((that's fine, sweeet))

"Those girls!" Träm sputtered, turning red. It was very good that Jâkín arrived when he did, as Träm had to calm down somewhat so as to be able to talk. "The girls, they've escaped. Who was the no-good louse that was supposed to be gaurding them? Never mind, I'll find out later. Rohindron! Where are those dragons when you need them?"

Rohindron had, in truth, been taking his sweet time, but finally quickened his pace as he heard the last call. He rounded the corner, and looked at the two men.

"Yes?" he asked. 

"Where are those girls?" Träm demanded. Rohindron yawned. 

"I would imagine in their tent. Where else would they be?"

"You stupid animal! Can't you see the tracks that go right past you??"

"Ah, I was wondering whose those were." Rohindron paused, and yawned again. "They lead toward the stream, so I presumed someone was scouting, or something. Perhaps they've gone to wash their faces. It is a peculiar habit women have, to wash their faces. Mahindren does it every morning." 

Rohindron did not add that she then made him sit still and endure a face wash  himself. It was most embarassing. 

"You ninny! They were our prisoners! They're escaping!"

"No one ever tells me anything," Rohindron muttered. "Alright, so I suppose we're following them? Mahindren is already headed that direction, so I suppose I'll lead."

Rohindron turned, and began to trot after the footprints. A light snow began to fall, which the little creature was thankful for, knowing it would help cover Rylin and Nena's tracks. 

"Faster," Träm grunted, motioning for his henchman to follow. Rohindron quickened his pace slightly. He sighed slightly when the reached where the two girls had split company. It, apparently, had not been too long ago. He sniffed the tracks, then turned back to face the two men. 

"These are no false tracks. Nena and Rylin took different paths. Mahindren followed one, so if perhaps one of you followed her, I could go with the other."

Träm nodded, and turned to Jakin. 

"You follow Mahindren," he said. "I don't care if you have to kill her, she just must be caught. Do whatever you need to do. Rohindron, lead on."

Rohindron nodded, and carefully began winding his way downhill after Rylin. He wondered how far she had gotten, and, really, if his plan would work. 

~~

Meav glanced over at Charis. 

"You're going, too?" she asked. Meav knew she needed to--wanted to--stay, but wasn't quite sure she wanted to stay so pretty much alone. It might be nice to have a friend around. 

"Of course," she said briskly, "I've made my peace--or at least a truce--with the Jedi, and I have to make sure Kel gets back to her master."

Charis nodded. She could offer to stay, but honestly, right now she felt her place was to go with the snow-thing. All of them said their goodbyes and set off for the city. It felt good to tramp through the snow in her boots in the brisk air.

"So...should we have any problems at the city?" She asked Neihudir.

Jakin nodded and began following his designated trail. He had a really bad feeling about this.

The Wood Between the Stories

((And we're back!))

Lord Burgen nodded.

"I believe that it is necessary to send you back out on a mission. I regret that you have so short a time between tasks, but it is necessary. Your mission will be two pronged...."

Kel stood straight and attentive, and shifted her gaze every now and then between Rel, Roccondil, and Burgen. Meav was harder to see, as she had taken the opportunity to fade farther into the background now that no one was paying much attention to her. She was all ears, however, and resolved to stay with Kel until they were off the planet. And hopefully until they found Gawain.

"Do you remember the Sith Lord Donovon?" Roccondil queried. Meav's heart flew into her mouth. If Rel didn't, she remembered, and she knew Kel did, too.

"I am aware of his activities. Was he not destroyed?" asked Rel.

"He was," Burgen replied shortly. "However, his purpose in raising so many children was never fully understood, so we have undertaken to keep a watch on the planet he used as a base. Of late, no one has been able to. Go, see that all is secure. On your way, see if you can find Gawain. His whereabouts are unknown to us."

"Is there any information about Donovon that would be worth examining before we depart? On his contacts-- the planet itself?" Rel asked, trying to get a few bits of information. It felt like he was going to go in blind.

"I'm afraid not."

"Very well. What is the name of the planet?"

"I do not know. Your best information will be from your companion." Lord Burgen said.

"You mean me." Meav's voice was clear, yet cold. Burgen nodded.

Rel started. She would be coming with him? With them? Oh. Of course. To find Gawain "along the way", whatever that meant. He tried to brush off his irritation. What did she know about this, anyways?

"And...what if I should choose not to go?" Meav moved forward, slightly, staring at Burgen.

"Then you leave many in the very sad plight of living the life you have led. Perhaps if someone had kept a better eye out for trouble when you were young, you would never have seen the destruction of your people."

TWBTS

Meav stared, her jaw quivering slightly. She almost looked as if she were about to strike out a Burgen, but she did not.

“For a reformed Sith Lord,” she began, “you seem to actually show some promise. I didn’t believe it to be possible. You should hope I somewhat remember Donovon's world, instead of, like so many others, blocking it from my memory, and believing it was only a bad dream. Or perhaps I was one of his chosen children, the ones who would run his operation while he took over the universe, or whatever else a power-crazed child-stealer would do in his spare time.”

“Yet, you are in neither position. You stand at the brink of what you want—of redemption. The only thing that holds you back is yourself. Think about it.”

Meav glared at Burgen, then sighed.

“Whatever.”

Kel's eyes widened and she couldn't hold back a smile. "Clara, how nice! You'll actually get to come with me on a Jedi mission! I--"

Meav gave her a look, and Kel considered returning it, but didn’t.

“What is the second thing we are to do, sir?” Kel asked, turning back to Lord Burgen.

Burgen gave a small chuckle.

“The second mission is more for you, Kelianna. If Rel wishes to assist you, he is welcome, but you must do this.”

“What is it, sir?” Kel asked seriously.

Burgen put a hand on Kel’s shoulder.

“Teach your sister to smile again,” he said, looking into her eyes.

Kel slowly nodded, and Rel, though he hadn't for the first few seconds, understood what Lord Burgen meant. Meav smiled every so often, but some deep wound kept real joy from permeating her heart. He looked at her thoughtfully, his irritation bleeding away.

Burgen looked up at all of them and cleared his throat. “Well, that should do. As soon as possible, I hope you can depart. May the Force be with you.”

((OOC: Will reply for Crisis tomorrow, hopefully.))

((OOC: I'm baaaaack! No guarantees, though, but I'll try to drop in, say, more frequently than once every six months. ))

Crisis in the Snow

"We have been driven here by an enemy who sought to destroy an entire race, that of our people," said Nathan Bar-Eliam, the de-facto leader and lone Jedi of the Eberim. "As long as there is any glimmer of another option, we will not approve of eliminating an entire race. G-9, your willingness to sacrifice your people for the sake of others is admirable, but we will accomplish this without the need for such a drastic measure."

Yonatan, Nathan's cousin, spoke up. "We can discuss this on the way to battle, but what should our people know about the men of Cââd? We come from an isolated land, one with little interaction with anything south of the Mountains. Cââd is yet another new place and people for our ears."

Fingon Telufëanor looked toward the hills where the Hittani would be coming from. With this three-pronged threat, the Elves and their allies would be stretched thin. Much would depend on the ability to hold the enemy off long enough for G-9 to utilize the Crystal.

Crisis in the Snow

"No," Neíhudir replied. "Oddly enough, it has been very quiet. Most of the trouble has been along the borders of our land, as I'm sure you could attest to."

~~

Mahindren continued to bound down the hillside, then suddenly whirled around.

"Keep going," she panted, as she ran past Nena. The little dragon skidded to a stop between a bolder and a tree, just in time to see Jâkín.

"Go back, Jâkín," she said softly. "You can't come this way."

~~

Alàtariël nodded toward Arin.

"She will tell you what is needed. I must go for now," Alàtariël said, moving out of the meeting room. She caught Cameron's sleeve as she went by. "Come with me," she whispered.

Arin sighed.

"The Cââdites are strange, wandering nomads. They are strategists, but we have recently found that they fear any strange or magic-like beings. This was well illustrated by their fear of Terith, the dragon. They have defeated our northern allies, so they must be strong. Other than that, we know little."

Outside, Alàtariël turned to Cameron.

"You have promised to stay with us, yet, I have a request," she said softly.

"And what is that?"

"Can you and Terith take me to Ditto Town? Riding horseback will take too long. We need the help of the Jedi."

((OOC: Now that TWBTS is back, I should probably say which story these posts belong to, huh? I mean, I know y'all, as in, the authors know, but maybe any readers in posterity might not know. Right? ))

Crisis in the Snow

Nena glanced at Mahindren, but obeyed without question. She hoped Rylin was OK and also hoped that whatever Mahindren was doing would give her more time to get wherever she was going. This thought caused an immediate flash of irritation. Where was she going, anyway? It frustrated her to depend on other people and always had. Faith was not something Nena had an abundance of, but to her credit, she was dredging up as much as she could gather. She had to.

Crisis

"Yes..." Charis said thoughtfully. "So, no spies or anything? No deep penetration?" She was pretty much an expert in espionage and spying, so she felt bound to ask.

The Wood Between the Stories

The ship was more than good enough for their needs. Rel was piloting manually for the flight up through the atmosphere and would plot the jump to the destination planet once the air was no longer weighing them down.

He wasn't sure where the other two were, but he wasn't sure how he felt about Meav still being along with them. It seemed as though she should have left them. He had been counting on her leaving them alone. Not that he would wish such separation on Kel, no; it was just that somehow, she was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable and he couldn't quite pin down why.

((Post coming for Crisis, hopefully tonight or tomorrow! ))

The Wood Between The Stories

After lollygagging around, Meav finally made her way up to the cockpit and plopped down next to Rel. She was silent for a few moments, then finally spoke, albeit a bit gruffly.

"Well, what exactly do you plan to do when we get there?" she asked. After a second, she actually turned to look at Rel. "I think it would be best if I fly."

The Wood Between the Stories

Rel kept his hands loosely on the yoke, piloting them upwards. "I plan to investigate and see if we can discover if anything wrong is going on." He said. "And I would like to fly. I enjoy flying."

The Wood Between the Stories

"Suit yourself," Meav said, shrugging. She was quiet for a few moments, then spoke again.

"I haven't been to Hana for eight years," she said softly. "Have you ever been there? Or are you walking in blind?"

The Wood Between the Stories

"No, never," said Rel. "What's it like? What kind of planet, I mean; and are there people?" He did not much like the concept of going in blind, and even though he had done so many times before on other missions, he would rather not if he had an information source to help him out.

Crisis in the Snow

"Not unless you want to be going up against a severely annoyed Sith lord," Neihudír replied. "Our best route is the one we have already plotted. Are you ready?"

~~

Kel closed her eyes, letting her master know the latest developments.

~~

A large dragon soared over Ditto Town, landing near The Cup and Platter. Alàtariël and Cameron quickly made their way to the Mansion. As the door creaked shut, the half-elf slowly removed her hood, glancing up and around the entryway.

The Wood Between the Stories

"Well," Meav leaned back and sighed. "The city is beautiful. Donovon's compound is about an hour away from it, but no one could find it unless they already knew where it was. There are little places of peace, much like Sayana was once, with trees and water and earth. Outside the city it is dustyier. I can't watch Westerns sometimes because it looks too much like Hana."

Crisis

Charis shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant do you have that kind of penetration by your enemies among your own people?" She straightened and shook herself to get rid of tension. "And yes, I'm ready."

TWBTS

A smile quirked at the edges of Rel's mouth when she mentioned the westerns, but he got rid of it quickly, realizing that she probably wasn't trying to be funny right now. "What sorts of memories do you have of it? Hana, I mean."