Waiting for Jayms_fallen_angel...

Charlene Waters was just your average college student. She worked part time in a bar and shared a room in the dorms with a friend. She studied hard and pulled off good grades. She had fun at her job and made enough money to live off of. She was the kind of girl who knew her place in life and was happy with it. The last thing she expected was to find herself in a mythical world facing dangers of which she couldn't even begin to imagine. But that's exactly what happened.

Stepping out of work one Wednesday night Charlene had called a cheerful goodnight and pulled her jacket tightly around her, shielding the exposed skin her top didn't cover. The dip in temperature was certainly felt everytime she left the hot bar. Shaking her head she headed down the back alley. Somewhere behind her a soft wooshing sound caught her attention. Turning she expected to see one of the girls from work doing...something. There was nothing.

Literally nothing.

A grey color swirled around her like a heavy mist. The sound around her faded and only a soft wooshing like the wind could be heard. Charlene turned around again, finding more of the same pressing in on her. She took a few steps foreward and paused. What was going on? She had to have had her drink spiked. This wasn't normal. Releasing her coat she covered her ears and closed her eyes.

It was a few moments before she re-opened them and when she did, she wished she hadn't. The swirly grey had vanished, but so had the dark ally. She now found herself stood in the centre of a medievalesque town and a cart heading straight for her. The man yelled and she dodged out of the way. The stream of insults falling on dead ears as she stared at the... dream? This couldn't be real?

Her fingers brushed her long, pink streaked, blonde hair from her eyes, as though that would make her vision snap back into reality. Suprise, suprise, it didn't work.

Sirus Seto stood in the center of the city, browsing through wooden booths of trinkets the local merchants put out for sale. As he moved from booth to booth, people cleared to make a path for him, recognizing the religious attire; that of the high priest.

Sweeping deep purple robes with crisp white trim fell loosely over his tall and slender frame. He held a very plain looking staff of silver, featuring a large blue stone at the end, encompassed in two floating rings of silver. He didn’t bother with jewelry, or shoes for that matter. A small pouch hung from a loop of fabric holding his money and a few other small personal items.

“Kindle, this one?� He asked a small creature that was following him. Closer to human, the young boy had a long brown tail and matching ears, a slightly pointed face, a large green eyes. These creatures were incredibly rare, the remains of an experiment in magic from centuries before, but they were useful. Born from an attempt at recreating werewolves and other were creatures, they held the ability to take the form of a human or an animal, to a certain extent. This one in particular, Kindle, could take the form he had currently, or that of a brown and rather mangy looking house cat.

The item Sirus was questioning was a rather large fish, freshly caught. Such a catch would make dinner for both of them, leaving enough to be dried and kept for winter. Kindle looked overjoyed at the prospect of a fish dinner, but he didn’t have a chance to voice his excitement. Sirus brushed his long black bangs out of his face to get a better look as people began to react. A young woman had just appeared in the middle of the street.

Some people blinked and kept walking, sure they were mistaken, some gawked in disbelief, and some even screamed in terror. Aside from having appeared out of nowhere, the girl was wearing strange clothes, and her features were slightly different. Obviously not from the area.

The newcomer nearly ran smack into Sirus as she dodged the cart, earning several glares from people who were protective of the religious icon.

Sirus’ mind raced as he tried to asses what was happening. He knew very well the realms of magic, and the limits. Moving things from planets to other planets was more then the average person could accomplish, and moving things from entire time warps, dimensions, or anything else of that great size… Well there was only one person that could accomplish that, and she hadn’t been seen or heard from in years. The Time Keeper, a famed woman now disregarded as a legend, was said to have been the first being in their world, and one with extensive magic. Using such magic she created the world, and then in her exhaustion, abandon it to its inhabitants, interfering only when they were in severe danger of falling apart.

The highest of magic users were all certain of her existence, including Sirus, so of course this was the first thing his mind would jump to. Whether or not he believed it, he wasn’t sure, but there were few other explanations he could com up with. Following that thought was the knowledge that the queen would follow the same thought line. It was a concern she’d confided in him many times, and with it her lists of various reactions and courses of action.

He rested an arm lightly around her shoulders, the only actual contact being the light brush of his fingers against her shoulder, guiding her back away from the street. “Miss? Are you quite alright?� He asked, his soft voice sounding strained in his attempt to stay calm and be somewhat rational.

Kindle was shaking in the khaki shorts he wore, his tail bristled and his ears back as he cowered behind Sirus, weary of the woman and confused at his friend’s action towards her. “Sirus, what are you thinking? She could be dangerous for all we know, she reeks of magic, and that’s not mama’s sock darning spells either.�

“Hush Kindle.� Sirus said simply, waiting for an answer from the girl. “Are you lost by chance? I could walk you home if you have an address.�

((XD I think I got a little carried away. I've been planning to write a novel with this plot, so I've got all kinds of little ideas and plot twists thay I may or may not remember to fill you in on. n.n; I'll be sure to explain things the best I can as I go along.))

((*over-joyed at the post length* Mine will get longer as I get the feel for the roleplay.))

Her light blue gaze turned slowly to the man at her side and she nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said at last, her attention now moving towards Kindle and then back at sirius "I'm staying at the college."

A pause was inevitable as she realized rather suddenly that she was strikingly obvious, being the only one in a cropped top and short skirt. Whilst she once more pulled her coat closely around her, the fact that she was probably nowhere near Piedmont dawned on her. She'd never seen this place before and doubted very much that he could walk her home even if he wanted to. "But Piedmont college is nowhere near here?" She questioned aloud. "So where am I? And how'd I end up here?" The bemused look turned to one of utter confusion.

She bit her bottom lip and looked around her, taking in the town she was now in. She couldn't accept this wasn't a dream, not yet, but she was starting to get scared. She wanted to go home...to wake up...to just not be here anymore.

Sirus stared blankly at her, “Coll…ege?� He repeated the unfamiliar word. “You’re in the Royal City. More specifically, you were on the main road of the royal city about to be hit by a cart.� He said as he glanced down the street. Men in uniforms were pushing their way through the crowd of people, not too far off.

“Miss, we had better get moving. Now. Those men aren’t pleasant, and they certainly aren’t wasting their time on the residents here. Please come with me, I’ll explain everything the best I can once we’re out of danger.� Sirus had taken on an urgent tone, his soft grey eyes looking desperate.

The men that were coming their way were commonly referred to as Cards. Basically they were the royally enforced law system of their country. The higher ups were given positions such as you would find in a deck. King and Queen had been changed to King’s man and Queen’s man, and were the highest on the list. The personal servants to the royal family, currently to the queen alone. The lower the card value got, the closer to street men they became. Jokers had been omitted, used now as a term for felons or enemies of the royal family, and aces were high ups that served the royal family more ‘under the table’ then anything, their means and methods frowned upon publicly, but excused.

The group held half a dozen, and they were all street men. Enforcers of mild laws, closer to playground bullies then anything. They carried crude weapons, and followed their orders loosely. But with the queen insistency they were wasting no time in closing in on what the queen feared could be a threat. The level of magic used caught her attention instantly, and she clearly had acted immediately.

As the men drew nearer Sirus tapped the base of the long staff on the ground, causing a faintly glowing blue dust to fall on them. “It’s a basic camouflage; it should last long enough for us to get out of the city.� Kindle had changed form rapidly, his body emitting sickening crunches and pops as it changed. He leapt up onto Sirus’ shoulder, now more worried about the Cards then the strange girl. “If they get a hold of you they’ll bring you directly to the queen and if she’s in a good mood she might settle with imprisoning you for a few years before killing you. She doesn’t like anything out of the ordinary, and you certainly qualify, so please, let’s get moving.�

The Cards had slowed in confusion, no longer able to tell the three apart form the rest of the crowd. Being low in rank, they knew little more about stronger magic or how to use it then the people around them.

((n.n; mine tend to die down to a paragraph or two as the roleplay goes on, but I'll try and keep them up for as long as I can. Besides, I'm getting 20g per post. XD It's kind of nice. ))

The Royal City? The first thought that came to mind was "England?" Unfortunatly this meant that she neglected to realize the enormity of the situation. Oh she'd heard him, but she was a little too confused to understand it properly. However Kindles change startled her back to her senses.

She nodded "Lead the way then..." She realized that she hadn't caught the mans name, but decided that could wait until men weren't chasing them. That and Kindles transformation...and how tapping a stick on the floor camouflaged them...and everything else for that matter.

Whilst guns were the prefered method for thugs these days, she knew that any weapon could inflict serious injury and she was not about to let them anywhere near her if there was the slightest chance that this man was right and they were after her. And she'd seen nothing to hint that he was lying to her. She just prayed that he wasn't. That would be embarassing

((20 gold is nice, I'm earning around 13. Plus remember you also get 0.1 for every post I make :P))

Sirus took her hand and pulled her through the crowds of people, speeding up as the crowd thinned. The smooth dirt roads became more rocky, and the buildings more sparse. Sirus slowed as they lost sight of the Cards, and were now almost alone on the winding path. One or two people passed by every now and again, but as they turned on to a twisting path leading up hill and into the trees, they were alone.

“Ha, I haven’t had to make an escape like that in years. They saw you with me though, so no doubt they’ll look for you here eventually.� Sirs said as they entered the trees. The gem on his staff glowed in the dim lighting, and he’d slowed to a leisurely walk. Kindle leapt down from his shoulder, human again before landing in a crouch.

“Sirus, we didn’t get any of the things we went for.� He pouted, weaving between their legs in that irritating catlike way as they walked.

“Kindle, you’re a cat. There’s a rive less then a mile into the woods, you can catch your own fish. There are more important things happening then sales on the latest catch.� Sirus turned to his guest, giving her hand a small shake of introduction before releasing it. “Forgive me, I’ve failed to introduce myself. It’s become habit not to, most people already know my title. I’m Sirus Seto, the high priest of this country. This bag of complaints is Kindle, and Amnigi I believe his race is called. And you are?�

Sirus’ face seemed prone to slightly exaggerated expression. His soft skin stretched into a friendly smile with ease, and his eyes shone brightly with whatever emotion over took him, which at the moment was curiosity. Long bangs fell just past his chin, dark hair framing his pale features while the rest of the waist-length hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, following the image of a religious leader that had been set in their country.


(( Really? Neat. n.n I splurged and bought a donation item. XD I'm going to hoard it until it's vauable, then sell it and maybe buy myself a decent outfit. I'm getting a bit tired of parading around in my boxers.))

Charlene was imensly glad that she had chosen not to wear her stilhettos that day and had opted for wedges instead. She'd have fallen on her face running otherwise, as it was she kept pretty good pace. She was still glad when they stopped. As comfy as her shoes were, they were never meant for running in.

Her light blue eyes flickered to the glowing gem with mild curiousity and a mildly amused and confused smile as she listened to Kindles complaints. "I'm Charlie." She paused then added "Charlene Waters. Bar staff in The Devils Keys and student in Piedmont College." She shook her head, the way he had repeated college suggested her dream guide here wouldn't understand a word of that.

And yes, she was sticking to the dream explaination. It made much more sense than any other explaination she could think of. It also left her feeling a lot less scared. The more she believed this was a dream, the less it seemed to threaten her.

((Yeah, every topic you make, you recieve 0.1gold for every reply some makes in it. It's slow progress but it's good to make gold. Shhh it's a little know fact. I don't know why it's little known, it's in the gold guide and it's obvious when you have whole numbered gold, or your gold count goes up whilst you're not on :P What kind of outfit are you after? And I think the sword will take a while to mature in value.))

((No doubt, but I'm patient. I went and downloaded firefox. e_e I'm after mainly the panda slippers, festive fish, panda pajama pants, and the yume ears/tail. I'll likely be getting the last item in a trade for art, an I'll have enough for the slippers with in a few days. I have a ton of other items I plan to quest, like the ega crown and the headphones, along with a bunch of the other CI items, but it will be a while no doubt.))

At the trees cleared a broken down building became visible. It was a three story home made of stone, and the top floor as missing half the roof, making a nice deck atop the house. Wildflowers grew freely around the building, making the broken down home look cheerful, despite the wear on it. Despite how battered it was, there was no visible weak point or visible entrance to the building. "I don't know what a college is, and I've never heard of the Devil's Keys." Sirus said apologetically, "So where are you from Charlie? Obviously not from around here. I mean, what's your world called? Your planet? I know I must sound insane asking such a question, but please humor it."

Kindle vanished through the very solid wall, and Sirus followed. It occurred to him after the fact that Charlie might not understand the false door. He poked his head out, giving the illusion of his head floating in the stone. "Through here, it's a picky entrance. It only allows the home owner and welcome guests in. Just walk through, it feels like walking through a beaded doorway." He informed before vanishing back into the house.

The inside had the same cheerful feel. The door lead into a living area painted a deep red with a warm orange carpet. A large red couch and a fireplace made up one side of the room, and a large bay window and a desk made up the other. The window of course, hadn't been visible fro the outside either. The walls were covered in shelves of books, and the desk was nearly buried in books and papers. The room was clean but cluttered; littered with trinkets and toys of all kinds. A pile of blankets and pillows made the whole area around the couch a oft place to relax, and a lemon yellow hallway lead on into the rest of the house.

The shock was clear on her face as the duo vanished through a wall. The floating head was not very reassuring, but after a moments pause, she shrugged, why not? Taking a deep breath she followed them inside, although with her hands first, just in case her eyes weren't lying to her and there really was a wall there. She was very glad that there wasn't.

Entering the house, the first thing she did of course was not to take in her new surroundings but look behind her at the enterance she had stepped through. "What a wierd way to build a door." She said more to herself than to him.

"Oh, I'm from the planet Earth." She added remembering his question. Her gaze returned to him again and once more she brushed her hair from her eyes. She reallly should tie it back, but she always seemed to get more tips with it loose. After a while she just stopped taking the time to secure it, so she was constantly brushing blonde and baby pink corkscrew curls from her eyes. "And suprisingly I wouldn't mark that question as the wierdest thing of the day."

((Totally pulling names outta the air here. XD ))
"That explains a bit, this isn't earth, it's Kerana. So, does everyone have colors in their hair like that, or is it just you?" he asked, resisting the temptation to pull one of the curls and watch it bounce back into place. "I like my door, it's a very convenient door." Sirus said as if it ere important to convince her of this. "Ah, I'm sorry about the mess, I'm not used to having company. I'm not much of a people person I guess..." Sirus began rifling through books until he found a few that he wanted.

He set them aside on the desk and pulled out several small gold rings. "You aren't used to magic are you? You look surprised at everything magical, so I'm just assuming..." he said as he set one of the rings over the first book. "Earth." He said clearly. the ring melted onto the page and began scanning through the pages, looking for the term it had been given.

"Lets see, if you don't use magic to make thing work, what do you use?" He asked, "Just man power? Or... something else? It's probably something we wouldn't have, so look for what's missing if you don't know what I'm asking for."

Kindle had sprawled out on the couch, "Sirus, cook!" He demanded.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry! I'm not very hospitable am I? Would you like to join us for dinner? I'll probably fix some chicken, since we didn't end up buying the fish." Sirus offered, "Actually, it would probably be best if you stayed here until I can find out why you're here and how to get you home. I'm setting these off to find information here, and if this doesn't work I'll have to pull a few more tricks."

"Sirus, the Cards will likely drop by tonight if not tomorrow..." Kindle warned.

"They'll come tonight, and I'll handle them when they do. The Queen and I have a special arrangement, they know better then to test their limits with me. I wonder though, how many promises will the queen break in this case? She doesn't like breaking promises, it's one of her very few honorable traits, but she won't risk anything that could put her out of power either..." He said as he spun one of the rings on his finger. "Charlie, Charlene." He told the ring before setting it off as he'd done with th one before.


EDIT: It didn't give me gold for this post. ;-; How come?

((I don't know...I've never heard of that happening before. It should give you 20 gold and then iff you edit and add more it sometimes says "you have earnt gold for that post" but doesn't put any gold ammount in.))

She laughed "Streaks? They could if they wanted to but not very many people do. I'm the only one in class and at work." She smiled. "And I'm the only one I know who chose pink." She shrugged.

She watched him use the rings with interest "I once saw a guy escape from a cage in Las Vegas, but that's about the limit of my magic. And it's all tricks and slight of hand anyway. Everyone knows that." She smiled "Technology is what we use. I'm guessing by the fact that a horse and not a car almost ran me down that that's what's missing from your world." Charlie paused, that felt like such a strange thing to say.

Still amused at the concept she nodded "Thanks, if you don't mind." She sighed "I don't really have anywhere else to go until I get home." She eventually decided that it would probably be best to button the lower half of her jacket and keep her stomach covered up as she asked the next question.

"So what did I do? Is wearing a short top punishable by death over here or something? What's your queen got to risk from me?" she finished fastening her buttons and looked at him once more. Questioning, curious and still completly sure that she was dreaming.

"Well... there's a small chance that you're here strictly out of coincidence. A spell gone wrong or something opening up a portal, but that's highly unlikely. A spell of that difficulty would only work for the most powerful of magic users, and anyone with that much power wouldn't make such a mistake. It couldn't have opened on it's own, magic comes from our own life force, not the planet, so someone has to want it to happen." Sirus looked to the second to last ring, "Technology." He said clearly before setting it off. He looked to the last ring, "The Time Keeper." With that he abandon the books, and returned his attention to her. "The Time Keeper is similar to a god in this world. It's said that she created the planted, but was too exhausted to take care of it. There have been strange occurrences in the past that people who believe in her think were her doing, and since there aren't any other possibilities, I'm inclined to believe in her. On top of that, unlike a god, her existence and actions are clearly defined, and easily explained." Sirus tapped the gem on his staff and the metal melted into a silver medal with the same blue stone. He put it around his neck, "This..." He said, gesturing to the stone, "Is arcinium crythnite, a magic enhancer. Is doesn't have a life force of it's own, but certain chemicals in its structure make magic stronger. But that has little to do with anything. You want to know why the queen's after you."

Sirus gave a small yawn, covered by his slender fingers as he headed towards the hall, expecting her to follow. "Your short top, while cute, has nothing to do with why the queen's so interested in you." The next room they entered was the same sunny yellow, and was a basic kitchen area. It was cluttered in much the same way as the living room had been, with two small clearings on the table for Sirus and Kindle to sit an eat. Sirus pointed at the table and one end lifted, dumping all the contents onto the floor. The landed softly, in the corner and out of the way. "Kindle noticed it before I did really... But when you suddenly appeared in the midle of the street, there was a drastic pulse of magic. Sort of a minus wave. Most people wouldn't notice, but the queen, myself, and a few others in this city can pick up on that without too much difficulty. On top of that, you apparently smell strongly of magic too. Of course, I'm taking Kindle's word on that, his nose is more sensitive."

Sirus undid the tie on the purple robes and pulled them off. Under them he wore a pair of knee length black shorts and a white long sleeved flowing shirt. He dumped the elegant roe in the pile he'd cleared from the table, and began rifling through cabinets until he found a frying pan. He set it on the stove, then moved to the ice box to retrieve the food he planned to cook. "To use that much power, someone had to summon you. To waste all that power on a summoning spell means you must be somehow important here. This is what worries the queen. There's a chance you hold a lot of power, so she wants you under her control. Make sense? You're taking this all very calmly, I'm impressed."

Charlie smiled "Magic, other worlds, godly time keepers?" She shook her head and shrugged "Of course none of it really exists. None of this is real, just some crazy dream probably induced by someone slipping something into my drink. And last I heard, outside of the television, dreams don't kill you." She smiled. "Now if your name was Freddy Krugar, then I'd probably freak out, but this?" She shook her head and let the question lie. It wasn't meant to be answered.

She sighed and sat down at the table, still watching him curiously "But, you know, it still doesn't make sense. I'm not important and I'm not a threat to anyone. Whoever brought me here obviously got it wrong." Now it was Charlies turn to yawn a little, stiffling it with the back of her hand. "Plus I'm not a politician. I really have no interest in being a threat to your queen even if the idea wasn't so absurd."

"Freddy.. who?" Sirus asked blankly as he prepared the meat and put it in the oven. "I don't think you're dreaming... There are easy ways to tell. Pinch yourself and see if it hurts, try and remember how your day went, things that use your mind. I'm inclined to say you aren't dreaming simply because you're coherent enough to think that you are."

Sirus headed out of the kitchen again, the old fashioned brick oven doing it's job. "Actually, I was really hoping you would. She's a tyrant with few people actually supporting her." He fell back on the couch, wrapping his arms around his knees, "Please, have a seat. "Kindle, will you bring me the finished books there?"

Kindle obediently brought the stack of books. Sirus tapped the ring embedded in the cover of the first on the stack, and it skimmed to a page with a goddess looking woman holding a clock. "This is the first appearance the Time Keeper makes in literature. The image was created five hundred years later, and doesn't fit with the diary-like account. It describes her as being childish and secretive, and goes on and on about how powerful she is and what she did for the writer. He was one of the kings way back several hundred years ago who's wife was dieing. Supposedly the time keeper performed a level of magic at which no human is supposed to be able to reach, bringing the wife back to life after her tragic death." He handed the book to her, "There's only one story where she's brought in another being, and in that, she brought in a man that played with needles. A 'dackter' I think he was called. He made a thing you could poke yourself with and it made you immune to a few diseases. Now, technology... that's come up a time or two in myths, but it's usually disregarded as being completely imaginary. Objects moving of their own accord, boxes that allow communication with people all over the world, without the use of magic... All make believe."

Charlie smiled and holding in a laugh, shook her head. Choosing not to explain horror movies to him, and to simply floow him back through to the living rooom and take a seat.

She shrugged "It doesn't matter anyway, because I can't do anything against her, even if I wanted to. I doubt very much asking nicely would work, and I think you mean doctor?" She arched an eyebrow "And nothing moves of their own accord. Most things move because of electricity these days, but a kinetic energy will suffice for basic things." She shook her head.

She leant back in her seat "Technology isn't make believe, it's completly rational and factual. Magic on the other hand has no logical explaination. The laws of nature itself states that it can't exist." She sighed lightly then added "Of course I know a few people who argue the same about aeroplanes."

"Aeroplanes? ((XD -airplanes- We Americans and our stupid spelling.))" Sirus repeated, looking more lost then before, "kinetic? Electricity?" Sirus looked as though he'd just walked into the wrong classroom. "So... you use kinetic and electricity to make technology work...? So you're a technologician?" Sirus came to this conclusion, looking quite proud of himself for figuring it out.

Kindle laughed, "Somehow I doubt you're going to get anywhere by trying to understand it Sirus. Give it up."

Before Sirus could respond there was a solid and consistent thud on the wall where the door should have been. "Oh... Probably the Cards... We'll ignore them for now. Tomorrow we'll move to the summer house until we can figure out what to do about all of this."

The knocking came again, more insistent, and then there was a small pop as a small figure appeared int he center of the room. "I tried being polite, but you really shouldn't ignore company." The person was small, but looked to be in his late teens. Clearly of the same species as Kindle, the creature had a long white curled tail, and two rounded ears. It's eyes were large and it's upper lip split much as an animals would.

Without warning, Kindle pounced, and the pair rolled across the floor, each changing rapidly. Kindle to a cat, and the stranger to a small monkey. Finally Kindle had straddled the creature, his hands around it's neck.

"Kindle thats enough, don't kill him..." Sirus said returning from the door where he'd been looking for a weak point in his magic with no success. "How did you get in here?"

"Magic of course."

"Don't be stupid, your kind can't use magic." Sirus said with a narrow gaze.

"No, no, not -my- magic, just magic. The same that brought her here. Now if you let me up I might tell you why I'm here, why she's here, and why none of us should be here." The monkey said indignantly.

Kindle looked to Sirus, who gave a nod. Grudgingly, Kindle freed his pray. "It's quite simple. Once the queen's out of power, you'll be sent home," He gestured to Charlie, "And you priesty, you'll be forgiven for you're ultimate crime."

((sorry, meant to make this longer, but I hafta go somewhere. NOW. be back later! ))

Charlie tried to keep a straight face, she really did, but 'technologician' was too much, she laughed once more. Shaking her head she contemplated explaining further, and how she could simplify it down to something a five year old would understand, but the knock on the wall caught her attention instead.

The small pop and sudden arrival of the creature before her caused her to jump slightly and her smile faded. Replaced by a gasp as Kindle leapt for it.

This dream was getting out of control. Slowly she folded her arms and frowned. "So, let me guess, you want me to take your queen out of power?" She asked, keeping her voice even, although somewhat low. "How?" Her eyebrow raised once more. Demanding an answer.

The creature shrugged, "My orders were to propose the deal, not go into detail. The Keeper says you can, therefore, you can. Wave your 'car' at her or something. If you want to get home that is. Oh, and don't worry, you'll appear right back int eh alley we plucked you out of at the same age, health status and time as you were when we pulled you out. And you..." The creature pulled out a small stone, similar to the one on Sirus' pendant/staff, but darker and glowing. "Eat this."

"Eat? It's a rock." Sirus said flatly.

"Yes. It'll increase your abilities. the Keeper isn't out to kill you. And you can try and teach your little friend here some magic, but if she can accomplish anything at all it won't go much past the easiest of spells. Oh, and through the Keeper's protection, she can't die." He gave a bow and with a pop, vanished.

Sirus stared at the spot where the creature had been. "I feel sick... I mist have finally lost it..." He said in a slightly dazed tone. The timer on their meal went off, a strange singing tune, and Sirus turned to retrieve the meal, no longer having any desire to eat. "Here, dinner's ready, I'll prepare a place for you to sleep while you have that. Let's forget about all of this until morning shall we?"

"There's a difference between forgetting and avoiding discussion Sirus." Kindle pointed out. "I guess we're just attracted to people with power, I mean, I'm following you around, the queen's got that birdbrain, and that stupid ape, supposedly with the Time Keeper... If you're so powerful you might end up with one of us eventually." He pointed out to Charlie with a broad grin. "Or would you prefer a priest?"

Sirus shot Kindle a look, "Don't start."

Charlie rolled her eyes at the comment about waving a car. "Because I can so lift a car." She muttered under her breath, not impressed at the vague answer. Still frowning and with folded arms she leant back in her seat.

"Well that's good to know." She muttered after the line about her not dying. Unfolding her arms at the creatures disappearance she looked at Sirius and Kindle "If you've lost it then there's no hope for me." She pointed out "So I really hope you find it again."

Charlie brushed her hair back from her eyes, more from habit this time than from actual necesity. "I'm not powerful." She insisted to Kindle "You do realize that right? I don't have magic and even if I could build a tank you probably don't even have the resources to make it possable." She told him pointedly. "So I wouldn't hold your breath on the possability."

She shighed and shook her head. It was beginning to look like she'd have to do something is she wanted to get home...But the only time she'd ever heard of dreams that required you to do something was in coma victems... She shut her eyes. Neither option was particulary pleasing.

"What's a... never mind." Sirus shook his head. "Well, I can't really argue any of this, so we may as well get started. Tomorrow."

"A...tank? Like, to hold stuff?" Sirus finally asked, feeling proud that he'd recognized a word. "What sort of stuff do you need to make technology?" Sirus was dishing them each a plate of food, "Let's eat on the roof, it's nice and warm out tonight."

Kindle curled around Charlie's ankles, purring. "We'll have to start trying to teach you magic, and you'll have to start trying to teach us technology. We'll have to get you some new clothes too so you blend in a bit."

Sirus was contemplating the small stone, really not wanting to eat it. Finally, as if it were a pill, he downed it. Suddenly his plate fell and he crumpled, clutching at his chest.

"You alright?" Kindle asked, hurrying over to help. Sirus waved him away.

"It's hot... I can feel it." He said in a stressed voice as Kindle started cleaning up th spilled food. "I'll be alright and all, but damn..."

Charlie shook her head "Tanks destroy things." she said simply. It seemed like the most comprehensive answer she could come up with without too much thought.

She was about to answer Kindle when Sirus dropped his plate. "Want a painkiller?" She offered, sightly startled by the crash and unable to hink of anything else to say.

Absently Charlie fingered the pocket of her jacket and watching the duo with concern. She bit her bottom lip and stepped towards him.

"A what?" Sirus asked as he stood shakily, "I'm fine, it's fading now. I'm really tired though..." Sirus dished himself a new plate, ignoring what remained of the burning sensation.

"Here..." He handed them each a plate, "To the roof then?" He asked, as though the strange visitor had never come at all. "I still can't believe I ate a rock." he grumbled as he headed up a rickety staircase. He headed down a hall and walked through the wall, ending up in what had been a room before the ceiling caved in. He'd moved the rubble around with magic to make seats and tables, and the wild flowers grew up through the cracked cement. Sirus took a seat of the broken half wall with his plate, looking out over the city. "this view is why I chose this place."

"A pain killer." she repeated. "You swallow one and the pain goes away." She shrugged as she followed him up to the roof. She paused and looked out at the view "Oh it's beautiful." She breathed.

She put the plate on the table and stepped closer to the edge. "I can see why you chose it" She noted with a smile. "It's like your own secret garden up here." she added.

"You know, it could be a long time before you get home..." Sirus said as he looked out over the city. "If we could fix this country by a snap of the fingers we wouldn't need you." He turned to face her, "I hate to break it to you, but this isn't a dream." Sirus cleared his plate quickly and set it aside. "This whole city is a wreck, thanks to that woman, and the fool that helped her gain power."

He gave a sigh as he leaned over the half wall, reaching for a plant that was growing out of the wall of the house. "This place used to be sort of a monastery. Back when we have free religion a cult met up here on regular basis. They were all young teens, eager to 'change the world for the better'. They mostly grew pot and talked about it though. The owner of the building gave it to me when the queen decided to have him executed, since I had so strongly protested his execution."

((Gotta run off to bed now, night!))