The posts in this thread are a collaborative effort between me and Erin's player, and take place Friday, July 6th]

Lydia watched as the little gnome woman wriggled her way into the jacket, and smiled at the expression on her face. "Ah, thes is jist wonderful sweets!" Beaming, the gnome turned and twirled, primped and preened, then cast a radiant smile up and over the counter. "It's stoaner tae fin' clothin' 'at fits mah size." With a thoughtful expression, she looked towards the display case of jewelery. Pointing at it, she looked back to Lydia. "Coods Ah gie 'at bracelit th' other quine showed me an aw?"

"Of course!" Smiling, Lydia moved aside to retrieve the pretty blue beaded bracelet that matched the gnome's new jacket and offered it over. One would think Lydia wouldn't be able to understand her, but this particular gnome was something of a regular since Lydia took commissions to make clothing that fit her. Gnomes didn't exactly have a normal stature.

"Brammer!" Taking the bracelet, the gnome woman draped it about her wrist and secured it. After admiring it a moment she looked back to Lydia, reaching for her coin purse. "Hoo much dae Ah owe ye?"

The jacket and bracelet weren't the only things the woman had purchased either. Lips pursed, Lydia looked over the boxes of other clothing and knitted items the gnome lady had picked up and slid them across the counter towards her. "Thirty silver." She waited patiently as the woman counted out two golds and ten silvers, then placed them into her hands. "Thank you very much Mrs. MacDoogal. And I'm sure your husband will love the dress you got. You looked very beautiful in it." Genuine words to allay earlier fears Mrs. MacDoogal had.

"Ah sure hope sae, an' thenk ye quinie. Ah will be back next week!" The gnome picked up the boxes of her recent purchases and turned to move for the door. Lydia waved her way as she slipped out then moved down the counter to till the coins she just recieved into the register, making sure to keep her earnings and Erin's earnings seperated.

Erin came down the stairs from the workroom carrying what would be the centerpiece of her fall collection. The pale blue cardigan was held out for Lydia as soon as she reached the bottom stair.

"What do you think?" It was turned around then, so that her sister could see the pretty little ribbon attached to the back for a cinched waist. The buttons were a pearl. Erin was rather pleased with her work and smiled, all three dimples showing, as she twirled it for her sister. "I think I may make these in every color for the fall. They are useful for all weather, and cute, too. Something dressy and casual... plus, this yarn is soft as cashmere, but not nearly as expensive." The sweater was laid over her arm as she approached the counter.

"Was that Mrs. MacDoogal that just left?" A smile crossed the englishwoman's lips as she thought of the cute older woman. A bit of a shake to her head and she turned back to her sister. "Anyway, you ready to call it a day yet? I think it's late and my stomach is eating itself." Her brows waggled. Erin loved to drag Lydia out to eat if she could. Erin loved to drag anyone she could near food whenever she could. It was just that her sister, well, her sister could eat as much and as fast as she could!

As Erin descended the stairs Lydia closed the register and rounded the counter, curiously studying the cardigan. "It's cute... I like it." Nodding in approval, she smiled to Erin. "Do you think you could make one for me? All my clothing for fall and winter is just bulky and..." Trailing off, she shook her head, then pondered a moment as she looked back to the pale blue cardigan. "Though I think lilac would look better on me.. or turquoise." Pausing as she canted her head. "Or maybe red?" With green hair, it was always something of an 'adventure' for Lydia to find the right colors to go with it.

Shaking her head, she snapped back to reality. "Oh, yeah it was. She wanted to look nice for later, even bought one of your bracelets. She's celebrating her 32nd anniversary with her husband tonight." A warm smile to that. Even not much of a marriage advocate herself, there was something refreshing about two people making it that long, Rhydin or no. "I'm definitely ready to call it a day. She's the only customer we've had for the past two hours. I guess business'll be slow until Fall." She shrugged lightly to that, not really disappointed. They were getting by, making profit, Erin didn't need money, and neither did she.

Reaching over the counter, Lydia snatched up the favored purple and green knitted bag and tossed it over her shoulder before glancing back towards Erin. "Did you have any idea of where to eat?" She was at ease with the idea of going out. It was day time and she wouldn't be alone. Not to mention she was pretty hungry herself, as her appetite had recently come back to her.

"Oh, I can make swabs of each color and you can see how it looks with your hair. That way you don't have to have a bunch of stuff that looks bad. If you want, I can even embroider some stuff on it. Flowers, vines, snowflakes..." Erin loved talking about her knitting. When it came to commissions, they almost always went to Lydia. It was rarely that she could really sit around and talk about designs with someone.

"Remember that diner we went with Cassie and Sebastian that time?" Erin grabbed her messenger bag and slid it over her shoulder as she started for the door. The place was clean enough and she could deal with the rest in the morning. Erin stopped at the door, holding it open for Lydia. "I'm kinda in the mood for chips... or a burger. Or chips and a burger." Erin nodded with a laugh. "I could eat a house or something. Took lunch way too early today." Her head shook and she opened her bag to dig around for her cigarettes and a lighter. Once they were found, she waited for Lydia to pass her at the door.

"That's probably a good idea. It's not hard for you to embroider flowers is it? I've practiced but it always comes out crooked." Lips twisted to that as she followed along with Erin. "When I want to put a design on something I use those 'iron-on' gems. I should probably look for more though, think I'm running low on them." Hearing just where they would be eating, Lydia grinned. "Yeah, I remember that place. The fries were great. I'll probably get them along with a burger too." Let's face it, they could both be pigs.

"Though.. weren't you supposed to be on a diet?" Lydia commented in a teasing tone as she passed Erin by and through the door, even poking her tummy in the process. "You're gonna get flabby if you start eating burgers and fries." She wasn't serious at all. Not really. She's never known Erin to be flabby, even pre-diet.

"Oh, Lydia." Erin said as if her sister were a very silly girl. "Did you really think I stopped eating greasy gross food alltogether?" She shook her head slowly. "No, no, no.. I just -added- some fruit." Erin was a step or two behind Lydia, having paused to lock the door. Lydia passed the alley first, and without much pause, Erin went after.

Usually? Usually Erin checked the alley before she passed it. You never knew what was back there, who was waiting, what could be lurking. This time? She was too excited about her wonderfully greasy meal to be bothered. And so, keys still in hand, she walked right past the darkened area that was the garbage alley next to their shop. It smelled, of course, the sanitation strike still happening, and just as Erin went to cover her nose, it was covered for her.

The hand reached out, and much like the first time it grabbed her and clamped over her mouth and nose. Only this time? This time it was wet feeling... damp. The arm that came around her stomach wasn't as firm as it had been the first time. It left some room... some room for her to slump. At first she kicked her feet, tried to scream, to bite-- but there was only a few moments in which she could struggle. Erin found herself fighting sleep. She was suddenly so tired... and that smell? What was that smell? Sure, she may have hit her attacker with her keys once or twice, and he would have a bruised calf in the morning... but in the end, Erin went without much fight.

With a clatter the keys hit the cobble stones. The first real noise to come from the struggle.

Her body slumped forward, hair falling over her face. The man that was holding her, had her propped like a rag doll. Her hands both opened, her mouth too. Eye lids fell over eyes that had rolled back up into her head. If one weren't looking carefully, they wouldn't see the breathing, the slight movement of her chest-- they would think she were dead. Her feet dragged across the cobble stones with a scrape as the man that had grabbed Erin slowly pulled her back into the garbage filled alley.

In the time it took Lydia to bend down and hurl the knife at him; Fahl flicked his wrist. With the flick came another of those deep commanding words.

"Mamogref."

The knife hit the forcefield and bounced off with a small clang to the ground. Another sigh from the elf as he shook his head slowly at Lydia. "Lydia... you know, for the longest time I had such difficulties calling you that. And not by your title. But the more I see you fraternize with such... filth... and watch you so actively shun your responsibilities, the more I understand that you don't really deserve your title..." His shoulders raised and fell in a shrug. "It's sad, really. All those years, all those lessons... and you're a common day seamstress."

Erin stirred again, waking up from the blackout she was tossed into. Another little moan from the girl, and she raised a hand to press it to her head. "...Lydia?" She was worried, really. Barely remembering how she got from locking the door, to lying against a dirty wall in an alley. A hand came up to her head and pressed where there was a trickle of blood. She winced and moved the hand to look at it. Her fingers flexed as she contemplated the blood there. With a push of one arm against the floor, she tried to sit up.

Lydia furrowed her brows as the knife bounced off Fahl's forcefield. Another movement to reach for her boot, a little sluggish, put another knife into her hand. Though this one was simply held, as she knew throwing it wouldn't do her much good right now. She scowled at Fahl's words, but she didn't address them, wouldn't address them. Hearing Erin though, her expression softened a bit as she looked her way. "It's okay Erin... I'm here." Soft words, an attempt to comfort.

Pale blues, no longer glowing, no longer bright, and perhaps a touch duller than the norm, snapped up towards Fahl. Her words were angry, spoken through clenched teeth. "I owe you nothing Fahl... I don't owe any of you anything." He would know who she spoke of. Slowly, she shifted to position herself so she could stand. It was a slow process, given that every muscle in her body ached and burned still, an after effect of having her magic ripped from her she would feel for quite a while. Knees wobbled as she straightened, the hand not holding knife rested against the wall next to her. "You have no right to come here and hurt anyone... or try to take my life away..."

"I have every right! You left us all to die and prance around without a care in the world." Fahl heard Erin move and turned to see her pull herself up against the wall. She was upright now, from the waist up, a trickle of blood down the side of her face. With a sigh and a roll of her shoulders she turned slowly to see the scene. Eyes widened at Lydia on the ground and just as she started scrambling for her bag, Fahl bent to scoop up the knife at his feet and toss it at her foot.

It missed, making a loud pang as it hit the cobbles, but it scared Erin enough to press her back against the wall. In that time, he raised his hand again.

"Manifo!" And Erin turned into a statue, frozen there against the wall, her hands pulling on her messenger bag.

Lydia's eyes widened in horror at the sight of her sister frozen, paralyzed. The fact that Fahl struck against someone close to her again, well, it enraged her. Everything he had put her through... Everything he put Ivy through... Everything he had put them all through... And he kept on with it. While his attention was on Erin she took a small step forward, throwing the knife in her hand at him once more. There was force behind this throw, unlike the last one. Such an action though sent pain coursing through her body, and with a sharp intake of breath she fell back down to one knee, arms draped about herself in something akin to a self hugging gesture as a faint whimper sounded in the back of her throat.

Fahl didn't hear the whimper. He was too busy gasping at the pain that suddenly ran through his back. The knife had lodged itself between his shoulder blade and his arm on the right side of his body. With a few ragged breaths he turned, slowly, to face Lydia.

"I didn't hurt her." Though they both knew that. And with a slow shake of his head, he reached around to pull the knife out of his back. The cry was sharp and shrill before it lowered itself into a guttural noise. "You keep sticking me with these things... it's quite unlady like." He passed the knife from one hand to the other and then back again, inspecting it. His own blood stained the blade and was dripping onto the handle. It also was seeping from the wound and outward in a slowly growing circle. "And, in fact, unfair. I've never physically hurt any of you. And yet you keep trying to kill me. Is that really your first reaction?" He shook his head again as he took another step closer, the knife moving between his hands again.

"I wasn't asking you, Lydia. I was telling you." And with that he took the knife and slashed at the back of her knee. He was looking to cut a tendon, make running, standing, moving without a lot of help an impossibility.

Moving was already nearly an impossibility for Lydia in her condition. She couldn't move away from Fahl then, even as he approached, even as she saw him reach out with that knife. Always one with a low tolerance to pain, she screamed as the blade tore into the flesh behind her knee. No longer able to support herself on that knee she went crumpling to the ground on her side, trembling and shuddering as she laid there, tears started to pool in her eyes. The cut was deep so a considerable amount of blood was pouring from it, running down the the side of her leg, pooling on the ground, even on the end of her bag she was very nearly laying on top of.

Erin could still see. She could still hear. She was not dead-- just frozen in place. It's hard to imagine trying to move and having nothing happen. Her arms were like rocks, her legs made of lead. She wanted to do nothing more than scream, yell, claw-- but nothing would happen. She was just stuck.

Fahl knew he didn't have much time before the englishwoman would be free of the spell. He let the knife fall to the stones and tore the bottom of his cloak, reaching down to tie it around the wound on Lydia's knee. No need for her to bleed to death. That would defeat the purpose.

"I hate that you made this get violent." He growled at her as he worked. "It didn't have to be."

Tears fell down Lydia's face as her eyes closed, a wince and another whimper sounding as the cloth was tied around her knee. Remaining conscious at this point was a bit of a struggle, but even then she didn't want to give up. Not yet. Even with that sinking feeling down in the pit of her stomach.. she couldn't just give up. Palms pressed to the cobbles as she tried pushing herself up, but this, of course, was a futile effort. Quite a few celadon locks fell in her face as she looked up and towards Erin, still frozen. Lydia opened her mouth as if to speak but even this was proving difficult. Sound escaped, but no words formed.

Erin was crying. Tears fell down her face and there was nothing she could do to stop them. No change in her expression, no movement from her limbs. She was just crying. If there was anything in the world Erin hated most, it was feeling helpless. And today? Today she was helpless... Erin wished beyond wished that she had telepathy. That she could talk. How many things would she tell her sister? But all she could do was watch as if she were on the other side of a television screen.

Once Fahl was done with her knee, he bent to scoop her up with a grunt. It hurt. His arm wasn't working as well as it should, and he was losing a lot of blood, perhaps faster than he should be. Another grunt escaped his throat as he readjusted her over his good shoulder.

Lydia had quite a bit she wished she could say and do too, but she couldn't. Hoisted over Fahl's shoulder, she couldn't fight back, couldn't even kick him. He won. Fahl won. Conceding to this fact made it all the more easier for her to give up then. Pale blues shut as the world went dark, and she went limp in his arms, unconscious.

It was then that Erin 'woke up.' Finally, she could move! Her arms and legs lurched forward and she started moving towards the two before she even knew what she was doing. A hand skimmed the cobble where the knife had been dropped and she was holding it out and to the left, away from Lydia, towards Fahl. She was rushing him, but she wasn't being quiet. It was hard when you had a big messenger bag slung over one shoulder.

"Malor." Fahls voice rang out and then there was nothing. Erin's hand went through the air and into nothing. There was no Fahl. No Lydia. Erin let out a frustrated scream and tossed the knife at the wall. Her foot stamped and she turned to smash her hand into the wall. The bones crushed and crunched-- Erin didn't care. She just leaned back and let the wall have it again.

She'd failed. Lydia failed. Fahl won.