Vacation Contemplation

It felt a bit like time had slowed down for Ada, but she knew that wasn't possible. The leisurely pace at which everything moved in her and Ghent's tropical vacation get-away led her to believe there were places in the world where people slowed down, but time never seemed to do anything but keep moving. She almost wished it would stop for them, but it wouldn't happen.

She hadn't quite decided when they were catching a portal back to Rhy'Din, but she was already making preparations for Ghent's birthday. There was a handwritten note to Emma and Taggart, inviting them to help with the party, and the same went to Lily and Ethan. Ada imagined that Ghent's sisters would be more than willing to pass her along ideas, considering they knew so much more about their brother than just about everyone else in the world.

And there was Jad, too. Ada felt like she had to invite Jad, since she was planning some games and enjoyed seeing Ghent and Jad battle it out over bragging rights. On top of that, there had been so many instances where Jad had been there to help save one of them from mortal peril, so he had a free pass on that alone.

There were gifts to consider, too. She already knew how the conversation would go, and even spoke it aloud as she scribbled gift ideas on a scratchpad:

"What would you like for your birthday?"

"Nothing that I can think of."

"No? How about a book?"

"I'm sure whatever you decide will be fine, honey."
Ada chuckled to herself and scratched some of her ideas off of the paper. Ghent would be happy with any gift given to him, simply because he was that type of person. She couldn't remember a time where he had been rude or unkind without some sort of provocation. Of course, when he was pushed, Ada got to see a side of him that she felt not a lot of people got to see and survive afterward. But, really, that changed nothing about how she felt.

Her mind drifted back to the past, slipping over moments they had spent together. It had been a practical whirlwind of strange occurrences and situations few people might encounter in a lifetime. But they had survived it together, which was the most important part in her mind. She doubted she would have been strong enough without Ghent -- but then, she was fairly certain that little of the time travel would have happened without Ghent in the situation. After all, Hannah was going to be a team effort, wasn't she? How could she not? And the future-born little girl seemed to the unknowing target of Theron, simply because Ada had decided to mouth off a little.

She smirked to herself started doodling on the scratchpad. There was something that had bothered her, though she didn't often let herself think about it. It seemed that Theron was always trying to place doubt -- mostly in Ghent's mind. Ada knew he wouldn't believe what her former godfather was trying to tell him, but it still worried her.

Some of the things were hard for her to even overlook. There were the pictures -- images of her being obviously aggressive in a place that wasn't familiar. There were the dreams, and the gaps, and the papers, and who knew what else?

But, they would move on because they had to. And she was okay with that, as long as Ghent was nearby.

Ada glanced back towards the bedroom where Ghent was taking a short nap and smiled to herself. She always felt like she could take on the world when he was around. More than that, though, she knew she would take on the world if Ghent wasn't around. If need be, she'd tear everything apart to get to him. Maybe that was what really made a difference.

Now, if only she could think of a gift that encompassed that feeling...

((This is written for play on April 01, 2008. For more information or questions, send a PM or e-mail to Adalia Dodd.))

Scraped Knees and Practice Makes Perfect

Ada's first real day attempting to learn how to ride her bicycle was about as successful as her every attempt before, but she was optimistic that she would get better, the more she tried.

At first, she felt like there was never going to be any progress made, but there had been a short moment where she had actually managed to pedal one full revolution, and that was enough to keep her going on. However, despite the small victory, she still felt like the scrapes on her knees and the one cut up palm weren't so much battle scars, but reminders that it would have been easier to have learned to ride a bike earlier in her life.

There wasn't a lot of good space for her to learn, either. She spent some of the morning trying to ride up and down Grimm Lane, but it proved to be a lot harder, since winter had pocked the gravely ground, leaving many places for the bike to be caught on.

Eventually, she decided that she needed a flat surface and walked her bicycle into the abandoned part of town where the large mall was. Of course, no one used the mall any more, but the large parking lot was hardly used at all, and seemed to be the perfect place for Ada to practice.

The first hour was practically miserable. Ada scraped her left knee a second time, and actually had to sit down for several minutes, sopping up a pretty good amount of blood up with a scarf that had been tied into her hair.

It was going to take a lot of work, she imagined. People didn't just suddenly make a breakthrough when learning to ride a bike, right? She imagined it was like learning anything else -- work and work and work until you're good, better, best. And yet, she had heard from Lily that it just takes one good push, and one good pedal, and the next thing she would know, she'd be riding and wondering how there had ever been a time when she didn't know how.

For the moment, though, she knew that wasn't the case. So, she kept working through the afternoon, and by evening, she hardly wanted to walk her hand-painted bicycle home.

((This is written for play on April 26, 2008. For more information or questions, send a PM or e-mail to Adalia Dodd.))

The Feed | Part 1

Ghent waited patiently after he'd knocked on the door to Jad's. It was in the Marketplace area, a few blocks from where Emma and Taggart lived. He was holding a small bag with some sodas in it. He turned briefly to look at Ada and smile at her.

Ada didn't have anything to bring, since Ghent had all of the sodas, but she still fidgeted a bit at the doorway. Of course, Ghent's smile made her feel a little less nervous, but it still seemed like they were going to end up with two people who knew more about everything than she could ever imagine. She was just about to mention that, too, when the door opened and Tyler gestured them inside.

?Hello, Tyler. How're things?? Ghent hadn't spoken to his friend since the birthday party, so he was genuinely curious. He took off his boots once he was inside and paused a little ways inside to wait for Ada.

"Going well. Thanks for coming." There was some very loose fondness in Tyler's voice, but not enough to make the occasion seem like an over-joyous celebration. He did smile at Ada, though, and held out a hand for her jacket.

"Oh, right." Ada tugged the old, worn and tattered jacket off and handed it off to Jad. "And thank you for having us."

Ghent looked around a bit. He hadn't actually been to Jad's house before and was quite surprised at how nice it seemed. He really shouldn't have expected anything less though. ?Did you actually cook something or did you go out and get it?? One of Ghent's red brows went up and a hint of a grin was on his lips.

"Ask again after dinner and I'll tell you." Tyler smirked and hung Ada's jacket up on a brass coat rack. He was actually dressed fairly normal, with a button up underneath a nice sweater and a pair of khaki trousers. "Until then, you'll have to guess." He held a hand out to take the sodas from Ghent.


?Heh.? Ghent's expression turned into a smirk of his own. It was a side of him that few people could evoke, but Jad excelled at bringing it out. He handed the bag over to Tyler and then turned to reach for Ada's hand. ?Is your father here or has he gone somewhere?? It seemed fairly quiet in the house, so Ghent had to wonder.

Ada took Ghent's hand a squeezed it. "I'm sure he didn't go anywhere. He's the reason for this dinner, isn't he?"

Jad nodded and started for the dining room, though it was much smaller than the kitchen or the living room. "He was picking out some wine from the pantry, last I checked. I don't know why -- dreadful stuff, really. My neighbors felt a few bottles were a... prudent housewarming gift."


?Shame they didn't know you hated alcohol. At least they were kind.? Ghent turned and looked at Ada. He nodded slightly. ?Of course. I just wondered if he'd gone to get something Tyler'd forgotten.? Ghent stepped close to Ada and kissed her cheek.
?I think I neglected to tell you how pretty you look today.?

"That's sweet of you, thank you. I wish I could have found something more... dinner-worthy." Ada tried her best to keep herself from blushing, but it didn't seem to make tons of difference. Instead, she chose to change the subject. "So, can we sit down yet?"

Tyler nodded and gestured Ghent to a seat, while pulling out Ada's chair. "Please, sit. I'll go and get my father."

Ghent sat next to Ada, in a chair. He watched as Tyler left the room.
?He's found himself somewhere very nice. ?

Aaron was already beginning to come to the dining room. He had one bottle of wine in hand. He clasped a hand onto Tyler's shoulder. "Sorry about that, Tyler. They gave you some odd wines. I only found one suitable bottle."

"You might find that bottle isn't as suitable as you might hope it to be." It was just an aside to what his father had said, but it was loud enough for anyone to hear. Tyler wasn't really the type to obviously occlude guests from his conversations. He gestured to Ada, making the introduction. "This is Miss Dodd. She's actually from Rhy'Din, so she might be able to answers your questions about the wine."

Of course, Ada stood up so she could offer her hand to Aaron, though it probably makes for more of a ruckus than anyone might have expected. "How do you do, sir?"

Aaron didn't seem disturbed by the noise at all. He put the bottle down on the table and reached over to shake Ada's hand. "I'm doing well. A fascinating city you live in. Pleased to meet you, Miss Dodd. I'm Aaron Jad. Aaron will do just fine." His blue eyes shifted to Ghent momentarily, who was sitting quietly and politely refraining from any sort of interruption.

"And, Mister Tyn." The rank had been dropped, as Ghent had expressed so many times that he wanted out. It was only respectful, right? "I'm sure you're familiar." That was the truth too, right?

Ada smiled and continued on, either unfazed or oblivious to the different introduction from normal. "I was hoping we'd have duck tonight."

?Pleased to meet you, Mister Jad.? Despite what Aaron had told Ada, Ghent couldn't bring himself to call the older man by his first name.

"Quite familiar, Tyler." Aaron smiled warmly at Ghent. Nothing was said about the way Ghent addressed him. "I don't believe we've ever properly met, Mister Tyn. The pleasure is all mine." Aaron turned to look at Tyler a moment, then his eyes went back to Ada. "I'm not sure what Tyler prepared, but I don't think it was duck, Miss Dodd." And Ghent's question from earlier already had an answer.

"It's fish, actually." Tyler nodded and headed for the kitchen for the meal.

Ada considered what both the Jads said about dinner and nodded slowly. "I think that the right preparation for fish would easily go with the orange soda we brought from town. It's a good vintage, afterall -- fresh-squeezed, I hear."

Ghent chuckled at what Ada said. He reached over and briefly touched her side. ?I agree. Nothing quite like orange soda to go with an elegant meal.?

Aaron smiled at the two of them and then spoke up. "I heard from Tyler that Heor is being reluctant at releasing you from the military, Mister Tyn."

For a moment, Ada bit her lip, but it wasn't long before she had to ask.
"Are you in the military, sir?" She couldn't remember hearing Tyler mention any rank.

Ghent was the one that answered Ada's question. ?Brigadier General Aaron Jad, officer in charge of all Heorian espionage missions.?

Aaron had been about to answer Ada's question, but Ghent's answer made him smile rather widely. "Ah, well, now I understand why. My position was a very classified one. I'm impressed, Major." He let Ghent's title slip.

It wasn't a moment later when Tyler stepped in with a silver platter of fish -- or, at least, what appeared to be fish. It was, in fact, some sort of strange loaf of meat in a fish-shaped baking dish, with a bread topping carved up like scales. It was dark, too. Crispy, even. "I hope everyone's hungry."

"Ah, that smells delicious, Tyler." Aaron smiled at his son. He turned up his wrist to glance at his watch briefly.

Ghent thought Aaron glancing at his watch was a little unusual, as Tyler had made it pretty clear that the elder Jad had wanted to meet he and Ada. He didn't say anything, though. ?It looks good as well.?

Maybe it was only Ada who thought that the fish loaf was strange? She didn't notice much of anything else for a moment. It smelled all right, though. So, she turned her attention back to Aaron. "A Brigadier General's an awfully high rank, isn't it? Are you still serving, or are you out of service?"

"No, no. I've been retired for about a year now. I have to say it's a little strange. I'm not too sure what to do with all the extra time." Aaron smiled at Ada. He glanced down at the fish loaf for a moment and then back to Ghent. Something about the man's gaze uneased Ghent a little. His position shifted slightly, but only Ada would've been able to see it.

Ada reached a hand out and placed it on Ghent's leg, although she didn't immediately register his movement. It had been a sort of involuntary reaction to his shift. "Perhaps you can take up fishing, like your son?"

"Oh, I don't fish." Tyler laughed a little, more to himself, and set the silver platter down in the center of the table. Part of the handle and Tyler's hand brushed the wine bottle, and it tipped precariously before Ada grabbed it and righted the bottle. "Thanks."


((This is adapted and edited from the play of May 8, 2008, with permission. For more information, please PM or e-mail Adalia Dodd.))

The Feed | Part 3

((WARNING: The Feed story arc contains extreme violence and language. If you are easily offended, please refrain from reading on.))

Ghent could see Taggart's house down the street. The lights were on, but he couldn't hear anything from the distance he was at. He kept pushing himself. He had to get there first. Lives depended on his speed.

Meanwhile, Ada was running through the streets, though she didn't take the correct turn and ended up farther behind Ghent than she expected or wanted to be. The ground was wet and there were puddles everywhere -- too bad she'd taken off her rain boots for the nice dinner.

He could see movement ahead. He wasn't aware that Ada had attempted to follow him. He heard yelling. He lifted the Beretta. A flashlight shone in his direction. Shots rang out into the air. Ghent returned fire as he slid into cover behind a concrete wall near one of the homes close to Taggart's.

Ada's heartrate jumped at the sound of the gunfire as well, though she was much closer than Jad was. It echoed around the walls of the buildings and back at her as she rounded a corner to find a section of the alley blocked off by a brick wall. "Dammit!" It was whispered a bit harshly before she turned to try to find her way again.

Ghent lifted his arm over the wall and took a few blind shots. He had to hope whoever had started the shooting scrambled for cover like he had. He was on the move again after firing. He kept low. He had to advance on the house and he was alone. He knew he couldn't turn back. Again he had to dive for cover, because slightly less than a dozen men had started dragging his sisters, plus Taggart and Ethan, out of the house. They started shooting as soon as they saw Ghent.

"Ghent!" Lily screamed to her older brother. A few of the men seemed injured, by their pace. They got a fight they hadn't expected, Ghent figured.

Taggart seemed to have a wound over the temple, and blood was staining his collar, but he seemed to fight back as if he were all-together. "Watch out for the gas!" He was referring to teargas, though he hadn't been familiar with it until he got a face full of it.

Emma seemed less worried about the gas and more about the men. "They're only wearing vests! No body armor or helmu--" She was cut off by a hand over her mouth, but figured it would help Ghent at least a little.

Lily tried to struggle with one of their captors, who got frustrated by her motions. He backhanded her soundly. Ethan broke free and looked to almost break the man's jaw with an uppercut before a pair of the men got him under control again.

Ghent heard both Emma and Taggart clearly, but he knew he couldn't shoot with all of them in the middle. A brief look around and Ghent thanked some higher power. He'd forgotten the lights in this area of town were electric. He fired shots into the three street lights that were around the area. ?Run!? He yelled to his family.

Emma was quick on the draw. She stamped down hard on her captor's foot, causing him to yelp rather unceremoniously. It was just enough time for her to get out of his grip and she moved to try and help Lily get away.

Taggart's captor didn't seem so green. He knocked Taggart out with the butt of his assault rifle, then left off a few shots into the air, trying to get the situation under control.

Ada was completely turned around, despite the gun shots and the yelling. She turned and headed down a very narrow alley which seemed to plug into the road. A moment later, she popped out from a narrow walkway onto the sidewalk right in front of Taggart and Emma's house. There was a light overhead, but she couldn't see into the darkness where the streetlights had been dispatched of, so she raised her knife and squinted out towards Ghent's position, rather unknowingly.

Tyler made no wrong turns, though, and slid under cover a short distance back from Ghent. He was pretty good at staying hidden, so he assessed the situation and started moving in towards the house.

Ghent heard a distinctive noise. Like a device powering up. At least one of them had night vision goggles. He had to intercept them quickly, before flashlights came on as well. He sprinted out of his cover.

Lily was trying to stand back up, but the same soldier kicked her back down. His flashlight was on. Ethan struggled against the men who had a grip on him. "Leave her alone you bastard!"

"Shut up, kid. Think you were cool playing the hero, huh?" The flashlight illuminated Lily. Ghent had to hit the source, whom he could now barely see. There was a loud bang right as Ghent got close. Lily cried out in pain.

Emma couldn't see in the dark, but she was trying to get to her sister. "Lily? Lily!" She sounded desperate enough, feeling around in the dark for something -- anything.

Ada heard Emma and ducked down, slipping into the darkness and away from the streetlamp. She was being cautious a slow, though, as she didn't want to end up hurting the wrong person.

Once more, Tyler advanced, though he moved to cover across the street from Ghent, allowing them to get at least a wider range of cover. There was just enough light shining though the windows of the house for him to catch a glimpse of another operative, which his dispatched with a rather quick shot to the head.

Ghent had seen Lily get shot. All thoughts were blanked from his mind in that moment. The heel of his palm slammed into the kidney of the man who shot Lily. The force was tremendous. The man fell to the ground despite all of his gear. He gasped loudly for air. There was no way anyone could physically tell, but Ghent had ruptured the man's organ. His flashlight ended standing upright and illuminating the area. Ghent's expression was completely blank. He fired two shots into one of the stunned men holding Ethan. Ethan reached up and snapped the other's neck, once he had been partially freed.

Emma was immediately putting pressure to Lily's wound, but she couldn't see how severe it was. She was just reacting and shaking and couldn't seem to figure out what else to do.

Ada was slinking through the door, trying to find her way, but that robot arm's displays seemed like faded black on black and stood out quite a bit more than she would have expected. She tripped over a foot, but there was no telling who's it was. The carving knife slid on the wet street, making a metallic scraping sound while everyone was trying to be quiet and slip away.

Ghent was moving as fast as his body would allow. Unfortunately for the attacking soldiers, it was quite a bit faster than them. Ghent fired a shot into a nearby man's head and swung his leg around another's neck immediately afterward. He squeezed with his calf muscle and twisted, breaking the man's neck. It was at this point that the soldiers began to be afraid. "Retreat! Go, go!"

Lily was gritting her teeth. The shot had gone into her abdomen and it was bleeding a good bit. "Ouch..ow..." Her words were soft, pitiful sounds. Ethan was quick to get to her side, near Emma.

Taggart wasn't coming to yet, but he did his part in tripping a soldier that was trying to retreat. The man fall back over Taggart's unconscious body and then retreated into Ada, who took almost no time in determining him as the enemy. She grabbed him around the neck with her robot arm and squeezed as hard as she could, trying to choke the guy out, or kill him. Whichever came first.

Jad found a pair of the night vision goggles and used them as if they were his own, taking a quick survey of the slowly emptying battlefield.
Ghent tried to get hold of the only other man near him, but he didn't land his blow precisely. It struck the man's arm, hard enough for him to drop his sidearm as he turned to flee.

Lily was trying not to cry, but the pain was intense. Tears stung at her eyes. "Ethan, it hurts. It hurts alot...?

His original intent had been to use the goggles to follow the assailants, but Tyler felt he was better off trying to asses Lily's wounds, since there seemed to be plenty of people who would likely follow instead. So, he moved over to her side and spoke quietly, "I can help."

Ada struggled with the gasping soldier until finally he fell to his knees and dropped to the roadway. It was still too dark to see, but she could hear movement. "Ghent?" It was a whisper, searching into the dark for some clue.

Emma sniffled and tried to wipe her face on her sleeve. In most cases, she would have been calmer, but this was Lily... "It's okay, it'll be okay. We've got help, now, see?"

Ghent looked into the illuminated portion of the road, where Lily lie. Initially, he had just reacted. At that moment, though, seeing his younger sibling on the ground, bleeding, something snapped. His arms shuddered with rage, with hatred. Grenholdt had involved his family and these men were either foolish or cruel enough to follow his orders. Ghent did not answer Ada's whisper if he heard it. He took off running, jamming a spare clip into the Beretta he had. There was another small squad coming out of the alleyway. ?You're all going to pay!!? It was a combination. Something like a scream and a booming cannon.


((This is adapted and edited from the play of May 8/12, 2008, with permission. For more information, please PM or e-mail Adalia Dodd.))