Consciousness came very slowly to her as she blinked her eyes open. The sunlight was near hidden beneath the lush branches of the trees above. She felt the warm body behind her and knew he was there...the one she trusted, the only one.

She pushed agains the cool earth as she stood wearily against the solid tree that they'd stopped for the brief passing of night. She looked down and cringed at the site of all the blood she'd lost. Her sleeping gown of pale silver was now drenched in the stanch blood of her own, she gripped the blades edge and bit back the scream that threatened to escape as the blade was torn free of her flesh. Panting she watched as the blood stopped flowing, she watched as the wound closed on its own accord, and then she fainted.

How much time had passed"

What had happened"

Again she swam through the thickness of the sustained world to the one she knew was real as she looked around. She could feel the magic pulsing around her, she was safe for now. Though the shield she'd subconsciously cast when they'd arrived wouldn't hold for much longer. Bare foot she moved with some effort towards the stilled pond in the center of the forest, shedding herself of the ruined garment she slid into the crisp, coolness of the water and almost sighed with the refreshing feeling. Now was not the time to enjoy in such trivial pleasures.

They'd found her. It'd taken them near a decade but they'd finally found her.

She dived beneath the waters surface and swam for what had seemed an eternity before she finally surfaced.

Now it was time to figure out what to do next. She could continue to run from them, hiding and hoping that they'd not find her again until she'd had success in finding the other half. But they'd all said that the "Other Half" was nothing more than a legend in the nights. A tale told to young ones to keep their spirits livid. All who'd been bred of the bloodline had died to these half-breeds, and now she was the last. They would not stop until they'd shed her blood as well. They couldn't stop.

She surfaced from the silvery water and moved towards their campsite abed. Her pale body glimmered with the water droplets. There seemed no signs of the attack from the night before, her body had healed, but the memory was there. She crouched carefully and withdrew her clothing from the satchel she'd taken in flight. It took her only a moment to be clothed again, a stretch to test the muscles, a nod as she was semi-satisfied. She withdrew the rolled parchment from her satchel and looked it over. The map her brother had made for her...places she could escape to safely for a time. How she missed him so. She'd thought for some time after the death of him that she'd not be able to carry out her duties to the family. She'd thought herself lost, but somehow she'd found it in herself to push on, to move on and take care of what needed to be done. And now it was time. She looked up to the sky and wondered if somewhere on the Eternal Plane if he was there, their mother, father and all their siblings.

She slid the blades into their rightful place with the silent whisper of death as she climbed atop Akasho's back once more. They were heading for Rhy'Din some place off to the west of where they were. By her judgements on the map, they'd reach there by late sunset.

Red Dragon Inn, a funny name for a place, but albeit if it were safe, she'd be able to rest for a bit and think of the next move.

She'd found the Inn with little effort as the sounds emanating from within could be heard most commonly to even the slight of hearing. She paced outside the door for a moment, attempting to get her bearings as she drew the cloak tighter about her, it was cold and she was tired. She wanted to run, to run back to Akasho and to just keep running, but she knew that could not be done. She pulled the door open.

She was pleased that at first glance, there was nothing different about the Tavern/Bars here in Rhy'Din than back at the Falls. She moved quickly, quietly and carefully through the throng of people towards a table in the back that was vacated and seemingly away from any inhabitants of the bar. There Reanna sat for a time, simply warming herself against the chill of the night as she watched the gathered. Ever changing eyes moved from person to person as she quietly observed and studied them. She'd seen creatures ranging from shapeshifters, dragons, fey's, sprite's, just about any that one could imagine, that one could hear in tales as a child were in or out of the doors at one point in time in this Inn.

It took some time, but finally she'd felt comfortable enough to remove her cloak from her person, sliding it over the chair nearest her at her table. Her hair, dark as night fell around her shoulders, offsetting her pale skin as she ran a nervous hand through her ruffled hair, continuing her ever searching, ever studying glance around the room. The scent and tintilations of the prospect of food and drink, teasing her senses as she'd watched someone carrying a plate of food, causing her to remember that it'd been three days since she'd last ate. She was a stubborn woman and tried to fight it off for as long as she could as she sat there simply watching. Finally, giving in she'd wandered timidly to the bar to seek out some means of sustanace, but that was quickly ended, for she was a stranger to these lands and she'd returned to her table, only to again eventually wander back to the bar after some time. The platter of fruit having drawn at her hunger once more. She'd stayed to the very end of the bar, in simple watch.

It bit her finger, hissed so very loudly that most if not all could have heard it. Drew and shed her blood as she yipped and sucked at the injured finger, swatting at her marking, looking much like a crazed fool to any and all that were watching her or had managed to take noticed of her seemingly crazed hysterics, to the point that it had coiled around her ankle, yanking her footing from beneath her as it bit at her ankle, again shedding her blood.

She'd gone crashing to the floor, knocking over the nearest chair to her as she fought with what would look to most "thin air", swatting and batting, cussing and sputtering at the serpent beast that when she'd swatted again, sank it's fangs into her wrist, droplets of blood being strewn in and around her personal area as she continued to try to calm the damned marking. She heard the authority in the woman's voice that called to her as she popped her head out from beneath the table. A mention of snakes had Reanna biting back a grin as she told the woman there were none of the aforementioned. And as her attention was distracted, she again went back to quelling the serpent.

Finally having seemingly quelled the serpents mark, she'd moved towards the bar to get a cloth to clean the droplets of blood that had been shed, but she was met with a woman called Rhapsody that took to quite an interest in her, her markings and the fact that though biten, she'd shown no marks of such. The two of them chatted for quite some time, settling on the fact that if she'd needed any help the woman was there to offer it to her, and she'd taken in kind the offer as she kindly moved to retreat to her room for the evening.

She'd retreated to her room late in the night after speaking with a few of the patrons, relishing in their kindness of heart, but there was a fear deep inside her, a fear that had woken her from her slumber and kept her awake until the dawn hours.

There seemed so much to be learned in Rhy'Din yet there was much to be feared. A place so full of cheer and good will, inside Reanna feared for them. The beasts that hunted her would kill any and all in their path to get to her. She'd not want to bring that misery to this city. She'd not want to bring that pain and suffering upon them.

Should she run again?

Should she stay"

She'd not had a nights sound sleep in some time now and she'd longed for it. The peace of sleep that once used to grace her when she'd lay in bed. Now it was the fear of dreams, of visions to come. She paced the Inn room in the waning moon and stopped at the window overlooking the city as she reflected over the last couple of days.

The Drowess and her male friend had taken her and they'd showed her. They'd helped her, but for what price that was yet to be mentioned?

She'd been showing the man she'd been talking to her mark before the Nexus had unkindly removed her from the Inn and her discussion. When it'd returned her, he was gone, but the Drowess had still been there, and her curiousity was as well. She'd been hesitant at first to allow the Drowess to inspect her mark, but she'd seemed to know so much about it. She'd been the only one to seem to know anything about it. So she'd let the Drowess talk her to another room, had let her talk her into a trance to unlock the mark of which she'd bore since she'd been within her mother's womb.

She'd tried to show no fear as she sat within the circle the Drowess had cast, had tried to show no fear as she'd accepted the offer to let the Drowess enter her body's mind and delve into the secrets she'd locked away for so many years. She didn't want to remember them, she didn't want to relive anything, she wanted to forget, but to move on without looking back on her past. But that was not possible and inside, she'd known that all along. She'd chosen only not to listen to it.

The Drowess had managed to unlock the key to the mark that Reanna had bore. She'd managed to unlock the pain and hurt that Reanna had locked away for so long. She'd been hiding it inside, she'd been hiding from it for a very long time. The beast had spoken to the Drowess...

"She must search within. The answers are within her. For so long I have waited. Watched her grow. For so long have I wanted revenge for her and for the others, but until she realizes, I cannot be of much assistance. Reanna is much different than the rest of her family. She is by far the most powerful of her blood. For this alone causes her danger. I freed her once when she was enslaved. Against all rites and ways, I disobeyed and did as I saw fit. They've tried to kill her hundreds of times and failed so far. But she was young then. She did not know what it was like to shed blood. She was enslaved by one of the creatures that knew not what she was. They'd raped and tortured her for four cycles of the moon, before I could bare no more. She has locked away a part of her life, deep within herself. Forgotten it. This she must relive, she must remember this pain before she can accept what I have to give her."

After they'd recovered from the "Astral Projection" as the Drowess had called it, she'd not been prepared for what was to come. The Drowess instructed Reanna to close her eyes, to will the beast inside, out. She'd thought it such a silly recollection of an exercise. She'd managed at best to awaken the dormant mark she bore. She scoffed at the Drowess.

She'd heard the Drowess' order to her male friend for him to kill her. She blinked. They'd attacked her. Chided her and drew their weapons against her. She was confused, befuddled at their actions. It took a matter of a few moments, as the visions still burned fresh in Reanna's mind of what the Drowess drew out and then something had snapped in Reanna. She'd felt the sting of the serpent's bite once more as it sank it's fangs into her calf. Something was different, so very different at the searing heat that burned and ebbed through her. Something dangerous....Something deadly as they'd circled eachother within the Hall of the Inn.

Since the night she'd been forced to call Norgath once again to her side, she'd felt different. More...more powerful. More in control, at least on some levels. She was slowly coming to an understanding that this was who she was. Her past, present and future depended on her strength now, on her ability to accept this and learn from it. To harness the strength and powers that Norgath would offer her and for them both to adapt and become stronger. She sighed as she looked around her Inn room, a scritch offered to Akasho's chin before she stood and looked at him.

"I'm going downstairs for a bit my friend. I've need for conversation and company. I will return soon."

The white tiger offered a lick to her hand in acknowledgement as he settled at the foot of the bed, watching her go.

The night seemed to start off well. She'd headed to the bar with the necklace in her hand, studying it. Attempting to remember just where it was she'd gotten it. A bottle of water obtained, she looked around the bar and saw him. She'd offered him a smile and nod, even a wave. They'd conversed only a few moments before something alerted Reanna's senses and she'd moved herself to a lone booth. Simply watching, studying each and every face in the Inn that night. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong, but Reanna could not hone in on exactly what it was.

He'd come to her. Concern in his eyes, but Reanna was focused on trying to figure out what if anything had alerted her senses to danger. She'd watched him slide into the booth, again the conversation was short, and then...

Her body shook with chills unseen as she sighed, falling back against the booth. Her eyes went completely white as if in a trance...and she saw. She saw blood all over the room she'd been given upstairs at the Inn and she'd seen Akasho's dead body, or what was left of him. She saw herself leaning over the remains and felt the slash across her back. Her body jerked in the booth, but otherwise Reanna seemed comatose as the vision continued. She saw the creatures that jumped from the shadows and felt them as they grabbed and clawed at her body. She tried to fight back, but there were to many of them. They laughed and spit on her, calling her by name as they tore her body apart. She saw her death and her weakness. Her body was covered in a cold sweat, her eyes fluttered shut, and then she was still.

"Reanna" What did you see" What's going on?"

She gasped and blinked, her eyes seemingly blank and avoid of anything as they settled, turning a cloudy blue as she looked at Dameon, her voice lowered considerably.

"They've found me. A...Akasho. I saw they'd killed him, and then they killed me. There were so many of them. This cannot be."

She quickly, but with shakey fingers put the necklace she'd found around her neck, albeit having troubles fastening the clasp as she grabbed her water bottle, taking a quick drink from it, she attempted to slide out of the booth.

Moving to her, he kneels beside her.

"Anyone 'ere you've befriended would stand beside you, whether you ask them or not. We won't let you fight this alone."

She looked into his eyes, there was shame, pain, hurt and longing in her eyes.

"And in death, there would be no more pain Dameon."

Still chewing on her lower lip. Her face had paled a bit as the blood she was loosing was starting to pool around her, she put her head back against he wall. She'd heard him call to Feilas to heal her, but everything began to go a bit foggy. She'd heard the blades clatter to the Inn floor as her hands were healed, she'd heard his voice speak.

"But you should fight for your life. We all will. I'm going to get Jonas. I will return shortly. If there is trouble, he will be 'ere to 'elp."

"Do not worry of Akasho..I will watch over him tonight if you wish...No harm shall come to him..I promise it. Do forgive me for my actions. You have my strength."

"I am not skilled in my magics. I don't know how to use them properly while conscious yet. If you feel it unsafe for me to venture to the room to check on Akasho, I need to find another way. Another way to see in there. Is there another?"

"You have the dragons as well my friend."

Grinning, and reaching up to pat Feilas on his big huge armored chest.

"Send the big guy up there. I'd like to see one of those little demon bastards get through 'im, I'll tell you that."

"I will go check should you wish."

Blinking and nodding and blinking looking between the two and then Icer and the tears threatened again.

"Icer...Icer you...you."

Choking back her tears.

And he stands, moving toward the door.

"I'll return soon."

And so he rushes out to find his brother.

She purred, gently nuzzling Reanna's hand with her snout.

"I am Queen, Reanna, you have the protection of all the dragons, including my sister."

She watched his departure and blinked after Feilas, slightly weakened after the blood loss, she could not catch him fast enough. Her hand caressed Icer's snout as she bit her lip. Nodding to Icer.

"And you have my gratitude always."

"Many thought I'd die when I was just a hatchling, thats the only thing that truthfully saved me Reanna, my size, I lost my entire family, including my sister."

Blinks to her, head canted as she looked towards the stairwell, where Feilas had disappeared to.

"I am sorry to hear that friend."