* This dark turn in Reiko's life originated with an idea that the mun thought of one night. Although known for enjoying an occasional plot twist or two, this one had a different and somewhat darker result than intended. This had a nice ending, but the entire thing is worth posting for others to read. Those who weren't happy with some of this receive apologies in advance for this...it's too significant to not include.

"Don't play around in the cemetery by yourself...you may not like the outcome."

If only somebody had told Reiko of this sooner.

Could one with at least an ounce of sanity realise that walking through the Rhy'din Cemetery was hardly ever a good idea? Pity the poor soul who should come unprepared; that is, unarmed. Many strange things have been known to happen here. Memories that need not be recalled threatened to push themselves to the forefront of Reiko's mind. That one in particular, the most recent visit to this place, was not the reason for her visit. When empathy strikes, well, empathy and telepathy aren't believed by the short-haired woman to mix. Black boots with a single-inch narrow heel, riding to the kneecaps, guided their owner through those creaky doors.

"Huh. I could've sworn I picked up on some kind of disturbance here..." muttered the woman. Pink azalean eyes scanned from left to right in search of its source. "Maybe my telepathy's finally gone whack." What would she find here...or who?

Nothing good could ever really be found here, especially for her tonight. The dragon Drow hadn't been around much lately. The lighter months of the year were a bother. Why be out here today? Who knew. He'd just set up shop on top of a crypt, head focused on the ground instead of the sky. Didn't need to go seeing that stupid orb. Of course, if was getting or already dark by now, so it wasn't as bad. Still, the moon was no friend either. He was slightly changed from the last time he'd been around. Not that it was very visible at the moment. He still had the wings and tail, still had the fine scales on his face and hands, but internal things were different, a few less obvious external as well. One golden eye peered down at the woman as she came wandering into a place of quiet death. Ah yes, the one that was fun to torment and tease. He just watched for now. He'd wait for her to pass by before leaping down. Better to scare her with.

Any speculation that continued after that last remark was taken internally. Darkness and cemeteries didn't always bother this woman, but there was the occasional exception. Silent reminisces aside, this particular cemetery made Reiko feel uneasy. That it was on a planet not like the one from where she had come from was one reason. The other, one could attribute to the many different types of creatures which were buried here. How many of them actually stayed buried in Rhy'din? The world may never know. Seriously. There was a lot to cover before complete accuracy could even be achieved, but now...now Reiko was starting to freak herself out. She's yet to see any bony hands pop up from the ground and has yet to be stopped in her tracks by anyone other than Andu. Well, Andu and the others weren't around to help their human-Fae sister out as she continued in her forward walk. Onward!

Meanwhile, the Drow continued to watch the azalean pink-eyed woman walk. Finally deciding to attack, or at least surprise, he flared out his wings and leaped down to land behind her with a thud. He let out a rather low noise that might almost pass as a growl. "Oh look...something that might be tasty to snack on. I wonder if she tastes sweet." Oh yes, the Drow was in a rare mood today. Best to just run! Wings folded behind him, and he'd peer at her, curious about what she'd do with that introduction.

"Oh feck!" Upon hearing that low growl which followed the thud of a landing, that surprised cry of exclamation escaped with a loud squeak. Had it landed in front of her, her reaction might have been slightly different. Scenarios in the present very quickly became part of the past as soon as they transpired and couldn't be changed...could they? No, this "company" was behind her...and apparently hungry! Dare she turn around and...her legs, seemingly to develop unified minds of their own and independent of her petite-sized body for the moment, decided for her by slowly turning clockwise. Reiko's right eye was the first to behold the sight before her, the arrival of... "Don't I know you from the lake at the Glen? What are you doing, trying to give me a heart attack?" the woman asked. Don't let that reaction be deceiving. She's definitely a little bit scared! That was the same Drow that, months ago, slimed off everyone's clothing. Reiko hoped he wasn't serious about his desire to make her into (what she believed might be) a very unfilling dessert.

Agrylax had to chuckle just a bit at how loudly she exclaimed that curse. It was interesting at the very least; it also seemed she wasn't going to run, though. That about ruined the fun. It would have been amusing to go chasing her though the Cemetery whist raising skeletal hands to grab her ankles, but no, she had decided to turn around and realise who he was instead. "You probably do know me from there, yes. Do I traumatise you that much?" He smirked a bit and then shook his head as her hand was now on her chest and over her heart; the woman managed to still herself enough to cease the slight tremble that had started. Based on his response and his manner of speaking, yes, it was safe to say that she remembered him. Who could possibly forget that night at the Glen? Obviously Reiko hadn't.

"Pfft...probably, he says," said the woman who was still catching her breath.

"If that gave you a heart attack, I'd be sure to reanimate you whilst you were still a pretty corpse. No worries there." Assuming that she was probably taking his eating comment a bit more literally than the hedonistic Drow generally meant it, he wasn't going to illuminate that particular fact for her. It was more fun to make her think that he was going to actually devour her whole. "Why are you in this dismal place? I figured you the sort to avoid the dead."

She rolled her eyes now, even though she wasn't quite sure whether their conversation meant her fate as his snack was suspended or not. Time, the very immediate time, would have to determine that one, and so would the Drow. As it stood, this lady was resisting the strongest urge to raise a particular finger from each hand. Months ago, such would have been done without hesitation. Now she moved her hand from her chest once she could feel herself breathing easier again and mirrored the other in resting on her hips. "I came here with the idea that someone might be having some emotional difficulties and hoped to lend my service...but instead, I found myself in the company of a Drow who seems fond of scaring the Hell out of me." A skinny bubblegum pink eyebrow creased. "Why are you here?"

To this, Agrylax snorted a bit at Reiko's flippant reaction to his comments. She seemed to have gotten a bit more insufferable since he had last seen her. Oh well, it wasn't like it really mattered to him. "Well, I'm not sure how much an impact I made. I didn't linger long after all. Surprised you remember me. As for why I'm here...I like cemeteries. I'm a necromancer. I like the dead, and raising them. And, now something tasty has wandered in. As for emotional distress," He'd quirk a brow and glance around a bit before continuing, "nothing here but me and the dead, and I'm hardly having any issues. Well, except deciding if I want to try and convince you to let me get a taste of you. Somehow I doubt that will happen though, given my usual luck." Laughing a bit, he flared out his wings. "Though scaring you is a bit fun. Well, now what shall we do? I suppose I could go back to staring at the ground."

"Great..." slipped through her pastel pink lips right away, drawing a bit of a head tilt from the other when she said that. He wasn't quite certain of what she meant by that and watched as her hands remained on her hips, although that wouldn't last long. So much for Fate eliminating all chances of her being considered as his snack. Or lunch. Come to think of it, shouldn't she be running right about now? Reiko was pretty sure that she should have taken off running, but what good would that do her? As a one and possibly only verbal attempt would be, the woman sighed and knelt on both knees. "This is where I'm supposed to start begging for mercy, I think..." she muttered. Looking up at the Drow, Reiko tried to make the best human version of the kitty face. "...please don't eat me? I don't have enough on me for you to enjoy." Complete that with the most innocent-looking grin.

He looked curiously when she went and knelt down in front of him, going about doing the begging bit. "Mercy? I'm not sure you get what I mean by eating you. It's a euphemism...for a certain act. It's far less amusing to say when you make me explain it, though." He huffed a bit. "So getting on your knees is hardly going to make it any easier to eat you either way." Leaning up against the crypt he had leaped off of, his head shook slowly at that sight of her. "Get up. I'm not here to cause you any harm. I didn't think I came off as quite that needlessly cruel yet."

Damnit! Let the internal cursing begin. The woman really should have known better than to take him literally! Not...that the euphemism was any better. Thankfully, there were no kids - or kittens - around to worry about ears being covered. Guard their innocence instead of Reiko's! She didn't have any innocence to be guarded! All of it had been lost long ago, never again to be returned. Far too gone that it was, the woman could hardly believe what she had missed just now. Slight disgust took over that grin on her face, disgust with herself for not thinking like she usually did. Damnit. She really has changed. "Either that, or..." Rising from her unnecessary kneeling position, the woman started to dust herself off. She needed a shower anyways. "...I've changed too much to be what I once was before."

That look of disgust was noted, having been unexpected. He would have been surprised to know that she was more disgusted with herself for not realising the intent of his comment. Still, she got back up. His head would tilt once more then as he watched her. "Changed too much? What sort of change do you mean by that?" He was curious to know what sort of personality shift the woman'd had. "Maybe you came here to deal with your own emotional issues," was said in a rather teasing tone of voice. "So, that'd be a no to the tasting?" Oh yes, he was going to keep poking at her with that. It couldn't hurt any. At worst, it would just amuse him to watch her reactions. "Honestly though, I don't eat people. I'm not that barbaric."

"Yeah...that's a no to the tasting." A rock nearest her was big enough for her to sit on and was occupied by her skirt-covered arse. Her elbows were the first to rest on her knees, followed by her hands being cupped to hold her chin.

"A no? That's a pity. You sure? It would be fun." He watched her sit down and shrugged a bit, continuing his lean against the wall.

His long tail moved to wrap around her waist, tugging her in close. Huh? There was an entrapment, and for a moment she couldn't move. For once, he wasn't doing anything lewd. His hands came to her face, holding her tight and his fingers keeping her eyes open. His face came close to her own, almost as if to kiss, but there was no contact. Just words whispered.

Magic.

Sort of.

It was an inky black thing. As Reiko's eyes widened, not that her eyes could shut anyways, those whispered words that made no sense to her wormed into her mouth, her ears, and even her eyes. Burrowing deep into those cracks, they wrapped around her mind and narrowed her sight until he was the only thing she could see in the world. Whispers reached her that no one else could hear, or make sense of even if they could. Those cracks were filled in with a delightful darkness of the Drow's making. Then he released his hold, followed by a whisper in her ear of a slightly more normal sort, if no less intelligible to an outsider.

Suddenly...it seemed to set something off. A chord change, if one might. Desires once thought to be suppressed were no longer, but wait. Some sense of subtle tact seemed to remain. With a silent nod and her eyes half-lidded, her response was, "My Master...I serve you." Her vanishing amidst the harmless pink sparklies now had a black tint to them as she moved to her next destination.

She continued to walk silently towards, well...

Regular commute had been avoided upon the travel back to the same unnerving Cemetery. The same method of travel, which had been previously unusable, seemed to function once more. A half-lidded Reiko absentmindedly removed the tinted lenses from her pocket and unfolded them, donning them. No longer looking (or feeling, for that matter) unnerved, she walked with a strange sense of confidence. Step after step was taken as one foot moved in front of the other.

Try asking her if there was anything to be afraid of...actually, don't. Don't ask her. The answer might not be a typical one. Alas, forward she walked towards her destination. Remaining silent this entire time, the reflective light of the moon revealled no evidence of abnormalities. Seeking out the one she currently served, she approached the same location where she had been imbued earlier. "Master. I return."

Agrylax was sitting on the rock that she had used as a perch earlier, finding it amusing to see the change in Reiko's outfit. All sorts of dark thoughts went through his head, but for the moment, the more tame thoughts won out. He gestured for her to take a kneel next to where he was sitting. A single gesture was all that it took for the woman to near and lower herself onto both of her knees, Agrylax's head tilting a bit. In the next moment, she felt the gentle pat to her head without a verbal response to such a gesture. "So tell me then, my pretty pet, how much chaos you caused. Hopefully not enough to get them following you back here. I don't really need that kind of trouble at the moment." A smirk was offered to Reiko as he waited to see how she would respond, that long tail lazily flicking around behind him. Every now and then, there was a little flap of his wings as they had the tendency to get a bit stiff from sitting still too long.

"Much chaos was caused, my Master. They are too confused and too divided amongst themselves to follow and attempt vengeance," Reiko stated. The erratic responses, along with her unfired ball of energy, were apparently enough to accomplish that objective. It was like unto a mission that the woman would never even think of doing, were she in her right frame of mind. Was she under her own control and not in this current mindset, anyways. It was as if her morals had been suppressed. "Whilst they try to figure out the cause, you can move forward with the next step of your plan." Even under this..condition, Reiko was still thinking like the Admiral that she once was during her time in the service.

Running his fingers through her hair lightly, he listened, although his pet didn't give as much detail as he would have liked. If she could purr, then she surely would. Oh wait...she could. Reiko was half-Fae, after all; even as she was, she was able to purr softly as she was pet on top of her head and run through her short hair. "What did you do exactly to cause chaos?" He blinked a few times before then when she mentioned his plan with a soft chuckle under his breath. "My plan, lovely? I'm not quite certain what I'm going to do with you next. So many options. Well, I can think of at least one thing I need to do." He continued to play with her hair a bit, casting a spell to make her hair grow out to about mid-shoulder with the assumption that she wasn't warded against it. He did rather enjoy long hair, after all, but he didn't want to make it too long. He was unsure of what she would do if she broke free of the compulsion.

"I...delivered presents and held up a ball of energy the size of a softball. The pink revealled the darkness within me," was her elaboration when asked. After that, her hair was no longer above her shoulders. It was now a few inches longer, which she honestly didn't mind. Alas, Reiko maintained her current position next to the Drow.

"To be fair, this was mostly for your sake to begin with. You seemed like you needed to let down some barriers and just do what you wanted. So many little cracks in your facade that could be exploited. Well, I know...tell me, what are you thinking about right now? What inhibition do you want to break down deep inside?"

A low purr continued to come from her as she was asked. The two questions she had never really been asked before, lest they be in different words by others, were asked. "I want...no limitations. I want...satisfaction. I can't be satisfied if I'm limited in what I can do."

At the given answer, Agrylax pursed his lips a bit. That was quite the tricky thing to resolve, wasn't it? "Really? But limited beings are satisfied all the time within their limitations. Your hunger is so deep and can only be sated by having no limits? Well, tell me then, what is it that is limiting you, exactly?" See, Reiko was right. Agrylax could be philosophical if he wanted. Ignore the fingers twining slowly into her hair, or that tug to force her head back so that she had to stare up into those strange eyes of his, or that he was leaning close to her as he talked to her. "Hmm...what sort of price are you going to pay if you can get your limits removed?"

The woman wasn't making the most sense, was she? If she hadn't reacted to any of the earlier gestures, then she wasn't quite going to give too much more of a reaction now. This might actually be a first for the woman to be really getting a good look into the Drow's eyes. In this current position, it looked as if they might be on the verge of sharing a kiss. No, they were still speaking. He wasn't aiming to kiss her anyways. Oh no. Why would he do that? No, he tugged her head further back until she was all but looking backwards. It was bound to cause the tiniest amount of pain, and it did. He was still moving down until he had her throat between his teeth, biting down in a firm way. It wasn't enough to cause harm; he wanted to see how she reacted. He figured he could tell a lot about her current mental state just from that; no sooner after that did her mouth open wide, the steady purr interrupted by a sound.

Pleasurable? That remained yet to be seen, and he let a wide smirk take form when he heard that sound come from her throat. "Oh, that was delightful. Ah, but there is time enough for that later."

"What...do you have to offer me, Master, to remove my fears? They hinder me from reaching my true potential." Her azalean eyes remained locked upon his. "My inability to see or hear mention of what comes from me whenever I harm, Master, is my greatest limitation of all." Blood. Even without the spell, Reiko had been wanting to live her life without the worry of vomiting from the mere mention of the word...or the sight thereof.

The gesture wasn't held long before he would sit up and let her hair go, returning to that petting gesture with those slender fingers along her hair. The curving corners of her lips at an up direction, implying a smile, should tell a lot. "Fear? Oh, I can deal with fears if that's really all it is. The trick is to remove fear without removing caution. There are things you are right to be wary of. Tell me then of this fear that keeps you limited, and I will see if I have a solution that will work for you, my pet. But I have to ask...if I can get rid of your fear, what will I get in return, hmm?" Those eyes continued to stare at her, as if trying to measure her soul.

"I will give of you anything...in return for my fear of ultimate abandon and of blood-" She tried so hard to not vomit then, "-to be removed. Anything that you require of me, my Master."

"Abandonment and blood, is it? Hmm...blood is no great trick. Abandonment might take time...and anything? You will be held to that promise even after the moon, you know. But as you wish." Agrylax tugged her up onto his lap rather easily. Once more, Reiko found her face trapped in his fingers and his eyes staring into her own. "This will be unpleasant. I do apologise for that..." The Drow then started to whisper again, close to her, but it was different this time. Those shadows didn't just seep into the cracks. They probed in deep, finding that fear of blood and latching onto it.

Reiko's hand remained where she had placed it, high up near his neck. Then, without warning, she leaned in to bite down. Yikes! She had done that without any idea whether her teeth would survive that or not. It was to attempt proving her loyalty to the Drow. She pulled back and took a step away from the bitten, who wasn't expecting that at all and had quite the look of shock on his face, to look in Andu's direction once more. "Don't fight my Master, Big Brother?please," Reiko pleaded to the minotaur.

"You don't have a master, Reiko. As a matter of fact, I know you hate that term and wouldn't call anyone such a thing of your own free will." The question to have been asked then was whether the woman was actually hearing herself right now, but unnecessary. It went without saying that she was, but she wasn't acting on her own. Otherwise, true to the minotaur's words of logic, Reiko really wouldn't be calling anybody her master by any means.

Despite what some might think, Agrylax was not giving Reiko orders to do this sort of thing. He blinked a few times as this particular shell of his had softer scales to prevent any damage to human teeth whilst absorbing any damage that could have been done to his neck. "That was?odd." Yet he patted the woman?s head lightly. "Oh, go console your brother and get some sleep. You'll be fine by morning, I?m sure."

"Master?" Was that the first sign of resistance? She gave a nod, and she turned to face Andu once more. "?very well." Reiko walked towards the minotaur once more, completely ignoring the earlier "pile," and continued until she stood in front of him once more. She waited patiently, not quite sure as to where she should go. After all, Andu had previously said something about her and her nieces and nephews.

Finally, Sinestra's presence was noticed as she ate, her green eyes on the minotaur. This earned the black dragon an eye roll from Andu, who settled a hand on Reiko's shoulder as he turned to check out Sinestra and the sort of kill she had made tonight. That was all the Drow needed to stretch his wings and crouch down for a moment. Then he launched himself into the air and took off into the night. He had some things to deal with closer to home, but was certain that he would be back another night.

Meanwhile, there were a few ribs and a leg being worked over by the black dragon. Andu frowned and looked closer to identify at least the general race of said leg and ribs, said leg looking as if they had once held a shoe.

Half-lidded pink azalean eyes shifted upward in a slow gaze to Andu with the turn of her head to face him. "What will you do with me, now that I'm not with him?" she asked. She wasn't so monotone now. "You don't want me near my family. Where are you taking me, Big Brother?"

There was a sigh and a shaking of the head, followed by Andu cursing up a blue streak under his breath. ?I should lock you in a cell next to Sinestra's 'til we figure out how to free you?" he answered. Said black dragon rumbled. She wasn't going back! "You killed a person, didn't you, Sinestra? You know that means you have to go back in a cell."

Fortunately for her, Reiko spoke up with her own protest. "Why?" she asked. "Why confine me against my own will?" Turning, she looked to the black dragon, who was hissing as her wings flared. It was hers! Sinestra had killed it fair and square! "I won't be confined against my will." A tainted dark pink aura showed around her to indicate that she meant business. "I do not wish to fight you, Big Brother, but I will if I must."

Another sigh came from Andu, this one leaning towards frustration. "I really don't need this tonight. Sinestra, I'm going to give you one pass tonight 'cause I need to get Reiko here somewhere safe. But you had better to learn to stick with dumb beasts, or I'll make sure you don't need to worry about going back to your cell!" The minotaur then turned to Reiko just as Sinestra hissed again. "You are already confined against your will, Reiko. In your mind and actions, even if you are free to move around."

It was safe to say that Reiko was confused. For a moment, her eyes opened all the way, and she let out another cough. "No! This isn't me! I?can't!" Shaking her head once more, Reiko head-butted Andu. It was unintentional, but her eyes weren't half-lidded anymore. "I won't be physically confined against my will by the likes of you, Andu Kirost."

"I would only do it if you seemed in danger, Reiko. For now, you will be left free to move about as you want. But, you are not to allowed to come here again. Or to go near that creature that was here earlier." Andu glowered at Sinestra, but didn't move near her as she turned and disappeared back into the shadows. "Where do you want to sleep tonight, Reiko? Back to the Doc's place?"

Her head lowered down then, hanging. "The Falconnes won't welcome me if they know you won't let me near the kittens," she said. The woman looked like she could cry at any moment, but no tears came. "I have?nowhere to go as long as I am forbidden."

"I will explain the situation to the Falconnes, and as long as you swear not to cause any harm ? physical, emotional, or mental ? you can be near them, just not on your own." That was the condition given. Reiko gave a short nod. She kept her head hanging as she awaited the start of this fate that she didn't quite understand. All she was doing was reaching her potential. Her true potential.

"All I asked for, was to have my limitations removed. By removing my fears?I don't understand how or why that's so bad. How does something so good end up being so bad? Scaring the ones I love?was not my intention."

"It isn't the 'what was done,' but 'how it was done,' and by whom. When you are ready, I will send you to the Estate and have a talk with Anya." And, Andu kneeled down to give Reiko a careful hug. She allowed it.

"No abandoning me? He won't abandon me either? Bond?" Reiko?s eyes widened. "Bond! Oh no! No no no no! I've got to see him, Andu!" she cried. "Bond?!" She was trying to resist her spell! But, she was otherwise ready to go back to the Estate if she could see Bond.

"I will make sure you can visit him. Though I am sure he will not be happy to see you in this state. And I won't tell him any details. Sweet Dreams and Restful Sleep, Reiko. I will send you there when you say 'I am ready.'"

"I am ready." A sigh escaped from her then. "Bond?" Her hand reached for the Silver Claw as she waited to be returned to the Palazzo Estate; in that moment, Andu snapped his fingers. Reiko disappeared in a silent and harmless explosion of silvery firefly sparkles.