"Just to let you know, I have some telepathic abilities. So do try to guard your thoughts around me Sakiko. It gets annoying trying to block out others stray ideas and internal conversations... It kinda creepy actually, being able to know what someone thinks and feels..." the Tempest said to the young mage that he was warming up to. "If fire is what you fear...then if you learn to master that power, your fear will be your greatest weapon."

He smiled at her, knowing fully that the girl was afraid, due to some cataclysmic event in her childhood: No that she still wasn't a child compared to Sovelis. He himself was well into his fifties, even though he still looked eighteen.

Sakiko frowned. She turned to Sovelis and grumbled,

'Well, you could've told me that you were telepathic right after we met."

She had listened carefully to Sovelis's advice, feeling a tingle on her wrists. It felt strange to have her fear spoken out loud, as she avoided at all costs to admit this certain phobia that she had. Sakiko nodded, then quietly said,

"I will try to master my fear of fire, but it's not only the physical pain of it that I fear, but also the emotional hesistations I go through when I confront fire."

She heaved a great sigh, exaggerating it with a small groan. The Hylian peered at Sovelis sideways and said jokingly, not knowing that her comment held a lot of truth,

"O, wise one, you seem to be sage beyond your years, yet you look about my age. And I am considered pretty mature and serious, too."

Russell gasped, hunched over and attempting to breathe again. "Geez... you didn't have to be so harsh," he said. "And I didn't mean it that way! Why do girls always have to assume something completely different than what a guy actually said? They insist on overanalyzing everything!" He got kind of nervous as she called Sovelis, thinking he was in for worse if Arrika told Sovelis he was harassing her. He started to run off down the hallways, angry that he wouldn't be able to break the curse after all. And after all these years of trying to prove he was something other than a waste of space. He couldn't even get a girl to look at him or take him seriously any more.

Sakiko was about to add in another comment when she noticed a dark figure running. She squinted, examining his features. For some reason, Sakiko thought that he looked upset and angry. The mage leaned backwards a bit, and pursed her lips. A piercing suspicion took her as she took note of his running and facial expression. Sovelis did say that Arrika was here... so what was had this stranger done to make himself run? Sakiko narrowed her silver eyes, which were almost glinting in the dim light. She raised her pale hand and called out at the stranger,

"Hey, you! Stop!"

"Eh? Who you yelling at?" Sovelis said, turning around quickly, seeing Russell running off down the hallway. "Let him be. Arrika hurt his pride, and deeply. He'll be okay, as long as he doesn't open a door that leads into nothingness. Then he'll be in deep trouble..." he said, looking at Arrika. "And what did you do to him to wound his ego so badly? Its like you ripped out his manliness."

"Ahuh, and of course you had no idea what he just said," Arrika said sarcastically. "Let him fall into nothing. Jerk," she added. "Like I'm supposed to believe him." She tucked her hair into a bun and pinned it up quickly into a spiky ponytail, shoving her hands into her pockets and looking like a rebellious teenage punk. (OoC: Don't you dare raise those eyebrows at me, Sakiko-chan, as very like me that was. I'll push you off the stands at the football stadium.)

"Ripped out his manliness? How did I do that?" Arrika said dubiously. "He can go and try to flirt with someone else."

"You hurt his ego. Thats something that doesn't heal very easily Arrika." The Tempest said, looking at her sternly. "And I'm shocked at you. No one deserves to fall into nothingness for all of eternity, even if he was hitting on you. No one deserves that..." he said, lookeing down the hallway, and at Russell as he disappeared in the darkness.

SETH!!! Get up. Go find our guest. make sure he gets back to me in one piece! he shouted mentally at his other student, hoping to wake him.

Sakiko turned away slightly, her pale hands covering her upper lip. She supressed a chuckle as she looked back and forth at Sovelis, looking serious and stern, and at Arrika, an oblivious, teenage rebel. The mage coughed slightly, and straightened her back. She managed to choke out a brief sentence,

"Arrika, next time, try to...be...cough cough...more...nice about romantic feelings."

Ooc: Hah! You can't stop my raising eyebrows!

Arrika scowled again and looked down. "I'm not apologizing, if that's what you're thinking."

Seth shot up in bed with a start. He'd been having dreams, if you could call a vision of him lying on a tree stump and staring up at clouds counted. All of a sudden Sovelis had appeared standing over him, screaming at him to wake up. Seth had then threw down the piece of grass he'd been chewing on and sat up on the stump, finding himself in bed when he opened his eyes.

"I'm up, I'm up," Seth said, the dragged himself out of the heavy covers. He'd been having the best sleep he could remember, and as he had expected someone had to go and ruin it. It was the fault of some weird guy called Russell Itaran who wanted to marry Arrika. Uggh. He opened the door with a little squeak and looked up and down the hallway, rubbing his eyes groggily until he could sense what little aura Russell had. He started running down the halls, his small feet silent on the long carpets. "I don't like him either," he finally decided outloud.

"Then i will do it for you. One of us has to after what you did." Sovelis said as he looked at Arrika. Even if what he said was uncalled for, you could have just ignored the little fool and come after me. He shot at her mentally. His eyes seemed heavily shadowed as he stifled a yawn. "Almost time for me to rest.. Even us immortal, all powerful Tempests need sleep. Otherwise, I'd loose my good looks."

Fine. Sorry. Arrika thought stiffly.

A green blur shot past the two mages and the thief, which Arrika duly noted was Seth. "You woke him up, didn't you?" Arrika said. "Hey, are you gonna make Sakiko sleep outside? She saved me from being burnt alive, if that counts for anything."

Meanwhile Seth had caught up to Russell, which took very little effort. "Hey! Quit making me chase you so I can go back to sleep!" He yelled, trying not to yawn again and making a mental note to get back at Russel somehow for interrupting his rest.

"I don't mind in the least bit. She can take the room next to yours. Their both across the hall from mine, so I'll just show you both that way." Sovelis said, smiling as he yawned loudly again. If this kept up, he was going to fall asleep before they even reached the stairs.

Seth, sorry to do that to you...I don't have much energy left, and your dreams seemed...weird... he sent at the young Hylian thief. "Shall we go upstairs then, ladies?"

Russell didn't need telling twice to stop; besides, he couldn't run for very fast and long anyway. He looked at the short, green haired thief curiously. "Who are you? Are you some little demon Sovelis sent after me?" He joked, ruffling Seth's hair.

Seth held back the temptation to bite Russell, and instead grabbed his arm and dragged him to the front door, opening it wide. "Out you go. You're not worth the trouble," he mumbled sleepily. "I'll make sure to throw a few fried eggs out the window tomorrow morning." You're not sorry, Seth thought. Would you rather you'd interrupted another vision of the destruction of Hyrule? Or the one of my own death?

Arrika followed Sovelis, still sulking a little but getting over it. If Seth acted as expected, Russell would have found himself shoved outside for the night or unconciousness in a closet somewhere. She leaned towards Sakiko and whispered, "Yeah, you were right after all."

OoC: Consider yourself pushed-off then. Or better yet, I've got one word that will cut off the oxygen in your lungs: S-M-E-A-G-L-E. Muahah! Hey Russell, am I being too mean to you?)

OoC: That was cruel!

IC: Sovelis stumbled up a flight of large stairs as he led the Arrika and Sakiko towards the second floor. "I hope you two don't mind...*yawn*...Sleeping up here...These rooms haven't been used in a while, so you should find them clean, if a little dusty." he said as he heard Seth's mental yell.

Let him In Seth...I'd rather not leave someone out in the cold...Just let him use the room across from yours...I'm going to bed. You might want to shield your mind though...My dreams get pretty graphic. he said back, and walked out into the second floor hallway.