She blushed and decided to pass up the subject, it seemed a little sensitive at the moment. What am I trying to get at? Itari wondered to herself. "I don't think I'd feel comfortable waiting here." she said looking around and pretending to be frightened, though she felt that she could trust him in her heart, her mind told her to keep her task at hand. "Besides this is my mission, I can't let you do all the work."

Dmitri shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself," he muttered, not particularly fond of the expression.

He led her through the forest, having her go in through the gate while he climbed the wall. He didn't want to chance getting in trouble for being home too soon from his mission.

Dmitri climbed the wall with ease, having done it several times before and found all the best handholds. On the other side, he met up with Itari, calling her into the shadows of and alley. "This way," he whispered.

She followed him through the alley and wondered if they would get caught. Afterall if they did, he might be killed. Still her death would probably be slower. Itari wanted to stop and ask him why he was helping her, why he seemed so much nicer to her than the other cats he had met. It was a frightening thought process. "Dmitri, how will we get through this place? I can tell it would be crawling with authority, and possibly traps if the staff is so great. Do you not fear for your life?" she asked sincerely.

Dmitri shrugged and glanced over his shoulder. "I gave up caring about my life a long time ago. And there are ways around security." He couldn't give her better answers because he had much on his mind. He had been thinking about his past, and all the cats her had hurt. And why Itari was different. She just...there was something, a connection; she had just clicked with him when they met. Finally, they came to a small shack. Dmitri stopped in the shadows across teh street from it, watching for danger.

[[Did I ever say where the staff was hidden? I think I said something aobut it being underground, but I can't remember.]]

((I'm not sure, I can't remember either.))

Itari follwed him to the shack, wondering about what he had just said, what he had been saying throughout their journey. She wondered why she trusted him to keep his word and not betray her. Never before had she been in such an awkward position, or even considered feelings like those she was feeling now. Actually she had never been extremely close to anyone. Of course she had cared for people, but being close to them was completely different. "We don't want to raise alarm, and you can't die... that would make this whole journey a loss." She said in a whisper, also making sure no one was watching them.

[[Ok, since we can't remember, then I'm going to go with somethign different.]]

The corner of Dmitri's mouth came up in a weak half smile. So she did care about him. Otherwise, how would his dying make this a complete loss? For all he knew, she could have been plotting to kill him. "It's just in there," he said just as quietly as her. "I felt that no one would bother looking for a thing of such power in a place like this. Most think things like teh staff would be in a palace." He crept forward and opened the door to the shack. It creaked. Once inside, he shut the door and looked around. The room was dark; the last light of day was fading, and the shack had never really been that light during the day anyway.

It would be hard to find the staff in the dark, but they couldn't light a candle or anything, it would attract attention. Dmitri tiptoed to the center of the room and kicked aside the rug, revealing a trapdoor. He yanked it open and began to descend.

((It's fine with me, I'm already interested ^_^))

Itari blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, It's a good thing I have good sight she thought to herself. "I would have thought it to be in some well guarded palace type fortress also. In fact, I was planning on it." she said with a soft laugh. As they made their way into the trap door some of the light that had been taken in by her eyes seeped away leaving her with a dull grey focus on the setting around her. She felt along the wall and whispered ahead, "I hope there are no nearby chasms, for some reason even I can't see down here. I have nearly perfect sight, it doesn't make much sense is all." she said stumbling over a large stone.

Dmitri caught her when she tripped. "Careful, and no, there are no large chasms in here. This is just a normal--" his voice faded as he spoke, seemingly distracted. "underground hidden lair. Like a cellar or something." He took her by the hand and pulled her through the darkness, which didn't seem to bother him. Finally, they came to a wall. The cave ended. Dmitri put one hand on it and pushed lightly. It came loose, revealing another side to it. ON the other side, there were candles lit, illuminating a small room. In the center, on a low table, lay the staff. Dmitri pulled Itari forward, putting himself between the door and her, in case she decided to betray him. "There it is," he whispered.

For some reason her heart was pounding fast when he held her hand. Not that it bothered her, she actually liked its rhythmic pounding in her chest. As they entered the room she saw the staff lying on the table in all it's glory. Still, she knew her mission was not complete until she was safely behind the walls of her kingdom with the staff in hand, and quite possibly a new companion by her side, she thought with butterflies in her stomach. Itari walked over to the staff and looked back at Dmitri wondering what he was thinking. She took a few careful steps foreword and put her hand out to the staff, but when she touched it a bolt of electricity seemed to stun her and she pulled her hand away fast. The staff glew a bright orange and the light faded away once more. "What on Earth was that?" she said turning to look at him. In her shock the scroll fell from her bag and she picked it up and caught sight of the last few lines:

Go beyond our land and find the opposing force. To the west of our land lies a place of great mist and I need you to go there and find the staff of Goddesses. I must say that this is all I can tell you. The rest you can figure out for yourself.

"Oh no..." she said shaking her head, "Opposing force? What could he have meant by that? I must not have to find it here or else he would have worded them together. I could have only passed through one other place before this, and all I found there was you Dmitri." She said staring at the staff, then she turned to him in concentration. "Opposing force of what?" she said in deep thought.

Dmitri frowned. What was she getting at? "Are you saying this isn't the staff...because no one fought against you?" He walked forward and took the scroll from her, so he could read it himself. "The opposing force..." he mumbled to himself. "So he needs you to find the staff and then go beyond your land and find the opposing force. Does that mean you need to help defeat the opposing force? But yes, the opposing force of what?" Dmitri let out a groan of frustration. "Why can't anyone be straightforward?"

"Maybe I need the opposing force to get the staff." She said in a low voice, "What if it has nothign to do with fighting at all?" She was pondering Dmitri, had been pondering him for the longest of time. Then she shrugged her shoulders and held out her hand. "Could I see your hand?" She said with a slight quiver in her voice.

Dmitri's frown deepened. "My hand?" He didn't want to give her his hand. Well, he did, but he didn't want to when she asked. It just didn't seem right. Cautiously, he reached out his hand to Itari and held it palm up. "Why do you want to see my hand? It can't possibly have anything to do with this, could it?"

[Sorry about the short posts.]

((No problem))

She looked down at their hands and shook her head, pulling away. "I'm not sure, I mean what if we are the opposing forces? You're a dog I'm a cat, two different kingdoms, your a boy I'm a girl." She turned away from him hoping that the king did not mean for her to hurt him. Even though they had only known known eachother for a short while, she felt kind of close to him. "That's three opposing elements that I have named, but I don't want to think that..." she shook her head and reached out for the staff again, watching it glow slightly as she neared it, then she sighed.

Dmitri's face softened. His hands had nothing to do with this. He smiled. "A boy and a girl are not opposing forces. In fact, it is my belief that it is usually boys and girls that come together. But I see what you mean. I think we were meant to be opposing forces. But that doesn't mean you have to hurt me or anything. Maybe," Dmitri wound his fingers with hers and pulled their hands up to the faces. "Maybe it means that you are supposed to find the opposing forces and come together."

She was surprised when she felt his hand in hers, it made everything seem warm and welcome. She even let herself blush and smile when her heart sped up, "Well maybe you're right." She moved their hands toward the staff, which now glowed a soft pink. Her eyes flashed, "So we must lift it together then?" she asked relieved but slightly concerned, "We can't possibly hold it like that the whole way there can we?"

Dmitri looked to the staff, the pink color slightly embarrassing. So, maybe it could understand their thoughts and feelings. Stupid staff. it better not being doing that the whole way. "Well, I don't see why we have to hold it together at all. But we can try if you like." He slowly dropped their hands and pulled his hand from hers. "So, is there any specific place that we can let go of the staff?"

Itari shrugged, "I was just planning on taking it back to my kingdom, he never explained what I was to do with it." She said curiously, "Do you know what the purpose of the staff was anyway? Obviously, we need to have a known harmony as opposing forces in order to even wield the staff." Itari reached toward the staff and gently lifted it from its post. "Probably so we will not betray one another, neither can have what only one gets kind of thing I suppose." She said turning it over in her hands.

Dmitri shrugged. "I don't really know anything about the staff. But," he gently placed his hand on the staff, too. "I was really asking where in your kingdom can we let go. Do we let go right when we pass the gates? Or do we have to get to the palace? And if we have to get to the palace, is it right when we enter the palace, or do we have to go to, like, the sacred place in the palace?" Dmitri took a deep breath and blew it out really quickly. "I understand what you mean about balance and all that, though," he said with a smile.

"What would happen if we never let go?" she said with a laugh, then she thought for a moment. "If you ever decide to desert your kingdom..." she said looking up at him fully, wondering if she dare to even finish the sentence. "We can just bring it to the palace and see where we can go from there, I guess." She said shrugging off ehr last thought.

Dmitri blew his bangs out of his eyes and his shoulders slumped. He so badly wanted to leave his country. "Itari, I can't just leave, I have a whole castle to run. I am a duke, afterall. Leaving wouldn't solve my problems here." The more he thought about it, the more he thought leaving might actually solve his problems in this country.

"Oh I see..." she said with nervous laughter, "I wouldn't know about much of that kind of thing, I am merely a priestess who served her king since she was old enough to say yes sire." She lifted the staff higher into the air to examine it better, it was still glowing pink and she could see that it was quite the beautiful of ornaments. Itari sighed, "I understand though, let's just make sure we keep in touch." She said looking towards the door, prepared to escape anymore awkward moments.

Dmitri saw her look towards the door and took it the wrong way. "I don't think that can happen," he whispered, and pounced on her. He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. He then grabbed her other arm, making her drop the staff. Dmitri forced her to the ground and sat on top of her. "I can't keep in touch with someone who betrays me." He ripped the necklace from her neck, regretting ever having her hold on to it.

She was surprised to see him bounding toward her and fell hard to the floor hitting her head on the ground, which quickly began to bleed. "Dmitri, what do you think you're doing?!" She said furiously. The staff began to glow a deep red in the corner of the room, Itari struggled under him, disorientated and slightly faint. Her neck felt a little sore where he had pulled "Betray you? Why would you think such nonsense?" She shouted with a low hiss coming from her mouth.

((Sorry I have not been on for a while))

[[It's okay.]]

Dmitri growled at her. "Don't play games with me, you wretched feline. You were planning to take the staff and run. I saw you getting ready to run." He dug his nails into her wrists as he held her down. Although she was strong, he was much stronger, and there was no way she was going to escape him. "I help you get the staff. I betray my own kingdom, and you have the nerve to stab me in the back," he snarled. "Well, that just goes to prove you can never trust a cat." He snapped at her face, snarling in anger. He would never trust anyone ever again. He had begun to like Itari, way more than he had ever liked any feline, or any girl, and now she goes and pulls this crap...No more.

The staff was shaking in the corner and Itari made a note of this, hoping that the worst wouldn't come of it. It was obvious to her that Dmitri was stronger, but she was very much confused. He should know she would not dare harm him, he had helped her, so even if she wanted to it was against her own moral standards. Then a thought occured to her, making her eyes flash in anger. She hissed feeling his sharp claws digging into her skin, "How dare you accuse me of such a treason?! Truly you are the lowest of the low. Trying to give me a guilt trip by accusing me of such things so you can call upon your people and be welcomed as a hero, you are a vile and wretched creature." She said making another attempt to roll from underneath him.
((If the staff were to have some kind of help mechanism and the authorities were alerted, then we used that to add onto the plot, do you think we should do that or just keep it between us? I just wanted to ask so I know what is supposed to come of this ^_^))