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Shattered Soul (kuro_bara x Alenaeon)

Remwald nodded in agreement and got the directions of where the burnt down school was from Elizabeth. He lead her through the streets again, heading down a few side alleys as he expected they were more likely to be watched the closer they got. The streets were less and less populated as they got closer to the school as the people were suspicious and did not want the ghosts of the dead haunting them, but a few stuck around either out of not believing that or not having anywhere else to go.

The ruins of the school were visible, a few stones and charred boards were all that remained of the school, the basement was still in tact although access to it was difficult as there were a large amount of bricks and wood over the entrance. Remwald peered over the location, looking at the surrounding buildings and the ruins hoping to find something suspicious, normally he would question the souls of the deceased, but he knew that since they were trapped pulling them here would be impossible. A small revelation dawned over him as he looked at Elizabeth, "Get me a soul stone, I will do my research while you do your own here."
 
Seeing the charred skeleton of the building made Elizabeth shiver. She could not begin to fathom the chaos and pain the deaths of so many children had caused. She remembered hearing about it in the news, the emergency brigade need volunteers to help search the rubble for survivors. They had spent two grueling weeks searching but to no avail. Most of the city was so overcome with grief at the tragedy they had not thought to question the oddity of this. The only remains found were charred piles of ash and bits of unidentifiable bone. Both of which could have easily been placed there.

She felt cold at the thought of what Dirigible might have done to those kids. She truly hoped and prayed to any God that might listen that they did not suffer like she had. Elizabeth did as he said quickly retrieving one of the stones for his use from a nearby source. After handing it over she hesitantly began searching around the accessible parts of the crumbled structure. There really wasn't much to see. As she wandered past a still erect wall something caught her attention. Underneath the black scorch marks she could just make out the faded remains of a drawing. Upon closer inspection she realized it was a symbol. She sketched into her note book and continued looking. Shortly after she found another of the strange symbols. The more she looked the more she noticed them. It looked as someone had placed them all over the building. Frowning she walked further away from the destruction, nudging debris aside with her foot as she went.

She wandered away from Rem though always ensuring she could see him and sense his presence. She let her meandering thoughts lead her, unsure of what exactly she was looking for. When she made a circuit of the building she stood staring in shock. "Rem..." She called a feeling of apprehension creeping up her spine.
 
He looked over the stone, he pondered pulling the soul out right now and questioning it but he figured that he would need to ensure that it didn't flee and gave him correct information. He leaned against a nearby building, in his human form, his eyes darted between the stone and Elizabeth. His mind was racing with ideas, so many ideas. She was interesting, she made his heart race on occasion, the soul stones were a work of wonder, terrible, terrible wonder. He knew he couldn't take advantage of them beyond what he did, there were too many deals and agreements set in stone that he could abuse souls like this, especially on such an extent.

She called him, he pocketed the stone, and moved over to her. His eyes scanning the debris, he missed some of the runes, assuming they were a logo of some sort for this plane. He felt a slight pang of worry as he noticed her own, he hoped that this was not some sort of elaborate trap designed to ensnare him. While he had seen it done before, most foes were not that clever to plan so far ahead. "Yes Elizabeth?"
 
As Rem approached her she tried to swallow the lump of trepidation in her throat. Her circuit of the building had revealed scorch marks in the ground that perfectly imitated the symbols on the walls of the school. She showed him her note book and explained what she had seen, finally pointing at the marks on the ground. "They completely contain the building...I've never seen any marks like this before. Do you...recognize them?" She asked hesitantly. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted an answer. If he knew them, it meant he was some how connected to whatever was happening here in London and the implications of that were extremely concerning.

She stood back and watched his face for any sign of recognition, at the same time focusing in on his emotions just in case he tried to hide it. Elizabeth didn't think he would resort to lying but...this whole event had here more then a little mistrustful. It didn't help that Dirigible was using her and many other completely innocent researchers to further their demented work. She wondered very briefly, what they did with the researchers who got too close...the ones that retained their own moral code at least. There were certainly those that would have no issues with what Dirigible was doing, like the scarred man. Thinking of him only made her fear sharper, some perverse part of her really hoped that Rem had made him suffer immensely. Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she decided that he quite probably had.
 
He looked over the symbols. When he thought of it, they did have magical connections. How clever, of course he didn't think that explained how they got the souls or managed to kill them. It had to be one or the other from this, at least to his knowledge. Still, these foes were operating on unknown and wary terrain. He had no clue how the natural magic here worked, and these symbols could have blown london apart for all he knew. "Yes, these are magical. No, I do not quite recognize them."

He thought for a moment, before turning extremely pale. He did recognize them, they were not his. But he realized who had lain them. His heart faltered for a moment, he became incredibly sullen as he realized that he would have to make a terrible choice that he didn't want to make. He looked away as he whimpered. "It's... my great-grand daughter. She was responsible for this assault. I had thought her dead many years ago, but it would seem not." His emotions were confused, very confused. Largely sadness, but a bit of pride. It explained so much, how the demon had managed to keep up with him. How there was such powerful necromancy going on without a person noticing. How this was indeed a trap. It would seem that she took after him, in far too many ways.

Eight armed men stepped in around them, some from the nearby buildings, others down an alley or street. They had hard, malicious looks on their faces. Six of them were armed with swords in their hands, while two of them had simple pistols at the ready. They approached slowly, but were obviously keeping their distance. "Now, you both are gonna drop any weapons you got, and then you gonna get on the ground with ya hands 'ere we can see 'im. The boss pays us, you gets stuck with 'e boss. We can kills ya, and we will do it if ya gives us a fight!"
 
Elizabeth had thought her own fear was a problem until a flood of conflicting emotions surged through her link with Remwald. There was sadness mixed with confusion and pride...it was enough to give her headache. He explained to her about his granddaughter and she felt a pang of sympathy for him. Living as long as he did he probably outlived most of his blood, to find out one of them may be betraying him must come as a shock. Before she had time to respond to any of this, armed men appeared out of the crevices of the city. She glanced at Rem to see what his reaction might be but did as they said. She had no weapon to give up so she carefully held up her hands palm out at shoulder height.

It was at this moment that Elizabeth finally started to realize how deeply involved she was with this whole fiasco and Remwald. It reaffirmed her decision to deal with it and maybe if these thugs took them to their boss she would be able to learn more...assuming she wasn't killed first. Considering what her Lich friend had done to the last person to hurt she doubted dying was really an option for her at the moment. Immediately after all of this passed through her mind a second revelation followed on its heels. She was willing to die for this being, this strange man who dropped her life into chaos and who it seemed was connected to everything that was happening. Carefully keeping her thoughts and feelings to herself she mulled over the implications of this realization. Did it mean she had feelings for him...that was ridiculous she barely knew him and yet...her connection allowed her to know him deeper then any courtship would have allowed for. She kept her face neutral and stared straight ahead, now was not the time to go all womanly.
 
With his new realization, he figured that surrendering in this case would be very, very bad for them. He hoped that Elizabeth wouldn't be too badly wounded by the end of this. He dashed towards the closest man and smashed his now skeletal hand into the man's face, a finger getting jammed inside of the eye socket. His other hand went for his stomach, ignoring the blow to his ribcage.

The other men swooped in except for the gunmen, they both shot, one of which hit Elizabeth in the heart (Easier to let her do something, scar will be less noticeable, etc.), the other flew through Remwald's skull. They approached Remwald, assuming Elizabeth would be dead before she could harm any of them.

Remwald grabbed the sword out of the hand of the man he was fighting, turning around, swinging his sword to slice at the neck of a swordsman. A thin line of blood escaped the man's neck as he started to drop to the ground. Remwald bent over and picked it up. Taking a hit to the spine which cracked it and ripped his suit. He grinned with his humanoid face as he realized this battle was already won. His blade slit off a man's arm with a blow, while his other one parried another blow coming for him. He dashed for one of the gunmen who was in the process of reloading. After decapitating that one, the other fired another round, lodging itself in his right arm. He flung his sword as hard as he could towards the other gunman, leaving it sticking out of the man's chest. He picked up the gun and fired at the head of one of the final three fighters.

He charged at the final pair, dropping the gun in the street, using his claws to eviscerate the one on the left, and impale the one on the right. With the battle completely over, he surveyed the battlefield, looking over the damage done, hoping that there was something he could do for Elizabeth to assist in her passing.

((Sorry, I assumed she probably wouldn't do much given they were heavily armed and she has minimal combat experience to my knowledge. ))
 
Elizabeth was caught unawares when Remwald leaped into action. She had felt no inkling of the intent before he acted. As she turned to see what was happening, she watched in shock as he brutally assaulted the first man. Beth tried to back pedal out of the line of fire but one of the men saw the movement and in slow motion she watched the weapon turn towards her, heard the sharp crack of the gun firing, she was sure she could see the bullet soar towards her. In reality it took only seconds but she felt like time had slowed to a crawl. The bullet pierced her heart, the impact knocking her onto her back. She could feel her life training away as she struggled to breath. It felt like there wasn't enough air in the world to reach her lungs.

Blood pooled around her body in an ever widening circle and the pain that spread through her chest and into her limbs was excruciating. She could sense Remwald's cold rage as dispatched the remaining men and wanted to call out to him, tears formed in her eyes. Her heart slowed to the point of painful and she gasped for air. Black started to stain the edge of her vision and just when she thought it would finally be over and she would be allowed to die...everything stopped. Her eyes stared up at the ever steam filled sky and she wished in her last moments she could have at least seen the brilliant blue sky above London. There was an odd shift in perspective and suddenly she was standing above her own head looking down at her dying body. Nothing was moving, Rem was unnaturally still, even the air did not stir.

When she looked at her hands she could see right through them. It was a peculiar feeling looking through herself. She wondered if she was a ghost...looking around she noticed the symbols on the ground. In this realm they were glowing fiery red and another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. The symbol had been designed to trap the souls of anyone that died on them, then someone would come and collect them forcing them into the ghost stone. It was a painful realization, she imagined hundreds of children standing where she stood scared and alone. Whoever Remwald's Great Granddaughter was Elizabeth was making it her personal mission to see that she suffered.

She could see the stone pulsing in Rem's pocket and drifted closer. Grinning she leaned down and draped her ghostly form over his shoulder and whispered to him. "Rem..." Giggling, she reached out an ethereal finger and touched the glowing stone. It felt as though she were doused with cold water and she shivered. There was a sudden strong tugging and she knew instinctively it was from her body. What she didn't understand is why her dead body would call her back. The tugging became more insistent and she could no longer ignore it. With a sigh of annoyance she went back to her body. The moment her hand made contact her eyes snapped open and the pain returned but something was different. In the time her soul had been gone from her body it had healed enough to survive. The bullet was pushed out of the wound and her heart mended as well as the hole through her lung. Her body was slowly working to replenish the massive amount of blood she had lost.
 
Remwald walked over to her body, he sat down and cradled her head in his lap for a few moments. "This is my fate, is it not? To lose those I care for?" He ran his head through her hair as he sat there a bit depressed, he had the inkling of a feeling of a lost soul reaching out for him as he was heading over here, probably hers but he realized that tampering with her life would likely not please her.

He ran his hands through her hair with his eyes closed, now was again the time for mourning. Mortals were frail creatures, even more prone to death then those he normally associated with. His face was grim, with a hint of determination hidden behind it. He decided that he would kill her. He would place her with his father, with his siblings. With her actual Great-Grandfather. She had crossed the line that the rest of them had tried, but she was the only one to succeed. A single tear was shed from Remwald, unfortunately landing on Elizabeth's face.

The fact that she had been regenerating surprised Remwald, he almost leaped when she came back but he fought the urge. When he looked down at her, he fought another urge. The urge to hug her and kiss her for not quite abandoning him yet, a few ideas as for how this was pulled off came to mind. It couldn't be divine intervention, the gods did not seem to be active enough to bring a soul back. The skin where the bullet had opened seemed to be slowly fixing itself, so that was likely the answer. It could either be a latent effect from being near his magic for so long, or it could be because of his immovability of his soul attached to hers.

He smiled at her as he didn't stop running his hands through her hair. "Welcome back to the world of the living." He slid a finger across her cheek slowly, the look upon his face evident that he had been or was currently holding back tears, he released his own living essence into her body, being an entity of pure mana that had the result of damaging himself as she saw, but it helped speed up the process of healing. She would probably have a scar but it was better then nothing. "I'm... so glad that you are not dead. That is why we cannot submit, ever."
 
Beth smiled weakly up at him, the feel of his hand on her face making her feel surprisingly calm. “That was…unpleasant.” She murmured, her voice sounding a little hoarse. She didn’t think she was quite ready to move so she simply gazed up at him. “I could see you.” She stated rather cryptically. “My soul was stuck here…but I don’t think it was because of you.” Beth could vividly recall the fiery lines on the ground and she felt the same heartache as before, at the thought of the children being stuck.

She could see the effort he was putting in to hold back his tears and she reached up and placed her hand over his as he caressed her face. “I’m sorry I almost died…” There was a weak version of her usual impish smile on her lips. Even now when she had nearly died she was trying to use humour to make him feel better.

“I touched the Ghost Stone when I was in the other plane.” She explained softly. Her body felt heavy and she was very tired. “When I did my body summoned me back…” She didn’t understand how the process had worked but she knew she was alive because of it. “We need…to stop her…” She whispered starting to feel drowsy. It was an effect of a mass regeneration and healing, her body need time to rest and recover. “Rem…I’m sorry…” She said again before falling into a deep sleep.
 
He nodded at her words. He picked up her sleeping form, again it was time to take her home. Of course, now that he knew who was behind the plotting he was wary to trust it, but he had to at the moment, he simply lacked the contacts to arrange what he needed. His steps were slow and cautious, the breeze was soft and gentle. He occasionally squeezed his hands as he tensed up, fearing another ambush but none came.

He slowly opened the door to her home, and stepped in. The walk to her bedroom seemed to take forever to his perspective, but he made it, setting her down on the bed, covering her up with the sheets. He looked around her room, it was homey in a way, but he had more important business to attend too. He left the apartment, and using his stolen funds he bought a large amount of groceries, a bit of thread and a needle. On the walk home, he thought he saw a few men waiting in the shadows but he figured they weren't there, he had hoped that this wasn't a sign of his previous state coming back. That would be absolutely dreadful.

After arriving back at her home, he started to put the groceries he had away. He intended to at least get her to eat well now that he was living here! From his perspective, she was trying to starve herself. After that was done, he went around tidying up the house. Dusting, picking things up, his intention was to have her home spotless. He looked it over and as he confirmed that he was happy with it, headed to her bathroom. He turned on the water, after stripping off his suit and the rest of his clothing, he slowly got into the water. The sensation was dulled, but it was better then nothing and he wanted to relax for the moment.
 
Beth had a long dream filled sleep. Some of them were nightmares, some were happier and all of them involved Remwald. Hours later when she awoke she could not remember a single one…except for an odd sense of comfort and longing. Pushing herself upright with a wince she swung her legs over the side of the bed. It bothered her to no end that she was constantly causing problems, she couldn’t defend herself and more often than not Rem was taking care of her. It made her feel weak and useless, her only identifiable skill was her intelligence and that would only go so far in protecting her.

She was glad to see that he had at least removed her blood stained clothing though the thought of him stripping her down made her face burn with embarrassment. Padding out into the main room she looked around for the Lich. When she didn’t immediately see him, panic welled up in her, until she remembered to stop and think. Cursing herself for foolish she closed her eyes and concentrated, he was of course still nearby. Once her sudden alarm had faded she realized she was famished, yet another side effect of the regeneration. Wandering into the kitchen she was delighted and a little embarrassed to find that he had stocked her cupboards and fridge. Pulling a piece of fruit out of the ice box she munched on it happily.
 
Remwald continued to bathe, noticing the rise and change of her feelings. At least she was fine, he was able to relax a bit more at that, he continued to bathe himself before looking at his clothes. Curses, they had a few cuts and whatnot. He realized he had left the needle and thread out there, on her kitchen counter. He'd have to fix them later, he stepped out of the tub, and grabbed a towel, drying himself off. He proceeded to redress himself. He looked himself over, his clothes were bloodstained. Oh, how he missed his home right about now but he knew he could never go back there, not for all eternity. Maybe after an eternity though.

He stepped out into the living room and waved at her. "I hope you don't mind, I figured that you could use a bit of refreshments and home cooking would do you well after that experience. As disappointing as it is to say, we may need to move soon. If she is as clever as I presume her to be, most of this has been planned. Why else do you think you found my phylactery? From there it could be reasoned that you would tamper with it and draw me here. I would be incredibly weakened while my foe could recuperate, either I would kill you or grow attached to you. You would still pose a vulnerability, which would drive them to have leverage over me. I must apologize for bringing you into all of this."

He walked over to the kitchen slowly, grabbing the needle and thread, a bit awkwardly he started to work on his clothing, occasionally glancing up at her, every time he did he smiled a bit wider as he realized how happy she made him. His hands were skillful and practiced, they worked in tandem to each other showing off his experience as a two weapon swordsman. "If you'd like, we could get you a bit of training. You'd need to figure out what you wanted to train with or to become, but it is a possibility."
 
Beth frowned thoughtfully when he mentioned leaving the apartment, she wasn't overly attached to it but it head been her home for the last several years. If he thought it necessary she wouldn't argue she had already caused him enough trouble. When he apologized she gave him a startled look of surprise. "You don't need to apologize...it was my own fault for tampering, curiosity really does kill the cat it seems." She said with a small, tired smile.

She watched as he stitched his clothing, apparently he was quite good at well everything which just reinforced her own failings in her mind. Beth could feel the sudden happiness in him and watched as he smiled up at her. It reflected her own thoughts, despite the hardships he had brought she was happy he had come. She had been buried in her own little bubble for too long pushing everyone away. It was something she had done since her parents had died when she was young. She had traveled through dozens of foster homes each worse than the last and in the end her solution had been to become smarter and richer than them. The smarter part had been easy she poured all her energy into studying leaving little time for friendships, the richer part was something she was still working on. Remwald's sudden arrival had burst that bubble and he was quite suddenly wedged into her life.

She thought for several long moments about what she could possibly train in to make her even slightly more useful. "What would you recommend?" She asked seriously. He had been around for a very long time and presumably trained individuals through the years, he would more then likely recognizes any potentially offensive skills before she would. She wandered closer and poked her finger in a tear on his shoulder, he would be unable to sew that one. As he finished up the last rip she gently took the needle and thread with an abashed smile. "I do at least know who to sew." She murmured standing near his arm as she worked on the rip.
 
Remwald's own failings were simply well hidden. A creature of the years, he moved quite often to avoid becoming too attached to a single place so that way more weaknesses or failings could be developed. Of course, that was merely a weakness in and of itself. He looked over her fixing his suit, he preferred self-reliance for himself, but he let her. When she finished, he reached his arm around her and hugged her again. It was nice to be physically close to her, but he realized that may have been inappropriate so he let go of her.

He extended his hand to her, waiting for her to take it. "Well, the possibilities are nearly endless. You could learn to use a specific weapon, or I could teach you the ways of magic. From there, well, it depends on what you want to do with it. I don't choose for a person, for it is the passion for the path that makes an individual truly effective." He nodded his head. "Of course, if you don't mind. We could take a visit to a place that is very special to me. I believe I have some weaponry that I would like to retrieve. I warn you now, it may startle and even scare you but it is the place of my birth. We may even find your own." He left the last part cryptic and vague on purpose.
 
Beth barely had time to react to his sudden gesture of affection before it was gone but it made her feel warm inside and she was a little sad it hadn't lasted longer. She had never realized how fortifying a simple hug could be. Instead she smiled at him and took his hand. "But I thought you were born outside of this world?" She asked her head tilting quizzically as she watched him. The answer was quite obvious but her brain occasionally still did not make the connections right away. She trusted him though, he had twice now stood by her when she was gravely injured and if he wanted to go somewhere she would go with him. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze to let him know she was ready to follow him wherever.
 
"It isn't. We will need to do a bit of extra-dimensional traveling. I hope you don't mind. Besides, you'll get to meet someone who is closely connected to you even if you have never met them." He grinned, and lead her out of the building. He headed for a nearby alley and judged it's width, it would have to do for the moment and besides, a little collateral damage had never hurt anyone.

He released her hand and moved his hands in the ways of the arcane, his mouth speaking in an unknown and mystical tongue. Slowly, a swirling black dot appeared in front of him, it grew and grew. Ever so slowly, but it was growing. Remwald's skin slowly disappeared as he casted the spell but he didn't seem to notice. By the time it had finished, it was large enough that both of them could comfortably fit through it. He looked at her and winked. "I guess it's time to make a home coming visit."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her through. The feeling of going through the portal was chilling, a little vertigo and other disorientation was expected for people who weren't used to it. They were presently floating, it was a bit like swimming in a pool although no effort needed to be expended to move.

The place they had transported too looked like London, except it was colorless and in ruins. The entire place seemed to be different shades of black and grey, as no light sources were apparent. Even Remwald's eyes had taken a much duller view. Off in the distance were giant things which seemed to have a humanoid shape of pure darkness. Outside the ruins of the city, little orbs of darkness floated around, most of them seemed to not have a determined destination, but others were ramming into the other orbs as if attempting to harm them.

Requiring only the power of the mind to move, Remwald pulled Elizabeth off towards the south. "Be careful about attempting to take a step, it could leave you one step ahead, or you could be one mile ahead. Just think of flying and pushing yourself in the direction you want." None of the entities seemed to bother them, although after a few minutes, they were approached by one of the orbs.

As it got closer, it took on a more humanoid shape. It looked similar to Elizabeth, greying out to give it a more defined look. It's clothes were incredibly dark, it's skin was 'pale' compared to it's surroundings, although she had a few scars visible on her face. She gave a warm smile to them both. "Ah, so I get to meet the illustrious 'Wald we have all heard so much about, and he brings my." She looks over Elizabeth and giggles to herself. "Apparently boring counterpart. You could do so much better with a lady like me! All you have to do is give me a real body sweetie." Her words were careful, and while she was doing her best to be seductive, she wasn't apparently that good at it as she stumbled a bit.

Remwald would have blushed if he could, he was thankful that he had used most of his mana to get here. "I must decline your offer. I am quite content with my present friend. Could you lead us to the domain of Overlord Ka?" He tried to be polite and dodge the subject as much as he could, hoping he wouldn't get slapped.
 
The sensation of travelling through the portal reminded Elizabeth of when she was in the realm between life and death or at least when she returned to her body. She shivered as they emerged on the other side and gaze around at the bleak surroundings. She let him pull her along his warning making her too nervous to try and travel herself. As one of the orbs approached and took on a form she stared in stunned silence. It was essentially her but not her. When the figure called her boring she felt a surge of irritation that was pushed even further by her forward behaviour.

She wrapped her arm tightly around his and glared at the woman, she refused to accept it as a version of herself. It took her a moment to place the emotion that seethed inside her and the revelation shocked her. Jealousy...why would she be jealous...She looked at Rem silently as he spoke with the shadow. The idea of even a copy of her flirting with him made her want to grind her teeth. She wanted to be that person...she wanted Rem to pay attention to her. A little part of her reminded her that he already had been but she just never noticed.

Her shadow gave a cute pout when Remwald declined her offer and turned a wry grin on Elizabeth. Sauntering closer the shadow pressed her body up against Rem's and ignored Elizabeth. "I could tell you...for a tiny little price." She teased the Lich. "All I want is one little kiss from the infamous Remwald." She was growing braver by the second. Elizabeth on the other hand was bristling like a cat and looked like she may start growling like one any second.
 
Remwald looked between her and the real Elizabeth. He had no intention of being even friends with this shadow at this point, but as she had said herself, it was a small price, and he wasn't in any way connected to Elizabeth outside of their friendship and the occasional angst. He pressed his skull against her lips for a moment before rolling his eyes, he waved his hand dismissively at her. "Now, please give us a tour before I find my patience tested." His arm pulled Elizabeth a bit closer though, he realized that she had her good qualities, quite a few of them actually.

He floated ahead, hoping to get this over with as quickly as he could. He was thankful that she had some of his soul, it lessened the chilling effect of the plane on her body he figured. His eyes scanned the horizon, looking for a large floating citadel although it could have been anywhere. He sighed to himself as they got closer to what seemed to be a city, and if Elizabeth had been paying attention, it would be where one of the local villages had been destroyed.
 
The shadow Elizabeth giggled cheerfully before floating away. "You're destination is over there." She indicated a direction. "You know...I could do so much more for you..." She implied gazing now at Elizabeth's body with something close to hunger. Not a hunger for the flesh but more a desire to possess it as her own. Beth instinctively shied away from her and unconsciously took a step, just as Remwald had warned she found herself miles away from where she had been standing and worse in the opposite direction that the shadow had pointed. Staring around at her strange surroundings she tried to will herself to move back towards Rem to no avail.

Shadow Elizabeth giggled again as the other vanished. "Hmm...it seems you haven't taught your little pet very well." She teased. The shadow wasn't particularly evil but she was definitely enjoying toying with them. She drifted closer to him with a seductive smile. "Wouldn't you like it if I was a little braver." Obviously referring to the other girl. She trailed a hand over his exposed bones. "I can be stronger, protect myself..." She continued in a soft voice, sultry voice.
 
Remwald rolled his eyes at her desire for him, it certainly wasn't the first time a woman had come onto him. He smirked and gently pushed her away. "Of course I would but..." He stopped and thought about it for a moment, certainly this woman had traits that were desirable, and her form was actually quite pleasing to him. He felt a bit of lust towards her, probably inciting more jealousy out of Elizabeth. He put it out of his mind, at least for now. He headed in the direction of Elizabeth, floating as fast as he could.

By the time he arrived, she would find herself surrounded by shades. Undead mockeries of life, made out of pure shadow. They all looked at her with hungry eyes, yet none came too close. They felt Remwald's soul within her, and all knew the consequence for attempting to harm him. Remwald kept looking for her, eventually getting up to her. He hugged her when he found her. "Glad to see you. I don't know how long I could resist... her temptations."
 
The look on Elizabeth's face when he embraced her could have cut stone. "Yes. I know." She stated simply. While she waited, surrounded by these creatures she could feel his desire for the shadow...for her. She was both furious and a little flattered because if his lust was that strong for the shadow version surely it existed for her as well. Overall though her fury is what was strongest at the moment, it was unjustified but she couldn't help it. She was mad that the shadow was braver then her, mad that she couldn't be more like her and mad that he found some of those traits attractive.

She didn't immediately respond when his arms wrapped around her, instead standing stiffly. "Do you want me to be...more forward..." She asked softly. Now wasn't really the time or place but she needed to know where they stood. It was maddening to get glimpses of his emotions, to pick up on his occasional affection for her only to see him desire a version of her that she wasn't sure she could ever be. Her eyes were downcast staring at the faded ground below them. "Do you want want me..." She looked at him through her lashes her cheeks darkening.
 
He wanted to laugh, at simply how ludicrous this situation felt. He kept her in the hug, if only for now. He spoke carefully, watching his words. "What I desire is for you to be you. I do not want you to change for me. Any attraction I would hold for her, would inevitably be temporary, for it is with you that I have shared my experiences. It is for you that I have developed feelings for." He stopped, and thought for a moment, although he was gliding in the direction they were supposed to head.

"You are my friend, possibly something more and I do not wish to put that in danger by attempting to push it forward. Things will come as they do, but realize you have nothing to fear out of another woman. Now, let us hurry and find my friend and my weapons." He was mentally blushing, he wanted to admit his feelings ran deeper then that, but he also didn't want to have her feel forced. If she felt for him, it would be of her own prerogative.
 
She was very quiet for a few moments mulling things over. Finally she smiled and returned his hug. She knew he wasn't lying, Remwald seemed to be quite honest. He had told the simple truth about the attraction and the logical part of her mind accepted that. The jealousy was still there and she was sure he could feel it but she had better control over it. "You can make it up to me by making me dinner." She stated with grin, after which she slid her hand into his so she wouldn't get separated from him again.

Changing the topic away from one that made them both act like infatuated children she asked, "Who is this friend by the way?" The more she learned about him the more curious she became. This was a very peculiar insight into his life. He had said he was born here...which if her mind kept up with the things she was learning implied that he was in fact a shadow of another person, like the shadow of herself had been. This sparked many more questions but she didn't want to pry too much, not only did she not want to bring up bad memories for him but she wasn't one hundred percent sure she was ready for more of his rather lengthy life story. The part she had been involved in had been chaotic enough.
 
He noted her curiosity, it was only natural. He floated along, a bit faster as he occasionally squeezed her hand. "The one you just met? Well, she is connected to you in that she is effectively your 'shadow', some share genders, some do not. It varies from individual to individual, but most people have almost complete opposites. She needs a body to leave the plane, which I could make or she could have used yours, otherwise they are stuck here. As for my friend I know here? Well, he's not too important, merely a god with domains in a few planes. He is my adopted son, I try to keep in contact."

Remwald was completely cool and natural about mentioning Ka, as if it was something that happened on a daily basis for him. The terrain suddenly shifted, the shadow souls were more active, most being in their humanoid forms around this area. The architecture seemed to devolve, although it was marked in a way that denoted a bit of magic. Soon enough, they found the giant black citadel, it's walls seemed to absorb all potential light that could have been in the area, large stones made of an unknown substance were what it was composed of. The gate was presently open, and all sorts of shadowy creatures floated in and out, a few walked out across the gate and dropped down to the ground but none seemed to pay them any attention.

Remwald lead her inside of the citadel, and through the entrance, which was large enough to fit two giants standing on each other's shoulders, to a side room. It was decorated somewhat nicely, with a made bed and above it was a blue dagger, and a bleached white kopesh across it. He headed over and grabbed them, and a belt to sheath them each in. He looked at her. "Since we are here, have any questions?"
 
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