wear off eventually, maybe a few months or a year or so. To be honest, I didn't expect to make it back to Hyrule at all. I actually thought I was going to die, for the last time and never awaken again. Funny, isn't it? I may be sixty or so, but I'm still young by Tempests standards... and I was afraid to die. You'll be happy to know that Sovel is no more. I managed to get rid of that dmeon once and for all." Sovelis leaned against the wall, puffing away at his pipe. "And you don't have to ask me for help. I owe you, so I have no choice but to follow and lend whats left of my power. Never did like Kobas in the first place..."

Absently, Sovelis rubbed his shoulder with his all-to-familiar mechanicla arm. The shopulder that once had a demonic eye branded into his skin, the focial point in space where Sovel had been sealed away. It was gone now, only a patch of scarred skin was left in its place. "And I might be able to do as you ask. But it will be painful."

The thief blinked, taken back. His demon was gone? Did that make him any weaker? Kobas was his own demon- without Sovel, would the Tempest stand a chance? She had not considered this earlier.

"Painful? Why...?" The thief asked, lacing her voice with concern... but in truth that fact did not trouble her. She was glad she had thrown up barriers around her mind when she had run into Sakiko earlier. It would work against Sakiko, if she decided to pry into her thoughts, but she didn't know if it would against Sovelis.

The smoke from Sovelis's pipe filled and circled the room. The shadowy tendrils under the Sheikah's control entwined around them.

OoC: If you do that spell, Kobas is going to be very very close. I was planning a three-way split, as if there's three of him running around at once. One is in the room and the other two are around the sewers.

Edit- I feel bad >.> This is your topic, not mine.

OOC: Before I put a reply in I need to know if this moved indoors, I cant seem to see if it did or not earlier on in the post.....Kasei has things to say.

Sakiko stared at the collection of daggers dubiously, wondering what harm or good they would do. By what Arrika had said, it seemed as though Kobas was the next mastermind of destruction of all of Hyrule. Her frown deepened further as Arrika began to beg for help. Well, maybe our chance meeting hadn't been chancey after all.

She watched as Arrika and Sovelis began to talk about things that she didn’t quite understand. Besides, she was half listening. What if all of this was a trap? Her eyes lingered on the daggers, not forgetting to scrutinize the sharpness of the blades. What if….?

When she saw that the conversation had ebbed, Sakiko replied,

“We’ll help you in whatever ways we can.”

Zeze nodded vigorously, her emerald eyes sparkling at the thought of adventure and danger.

Ooc: Why do you keep assuming that she's totally incompetent? In the next post I'm going to just say that Arrika is a cripple.

OoC: It's not me! It's the character! I think you are an extremely capable and wonderful valedictorian.

Kasei- yeah, it's "indoors" I guess. It's underground.

IC:

Arrika looked at Sakiko in surprise when she spoke up. "...Thank you. I don't like the idea of Sovelis getting hurt because of me... Maybe you can start the spell? Have you ever met him? I don't know what you could use to find him, you know, like a hound after a scent..." The thief closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. A wry smile spread across her angular face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a familiar silver, beat-up pocket watch. "This might do the trick."

The thief laid the watch down in the center of the cold stone floor, and pulled a piece of chalk from her pocket. With quick strokes she drew a geometrical array on the floor. It nearly pained her to do this- she had sworn off magic long ago. But this was necessary.

"I can start the spell... but I'm not a mage, so I'm not strong enough to carry it through. It'll just drain me otherwise, and I'll be out cold and lose my advantage over him. Sakiko, I just need you to place your hands on the pattern and channel a bit of energy..."

The thief placed her own hands on the array. The chalk drawings on the floor came to life and started to glow.

Ooc: That didn't sound like you at all - I think Madeline's maternal side is influencing you. -_- anyway, keep going - the insults make the topic so much more catty and interesting. I only asked because I was curious as to how Sakiko had suddenly turned into a weak little dabbler of the arts.

IC: Zeze curled her knees, and placed her chin above them. Everything was happening so quickly, and she felt that this was only the beginning of what was to come. Besides, why was Arrika drawing that weird chalk pattern? It seemed like one of those things where evil witches placed a dead cat in the middle of it and sucked the power of the poor animal or something. But then of course, she always had a knack for imagination and exaggeration.

Sakiko watched wryly as the thief withdrew the silver watch. Yes - she remembered that. Arrika had risked her life, once, on the beach to save that wretched work of metal, which wouldn't even open. She had fumed that Arrika was an idiot - why put yourself in danger for something like that? Then, of course, Arrika had gotten all sentimental...

When she saw Arrika draw the patterns, she wondered if it was some black art where one calls upon the soul of another by using an item related to that certain someone. Or...not. She had never really had an interest in such shadowy magic, but if that's what Arrika was doing...well, let it be.

She nodded at the thief's request and also put her hand on the pattern. At first she thought of protesting, because Zeze would be equally capable of channeling energy - it was a natural process, anyway. Every second, unconsciously, people were giving off energy and aura and whatnot. It was just a matter of practice to purposely shape that energy into something else. Putting in energy to aid Arrika would only involve placing her hand onto the pattern and just...standing there. But she agreed because she wanted to make it known to the thief that, yes, true to her word, she was willing to help in any way.

OoC: ...I miss you.

IC: The second Sakiko's hand came into contact with the geometric array, light burst from it, illuminating the room.

Sakiko's aura was cool and precise, and reminded the thief of freshly fallen snow. Her energy even smelled like snow, if snow had a smell.

Arrika gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Her soul left her body, searching for the blue-haired rogue who had victimized her for so long. Bursts of light only she and Sakiko were able to see shot out of the room, hunting for Kobas.

It did not take long. A moment later, she gasped and opened her eyes. One of the tendrils of light circled the very room they were in- she looked around, her heart beating furiously inside her chest.

"He's here," she managed to say. She couldn't see him- but the spell was telling her that somehow, he was right beside them. In her confusion, she almost lost control of the spell, and the array and watch on the ground before them crackled with an electric-like energy.

She forced herself to calm. It didn't make any sense. Maybe she had cast the spell wrong..? She concentrated on the other snake-like tendrils of light that she had sent out of the room.

"He's... he's nearby... Underground, just like we are... But why does the spell tell me that he's coming towards us and leaving us at the same time...?"

She visibly recoiled as one part of her spell latched onto what it believed was Kobas- the one approaching them, and at a frighteningly fast pace. The "other" Kobas running around in the sewers had gone out of her reach, and it was too difficult for her to keep track of all three.


"He knows where I am," she said, her voice breaking. She tried to steel herself as she sensed him coming closer, but a second later her resolve snapped and she panicked. She stood quickly, snatching up the watch, and Shadowmelded through the door. She dashed away into the darkness of the underground labyrinth.