She'd had strange dreams that awoke her early today. It was odd, something felt wrong and yet... she knew there'd be no harm. It was strange as she moved from her bedroom in the Citadel on Exodii planet and stepped through the closet doorway into her bedroom in the Ravensheart Academy. It wasn't cold but the frost.. a thick layer covered everything!

She moved to her desk and touched the frost, feeling the bitter bite upon her finger. It was brief as her own protections kicked in, preventing any damage at all, permanent or otherwise. The frost was slowly melting anyway but not before she noticed a duster left on the nightstand. It hadn't been touched by the frost. She picked it up and placed it in her pocket.

The cacophony of students rose quietly in the air as they woke up from the bitter bite of the frost. Some screamed from the bite of it and others from the percieved damage. Still, some were just plain confused and didn't know what to make of it. She could sympathize with them.

In any event, she hurried to the dormatories to try and give remedy where healing was needed or calmness where the emotions were hectic. By the time she arrived, the frost had melted away and none were truly injured in any way. The mist left an eery blanket covering the grounds floors from view....

"Mistress Sha'uri! What's going on? Why was it frosty and now misty?"

"I don't know but the result is harmless or it would've triggered all the wards and protections Master Ravensheart left over the school. I'm sure it'll be all right. Now...Run along, then. We still have school."

::several days later and Cadence went into town to spend time at the bar. She was hoping to find Gabe and see if he wanted to spar. They seemed to have a lot of classes there together, the sword classes, the alchemy and intermediate magic classes... she hated the math classes, but knew she needed to take them in order to understand Architecture, which would help in her decorating classes. Her cooking classes weren't going so well, though. She just didn't get it but the alchemy seemed to be coming to her well enough::

::She walked in to find some of the women talking about matters of Love, what else was new in a bar, right? It was something that she just didn't get. STill, something about it began to make her pause and think, perhaps too much... and once again she remembered Gabe::

::She left and went into the Great Hall, finding Gabe and his twin brother Nathen and a woman who it seemed had feelings for Gabe but Gabe was trying to fix up with his brother. Everything felt strange. She found herself making that seven liquer concoction, just like the one she'd just had at the Inn::

::Before she knew it, Bob showed up and Gabe had a weapon out, pointed and ready to fire at her friend, who melted Gabe's weapon. Gabe left and poor Cadence was torn. She didn't understand why there was so much friction between them, it tore her heart in shreds. But she kept that hidden, and kept her feelings from Him. The next thing she knew, she was drinking several well mixed drinks and passing out in Bob's arms. She woke up in her bed the next morning not knowing or understanding a thing from the previous day... only that the two of her friends were still at odds, something she would never understand::

Why does love even among friends, have to stink?

::she winced and sat up in bed, holding her head from the extreme hangover as she gazed down to her lap. The amulet Bob gave her caught her eye and it seemed to her a bit darker and less filled with light.....::

Why?

He's gonna return, soon. Bob. I don't know that I know how to feel.


She sensed the turmiol in the fae. All she could do was lay a hand gently on Cadence's shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze to let her know she was there for her.

"Give it time is all I can say..."
Several days later, she heard the odd giggling from Cadence's room as she passed by..... The fae had been oddly quiet lately and then this laugh seemed odd to her. Maybe it was Sha'uri's own imagination running away, but it seemed hysterical? She was getting concerned and so she knocked gently upon the door.

"Cadence? It's Sha'uri. Can we talk?"

Entering the room, she glanced around, making note of several things. Two things caught her attention more then anything as the magics from these were old and very strong, ancient among the ancients. Something was between the matress of her bed... and the blackened amulet.

I'm so confused...

Her eyes flared with a flame as she looked to Cadence.

"It's obvious you have a good reason to be. His name is Bob. You're dealing with something very old, ancient and dark there... something you should be wary to trust. I will assume he gave you that amulet you wear. Do you know what it does? What it's doing to you? What it could do to others? And while we're on the twenty questions bit... what is it that you hide between the matress of your bed?"

Though these questions were asked abruptly, it was with gentle concern.

"I'd like to see it."

So innocent.... and yet filled with such strife and responsibility. The tome she had in her hand was old and powerful. Sha'uri didn't need to open it nor cast any divination spells to feel it pulse with the magical weave. It breathed...and yet it blocked.

"I need a moment with this."

Long moments passed while she fell silent. All that Cadence just imparted to her... it was a lot to take in and Sha'uri began to wonder even more who Cadence really was. She was sure that Cadence was someone important and in hiding from someone or something, but what and who? More importantly, why was she hiding?

"Perhaps, with Nana's body, I can speak with dead and find some answers from her. I will only do so if you want me to but know that it will disturb her from her place."

The book was overwhelming to the point that Sha'uri wished desperately that Briari was here. She questioned her own ability to deal with it. That, in itself, was rare. Still, curiosity got the better of her and she tried to open the book, tried to identify the substance of its magic. It, however, didn't budge one bit and she was filled with the idea that it wasn't meant for her.

"I'm not sure that I can determine what this is, Cadence. I feel the magical energy contained yet it is blocked from me and yet I feel something of it. It's as if it calls a name to a certain circumstance, though I cannot hear the name for I am not that person ... it waits on that person to be capable. I think it waits for you."

It was time again, she could see, for Cadence to step up on her magical studies.

"Perhaps that is why Bob's amulet allowed you to open it before and then not later after he claimed his power back. Something is wrong, though. Not with the book, but with that amulet. There's been a darker aura about you, Cadence, ever since then. I know you care for them both, but you might have to make a choice. All I can do is hope you make the right decision... and test them both."

She leaned closer and whispered while a darkness filled her eyes and voice.

"I know the lure.. I know the seductive effect the whispers from dark places can pull upon a soul.. whispers of love, acceptance, power, whatever a heart desires. I know how they can seem innocent but it is only using that innocence to its vial purpose. It is usually a trap for true innocence, a meal the darkness savors almost as much as revenge. They are lies. I know... I fight against them so, even now they call to me still, whispering revenge against those that have harmed me."

The darkness fades leaving behind a mist of tears.

"It is only in the perseverance of the light that the true meanings of Love, Acceptance and Strength are realized and you will find they will exceed over the darkness. Whatever you do, Cadence.... do it with love."

Those last few words were said with a powerful conviction in her soft yet firm tones. Sha'uri desperately wanted Cadence to understand. She handed the book back to Cadence.

"I think this is your quest that you must do. You will always have a place here, Cadence. Know, too, that you are loved ... no matter what. Know that to be true."

It was obvious to her that Cadence was very proud of that little shack in the dump. In a way, she understood why. She put the map in her pocket.

"I will let her know. Thank you, Cadence. I know you'll do the right thing."

With that said, she left the fae to ponder while she moved down the hall to go prepare some things for speaking with the dead....