Tick, tock ... tick, tock... the sound kept time in her head. With hands clasped together, the tips of her thumbs touching, Sha'uri took a step and then two back from the door to gaze around at the front area for any signs of life through the windows.

For a moment, she thought she saw one of the curtains shift but there was nothing more then that. She waited a few more minutes and no on came. Perhaps it was just a slight current of air that moved it, or an animal. She was beginning to wonder if anyone was even here, though she wasn't about to go anywhere.

Taking another couple of steps back, she turned to allow her gaze to peruse whatever she could from this vantage. This place was definitely not Ravensheart Castle, though what she could see of the complex was a nice place fit for something such as a school. The grounds were kept trimmed, though there was room for improvement. A garden placed here, bushes over there, a flowering or delicate sort of tree, like one of those purple japanese ones, placed this way of the corner and flowers along the walkway would be a nice addition in her opinion. However, this was not her place and she was thinking like her mother, the great decorator.

Giving herself a mental shake, she alowed her gaze to fall to her well worn leather boots. As old as they were, they were her favorite just like the black hide armor she now adorned. Many miles they had traveled together on Secak, in RhyDin and mostly upon the surface of Toril. Her thoughts began to get lost in those memories.

Tick, tock ... tick, tock...

The sound of the door opening caught her attention from her thoughts. Her hopeful gaze shifted from the ground to the walkway and up the along the figure at the door. Hopefulness turned to confusion, bordering shock, at the full looking elf who was staring back at her as if he'd seen a ghost. Was this really Bri?

Where Briarius had been half elven, this one seemed full elf. Bri had stood a tall 6'1" and this person seemed a few inches shorter. He also seemed older, with a touch of gray in his hair. Even the eyes were no longer a bright blue but the dullness that age seemed to give. She was older, too, no longer the young adult he would remember. It was amazing to her that he now didn't seem much older than her, both entering into middle aged era of their lives. She did look, comparative to humans, into her 30's and Bri seemed more like 40ish.

She was a bit shocked by all of this, too. Her mouth dropped open and she just stood there, staring at him for a few moments, realizing that he must have been through a tale of woes to see him as this. But she knew it was Briarius, she could see his soul through his eyes. Still, words weren't coming to her very well at this piont. All she could do was slowly move closer, lay her left hand upon his shoulder and smile as if to say how happy she was to see him and that yes, it was really her.

So formal. He had always been so formal and well composed. However, the sound of his voice cracking with all that emotion was priceless. It brought a mist of tears to her eyes that took her a few moments of blinking to clear. The lump in her throat, however, was stuck. All she could do to answer him was smile wider with a smile very reminiscent of her mother's, nod, give him a heartfelt hug (being the hugger that she was), and step back to wait for him to lead the way. She was finally able to say something.

"I'm here to help, Briarius. Whatever you need. What do you need... priestess? Mage? Blacksmith? Sage? I'm a Jack of many trades and skills."

If? She raised a defiant brow, though kept her smile as it grew a bit more devilish. Still, she refrained from saying anything at the moment. There was time for him to learn of her auntie Crystal's infamous pie throwing at a later time. It's the one thing her aunt taught her to do so well for harmless retaliations. The urge was, to say the least, quite tempting, but she managed to refrain from it.

She followed him in and sat on the couch where he had motioned. She took a moment to study him again. Her mother's memories, within her own, were a help to understand this one that she herself had little time to know. However, she was not willing to tell him that just yet.

"I've no doubt it has, Bri. I think a lot has happened to us both and I'm sure we have stories to tell that could last us a long time.... perhaps a lifetime. With me working here, I'm sure we'll have that time. I'm a priestess of Correllon, by the way. And before you say ... Wha? You're so human! .... He's fully aware of what I am. However, he adopts slightly different rules from one universe to another. .. and exceptions for special circumstances."

She left a lot out of that statement, and told a bit with a slight wink of an eye.

"But that's a story for another time. Anyway, If I'm not mistaken, I thought I saw stables and perhaps a place for a smithy? I can offer to work the forge, too. Weapons, Armor, a little of this and some of that I can do. Even make some jewlry with the right tools. I can run both jobs and help with other jobs as well, though I don't want to have to do that for too long. Like I said, whatever you need."

A firm reassuring nod was given.

"So... Quid pro quo, Bri. YOu tell me something to help catch us up, and I'll reciprocate in kind."

Indeed, she could tell it would take some time and was about to say somethng encouraging as she began to pour the tea when Bri was interrupted. A gentle nod was given in response.

"I'd love to. You can give me a tour and we can talk."

She took a good sip of her tea and stood up to wait and follow them around.

Nice ... his aide was female. Another woman to conspire with is what Sha'uri was thinking. She gave the woman a warm smile and fell into line behind them.

As the droning went on, Sha'uri began to realize that there was more to Briari's change then mere looks. Even the droning seemed more pronounced then what her mother's memories would give hints to. She had to admit that he looked a little paler then what her own memories would recall. Perhaps even sinister. Yes, he did seem sinister. And when he nearly fainted, she was right there to support him. There were things that the Order of the Crimson Star had droned into her head and a Knight's Valor was a part of her.

"One of the drawbacks to losing all of my powers is the fact that I get sick more often. We're coming up on our new archery range..."

What? Her question was asked only within the depths of her eyes because she was in too much shock at this news and at a loss for words. It was ignored.

He only seemed to be brushing it off by changing the subject to stick with the grounds and its condition. Droning on and on. Sha'uri could only think about why he lost his magic as she seemed to absentmindedly follow along.

The whole time something felt wierd about the place. She could swear she was feeling some rather strange ebbs and flows of magical energies. Something was odd around here, though she couldn't expend the energy to find out what just yet, not while they were walking around.

His words about losing his magic kept on going round and round in her head while they walked the entire compound. It was bigger then she thought it would be. It seemed there was a building or area for every major class: Priest, Mage, Scribe, Fighters of various types, Ranger, Theif, etc.. apparently the place had been a school before. And his words kept droning on ... and his words about losing his magic kept droning on in her mind, until finally, when the droning tour was almost done and the two sets - what he was saying and what he had said- mixed so much that she couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay!!!" the feigned smile was set into her visage. "Lovely place, Bri. Perfet place for a school. Now, how about some lunch?"

Her gaze began to glow with a sapphire flame, a trait of her father's, burning in her pupils as she looked swiftly to the aide. This was something she hated to do, but she felt it necessary and it would be harmless enough.
"Yes, Lunch would be nice right now. Do you cook? Because I think it's your turn to make lunch. Yes?"

Wether or not she did or didn't, the Aide, under a bit of a psionically induced suggestive control by Sha'uri, slowly nodded while putting down her quill and pad of paper.
"Yes, I'll do that. It is my turn to cook." the aide muttered while she walked away towards the kitchen.

Sha'uri's gaze let the flames die as she swiftly turned on Bri. A step or two had her next to him and her hand was gently, yet firmly, grasping his elbow. Her gaze, filled with emotions of frustration, confusion, love, hate, hurt, care and determination, meant to bore down into his soul. Her tones were quietlly controlled, though even those emotions could be heard in her voice as well.


"Something is wrong here.... with you ... this place.... and I mean to find what it is and fix it. I have to, Bri. You must understand that I do have the memories of my mother. That includes the emotions of them. They have been with me most of my life and they have done nothing but mess with my mind.... my heart. I've often wondered why. But maybe she forsaw this... here.... and you. How much do you remember of your life with her? Well, it doesn't matter. I do."

The sapphire glow of her eyes faded and began to mist with tears from the emotions that were evident in her voice. What she said was true. She'd been an emotional wreck all her life because of the memories and mixed emotions of her mother. How many loves had she had? Too many and three failed engagements, which Bri had been privy to the first. Friendships weren't much better... She was as much of an emotional wreck as Bri seemed to be Sick in his lack of magic.

"You can continue to drone on with your life, to brush aside whatever is going on around you, try to cover it up from the world. You can even brush me aside, but it won't help either one of us to do so. If you do, I'll go and leave you alone to your own means and maybe we'll both survive it even though the odds are not in our favor. But if I stay, know that i WILL get to the bottom of all of this and heal you .... us.... I have to. It's your choice. YOu tell me. Should I stay or should I go? "

That last question should've rang a memory chord; D'Shara had been pregnant with the twins when she had asked the same of Bri all those years ago. Sha'uri could still feel the bruises on her legs from the training her mother recieved from Bushido.

By now the tears had brimmed over the rim of her lids, trailing down her cheeks. She let go of Bri's arm to bring both hands up to wipe them away, sniffing a bit. She really hadn't meant for that emotional blow up.

"I'm sorry... I'm just... oh, why me... I'm just so ...."

Embarassed. Confused. She was Pissed at her mother's memories for causing that outburst. She began to walk away, intending to just ... go, fully expecting Bri to be happy to get rid of an emotional, confused, daughter of the gods WRECK and watch her hit the road. Would it not be fitting for her? In that moment, she couldn't help but think so.

One, two, three steps were taken before the gentle sound of his voice caused her to calm. By the fourth step, she had come to a stop. Her back was to him as she crossed her arms as if to cradle herself from emotional harm.

She was confused. Father type figure, Lover, husband or friend: this was the constant struggle in her head concerning him. She hadn't expected such a turmoil of emotions from all those memories in her head. It had been a long while since they had caused her so much grief, and it had never been so strong before. She knew she needed to get a handle on them. The term 'Mistress' gave her something to focus on, a piece of reality to cling to. The reality was that they were friends, but more aquaintance then anything else.

When she turned to face him, she had gained the control she needed. Her tones were gentle and appologetic.

"I am sorry for my outburst and I hope you will forgive me. I want to help you, Bri. It's just ... very confusing for me right now. It has been some time for me as well. Time is a strange thing in a place that harbors such phenomena as the Nexus, converging from many worlds with various flows of time."

She paused with a reflective moment, remembering the last time she had been gone for a long while. She had fought and struggled to return but it hadn't been for herself. It had been for one Rick Night Star. This time, though, it was for herself. She wondered what it was that Bri gave up so much for him to be here.

A deep sigh escaped her. Resuming her part of the conversation, she walked back to Bri and slipped an arm with his for him to escort her back at a slow pace. A change of subject was also in order. So she let the conversation flow.

"For example, Secak. Do you remember how time shifted differently there? It was slower there then here. However, not any more. A lot has changed there."

She smiled genuinely and her eyes lit up with excitement as she continued. Her free hand would gesture, enhancing certain points.

"If you remember, it used to be a seemingly endless plane of existence, formed by the clash of two chaotic bodies of magick. With the disappearance of my Grandfather, things began to change, slowly at first. Actually, it began long before that, but things began to progress at a noticeable rate. Nature took over and unleashed it's power causing the formation of the plane to revert back to its former. It was literally tearing the place apart. People were going to die, potentially all of them. We had to do something to control it. We did with the help of my father, mother, Rick Night Star and myself. Our part had merely been to control the inevitable reversion and keep casualties down to a minimum by guiding the energies to form a whole new solar system. I wish you could've seen it, Bri. It was something that just can't be described but it was like nothing that could ever be experienced again, even with a million life times. It exists out in RhyDin space, just a few solar systems away."

The smile was a proud one, though it slowly eased away with her pause, remembering it had been the time when Rick literally held a piece of her heart with his. Change of subject. She smiled.

"So, how good of a cook is your aide?"

She tried to hold back a laugh, but a snicker escaped.

"Guess I'll be cooking supper.... early."

"Sure, no problem. I never did charm her anyway. I merely suggested, strongly... I can't help it if her will bent to mine. She has a rather weak one when it comes to pleasing people around her. I suppose that's why she does what she does. And... What she does with the cook is up to her. So, the real issue is ... Bri... is if you'd just rather not have my cooking for dinner."

A pause.

"That's fine but just say so, Bri. I realize my mother wasn't the greatest of cooks, but I assure you that I can."

Nod.

She smiled, "Good. It's been a while since I cooked for someone other then myself or ... "

It was the briefest of pauses, but the shift of her smile into sadness was unmistakable.

".......well, what family I have left on Exodii. What would you like for dinner?"

"I'm sorry to hear that."

She thought she already knew why he wasn't eating very well; his loss of magick. Or maybe he thought of her mother too much? It hadn't occured to her until then just what effect seeing her might really have on him because of how she might remind him of her mother.

Could she really be in RhyDin and not have contact, knowing he was around here too?

Sha'uri already knew in her heart that she couldn't. The ties, woven by the love that had been between him and her mother, were too strong for Sha'uri to ignore. She doubted that he could ignore them either. She could still hear the elation from his first initial greeting ...

Yes, there were issues to resolve. Sha'uri would have to be careful with where they all led. She probably shouldn't do too much, like cooking him dinner and things like that. Had she just flirted with him? She bit her lip momentarily and straightened her contenance with a more logical aire.

"Okay, well, then all the more reason to cook something you'd be inclined to eat. I don't know what that is. So... Guess it'll be a variety. I'll have it ready by around six or six thirty. I should go and get things ready. I guess I'll see you at dinner."

A gentle smile and a slight nod were given before she moved off towards the kitchen. The poor Aide was trying to figure out why she was standing there looking into the cupboards for something to fix. The cook didn't seem to be anywhere around so Sha'uri was quick to just take over again. It was just too pathetic to see the poor aide struggle with something like fixing a sandwich. She really didn't know how to cook.

Politely dimissing the woman, Sha'uri spent the next few hours in the kitchen ....

Six o'clock rolled round and the dining room table contained no less then twenty different items for dinner. There was fried chicken, Ham and steak for a main course, various side dishes and three different cheese cakes for desert. She was sure there was at least a few items he would like. As for her, she was really hungry. And so she rang the dinner bell with matching enthusiasm.

"

Sha'uri chuckled softly at all the reactions as the staff came in.

"I guess I shouldn't go shopping on an empty stomach. It all looked good, supper went on a tangent into Dinner. How about we all sit and eat?"

She shrugged and motioned towards the chairs, waiting until the last to take an empty place. Then she briefly prayed aloud, thanking Correllon for the food and to ask his blessings upon it and everyone there. She looked up at everyone when she was done.

"Okay, now...Ya'll dig right on in!"

It didn't dawn on her who the children were. She saw the filthy, grubbiness and that was all she needed to react. It could never be said that Sha'uri wasn't her mother's daughter as she abruptly stood and pointed them in the opposite direction.

"Oh no you two don't! Go wash up, first. Then you can eat."

She gently shoo'ed them away, then came and sat back down.

"Where ever did you find them, Bri? Are they from the ..."

She cut herself off as the memory finally hit her. Slow movements brought her to a stand as she stood again, taking a few steps away from the table. She looked pale as her mind was nearly frozen. How did they get there? Why were they?

The room seemed to spin round her as she lost consciousness.

Consciousness began to ease in even before they were able to move the tall woman to the couch. Sha'uri felt the tugging bouncy motion of several footsteps not so in unision between themselves while several hands grasped her in various places. By the time she finally emerged from that unconscious state, she was laying on a couch and surrounded by several faces. For the briefest of moments, she didn't recognize anyone. Then as she sat up slolwy, trying to withstand the sharp pain in her head, she recognized the dark haired elf who was beside her.

"Bri..."

Yes, she remebered him and took hold of his hand. Then it all came back to her. The children. She had passed out when she realized who they looked like and they all brought her into the room where she first arrived that morning. The memory brought tears to mist her eyes.

"They look so much like them.... Alec and Larissia. Why?"

Sha'uri continued to hold his hand and kept silent with her own reverie. She could hear the others leave and return to eating dinner .... and after awhile, they were gone. A few tears fell from her cheeks and she wiped them away. After several moments, she spoke gently.

"I'm sorry, Bri. I didn't mean to bring up the ghosts of the past. But I guess there's no choice here. There's a lot of them between you and I, and it seems so unfair. We hardly really know each other."

She paused.

"Maybe between us, we can ease them away ... maybe, it's worth a try? I mean do you really want me around?"

She sighed.

"You are not alone. You are SOOOo not alone."

That couldn't have been more truthful. Again she squeezed his hand gently and then tried to cheer up.

"So, That only leaves one thing left to do. Know what that is?"

She paused for effect, waiting for the expected shake of his head, then smiled widely.
"Eat cheese cake! I could've sworn I heard that carmel dripping down over the turtle cheesecake out there. We should go rescue it before it drowns in a puddle of goo."

She stood, hoping he'd come with her.

"Good thing I made one of those, too. That means, all the more of that carmelly covered chocolatey nutty stuff for me. Oh, and I made a keylime cheesecake, too. I'f you've never tried it, I recomend it. It's really quite good."

Standing, she let go of his hand.
"So, last one there gets to do the dishes!"
And off she ran.

OUt of the room she went, down the hallway to the dining hall, Sha'uri ran round the corner into the kitchen and slid across the floor to the middle of the room before she stopped. She was breathless with glee and really wasn't paying attention to anything ahead of her in the room.

"Ha! I win!"

She immediately turned around expecting to see him come in after her, but he wasn't there. She waited a moment, nothing. She put her hands on her hips and waited another momentm realizing there was no pitter patter of his running feet lagging behind her steps anywhere. It was very quiet. And then she heard him breathe. Turning round, she saw him standing there along the wall. She pointed an acuzing finger and laughed.

"You cheated!"

"Yeah, but it's cheating because it wasn't available to me. You didn't run the same course. I bet you didn't even run. So, Nah!"

She slipped her tongue out at him and turned to serve up the cheesecakes. She picked up a spoon with a huge dollop of whip cream on the end and glanced back to him.

"Whip cream?"

Grrrriiiiinnnnn.......!

She laughed. It was quite tempting to just lodge that dollop at his forehead anyway, but she refrained and plopped the creamy thickness on top of his cheesecake instead, followed by another atop of hers.

"I'll take that as a yes you'd preferre it normally. You know, I dO have sOme of my father's traits."


Of course, she refrained from going into any further detail on that one as she smiled. Picking up both plates, she crossed the room to him and handed his cherry one over ... like a good little girl.

"I'll probably move in tomorrow if that's all right?"

"It'll be fun when they do show up, I think. Is there anything you need from me regarding any class materials? Methodology? Or will this be a rather informal kind of school?"

She took a big 'ol bite of her cheesecake, relishing the chocolately carmel flavor topped with the crunchy pecans.

"Aren't you going to eat your cake?" her mouth was a little full.

She swallowed down her mouthful.

"But you haven't eaten a thing. That's not healthy, Bri. You really should eat some food. Have you been feeling okay? Perhaps I could examine you and see if there's anything wrong?