Lessons In Common (Meiling/Krad)

[Krad Zephyros]

Fully rested with a new ship and new aspirations, Krad and Meiling were headed off into Free Space in search of a new world and a surprisingly new adventure. They'd spent some time on the planet Eritseas after being rescued by the natives who lived there. They were lucky to be dragged out of the desert by the Tenovem and cared for, as they'd suffered many wounds upon trying to escape the giant Sand Worm that, later, they learned was referred to as a Velis Source.

It was there, on Eritseas, that they learned something extraordinary about Meiling. A secret power one of the Tenovems who cared for her said that she may possess. They were told that only one other on their planet had possessed such a power, but never had the opportunity to go forth and discover what it meant. After a short discussion, Meiling and Krad decided to journey forth across Eritseas in order to seek out another who could give them both information, and provide them with a means of transportation off the planet.

It was here, after their journey, that they learned of another planet, which was relatively close by. It was told to the two adventurers that this planet was home to an ancient race of Elusyians and, in particular, a grand tome known as the Great Index, which is said to hold all the information and history of the known galaxy. They were to seek out this world and consult the Keeper of this tome and inquire about Meiling's connection to a celestial being known as a Galaxy Angel.

After receiving this information, the two adventurers were provided with a ship and enough rations to last them throughout their trip. Krad, still a bit unfamiliar with the primitive technologies of the races on this side of the galaxy, had a bit of a slow start wrapping his mind around the controls of the vessel, but the inhabitants of Eritseas were happy to help him learn. After finally getting the hang of the basics, the two of them were off in their new ship and heading towards their new destination.


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It was well-lit within the cockpit of the large explorer space craft. Its design was a bit larger than Krad's comfort zone, but they were not going a long distance nor would there be any need for tight maneuvering. It would have to do for now. There was only need for one pilot seat in this craft. There was another seat directly next to the chair where Krad sat, and a few others along the center of the room.

Krad had the display off so Meiling would be able to look outside the window and see the vast, unparalleled beauty space had to offer. Stars illuminated the blackness as if it were nothing more than a black sheet with millions of little holes poked in it to let in fragments of light. Krad didn't really need the display anyway. Sure, the coordinates for their location was already logged into the ship's memory, but they were close enough to the planet where Krad could make out the small dot of brown earth from the rest of the dark rocks floating through a variety of gravitational pulls.

He was piloting the ship manually; something that kept his subtle skills sharp. Along with that, he was also teaching Meiling the basics of Galactic Common. He noticed, while on Eritseas, she had absolutely no idea what anyone was talking about since they all spoke Common. He figured now, while they weren't doing anything, he'd run her through some of the basics.

"Hello, my name is Krad. What is yours?" He said this in Common, expecting her to reply appropriately. They had been doing this for awhile starting with names and greeting, but also objects as well every now and then. He also stayed positive, making the lessons casual rather than rigorous. All the while he was still trying to wrap his mind around the situation they were in. Oddly enough, Krad felt like he was having a bit of fun.

It was rare for him to enjoy himself. While he was in the Dark Zones, enjoyment had a completely different meaning than here on this side of the galaxy. Enjoyment meant being fed on and used by the Gorgan princesses who rather enjoyed his... resilience and stamina. That was the closest he ever came to... fun. Here though, he could experience the thrill of a good adventure. What's more was the freedom. Here, he could do what he wanted, when he wanted, and with whoever he wanted. Though he rarely enjoyed spending time with anyone other than himself.

Though for some odd reason, he seemed to find himself... enjoying this time he was spending with Meiling. Besides, he thought her accent was hilariously adorable. She was like a little kitten trying to wrap her tongue around Galactic Common. It kept his spirits high and gave him something to do during this long trip. They were getting a bit closer to the planet, so their lesson might have to be concluded soon. Perhaps, though, she might get to use her new linguistic skills when they consult the Keeper.

This was going to be interesting.

Word Count: 876
OOC: Sorry for the long wait, but we can finally move on. Now let's see how we're going to play out this Angel plot lol

[Meiling]

Meiling ice blue eyes stared out into the blackness of space. She would never tire of its beauty. It reminded her of looking up at the night sky at home. But the main difference was she was now APART of those stars! She could go where none of her clan had ever gone before! She would return with stories about Spaceships, Giant Worms with huge teeth and...Krad of course.

But the thought of home made her heart sink. She missed her family and home. But wouldn’t of given up this adventure if she could go back and change it. She just wish she could give them a Message so that they know she is okay. She Still wanted to explore the new world opening up around her.

It wouldn’t be a lie if I said Meiling wasn’t completely herself since the whole... Worm thing. It wasn’t that she was scared by the crash and almost becoming a snack. It was more what they had learnt while recovering. It worried Meiling she didn’t know what they where on about. She wanted to find out more but was also scared to know. She was often drifting off into thought and wasn’t as sharp as usual.

"Hello, my name is Krad. What is yours?"

Krad had been teaching Meiling Common for a while now. She was getting down some of the basics, but she said it so stiffly that sometimes she sounded like a computer! She moved a little in her seat so she could tuck her legs under herself and her tail curled around into her lap. She had her belt on and hardly moved from her seat. She didn’t want to have another crash landing like before.

“My...Ney-ma-” Every word was so carefully spoken, as if she had to use all her focus on getting the words around her tongue. She scrunched up her nose in annoyance. She couldn’t say them like Krad. No matter what she did she always had a bit of her accent to it and it just, to Meiling's view, make her would stupid. But she wasn’t one to give up. “My Nuh-Aim-” Her ears folded back. She was being a bit hard of herself. She got the word, she just wanted to say it RIGHT.

“My NAHME is Meiling” She wasn’t shouting, just putting a lot of effort into the word Name.

Her ears twitched annoyed. She wanted to be good at it now when she needed to be. “I'm sorry Krad-” She said in her mother tongue. “I am trying...I just cant sound like you.” She was pouting a little and turned her attention back to the stars and her ears perked up and she lengthened her neck to get a better view as she noticed a shooting star way off.

Almost instantly her mood was gone and she glanced at Krad. “Why so you feel the need to greet people with Words?” She said somewhat shyly. She didn’t want to come off as stupid, but on her planet greetings where done by head rubbing or some type of body contact... or in some cases licking if they where your mate. “The body says things for you that your words wont ever portray.”

(WC::545 D: )

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[Krad Zephyros]

He noticed Meiling was struggling with the word Name. It couldn't help but letting his smirk break in to a full-blown smile. He shook his head in humor and kept his eyes on the planet ahead while he listened to her. “I am trying...I just cant sound like you.” Krad picked up on the slight distress in her voice, then turned his ocean blue eyes towards her.

"Don't worry about it." He said smoothly; the smile still fighting for dominance over his face. He could barely keep his eye-contact knowing his damn smiling was on his face. So he decided to give himself a reason to smirk."Besides,there's nothing better than a girl with an accent." And with that, his smirk came back stronger than ever. He turned back to the outside and allowed the ship to drift more level with the up-and-coming planet.

She asked him, “Why so you feel the need to greet people with Words?” He gave a baffled expression, then turned to face her yet again. “The body says things for you that your words wont ever portray.”

When he thought about this, he fell silent for a moment trying to figure out not only what exactly she was asking, but where such a simple question would come from. That is when he made the conclusion that her world was probably what some would refer to as an Underdeveloped World: a planet that is far beyond the technological age of the majority of the planets within the galaxy. With that understood, he gave a slight head-nod, and attempted to answer her question.

"Human senses aren't as strong as some other races." He started. "We can't pick up on all the subtle things that most races can, which is why we rely so heavily on words." He smirked a bit as he turned his attention back to driving. "Although, body language doesn't completely escape our senses. We're not so blind that we can't tell when someone is... afraid of something.[/blue] He gave her a sideways glance, referring to her position in the seat next to him. Sometimes we can tell a lot based on body language, though our ears have adapted to the sounds of words so much it is almost as if we're addicted to them. Sound, after all, was a powerful thing. No amount of body language could replace the feelings brought on by a strong, smooth voice whispering all the words you want to hear into your ear."

After that, he snickered a bit, then went back to speaking in Common. "We are getting closer to the planet. Are you excited?" She thought she was having a difficult time? Krad was having a bit of difficultly himself. Speaking proper Common was not something he did often. He was used to different dialects of slang or shorthanded words. It might be a bit difficult to teach her that stuff, though.

He neared the planet now; their destination wasn't so far off. As he slowed down to drift in the planet's orbit, it's size seemed to magnify at a great speed. The planet's surface seemed orange in tint, and desolate of many oceans and greenery. Krad switched the ship over so that it would automatically orbit around the planet, then released the controls. He smirked, then got up from his seat. Again, in Common, he spoke. "Are you ready for our little adventure?"

Word Count: 567
OOC: This would be the perfect time to play A Whole New World ^_^

[Meiling]

"Don't worry about it. Besides,there's nothing better than a girl with an accent."

Meiling scrunched up he nose and poked the tip of her pink tongue out at him. She had a sparkle in her eyes that told him she wasn’t angry. It was just one of those 'Oh shut up' moments. She relaxed her face and watching him. He looked confused by her question. It was simple so what was the problem? Maybe humans where more different then she realised?

"Human senses aren't as strong as some other races. We can't pick up on all the subtle things that most races can, which is why we rely so heavily on words."

This though made Meiling suddenly very glad she wasn’t human. She couldn’t imagine walking out her house and around the village without one of the villagers grazing past or clasping there hands around the back of your neck and moves to place foreheads together. This was a greeting you normally gave when very glad to see someone.

"Although, body language doesn't completely escape our senses. We're not so blind that we can't tell when someone is... afraid of something. Sometimes we can tell a lot based on body language, though our ears have adapted to the sounds of words so much it is almost as if we're addicted to them. Sound, after all, was a powerful thing. No amount of body language could replace the feelings brought on by a strong, smooth voice whispering all the words you want to hear into your ear."

She shifts per pose. She doesn’t want Krad to think her afraid! She moves to sit more normal but she's sat on her tail. These chairs really need a whole in the back for her tail to go out of. She shifts her pose again so her tail curled around her own leg as if to comfort herself. She glanced at him as he snickered and returned to speaking common. She definitely understood it a little easier then being about to say it.

"We are getting closer to the planet. Are you excited?"

She smiled a little and with a almost happy yelp like sound she said in Common. “Yep~!” She put so much effort into the word as if she thought it was the coolest word ever. “Urm...No....” She made a motion with her hands. One hand in a fist and the other flat. She hit the fist into the flat palm. She then said in her mother tongue. “No Crashing. I don’t like that part of Space.” She still didn’t quiet understand Space. She thought that Space was more an Activity then a place. It was just so big to be a place. And it made more sense to her if Space was a part in time instead.

Meiling glanced out at the planet. She couldn’t stop her hackles stand on edge. It was so weird to see something so huge, so small. It sent shivers over her spine.

"Are you ready for our little adventure?"

She glanced at him. She didn’t quiet get that one. But she nodded anyway. She still had her eyes on the planet. “As long as there ain’t no Worms...”

(WC:: 575 )
(OOC::A whole neeew woooorld! A dazzling place I never kneeeew, But when I'm way up here, it's crystal cleeeear, That now I'm in a whole new world with you, Now I'm in a whole new world with yoooou~~)

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[Krad Zephyros]

Krad literally laughed out loud at her response. He laughed so hard even that he had to lean against the back row of chairs in the center of the cockpit or risk falling over in a heap. Quickly, he controlled the fit, but he dropped his head down; smile still stretching his face close to tearing, and allowed a few snickers to escape. "Yeah..." He said in common before righting himself again. "You're too much..." As he reached the back wall, he walked up to his sword, which was still tightly wrapped up by the cloud-colored scarves. He placed his hand on the center of the clothed weapon and closed his eyes for a moment.By concentrating, he was able to draw out the wind magic contained deep within the weapon in to his own body. This was how he revitalized himself whenever he exhausted too much energy.

Where he placed his hand, the air became visible, but only slightly. Currents of wind moved along his hand like transparent serpents. His ocean blue arching spikes levitated with the mysterious power as it entered his body. The magical wind interacted with the magic that Krad naturally produced, creating a tranquil balance that soothed both physical and mental muscles. Krad had performed this technique several times since he recovered from the desert chase, but the internal damage was so great he could not restore himself completely in one attempt. This would be the final round of therapy. He now felt completely back to normal. His magic was perfectly balanced and there were no aches or strains whenever he attempted to manipulate it.

He nodded, then allowed the transparent tendrils of air to seep back in to the blade. He removed his hand from his weapon and nodded. He was ready. Krad turned and started back towards the pilot's chair. He wasn't sure, but this might have been the first time Meiling would see him do such a thing, but he didn't mind. If she had any questions she was always free to ask him at any time.

The young Mage-Knight slipped back in to the chair and placed his hands along the console. He allowed the ship to continuously orbit the surface of the planet before pulling up a screen upon the glass canopy. The display appeared within a green box and showed a collection of information about the world they circled.

Name: Meekra

Type: Arid

Native Race: Elusyian

Danger Level: Low

Another wave of more detailed information spilled on to the screen after the initial details. The history, some notes on the world, and a few cautionary warnings that Krad never really paid attention too. With a confirming head-nod, he pulled up the coordinates of a small area located on the planet's surface. That was where they were going to land: an isolated village in the middle of a dusty valley was where the supposed Keeper of the Great Index resided. Krad waited a while longer, for the ship's orbit to bring it closer to the landing zone before he switched over to manual control.

"Buckle up." He said in Meiling's language. "And I promise, I won't crash this time." He gave a small wink to her before turning back to the canopy. Almost everything he said was tongue-and-cheek. Hands on the controls, he eased the nose of the space craft in to the ship's atmosphere and they began to smoothly slice through. There was a noticeable amount of turbulence as they entered the planet's atmosphere. The ship rattled and shook. The sounds of its metal bearings vibrated throughout all corners of the craft, but for the most part, it was steady. Krad didn't seem to mind the shaking. He liked the feeling of having a vibrating chair massaging his rear end anyway.

It would be a while before they broke through the atmosphere and evened out with the planet's gravity. It was a relatively thick atmosphere. Once they got deep within it, the entire sky seemed to change from the empty blackness of space, to a dull, blinding mix of dust brown and orange. The clouds seemed to be as dry as a desert mountain. Even the air itself seemed to be full of dust and rocky particles. Finally, the craft pierced through the bleak cloud and the wide, rocky, and crater-filled world appeared before them in great detail.

Valleys of open land stretched on as far as the eye could see. The ground seemed like mostly dry clay. Rocky mountains sprouted from the ground like plant life. Caves and craters were abundant. The planet seemed like nothing more than a dry rock. Had they come to the wrong place? Not according to the coordinates. That's when Krad spotted it: what looked like a village among the empty wasteland. "I think that's the place." He said, again in Hirokan, and then angled the ship towards the destination.

The large craft sliced through the sky as gracefully as a bird of prey, then swooped over the head of the village. Indeed, life did show itself among the rock. Elusyians, the children of magic, raised their heads up to the sky to witness the metal craft circle above them. They appeared to be a collection of farmers, working the rocky earth in and around their small village. Men, woman, and children all stopped their conversations, chores, and play as they watched the extraterrestrial craft slow to a glide, and then a hover, over their timid little area. Mothers corralled the young into clay hobbles. Some villagers retreated to their lodgings in fear. Others took up tools defensively and stood together.

Krad engaged the landing gear and the ship hummed a small tune as the three legs dropped out from beneath it. The ship ever-so-gently landed on the ground kicking up a great cloud as it touched down. Krad powered most of the flight systems down as the landing succeeded, then looked over to Meiling and smirked at her. "See?" He said in Common before rising out of his chair and stepping behind it. "You might get a chance to try out your new language. I'm praying they know Common, because I definitely don't know their language." He smirked, then slipped his thick gloves on before grabbing on to the grip of his two-handed weapon.

Swinging the weapon behind him with the grip displayed behind his right shoulder, the magical energy from the weapon connected with that of his own body. As if possessed, the cloud-colored ends of the scarves that wrapped around the young knight's weapon lifted, then snaked their way around his upper torso and neck, strapping themselves together and securing his weapon to his back. He nodded, then stepped towards the door. It slipped upwards in to the ceiling and Krad turned with a confident smirk upon his face. "Shall we go?" he beckoned for his Myrthra partner as he awaited her company by the door.

Word Count: 1155
OOC: I bolded the words in Galactic Common like you did because... well... it makes it way easier to distinguish -sagely nod-

[Meiling]

Meiling watched as he walked over to his weapon. She didn’t understand the connection between Krad and his Sword, but she knew it wasn’t like any weapon she had seen before in her village She was still pouting a little because he had only seconds before been laughing at her. She wasn’t upset though. She had turned in her seat and was peering over the back of it to watch him. She couldn’t help but feels a tingle up her spine when she watched him with his wind powers. She had seen him do this once before when they where recovering but she didn’t say anything.

She felt it was not of her concern. Plus if she asked there was a chance he would get defensive about it and Meiling didn’t want to risk their...Friendship? I suppose you could call it that. Meiling had never had a friend that would risk their own lives to save hers. Then again she didn’t get into very deathly situations back home.

As Krad came back over to join her back at the front she moved to sit normally in the chair again. She purled her ears up and tilted her head as she looked at the text now on display. She couldn’t read it of course but she seemed to have started recognising letters and words. She still didn’t know how to say them. It was more the shape of them she recognised. Krad didn’t seem tense or anything of the sort so she guessed there was nothing threatening in the text to worry about.

She couldn’t help stealing a glance at him. She envied him and his ability to fly. If it had not been for her first experience in landing, she might have been more willing to ask him to teach her. But she wouldn’t Not yet anyway. She wouldn’t know any of the buttons anyway so what was the point? But she defendant was going to ask about the Hover-Bike. She loved it from the first day she found in one that shipwreck.

"Buckle up. And I promise, I won't crash this time."

She looked away when he winked at her. She didn’t want him to see the fear in her eyes. She did trust him and knew he wouldn’t crash it if he could help it... but she also knew that things happen when you least expect it. She tugged on her belt to check it was tight and not going to come loose. Her hands clasped onto the edge of the arms of the chair as she felt the ship tip forwards. She took in a sharp inhale of breath as the ship started to shake ever so slightly. She was waiting for it to get worse and maybe explode. She had her ears so flat against her head if it wasn’t for the white stripes on them you wouldn’t notice them against her black hair.

But she didn’t close her eyes. She wanted them open to take in everything just in case they did survive. She watched as the world outside the ship turned from a black to a brown/navy mixture. It felt like forever for them to land. She was still holding her breath... She may have had her eyes open but she wasn’t really looking. She was more or less staring at one spot on the dash, hoping they would land soon.

"See?"

The suddenly everything was still and calm. She let out her breath in a long gasp. It was amazing she could hold her breath for so long... She looked at him as he got out his seat, then out the glass. They were on land. They didn’t crash. She was panting slightly from holding her breath and her fingers fumbled at the belt.


"You might get a chance to try out your new language. I'm praying they know Common, because I definitely don't know their language."

Once the belt was off Meiling stood up slowly. She had hardly moved all through the trip and her legs, tail and butt were numb. She glanced over her shoulder as she rubbed some life back into her butt and tail and watched him with his sword again. Part of her wished he would leave it here. It was quiet a weapon and could be taken as an aggressive stance. She knows if you walked into her village with that on your back and you where a stranger, all the Warriors of her village would be on him in a second. Meiling was sure the sword was alive somehow. How else would it have such an aura around it?

"Shall we go?"

He walked over tot he door and it slid open with ease. She walked over to him once she could felt he tip of her tail again. As she came to stand by his side her ears perked up in interest, but also caution. She was listen out for anything suspicious. She glanced at him and there was a slight glint in her eyes. Yes she was scared when landing, and cautious of the people they where about to meet, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t loving every minute of this. She flicked her long black hair off her shoulder and stepped out before Krad.

The light was a little blinding. You know that way how you go outside after a long day in your house? Well it was like that. It wasn’t that sunny but it was enough to effect your eyes for the first few seconds. Meiling's eyes where quick to adjust though. She could see some people of this planet. She couldn’t help but think they looked a little hostile and she waited for Krad to come to her side so they could walk side by side.

But there was a trill in her. It tingled up her spine and made her restless. “Hell-low!” She lifted her arm to wave it to the people who weren’t hidden away in their homes. She couldn’t help herself. She stepped, more like a skip/pounce forwards towards the Elusyians. They looked pretty human to Meiling, apart from the ears of course. She was already almost face to face to one of the Male Elusyians by the time Krad would of got out the craft. “Hell-low” She repeated, a bit more calmly this time. “Meiling am I. Who you?”[/color] It was rather different then what Krad had been teaching her but in her excitement she had forgotten the other words. It even came off a bit rude, which wasn't her intention. [/color]

(WC:: 1100 ;D)
(OOC:: Meiling wanna make friends~)

[Krad Zephyros]

Krad almost burst out with laughter at Meiling's display. She was definitely adorable, but this was no time for him to show a lighter side. In fact, other than that flash of a humored glint in his eye, his face fell stone and serious as his ocean blue eyes looked over the natives of this world. Elusyians was all he saw and, from the looks of them, they were just a simple tribe of farmers well beyond the current times. Some wielded pitchforks in a defensive fashion. Others hid in the thresholds of their hobbles anxiously waiting for something to happen.

Muttering started to vibrate through the air. Small voices could be heard massing together in a hushed silence among the villagers. "A human..." "What does he want?" "Is that a Myrthra with him...? Probably a slave." There eyes were filled with hate and judgment as they fell upon Krad, who seemed to have no intention of leaving without causing some sort of disturbance.

"Get out of here, human!" One of the more forward farmers commanded. "Your kind isn't welcome." He dared not to step forward and challenge the blue-haired off-worlded, yet he still found some courage through the menacingly pointy pitch-fork in his hands.

Krad was not impressed. Not in the least. His face remained stone: unreadable, like a war-god statue. His mood even began to drop as well. The only thing that seemed to rise in his presence, was tension. "I'll leave... after I see the Keeper of the Great Index." Krad had no intention of playing nice with these people. It could be said that he never learned how, exactly, to be peaceful. In his previous life, all visits to other worlds were done so forcefully and with an iron fist. Where he came from, people didn't understand anything but force, and force was Krad's specialty.

"The nerve you have coming here to our planet after what your people did to ours!" A woman shouted from deep within the crowd. "You're nothing but blood-thirsty hounds!" Her emotional cry carried far to his heart, but was blocked by a coating of ice. His emotions did not flinch for even a second.

"Whatever it was my kind have done to yours has nothing to do with you or I, now does it?" There was no sympathy. No care for the pain and fear these people were experiencing while in his presence. In truth; Krad had no idea what the Elusyian people went through. The doings of the Galactic Imperium and the Imperial Crusades happened long before Krad even crossed the great divide of space and landed on this side of the galaxy.

These people knew, though. They knew all too-well the brutality and merciless slaughter brought upon them at the hands of the Imperium: The hands of humans. For Krad to say such coldhearted words... it was sheer disrespect for all those lives lost to the insanity of the late Emperor. In Krad's presence, all those hateful memories; the fear from survivor's tales told, all reawakened within the villagers. To them, he was nothing more than a murderous human who cared for the lives of none; not even his own. He was a monster: a demon brought to there world to only cause more pain and devastation.

They couldn't take it anymore. The tension could no longer be tolerated. His presence could no longer be tolerated. A rock was hurled at the blue-haired human from the crowd. It all happened so fast not even all the villagers had caught on to this, that is, until the sound of stone being crushed brought a silence to the air. Before the offending object had a chance to strike the man, Krad brought forward a lightning fast left fist to meet the stone head-on. Nothing remained of it 'cept the dusty particles of its former self.

"Last chance... You're really testing my patience." What was once a beautiful spectrum of ocean blue, glittering light, was now cold, like the deep abyss before all light begins to fade away. Krad was a different person when he was serious. Especially now when he had a goal in mind. He scanned over the now stunned crowd. He was doing everything right. He didn't make the first move, he wasn't provoking them or making any threats, but at the same time, they still weren't giving him what he wanted. He had a feeling that, with the way things were going, a fight would break out.

He was right.

Without warning, three of the villagers, the lead holding a pitchfork and the two others with scythes, rushed from the crowd straight at him. "Get off our planet!"

Krad was just as stone and silent as he was before. He waited just until the charging Elusyians were in range and, in two fluid motions, Krad reached back for the grip of his massive sword, and then sliced it from his back. Holding the massive man-sized weapon in front of him, the attacking villagers skated to a stop, the lead farmer luckily halting his forward movement before charging face-first into the covered point of the weapon.

Krad's cloudy scarves hung from the end of the great weapon. Occasionally, the areas that the two scarves didn't cover would glint with a metallic blue light depending on how the sun hit the steel beneath the cloth. Even completely wrapped up, Krad's sword still seemed to wreak sheer blood lust, and those on the other end of it could not help but feel the blade call out for their lives. Complemented by the dark glare now emanating from the swordsman's eyes, Krad seemed less like a human and more like a Death Knight.

"Don't test me."

The villagers had know idea what to do at the moment. Desperation and fear was climbing faster than ever before. Nobody in their right mind felt it productive to even try and fight against Krad, but none were ready to allow this Human to walk all over them either. They felt like animals backed in to a corner with no other option but to lash out and fight. And that was exactly what they were preparing to do.

"STOP!"

A small voice shouted out from the now shocked and concerned crowd. The people parted, like a mass was moving through grains of hey, and finally, a young child emerged from the fearful Elusyians. Krad's eyes shifted past the three attackers in order to get a look at the boy. He looked barely any older than ten or eleven, but he was far better dressed than the rag-wearing farmers who'd he'd seen so far. The deep concern in the boy's eyes were hidden away by a pair of impregnable circular sunglasses. He also wore a green hat, which would have covered his entire head were the sides not turned up, showing the white underside. Mid-length, black hair also spilled out from beneath this hat, only covering the very pointed tips of his small ears, but in the back, was long enough to be tied into a stub of a ponytail.

"Young master! You must hide!" One of Krad's attackers demanded of the child, but it seemed as if he had no intention of running away.

"I will not stand by and allow my people to come under harm!" The young boy then turned his attention to Krad and Meiling before sternly announcing. "I am the one you're looking for! I am the Keeper of the Great Index."

Needless to say, Krad's stone expression finally crumbled when he saw his goal standing before him. Did he really come all this way to talk... to a child? This was definitely unexpected...

Word Count: 1282
OOC: You wouldn't believe how long that took xD

[Meiling]

Meiling's excitement didn’t last. The trill tickling at her spin chilled in the tensity of the air. She had already moved to back off from the Elusyians. This was not the family friendly meeting she was expecting. She could feel the hatred and fear in the air. Why was there so much of it? It made Meiling feel sick to the stomach.

It didn’t help that she couldn’t understand a thing they where saying. She picked up a few words in the muttering like Human and Myrthra. Suddenly there was shouting among the crowds. Meiling flinched. She couldn’t understand it but she could FEEL it. They where so angry. What could of happened to these poor people to make them so angry and scared? It brought tears prickling to Meiling's eyes.

"I'll leave... after I see the Keeper of the Great Index."

Meiling looked at Krad. He was nothing but a shell of what she had known of him. It was like all the kindness had been scraped out of him with a spoon and replaced by coldness. Even she felt a little intimidated by him. But she knew he had a good heart. He was only reacting in response to how these people where acting. Maybe he couldn’t feel the pain and terror in the air like Meiling? Hell she could taste it! But that’s just how her kind are. They use all their senses to communicate.

Suddenly a rock was thrown through the air. It shot though the air like a bullet. Meiling flinched again, but Krad had already caught the rock and crushed it. She backed off more so now she was stood somewhat behind Krad.

She didn’t understand it. Not at all! There had never been fights in her village unless there was a clear reason, and even then it was just a few growls and then some space apart. Her brothers would fight a lot over food, but it was no more then siblings rivalry. It wasn’t needed. Fighting just makes more pain and suffering.

Suddenly the tension snapped and the air filled with an electric charge that only could be created by Anger. She watched the three men come at them, and Krad take out his Sword. Meiling couldn’t help it. She moved instantly to put her one hand against his back and the other came around to grip his elbow. She was pressed against him, panting. She couldn’t speak, but her body was screaming out for him to stop. She didn’t want blood to be split, but most of all she didn’t want Krad to turn into the monster that the people of this Planet thought he should be.

"Don't test me."

It froze. There was no movement. Meiling's hand clung to Krad's elbow but not pulling him or anything. She didn’t want to force him to do anything. But she knew it didn’t have to end with blood.

"STOP!"

"Young master! You must hide!"

Meiling didn’t look up to look at the boy. Her face was sits looking at Krads. She wanted to brake that look in his eyes. She wanted him to be smiling again.

"I will not stand by and allow my people to come under harm! I am the one you're looking for! I am the Keeper of the Great Index."

Meiling heart skipped a beat when she saw his expression disintegrate. She still did not remove her hands from him. She would not until he was going to put the sword away. It was then she noticed there were tears down her face. She was not crying because she was scared or angry...But because the Elusyians were. She had always hated violence and it just pained her to see anyone hurt.

She took her eyes off Krad, now that he didn’t look so murderous and looked over at the boy. “...It's a Child...” She whispered in her mother tongue. Why on earth would a child get in between this? Shouldn’t a mother somewhere be holding him and keeping him safe. “Its a Child Krad..” She said this more firmly, as if trying to tell him to lower his weapon.

(WC::701 not as good as yours D: )
(OOC:: Meiling hates Violence D': )

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[Krad Zephyros]

Krad rarely concerned himself with the feelings of others, but for some reason, when he felt Meiling press against him, he could almost feel hers. The swordsman would have felt no remorse were his blade to fall upon one of these defensive Elusyians, but luckily, with the way Meiling held his arm, he couldn't fully extend his reach. She might have just saved one of their lives. His eyes did not flicker, however. They stayed sharp, like daggers piercing through the hearts of all those who saw them, until that child appeared claiming to be the Keeper he was looking for.

“...It's a Child...” Meiling whispered in her natural language She applied a bit more pressure to his arm as she did so as if trying to convince him to lower his weapon. “Its a Child Krad..” There was a deep concern in her voice: one that he took into account. He allowed his attention to fall from the Elusyians for that moment and glanced towards his partner. He could tell by her body language that she couldn't stand what was happening. He could see the tears rolling down her tender face and, for a brief moment, a flash of regret streaked across his eyes.

Was he the reason why she cried? Krad was a fearsome person, yes. He was the type who could scare any inexperienced opponent into submission. But did this art have a double-edged blade? Did this aura of blood lust not only push away enemies, but allies as well? He developed a conflict of interest in a situation where such conflict could be detrimental. Like an animal, he bore his hangs at his opponents, and they accepted his challenge. Backing down now would only be a sign of weakness, and Krad was not the type to show weakness. But now, he had Meiling to think about. Did he really want her thinking of him as a savage monster? Could he stand to make her cry anymore than she already has?

"Please..." The young child from the crowd begged as he dropped to both knees and lowered his head. "I beg you to spare these people." The young man's clothes, which were a rich, sleeveless green robe with gold-colored trimmings and clean, over-sized white slacks were now stained with dirt like a common beggar.

"Young master, you don't have too...!" It pained many of the villagers to see this take place. Those who were ready to fight felt a heavy weakness in their hearts. They felt so powerless to protect themselves and their kin that the one who they respected the most had to beg for their lives.

"I will do whatever you ask of me if you lower your weapon..."

Krad's eyes narrowed a bit. He was unsure of exactly how to react to this situation. He had his doubts that this... child... was even the legitimate Keeper he was looking for, but he did notice the level of respect the other Elusyians showed towards him. He had to at least be some one of importance. Reluctantly, Krad allowed the tension within his arm to subside, and finally slip away completely. His eyes closed and he allowed the rest of his body to relax, though he did stir up another emotion when his eyes finally reopened. Though his lips never parted, his countenance read clear as day. ~If this is a trick, I will kill every last one of you...~

Krad allowed the covered tip of his blade to fall just an inch above the ground, signifying that he, indeed, lowered his weapon. Yet he did not place it against the dirt. He would rather not stain his scarf with the dust of this world. He allowed another sigh to escape through his nostrils, and then his stance shifted into a more casual position. "Fine..." He said in Common. He fixed his eyes on the young child awaiting his next move.

The boy lifted his head first, then stood back up to face the two off-worlders. "I thank you..." He replied sincerely before a slightly more serious tone rose from his throat. "Now tell me: what is it that you want from us?"

Krad, again, felt some sort of way talking to a child. he was very skeptical of this situation in its entirety, but... for the sake of... whatever it was he was doing, he pushed forward. "We're looking for some information within the Great Index."

The child allowed these words to seep in before replying. "I see..." He hesitated while in thought, then looked back up towards the two and spoke yet again. "Follow me then. I will take you to the book." He turned around, but before he started walking, he raised his small hands, which were sleeved by the over-sized white shirt he wore beneath the green robe. "Everyone, please return back to your lives." He didn't know if he should say more or not and a brief awkward silence overtook him, but then he decided to play it safe. He lowered his arms and started walking again through the parted crowd.

Krad watched briefly, then decided he had no other option. He looked down towards Meiling and offered her a comforting smile, then returned his weapon to his back and freed his hands. "Let's go." He said kindly in her native language. As he started forward, he found himself walking past the villagers who challenged him. He made no eye-contact with any of them. Instead, he just silently walked by. They were not even worthy of a passing glance.

He made his way through the crowd making sure that no extremists attempted to sneak attack him and also keeping an even pace so that he would not step too far ahead of Meiling. The people all looked at him like he was some sort of monster. He didn't mind though. So long as they kept their distance and he got what he came for, they could think he was the devil.

Krad followed the young boy until the reached a house that seemed the same make and shape as all the rest. Its foundation and walls were of clay, which was supported by stone and wood, and it only looked about a floor and a half high. Definitely not the lodgings he would imagine an all-knowing Keeper of the time to reside in. "we can speak in private here." The young boy said as he pulled the door handle open and stepped in to the house.

Krad made sure Meiling was still close by before he entered behind the boy. The house seemed... again... not what Krad was expecting, but better than nothing. Its interior was definitely lived-in. The living area seemed moderately cluttered with robotic gizmos and gadgets, tools and toys one would think far too advanced for this underdeveloped world. There were tiny little robots and model space craft. There were cranks and cranes, and even some things Krad had never seen before.

All these... things... just seemed to sit on shelves and tables as if they were in a little shop. Towards the back of the house was the kitchen and dining area, though no clutter seemed to reach in there aside from the barrels of food, pots, and strange animal skins suspended on a thin line. Towards the center was a horizontal stairway that lead to the house's second level; more than likely where the beds were.

Krad was somewhat curious as to how such an isolated, arid waste of space could have such a collection of things from different cultures. He still was not convinced this child was the Keeper he was looking for. Even when the young boy shuffled over to a large stack of books and began looking through them. As he did so, Krad too looked over the dusty library. There were books upon books of all sorts. There were story books, old legends and fables; he even noticed one book in particular whose title was written in Gral'Varr, the language of the Gorgans. That one interested him. Perhaps, maybe, this is the house of the Keeper.

That's when Krad also saw another book. It was a language index, and it was a huge, yellow tome that seemed big enough to hold information about all the languages in the galaxy. Krad thought that it might make it a bit easier for Meiling to learn Galactic Common if he got his hands on that book. But how would he even go about asking. It wasn't like this meeting started on good terms.

"Here... it is...!" The young boy struggled with something that seemed to be lodged in the middle of a pile of random books and tomes. He pulled and pulled until finally the pile gave way and out came the book of interest. "Father told me to always keep this mixed in with the others. That way no one would even be able to recognize it even if they happened to find it."

His father had to be the Keeper, then. "Where is your father, speaking of which?" Krad inquired with less hostility and with more of a general interest. Int he meantime, he couldn't help but allow his eyes to wander around the house. It was all just so... strange and interesting.

"My father is... no longer with us." The boy said, visibly trying to force his emotion into submission. "He died some time ago from a disease. So now I am the only Keeper of the Great Index."

Krad's mood sunk, not out of pity for the boy, but for the situation he was now in. "I'm... sorry to hear that..." He had to rely on a child to fish out the information he sought. At the same time, now he had to deal with this child who probably still grieved the loss of his father. Krad hated talking to people when they were in grieving. It made things so awkward.

"But it is okay." The young boy said calmly. "Because, before he died, he taught me many things about being the Keeper." While he was talking, he did not look down, nor did he stare at the average sized blank book in his hands. Instead, he was facing Meiling's direction. His rounded sunglasses hid his eyes away, but it was still obvious he was looking right at the young Myrthra in both curiosity and concern.

Krad wasn't paying enough attention to realize this. He was still just trying to wrap his mind around the situation he was in. What in the world was he going to do now? He honestly didn't even want to talk to the kid anymore. This whole situation was slowly starting to become one big headache and the annoyance that came with it was very unattractive. ~It's not about me, though... It's about Meiling...~ He remembered this detail, then allowed his frustrations to escape in the form of a soft sigh, before he focused his attention back on the boy. That was when he realized that he was staring at Meiling.

Word Count: 1,845
OOC: I should make an achievement based on word count x.x I get way too detailed sometimes xD Btw, I think the kid thinks Meiling's cute.

[Meiling]

Meiling clung to Krad tightly and didn’t let go until he had lowered his weapon. She was still upset. The static violence in the air bothered her. Why so much anger? Surely Krad did nothing directly to them? She didn’t take her eyes off Krad, not even when the child grovelled in the dirt for his people. She couldn’t understand any of them anyway. Might as well been talking about Saturdays football match for all she’d know.

She saw Krad's body relax and but his monstrous gaze was still in those eyes. Those friendly and caring eyes Meiling knew where nowhere to be seen. The tiniest whimper left her lips. It pained her to see him like that… But who was she to say how he should be or act? She hasn’t known him that long…But in all honesty what scared her most is the possibility of that pure aggression and anger being pointed at herself. Not because she was scared of getting hurt…but because she knew she would never be able to look at him again and see the kind smile and glint in his eyes when he laughs.

"Fine..."

"I thank you, now tell me: what is it that you want from us?"

"We're looking for some information within the Great Index."

"I see... Follow me then. I will take you to the book." [/i] [/color]

Meiling listened but she could only pick up a few words. And even then it was more a ‘oh I heard that one before’ kind of thing. The child, by the looks of it, told his fellow villagers to leave and go back to their own business… but they didn’t. They still stood around, casting glared at them. True, it was mostly for Krad, but Meiling was stood with Krad… so they might as well be for her too.

When Krad turned towards her she flinched. She wasn’t scared of him; she was just really on the edge. Her ears laid flat on her head and her tail was deathly stiff, as if she feared even swaying it a little in case she angered these people. But then he smiled. Warmth blossomed in her chest, but it disappeared quickly which just made her feel all the more empty. How could anyone be happy with such a thick aura of hatred around them?

"Let's go."

It was lovely to hear words she knew once again. He started to walk to follow the boy. Meiling hung back for a second. She didn’t want to go into the crowd. They parted for them but they still looked pretty upset. With quick steps she started to follow Krad. She was walking so close to him she was hiding in his shadow. Krad may have not been making eye contact, but Meiling made the mistake to look out at them. The anger and sorrow in their faces somewhat scarred her. She fixed her eyes onto Krad’s sword on his back. One day she would see him spill blood with that sword. She shivered at the thought and looked away at the floor.

Meiling couldn’t help but be thinking about how stupid their homes looked. She could feel a bit of pride in herself when she silently decided that the building of her village looked much more appealing. The boy spoke again, and then opened the door to the house that they were to go into. She watched as Krad disappeared threw the frame. She paused at the door. She glanced over her shoulder at the people one last time before disappearing into the house too.

It took a matter of seconds for Meiling's eyes to adjust to the light. She glanced around at what she though was clutter. She shut the door behind her as rubbed her face with the backs of her hands. She felt safer now. Now that there were no murderous looks on anyone’s faces. She was still stood somewhat behind Krad until she noticed something shinny. She timidly moved over to it where it sat on a table. She poked it with her finger before picking it up. It was cold and hard. But not like Rock or Flint. It was metal. She lifted it up in her hand to catch the light on it. She glanced over at Krad and the boy. They were talking there gibberish language again so she turned back to the object.

It was round like an egg but much bigger. She had to hold it in her two hands. She noticed what looked like a key in the side of it. She turned it and could hear a little clunk inside the egg. She turned it a couple more times until she couldn’t anymore and she them placed it on the table. The egg spun around and the top popped off. Meiling thought she’d broken it and instantly moved so she was blocking the view from Krad and the boy to the toy. She wanted to fix it before he noticed.

But then she noticed something come out of it. A figure of a woman in a long dress, long gold hair and what looked like dragonfly like wings. A tune came from it, like from a music box. It was bit slowly but the chimes and chinks of the Music is what made it so beautiful. As for the little figure, it was dancing stiffly and slowly, stopping every now and then when the music seemed to struggle. If Meiling had looked closer she would have noticed all the tiny gears and the music gears under the dancing woman, but her eyes where 100% focused on that lady. “It’s enchanted...” She whispered to herself as she watched.

This kind of this doesn’t even exist on her home world, so she would of course always assume that it’s magic. A lot of the time the elders of her village would burn anything they found like this, saying it was black magic and evil. But she couldn’t see how anything like this could be evil.

The lady came to a stop as did the music and she folded herself away, waiting to the lid to be replaced and for the next person to find interest in her. It was then Meiling noticed how quiet it was in the room now. She put the lid on the music box thing so now it was an egg again and glanced over her shoulder. The boy was looking right at her. Crimson tint glowed at her cheeks. Had he been watching her all this time while she was playing with the Toy?

Was he angry that she didn’t ask?...No Meiling couldn’t feel any anger on the air. That’s again when she noticed she was crying again. She wipes her face quickly and looked away. The kid was still looking at her. It was worrying her. She didn’t break the toy, so why did he stare at her so intently? She wanted to say sorry for just playing with his things but she didn’t know the word for sorry.

“…Hell-low.”[/b] Her voice was low. She felt enough of an intruder without shouting the house down. She envied how Krad seemed not to care about being intruding. At least she didn’t think he cared, he didn’t show it if he did. Meiling’s tail seemed to be swaying somewhat nervously now behind her. It would look like she was going to knock over something with it, but her tail was more agile then that. “Meiling How you?”[/b]

She hated herself for not knowing more. She wanted to badly to be able to speak to others. Krad was lovely and all to talk to, but she wanted to be able to spread her wings a bit more. How could she if she couldn’t even speak to most the people in space? If she could speak…then she could maybe go outside and tell them all that it’s okay they don’t need to be frightened and angry. They don’t need to suffer…

Meiling lowered her head again. Those damn tears where prickling at her eyes again. “I-I’m sorry…” she felt so stupid and weak. She feared Krad would look at her in disgust and cast her aside.

(WC: 1,402 AWWWH! Almost beat you only what? Four…Five hundred off? T___T)
(OOC: Aww poor Meiling DX She don’t like aggressive/angry/sorrowfulness environments… )

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