On The Way Down{one shot}

[Alessandro Darko]

It had been a particularly eventful day in the life of Alessandro Darko. Not like the usual run-ins with the Dementors that had clearly taken stake in the Dark Woods, nor had he engaged in battle with Zane, or avoided Keaira. Those would be commonplace for him, however, the day ran a bit more on the mundane side of things, well, as mundane as they can get for a 15 year old wizard.

The day began slow with History of Magic, right after a meager breakfast of bangers and a small scone. For some reason he just didn't have the appetite he usually had, which was voracious, to say the least. In class, he had trouble staying awake, for the professor was monotonous, and in addition to that, Alessandro found that the History of the craft was not something he found particularly interesting. What he did find to be quite captivating was staring at the back of Remus Thatcher's head, asking himself why anyone would have a mullet at this day and age. He came to the conclusion that it must have been the result of a spell gone bad, or a hair jinx of some sort.

The next class in the lineup was Divinations, usually held with high regard, was cast off into the same void as History of Magic. A sleepy glaze was cast over Alessandro's eyes as he wandered in the room and ritualistically chose a seat at the front of the classroom flopping down into the hard, and rigid frame of the chair. Professor O'Neil was obviously doing this on purpose, solely wishing to cause further discomfort to him by taking away the fluffy, comfortable atmosphere the Divinations class once beheld. As the lesson began he somehow managed to strain his eyes long enough to gaze into the crystal ball and discern the image of a...a crow flying through the air? This one puzzled Alessandro, and he spent the rest of the lesson flipping through his Divinations manual looking for meanings that could pertain to a Crow.

Through Herbology, he was unable to concentrate, stealing glances at his ancient rune book which he had subtly disguised as his Herbology book with a make-shift glamor charm. Everyone around him was diligently working on potting their Devil's Snare saplings, but he was reading everything he could on Crows. He had learned that there were many interpretive meanings for them, depending on the number of crows, present, etc. He only saw one crow flying, and according to the English rhyme for crows: One for Anger, Two for Mirth, Three a Wedding, Four a Birth, Five is Heaven, Six is Hell, Seven is the Devil Himself, he would be divining something about anger. However according to the Northamptonshire Natives, one flying crow was an Omen of bad luck, as adverse to anger.

When Lunch rolled around, Alessandro isolated himself at the far end of Ravenclaw Table, not really touching his plate, and was still engrossed in his book. It had so many interpretations about crows, he couldn't put his finger on any which one, nor could he come to a decision on which one he would attribute to his flying crow in the crystal ball back in Divinations. Though, the more he read, the more uneasy he became as he looked up only to notice that a crow had somehow flown into the great hall and was perched up on one of the rafters above him.

Quickly taking leave from the Great Hall, he hurried to his next class early, putting away his Divinations book, feeling like he had taken his fill of Crows for the day. The disturbing facts still lingered in his mind as he found a seat in the Ancient Runes classroom. If a crow perches on a roof, its an omen of death. That crow perched on the rafters...is that the same? Rhea Kronia, Greek Goddess of Time, Mother of Darkness...Mother Death. The goddess Badb came to Cu Chulainn as a warning of his coming death....Am I going to die?

He swallowed hard as he pulled a rule from the bag on the professors desk and took a seat. He was thumbing the rune absentmindedly as he stared at the floor, waiting for the lecture to begin. As it progressed, the professor gave time to the students to flip through their books to analyze the runes they had collected at the beginning of class. Alessandro had selected Berkana, a symbol of rebirth as he came to find during his research. Now Darko was angry. Why was he being faced with such omens? They were clearly unrelated to the shadow wars, at least that was something of a constant in his life as of late, but crows? runes of rebirth? They were tied together inexplicably, but he didn't know how, or what these signs were to mean.

At the end of Ancient Runes, feeling slightly irritated from the days divinatory signs, he completely blew off Potions class, something that was highly uncharacteristic of him. Instead he traipsed his way all the way up to the Astronomy tower where he could get some peace of mind, away from everyone and anything else that would warn him of impending doom.

No sooner had he arrived onto the platform at the top of the tower, did he witness the two crows perched on one of the adjacent towers, cackling back and forth to each other. "Two for Mirth..." He whispered, feeling slightly relieved. Only slightly, though, for they were still perched upon a roof, and their banter back and forth somehow made him feel as if they were mocking him, making fun of him somehow. He didn't remain up there long, for it was chilly and he was only dressed in his school uniform, though it were layered; shirt, necktie, and sweater vest, he was not as prepared to brave the fleeting winter breezes for much longer. Thus he made his descent and found his way into his dormitory.

The evening didn't hold much for him, for he changed and prepared for bed much earlier than he was accustomed to. The whole day felt like he completely isolated himself from everyone, and solely focused on a silly notion that had come over him, beginning in Divinations Class. Here it was the end of the day, and nothing bad had happened thus far. Weren't the crows supposed to be signs of bad luck? Death even?

His eyes drifted to his bed as he stood in the doorway of his dorm room. Nobody else was present, as it was early for a 15 year old to even consider going to sleep, but for Alessandro it seemed necessary. He had not been himself that day, and he wanted so desperately to leave it behind, and hopefully start anew. He slid beneath the covers and snuffed out the snub candle at his bed table and drifted off into the land of dreams.

A silvery fog filled his mind.

He wasn't alone, but the two were. He and Keaira stood there in the ballroom, facing eachother in the dim, almost haunting glow of the moonlight that poured through the large windows. There was a soft glow emanating from Keaira's face as it seemed to radiate with the moonlight. All around them, a scene from a ball that never came to pass, and a smoky haze filled the room slowly as the sequence began. They joined hands, and began to waltz around the room elegantly, slowly at first, then the pace quickened. The music was distorted and began to play at a grueling rate, forcing the two to dance faster and faster until...

She fell. And the scenery shifted. A fall on the ballroom floor should be something easily recovered from. However, she fell through the fog and it seemed as if she kept going, falling down a long, dark, tunnel of blackness, and there Alessandro stood gaping down at her in horror as he thrust his hand down at her seconds too late, her nimble fingers grazing his as she fell. Then there came the blackness. He was enveloped in a thick shroud of darkness that no light could penetrate. The sound of nothing filled his ears and he was alone. Moments went by and then a loud yell drove itself from his throat: "I don't want to lose you!" were his words and then the blackness swallowed him whole.

Alessandro, come to the Astronomy Tower with me. She said, as she walked by him with confidence, and a playful smile, coaxing him sweetly as she walked Come with me. Unconsciously he swung his feet around the edge of his bed, his bare feet touching the cold stone, his sensory receptors not relaying the stimulus to his brain. Alessandro was now walking in a zombie-like trance, down the dorm stairs, into the common room, down to the fourth floor and up to the sixth. He was following her voice in his dream, leading him up to the Astronomy Tower where there was no form of restriction from walking straight off the ledge. Hurry up, Alessandro, you're taking forever. She called to him, seemingly miles away from him. He followed her down the corridor, and up into the tower, where he found her standing high on the ledge, arms spread like an eagle, as if she were preparing to fly without a broom.

"Keaira...what are you doing?" The words came out of his mouth in a slow, dull roll. She looked over her shoulder, grinning with glee, like she had some secret that she was about to share with him. I'm going to fly, like a crow. and with that, she took a swan dive off the tower. In that instant, the adrenaline produced from the shock was now coursing through his body, thrusting him into lucidity as he dashed over to the edge, screaming for her as he looked down. Nothing. No sign of a body, no sign of damage to the roof, it was almost as if she had disappeared in mid drop. He called to her a couple times, but the more he called, the more he realized that he had been having a dream. He had never really sleep walked before, except for that one night in the fifth floor corridor when he was coming into his precognitive awareness, and the fact that he made it all the way up to the Astronomy Tower scared him.

He let out a long sigh, and that sigh turned into an exhale of relief. A small smile crept at the corners of his mouth as he felt ridiculous for thinking that Keaira would have been so stupid as to try and fly like a crow. A crow. He caught his breath in his chest as he remembered what she had said. He didn't see the six crows that were perched behind him on the opposite ledge, and all at once in unison, they all took flight, crying out their horrible crowing noises.

His heart seemed to explode right there in his chest as his emotions followed suit, fear in particular. As he whipped around on the ledge, bearing witness to the six fleeting crows all flying at him, he lost his footing and fell.

It was an exhilarating feeling, falling was, as the wind whipped through his hair, his pajamas flapping furiously. He could not summon a cushioning charm, he didn't have his wand. There was no magic he knew of that would prevent him from meeting a gruesome end to this downward descent, and in the heat of the moment, something switched on inside of him. A huge, brilliant, fiery flash burst from his chest, illuminating the slick stone of the castle, not feet from him. He felt like his insides were on fire, and he let out a loud scream that told of his searing pain. Fire exploded from his core, engulfing him completely, and as the fire burned through his clothes, and his flesh, he let go. The bright light coming from his thoracic cavity intensified to the point where it engulfed Alessandro completely and in a mere matter of seconds, it pulsed once, and then exploded in a fiery jubilation, sending out a shock wave of flame, ricocheting off of the castle walls at about the second floor, shattering the windows nearby.

Burning embers drifted down and settled on the moist, dew-laden lawn of the school grounds, fizzling out like fireflies. A soft thud would have been heard by anything with ears, and on the ground lay a dimly glowing crystal orb, the size of a baseball. It was glowing with a soft reddish/orange light, and if one gazed into it long enough, it would appear to look as though they were looking into a bonfire. The Elemental Orb of Fire was now brought into existence, and the Elemental Master of Fire was nowhere to be found.

ooc: Feel free to post character responses to this if you so desire, it should be interesting. Keaira has been designated to retrieve the orb.

[Caitlin Collins]

Once again, Caitlin was putting off going to sleep for as long as possible. She knew the lack of rest was having a negative impact on her grades, not to mention her interactions with everyone else. But to be honest, she’d gone past caring too much about that. The Shadow Wars were going to disrupt and destroy her grades enough anyway, that exhaustion wasn’t really going to make much difference when it came down to it.

So as usual, she was patrolling to make sure no one was out of bed that shouldn’t be. She’d come across a couple of Gryffindor first years who had both jumped a mile when they saw her coming round the corner, and were now safely back in their dorms. Other than that, it had been a quiet night. Up on the seventh floor now, she heard a noise coming from the direction of the astronomy tower – a voice, one that sounded vaguely familiar. It was muffled though, so she couldn’t tell who it was. The astronomy tower really was infamous for late night meetings – you’d think people would learn to find a less obvious place to rendezvous.

Heading in that direction, she could definitely hear footsteps on the staircase winding up above her, and began to make her own way up there. She reached the top and was about to enter when she recognised Alessandro’s voice... calling Keaira’s name. She hesitated, not wanting to interrupt, but then a much harsher noise erupted in the form of the crows. Slipping the door open she stepped through, leaning backwards for a moment as the crows flew upwards right next to her, but then saw Alessandro swirling... and losing his balance. She’d only taken a step forward when he fell, and then everything seemed to speed up and she was at the same ledge, staring over to see his body falling.

The adrenaline was rushing through her now as she scrabbled for her wand, her breathing hurried as she tried to think of something to do, anything that would stop her friend falling to his death. But where was her wand?? It had been in her pocket, she knew it had been, but now... it was gone! Suddenly a memory came back to her of one of those first years “accidently” falling against her... that must be it. He’d either taken her wand, or the impact had knocked it out of her pocket. Various curses going through her head that could be directed at that boy, her breathing was tight as she stared downwards. Her thoughts had taken no more than a couple of seconds, but already he seemed so much further down... She didn’t know what to do, and didn’t want to watch, but couldn’t pull her gaze away. Not again, not again, not another person, the thought cycled in her head as he was pulled downwards by gravity.

As might be expected, Caity was completely unprepared for Alessandro to burst into flame, even knowing he was the Elemental Master of Fire. Because how was fire going to stop him getting completely squished the moment he hit the ground. And then... he was gone. Some glass that had apparently shattered was falling now too with the embers, but she could no longer make out the shape of his body. There was a thud... an ominous, final thud... and she could finally see. Alessandro was gone... and in his place was a tiny ball, glowing red and orange. The light shining from within it was the only reason she could make it out, from as high up as she was. But... what had happened to him? Gulping in a few deep breaths of air, Cait got back on her feet and turned. Walking slowly at first, but then speeding up until she was running through the castle, down to the ground floor to go outside. Any thoughts of alarmed doors went straight from her head and she just went through a side door close to the astronomy tower. She had to find out what had happened to him, where he’d gone, but she was almost afraid... what if she hadn’t been able to see his body from the top, but it was actually there? Not running now but going at a steady speed, she ventured outside to see what she would find.

((I’ll leave it there for now to allow Kee to get the orb))

[Keaira O'Connell]

((one of the longest post in the history of HAND))

Something was wrong.

She wasn’t sure what it was but Keaira woke up with a start. The room spun with the sudden movement that left her sitting straight up instead of lying down. Her sheets were a tangled mess that wrapped around her and left her twisted up. With the sudden stop of her dream, mixed with the nightmare that had been playing out, when she woke tangled in her sheets she fought, and tossed, and tried to free herself from them. A small scream pierced through the room. The haze from her nightmare had not truly lifted and for a few moments she felt as if she was still fighting against the things in her mind. A few short panicked moments later she ripped the sheets away from her and tumbled out of the bed.

She sat on the floor, her breathing slightly labored, her hair a mess, and her pajamas dampened with the sheen of sweat that left her body cold. Her body shivered with the cold sweat and she moved to her dresser to pull out new clothes and a robe. She gathered up the clothes and threw them into her book bag, not even bothering to remove any of the other items it held, including her collapsible bow, potions kit, and school books from the previous day. Her eyes lingered on the bed. The sheets were a mess, and there was no way she would be sleeping in that bed until things were changed.

It would be ok though. This had not been the first night she had awoken from a nightmare to find her pajamas, and bed sheets soaked though, and something told her that until the war was over it would not be the last. So, she called a house elf to the room, Navee was always around when she needed something, and she knew that in the time it would take her to get to the fifth floor the sheets would be changed, and the bed remade and ready for her. Although she would not be around to see it done, and would not be back for quite some time so it didn’t really matter.

With everything she needed in her bag, and then some things she didn’t, Keaira wrapped herself in her bathrobe and headed to the prefects bathroom on the fifth floor. Although it wasn’t the best idea to be traveling around the halls after curfew, but as a prefect Keaira had a little extra pull to her, and many of the professors would not mind it so much. The trip was long and uneventful and when she reached the door, she quietly spoke the password and the door opened for her.

It wasn’t long before the giant bathtub was filled with warm fragranced bubbles and of course some water as well. It seemed a little wasteful to have such a huge bath, when the same amount of water could be used for several other people, but in all honestly, Keaira didn’t really care right now. When all was prepared she lowered herself into the warm water, and relaxed her body, attempting to allow some of the tenseness that had appeared in her body from waking the way she had to be drawn away with the water. After a few moments her eyes drifted closed while she lay in the water. The past few days had kept her from sleeping soundly, and she had found that tonight had been the first night she had drifted asleep before 2 or 3 am. In fact she had been to bed since 10:30, and even now was still exhausted. It wasn’t that she fell back to sleep, so much as one moment she was simply relaxing and the next she had closed her eyes for a bit longer than she had planned.

Many things swam just behind her eyelids as she lay there. Someone was flying along in a Quidditch match, scoring point after point. Another person gathered up the courage to go talk to an older girl, just to be shot down. A dark silhouette chased someone through a shadowed alleyway. A spell backfired and the casted ended up with the boils they had intended for another. A boy and girl were holding hands as they walked through a hallway, a shared kiss. A birthday surprise left someone with fewer eyebrows than they had started with. Happy faces filled a crowd, people shopping in stores with frosted windows. A scared girl, pushed being pushed into a fire place, people screaming, the look of dread that over came the girl as she watched three bolts of light slam into the people she loved, watched as they fell and then green flames overtook her vision. A man and a woman stand alone on a hill; green serpents adorn silver robes, their arms wrapped around each other. The tender moment shifts as the female bursts into flames that cause her no harm, while the male falls away, his skin blistered and blackened. Laughter echoes from her lips as she walks away. The male calls out to her, his cry ignored, and soon withers and dies.

Voices mixed in with the images, some of them relevant other not. “We won the game, it was amazing.” “I wish she was mine, but he was braver than I was.” “Help me, someone help me.” “I really loved that bracelet he gave me, it was so lovely.” “Why can’ he take a hint, I don’t love him.” “Where are all my clothes?” “Leave me alone!” “Papa!! Maman!! Nana!!” “Come back, my love” "I don't want to lose you!" “Alessandro, come to the Astronomy Tower with me.”

The last two stirred something with in Keaira’s mind. It was more than just the words, but the tone associated with them. She knew those voices… but that wasn’t right. Her eyes flickered open, and she pushed away the majority of what she was listening to, trying to focus on just that one. It was her voice… but she was here. So this was… some ones dream? Alessandro’s dream.

“Come with me.”

There it was again. She focused on the thought that she was hearing. Knowing that she should just ignore it, finish her bath, and then go back to sleep. But knowing what was best, and doing it were two different things. As she felt around where the thought was coming from she found her mind traveling to Alessandro as he moved through his common room. She thought about that for a few minutes, as she rinsed the suds from her hair. Alessandro shouldn’t be walking around at this time of night, and certainly not while his thoughts were elsewhere…

“Hurry up, Alessandro, you're taking forever.”

The voice sounded in her head again only this time it was closer. He was on the fifth floor, and headed up…Up to the Astronomy tower. It took her only the smallest of seconds, to realize what that meant. If Alessandro was walking while he was asleep, then he didn’t know where he was really walking, and was being guided by only the dream. If he made it to the top of the astronomy tower, there was nothing to stop him from walking right over the edge while he was still asleep. The thought held her in her place for a few heart beats as she thought of Alessandro falling from the tower with nothing to stop him, before she practically jumped from the tub. Water was scattered everywhere, as she barely bothered drying herself off before jumping in to her clothing. The towel she used to scarcely dry herself was tossed aside, and her clothing ripped from her bag, and donned as quickly as she was able. All the while she mentally kept her thoughts focused on the boy who was traveling ever closer to his doom.

By the time she was fully dressed she knew she was out of time. "Keaira...what are you doing?" “I'm going to fly, like a crow.” The image of herself jumping off the astronomy tower was so powerful that she actually had to close her eyes for a moment and open them to clear her mind. She was still in the bathroom, and Alessandro was waking up from his dream, her name on his tongue as he stared down towards the ground.

“Alessandro?” She whispered his name more to herself than him. A sigh of relief that he had awoken and wasn’t in danger anymore made her body lose a bit of the tension it had been holding. She began stuffing her clothes into her book bag, and was about to head back down to her dorm when she felt more than anything what happened. Something was wrong. Alessandro’s heart beat speed up, there was a moment of shock, and then fear, and then something else. At that moment Keaira knew he had fallen. She dropped her bag, and ran to the window, throwing it open in time to see Alessandro falling past. She reached out for him knowing she would never be able to catch him. And just as he past her, his entire being simply exploded with flames. She didn’t stay to see what happened when he ran out of room to fall, instead she ran to where she had dropped her bag. Quickly she pulled her wand out, and threw the bag over her shoulders. Then as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about it she ran, and jumped out of the window. For a few spaces of a heart beat she resembled the image that Alessandro had in his dream of her simply jumping off the ledge of the building and falling to her doom. The difference was she had her wand with her.

As she fell from the fifth floor, her wand went to action. It laced about in a circular pattern, and the words ‘Arresto Momentum’ were exhaled as loudly as she could manage. As soon as she said it, her decent slowed, and although she had started the spell nearly as soon as she left the window, she was not completely stopped when the ground approached her. She had her feet under her, when she landed, but it was not the graceful landing that Zane always managed when he did the spell, so she stumbled and ended up with her hands on the ground to keep her head from being there as well.

She was slightly startled with the landing, and it took her a few seconds before she was able to look around at where she was. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the dark of the grounds, and when they did she wished they had not. Alessandro had not landed on the ground in the same manor that she had. When her eyes had scanned the ground where she knew he had to have fallen, she did not find a body. In fact there was nearly nothing there at all, and if she had not in fact seen how things had just occurred she wouldn’t have known what she was looking at.

She crawled on her hands and knees no more than 5 feet to her right, before she could touch the pile of black soot. Her hand reached out tentatively knowing that when she touched the pile of ash it would be as real as it would ever be. The pile seemed to heap up to a point, and when she reached out to touch it her finger lightly brushed the tip of that point, and that small touch caused the pile to roll away and spread outward, collapsing the pile into nothing. For a long moment she just sat there her hand hovering above the pile of ashes, utterly still, shock consuming her every thought. She didn’t move for a long time, and sometime during it tears welled up in her eyes and drifted down her cheeks.

Slowly her hand drifted downward to the blacked remains of her friend and past love, until her hand brushed something solider than the dust. Her hand clenched around the object and she carefully reached both hands into the pile of cinders, and cradled the object between them. When her eyes registered what she held, the color, the shape… she knew that in her hands was the elemental orb of fire. And she knew at that moment that it would be kept in the utmost highest security that she could provide it with, until the elemental master of fire claimed it, whoever that might be. Gingerly she brushed off the residue that clung to the orb, and brought it closer to her chest, and sobbed softly, knowing that if she had just done something different Alessandro might be sitting beside, her, and not, simply a pile of ash.

"no.... no.... alessandro... no...."

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

(( Darko's and Keaira's are longer, but I still broke 10,000 characters, which is a record for me. Yay for joining the big leagues?))

Glorious.

The light filtered softly through the leaves, casting a warm, slightly greenish light upon her face. It complimented the serpents twined about the trim of her dress robe. Beautiful did not even begin to describe her. She had always been beautiful. When she'd walked down the school corridors, when they'd meet in the Room of Requirement, while she fought through the forbidden forest or through Dark Phoenix's castle itself; then she was beautiful. Today beautiful couldn't touch her. Today she was radiant, divine. Today she was nothing short of perfect. Smiling broadly, Zee got to his feet and offered her his hand. As she took it he squeezed gently and helped her to her feet. Her, his miracle, Alecto Keaira Alya Bishop.

As they silently climbed the small hill, the sun reflected off their lustrous garments and Zee himself reflected on how appropriate the choice of wedding garb was, showing both their former status as Slytherin Prefects and hinting at their statuses as the Elemental Master and Shadow Warrior of Metal. Not that either title truly mattered anymore, but both were exceedingly relevant when they had met all those years ago. Now the war was over. Yang had once more been driven into balance with Yin and they could live out their lives in peace. That was exactly what Zee hoped for.

They crested the hill and he turned to his bride, wrapping both arms around her waist as she slid hers around his neck. Pulling her against him, their lips met and their eyes slipped closed. After several passionate moments they both exhaled and he rested his forehead lightly against hers, gazing into her heavenly eyes and grinning crookedly.

"I love you."

She returned his gaze and offered a smile of her own, though to his surprise her's seemed cold and derisively amused. Zee's head began to turn to one side in confusion when a searing pain suddenly ripped through him. Fire erupted from Keaira's body causing his robes to burst into flames. Fighting hard against his instincts to leap back and get away from the source of the pain, he tightened his grip, intent on smothering the flames on her. But then he realized that she wasn't burning. The fire seemed to encase her, but neither her flesh nor clothes showed any sign of damage. His own attire was blazing brightly, much of it already turned to ash, having taken a good portion of his skin with it. Her flaming arms remained around his neck as cruel laughter escaped her lips, The flesh of his neck and head cracked and smoldered, his hair already gone. Finally she released him and turned to leave. Lacking any strength, his increasingly brittle frame collapsed to the ground. Despite the unbelievable pain, he found his only desire was for her return and he extended one black, skeletal arm her way.

"Keaira! Come back, my love!"

But she wouldn't. She continued walking away from him, and past her he could see someone else. Someone waiting for her. A man with long, dark brown hair dressed in blue and bronze. He too was wreathed in flame that did him no harm. He smiled at Zee's wife and embraced her. Then the fire took Zee's eyes and he saw no more.

There was only darkness. Zee's mouth wrenched open in a silent scream of agony as he futilely tried to smother the fire than consumed him. Rolling to the side, he moved with more force than he expected his ravaged body to be capable of, rolling over several times . . . right through the curtains surrounding his bed and onto the floor. Oblivious to the oddity that Keaira had found herself in a nearly identical situation not an hour earlier, Zee lay on the floor as his heart and breath gradually slowed and his mind found its way back to reality. He was not married. He was still sixteen, his seventeenth birthday less than a week away. He was not dead.

Pulling himself back onto his bed, he sat with his face in his hands, running his fingers over his eyes, his blessed, moist, whole eyes. He was far more accustomed to defending Keaira from her nightmares than dealing with what his own psyche dreamed up, and he felt truly shaken by this experience. Checking the time, Zee smirked when he realized he would often not even have retired to his dorm at this point. Usually this hour would find him patrolling. Keaira however had seen the exhaustion in him and had bade him to get some extra sleep. Initially he'd refused; she was in as much need of rest as he. Eventually she conceded to also retire early and so they had spent a brief time together in the common room before heading to their respective dorms.

Concern for himself fading to the background, Zee reached out his awareness to see how Keaira was fairing. If he had had such a nightmare, she was likely suffering one as well. His surprise was complete when he found she was not in her dorm, not in the dungeons at all. She was up on the 5th floor. There was virtually nothing on the floor but the prefects' bathroom. Was she perhaps taking a late night bath to relax?He figured it best to contact her and find out if she was ok. Just then he heard an inquiry in her head, one that sent his thoughts down an altogether different path.

"Alessandro?"

Alessandro? Was he up there too? What could - ? An image of his Shadow Warrior and the Master of Fire together in a fiery embrace flashed through Zee's mind and ignited a fury in him. Could this be real? Had his dream been somehow symbolically prophetic? Had Keaira convinced him to go to bed early so she could rendezvous with Darko? The notion was ridiculous to him. She would never do that. Could she even, with their mental connection? Could she deceive him so thoroughly? But the fresh memories of the utter torment he'd felt watching her slip into the Ravenclaw's arms blurred any logic that tried to assert itself in his mind, and with a feral snarl he tore from his bed, from his dorm, and through the common room into the dungeon proper. He would find them. He would kill that wretched boy. Rage overtaking him, Zee vowed that Alessandro would die this night.

Bounding up the cold stone stairs three at a time, bare feet slapping against the stone, Zee reached the entry hall of the castle and headed for the great marble staircase. He paused in his frenzied run however, feeling something new from Keaira. It was . . . terror. Reaching out to find her again, to see what was happening, he found that she was moving with amazing speed. His eyes widened as he realized she was no longer in the castle, but just outside it, falling, rocketing toward the hard ground.

"No . . ."

It was barely a whisper, and as it escaped Zee's knees gave out. Knees and hands hitting the floor, his stomach lurched at the implications of what had just happened. Keaira was a skilled witch, certainly resourceful enough to survive such a fall, but that terror . . . Had she held her wits through it? Or would he find her broken body on the frozen ground at the base of the castle? Forcing himself to rise, his anger forgotten with the onset of this new horror, Zee stumbled toward the front doors, but then turned to head down a hall to a side entrance that should lead him out nearer to where Keaira fell. So stunned was the boy that he didn't even register that the door was already open and merely stumbled through, out onto the school grounds. Had he been able to spare a thought, Zee would have regretted fleeing his dorm in such a hurry as the early spring night air was exceptionally cold and he wore only the black velour pajama pants he typically slept in.

It was dark, but in his present state Zee lacked the wherewithal to summon a light charm or enact his own atrum charm that allowed him to see in the dark. There was someone in front of him though, facing away, and he hurried to her. Yes, it was a her. Excitedly he grabbed her shoulders and spun her to face him, but then his face twisted in confusion.

"You're not . . . Caitlin? You're not falling? Not . . . Your water? Water. Not metal. Not fire either. Thank you for not being fire. But you're not metal . . ."

Patting her shoulder as if forgiving her for "not being metal," Zee moved past her to where Keaira had landed. Relief flooded through his being as her movement showed her to be alive and uninjured. Clearly she had saved herself from the fall. Falling to his knees beside her, he didn't even notice that the left had started to bleed slightly from the threefold impacts it had suffered in the last five minutes. Arms sliding around her, he took her tears to be the aftereffects of her terror at falling. Zee opened his mind and poured his relief into her, mentally shouting his joy at her.

"You're alive! Keaira you angel! When I sensed your fear and felt you fall, I thought . . . But you're alive! You saved yourself! The fear didn't . . . wait, the fear . . . it wasn't for you. It was for Alessandro? What happened? Where is he? Is that the elemental orb of fire? Then . . . is this - ? . . . oh god . . ."

Keaira was alive. Alessandro was not. Remembering the angry oath he'd made just moments before, Zee buried those memories. Keaira couldn't see those. He couldn't let her know. He covered them over with his feelings at this new development, and quite the jumbled mess those were.

Alessandro was dead. Zee felt great sorrow and sympathy for Keaira. This would hurt her like nothing else had in a long time. There was a sense of emptiness, of loss, as he considered it from the perspective of the lightfighters. Alessandro was one of the more knowledgeable members, and according to D'rorah, the most powerful. His loss would be felt keenly. Zee also felt a sense of failure on his part. He had been put in charge of all the Elemental Masters. They were his responsibility. And now one of them had died right there on school grounds while he slept. He considered also the simple fact that Alessandro was a teenage boy. He was young. And if Caity was right (and he dearly wanted her to be, despite his own skepticism) the young shouldn't die. Thus the fact that Alessandro was dead in and of itself, without considering any of the repercussions, made Zee sad.

Yet beneath all these emotions, in the wake of his dream and the fear it represented, he could not deny a level of relief. If Alessandro was dead, he was no longer a threat. Zee would not lose Keaira now. Besides, the Ravenclaw and he had never been friends. Rivals would have been a kind word to use. Part of him still blamed the other boy for Wysteria's condition, and there was the memory of his confrontation with Darko, during which the dark persona had tried to kill him. Zee was a vindictive creature and as he gazed down at the pile of ashes that was once Alessandro Orion Darko, he felt the barest ounce of something else mixed in with all the other feelings.

Satisfaction.

[Caitlin Collins]

((Yup, not as long but still quite a few words. Kee, you beat my longest post by about 10 words hehe))

Caity exited the castle via the side door, tucking her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie and clutching them there to stop them shaking. Tremors still ran up her arms occasionally but it was less visible. Her teeth were also chattering a little. The hoodie was actually too big for her now, what with the general decrease in eating she had been doing these past months. Really, it swamped her, but it was warm at least. Although march weather was certainly getting warmer than January and February weather had been, the temperature at night still seemed to plummet. It was freezing. Acclimatisation to British weather, let alone Scottish weather, was still not quite there yet. Although it did rain quite a bit, which was at least helping her to relax some when she ventured outside in it. Unfortunately the rain was also cold, so she ended up coming back inside even more freezing.

In truth, the shaking was only partly due to the cold of being outside in very early hours of the morning. It was also because she had seen Alessandro fall, then burst into flame, then disappear. Logic was telling her that people couldn’t survive that... but he wasn’t a normal person. For one thing, he was a wizard. He would have had a wand, unlike her at this moment, he could have saved himself. Not to mention his elemental powers over fire. That was why the word “disappear” was being used as she thought about it, not “burn up”. She refused to believe that someone with power over fire could die by them – he could control it! Why would he let it eat him up?

And then the other reason she was shaking, which was completely subconscious but which her thoughts still managed to edge on before it was pushed away, was that the idea of someone taking themselves off the top of the Astronomy Tower was too close an attempt to another subject she mentally tried to avoid, simply because of all the memories it brought back.

He feet had slowed down again in fear of what she would find, even though she had convinced herself that Alessandro couldn’t have been harmed. He’d just... apparated somewhere. Even though he was too young to have a licence, and she had a horrible feeling that you couldn’t apparated within the school grounds. Well there were other ways of getting from one place to another. Perhaps something to do with the flames – like, a different kind of floo where you didn’t need a fireplace. There was loads she didn’t know about magic, of course he could have found a way to stop himself hitting the ground. Like he used his powers over fire to consume himself so he wouldn’t have to go through the pain of hitting the ground.

That thought got pushed hurriedly away to the abyss where a fair few of her everyday ponderings got shoved to frequently. They always managed to escape again though. Denial could be quite powerful at making you believe things weren’t true if you really wanted it enough. Because Alessandro couldn’t be dead, it wasn’t possible. She hadn’t seen him hit the ground, so he couldn’t be. Because he had power over fire which had somehow made him disappear. That was the wonder of magic – you could use it to save yourself, and others, you didn’t have to die like a muggle would end up doing in a certain situation. Although they shouldn’t have to die either, they were just more likely to. And if a witch or wizard came across them then they’d be saved anyway. Most witches and wizards would save them, anyway. Although then the was the matter of that stupid Act of Secrecy or whatever it was. Sensible, sure, but it wasn’t going to help that muggle who died because a magic person was too afraid to use magic in front of muggles.

Caity suddenly realised that her feet had completely stopped by this point, and she was standing still with her mind working furiously in denial and avoidance of thinking too deeply about the idea that Alessandro might be... but, he couldn’t be. She’d already decided that. Placing one foot in front of the other, she took a few stumbling steps forward and finally made her way round the corner that would reveal the place where Alessandro’s body would have been if he hadn’t saved himself. Because he had, of course. There was no other way it could have worked out.

Squinting through the dark, she wished once again that she had her wand so she could cast a lumos spell and light up the area. So she didn’t have to work her eyes inch by inch across the ground before her, searching for a figure lying on the ground and would just see straight away. Unfortunately, she found one. Yet again she froze, even the shaking stopping on this occasion, and her throat clogged up so she suddenly felt as though she was choking. She couldn’t breathe properly and her eyes were transfixed on the figure on the ground. She didn’t want to find this, didn’t want to see what remained of that figure. She’d seen him disappear, he hadn’t hit the ground. It had been that tiny globe thing that had hit and made the noise, not him. Then the figure moved, and she jumped back, the roaring suddenly leaving her ears so she could hear again. A sharp intake of breath re-established her breathing, although it was still very fast, and then she took a couple steps forward. If he was there, had saved himself but was still hurt, then she needed to help him.

“Alessan – wait... Keaira?” The last step had brought her close enough to realise that the figure was sitting up, and was definitely not the same body form as Alessandro’s would have been. A wave of relief went through her – it wasn’t Alessandro’s body, he wasn’t here, so he must still be alive. He had saved himself, just as she had thought! So... why did Keaira sound as though she was sobbing? He was okay, wasn’t he? Perhaps she hadn’t seen him disappear after bursting into flame, she must think that he actually had been killed. Except that wasn’t possible.

She wasn’t quite sure what to say, how to reassure the Slytherin that it was all okay, that Alessandro wasn’t dead because he’d disappeared and gotten away in time. But about to do so, she suddenly found herself being grabbed and spun around. As much as Zee might take it personally, the shock and fear that always seemed to make its way onto her face when he caught her unawares wasn’t directly aimed at him. She really did just jump very easily. Perhaps it was because she became so wrapped up in her own thoughts – even more so of late – that she just lost track of what was going on around her, and didn’t process the tell-tale sound of footsteps that would alert her to someone else approaching. And catching someone from behind in the dark after they had just seen one of their good friends fall from the Astronomy Tower was enough to make anyone jump and try to automatically struggle away. The moment she who it was though, she stopped struggling – she wasn’t strong enough to make him let go anyway. The expression on his face confused her too – first the excitement and relief, which she had never seen on him before and certainly made quite the change to his appearance, and then the confusion which was mirrored on her own face. The words he spoke hardly helped to give any explanation. Thank you for not being fire? He sounded crazy.

”Zee – w-what...?” she started, stopping quickly for two reasons. One was that he had patted her on the shoulder in a very odd, forgiving manner, and moved on to where Keaira was. But the other reason was that she had not realised how shaky her voice still was. Why was it like that? She was sure Alessandro was safe, he’d just disappeared and gone somewhere else. Soon enough he’d be back, to tell them all he was fine, to stop worrying because it was silly, of course he wasn’t... dead.

Because Keaira certainly needed reassuring, and Zee wasn’t doing anything of the sort. He was just embracing his fellow Slytherin prefect and Shadow Warrior. Perhaps he was talking to her mentally, reassuring her. So why did he suddenly look sad? Why was Keaira crying? Alessandro was okay, he had to be... they couldn’t lose another person so soon. An ounce of doubt made its way into her mind about her conviction that Alessandro was fine... alive. She couldn’t face the idea of him being gone too, but... what if he was...?

Her breathing hitched up for a moment and she swallowed deeply, trying to ignore such thoughts but failing utterly. She was shaking again, but this time she could barely feel the true coldness around her. It was like the chill was coming from inside her... the dread that she might be wrong. She had to find out, she couldn’t just stand here waiting for Alessandro to turn up. As strong as her denial might be, her eyes had still seen the Ravenclaw fall from the Tower and burst into flame. That created quite a strong sense of doubt once she acknowledged it. And she really didn’t want to acknowledge it, but now that her mind had processed that fact it was impossible not to.

She didn’t wait for Keaira and Zee to part, just took a tiny step forward, hoping to attract one of their attentions with the movement before she began to speak. ”Where’s Alessandro?” she asked in a quiet voice, which in a normal school corridor with all the noise that came with it, wouldn’t be heard. ”He... he fell, but he disappeared, with the flames. Where did he go? How long will it take him to g-get back?” She didn’t want to hear a negative answer but this waiting for Alessandro to turn up was torturous. If she could just be reassured that he was fine then she’d be okay, but this doubting was horrible.

[Keaira O'Connell]

Alessandro gone… She knew in her heart and in her mind that he was well and truly gone. She had felt it as his mind went from being there, to simply not existing. She had felt the searing hot pain he was going through. Alessandro was not alive, or at least she didn’t believe that he could be. She beleived that first, he could not have survived the pain of his body burning up to be only ashes, and secondly she could have found him if he was anywhere within nearly 150 miles. She had learned that the more time she spent with a person, using her telepathy to speak, or share things with them, or even just to listen, the better she was at finding that person by tracing their mental signature. On most people she could only find them within 20 miles, but Alessandro wasn’t just any person. Zane too was among the people she could find if she were looking for them. But she felt that her connection with Zane would push the limit of how far away she could find him. Although, it has never been tested she theorized that she might even be able to track his mind indefinitely… or maybe a few thousand miles… The point was, Alessandro as not within her range, however far that might be now.

That realization was all it took. Every defense that Keaira had was shattered, and torn away, leaving her mind completely unprotected. As if the flood gates were destroyed, the thoughts and dreams of ever person, awake, and asleep within the castle, and Hogesmede, poured into her mind. Had it been mid day she probably would have passed out with the strain of having so much attack her mind all at once, but it was the middle of the night. Not everyone’s subconscious worked the same, so not everyone projected dreams, which meant less for Keaira to hear. But that was hardly a concern for the distraught girl. She sat there, completely unaware of any thing surrounding her, except the pile of ashes and the red-orange orb in her hands. In times like these her telepathy would be useful by helping her be aware when she was being approached by someone else. But right now, she heard nothing. Not the frantic race of Zane or Caitlin’s thoughts, not the rush of their footsteps as the moved closer, or even the words that were exchanged by each other. All she heard was the murmur of every one, and the void where Alessandro’s mind should have been.

She was sobbing in an almost violent fashion when she noticed that someone was within her personal space. Seconds before Zane fell to his knees beside her she frantically thought that she was careless, and would pay for it with her life. But she was ok, it was Zane. The movement of him falling beside her caused the air around them to move, and stir the ashes that were in a heap in front of her. As she watched some of them blew away and even though she knew it to be futile she reached her hand out to clutch the cinders that were caught on the breeze. Nothing stayed within her grasp; they were gone on the wind, lost to her. There was nothing she could do.

Zane had been thinking something to her when he had wrapped his arms around her, but she had no clue what. His thoughts were lost in the chaos of her mind. Nothing he said had registered above the murmur of all the others. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on him and him alone. Several emotions were surrounding the man’s thoughts, relief that she was alive, sympathy for how much this would cost her, sorrow for not being able to help, a sense of failure, and overall sadness. It was all there, but she could not figure out what it was that he had truly said, or rather thought to her.

“I can’t-“

For a moment, Keaira tried to simply think around all of the commotion in her head to tell Zane to use words, but after a few seconds of trying she gave up, and decided to just allow some of the confusion, and chaos that she felt be passed to Zane, along with the words ‘speak aloud’. With what she could gather of her own thoughts, she willed Zane to just speak to her, because mentally, she just couldn’t handle it.

Keaira felt lost, lost among the thoughts and dreams of others, so lost that she began to wonder if she was in fact still dreaming. But then Caitlin stepped closer. Alessandro and Zane she understood dreaming about them both, in situations like this very one, but never in all of the nightmares she had endured had she ever had Caitlin present. Not that Caitlin wasn’t worthy of her dreams or anything of the sort, just that Keaira didn’t have any strong emotion associated with Caitlin that would include her in Keaira’s dreams. So when Keaira saw Caitlin she knew that this was no dream. And Caitlin was, as she always seemed to be, in denial. Caitlin’s words hit home and sparked a rage that until now Keaira hadn’t even been aware was in her. How could the girl act so calloused…and even more important, so naive?

In that very moment something small, but very important within Keaira broke something that may never be fixed. For a girl who was only 16, Keaira had seen too many horrors, experienced too many pains, and had done too many horrible things than most do in their lives. Perhaps this would be the last straw that finally broke her beyond repair, but who knew really? She had after all survived so much already, perhaps in an hour she could add watching a friend fall from a tower and burst into flames, jumping out a window and landing feet from his ashes, and finding one of the keys needed to defeat the big looming evil to her list of things she had lived though. Maybe, but for now, she had lost something important to her humanity.

Keaira’s head turned away from Zane in that slow fashion that is usually reserved for victims in horror movies who turn to see the bad guy upon them. The difference between her and those horror movie victims however, was the look that she held on her face. Keaira did not show fear, or anger, or in fact, any emotion. Just an untainted and empty nothing. Her sobs had stopped completely, and even her tears had not renewed their flow. Her eyes searched for Caitlin’s. And when they found her, she gave Caitlin that full look of nothing.

“You don’t understand anything do you? You with your ideals of what the world should be; you understand nothing. Alessandro is not coming back. Just like Mallan is not coming back, or Dien, or Mordred, or a slew of other individuals who have died because of their involvement. Alessandro is dead just like the rest of them, and if you need any other proof come look at what’s left of him.”

She turned those cold, unfeeling, empty eyes away from the other girl, and slung her bag around the front of her. The red and orange orb was carefully wrapped in her clothes, well some of them, as she pulled her long sleeved bathrobe out of the bag, and placed it on the ground beside her. After a few seconds of fishing around in the bag, she pulled out a funnel, and few empty vials, and uncorked them. Carefully, she scooped the ashes that she could up, and began to fill the vials, corking them when they were full. She worked in silence, but her thoughts, as confused as they were, gave her actions away to Zane. She would not leave him like this, his ashes discarded to the night. He deserved better, as a friend, as an ally, as a companion... but most of all, as a human. He deserved that his remains be treated to the proper burial that they should have.

As she moved to fill up a forth vial, her hands brushed something unlike the soft texture of soot, and ash. Curiosity of course overcame her, and she moved to reveal what was mixed with the ashes. Her fingers closed around the small blacked object, and she pulled it from the small pile that was left. The chain hung from the pendent in her hand, and she knew, even with it covered in cinder, that this was the Italian horn that was once a gift from Alessandro’s father. Slowly she lowered the chain into the open palm of her left hand, and closed her right on top of it. And then she sat there.

Her hands closed around the memento of Alessandro, and she sat there unmoving, willing her body to react the way she knew that it should. She willed herself to cry, willed herself to sob, willed herself to be sad. But there was nothing. Tears would not come, her sobbing had not returned the way she knew it should, and she no longer felt anything. Perhaps it was just shock, shock that she could admit so quickly that Alessandro was dead, or shock at having just said those things, or maybe, just shock that there was another death that she could not prevent added to the list…Another death that she would blame herself for. Her grandfather had died protecting her; Dien and Teresa had died because she had failed to protect him. She had helped kill Mordred, which had caused Mallan to rise in power, and ultimately he could not handle it. Then because she had rescued Alessandro, Gat had paid the price. And now Alessandro had met his end because it was her who had held his mind tonight, her who he had been dreaming of. It was because of the past relationship they had, that left him dreaming of her, and thus she was to blame.

Perhaps it was shock, or perhaps she had purely seen too much, and watched too many die, and it just didn’t hurt like it should. Perhaps it would get better, and perhaps it would not. Her hands rubbed together gently, and some of the blackened ash was removed from the necklace. The necklace which she had told Alessandro once upon a time that she would watch over until he was ready for it again, lay in her palm for only a few short seconds before she clasped it around her neck. When the time came to lay what remain of Alessandro to rest, the necklace would go with him, but until then it would be with her.

Keaira went back to work scooping up the ashes and placing them into the vials, however, she wouldn’t be able to keep it up very long. Soon her hands were shaking so badly that she could no longer hold the vial and the funnel upright. Her lips had turned a slightly blue color, her hair had seemed to grow stiff, and goose bumps covered the majority of her visible body which was quite a lot. The black silk shorts and matching tank top were not great clothing for outdoor nights in March, and neither was it healthy to be outside with your hair soaked. The bathrobe that Keaira had removed from her bag, lay on the ground forgotten by her while she was busy collecting the remains of one Alessandro Orion Darko. And was to remain that was as long as she struggled to finish the job.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

The arms Zee still had wrapped around Keaira slackened in their hold as she allowed some of the tumult racing through her mind to leak into his. It was quite the shock to suddenly hear so many voices unexpectedly, and he was not accustomed to it by any means. Even after the shock wore off, they proved more distracting than he liked and so he simply nodded to his Shadow Warrior to let her know he had gotten the message, hoping she would then spare him the onslaught of minds.

In truth he felt nearly as lost as she did, though for a different reason. Almost immediately after he'd become involved in the whole thing, he'd faced Wysteria's "death." Aside from the multitude of other effects that had had on him, it taught him that at any time any of the Order of Light could die without any sort of warning, and the others would have to simply deal with it. He never met Professor Serlaen, and Kade was a dark abomination by the time Zee encountered him, but Mallan's death was another example. Indeed, in his estimation Alessandro would not be the last of them to meet a gruesome end. No, as an Elemental Master, it was perfectly clear to him what should be done next. Find the new Master of Fire. Where Zee was lost was in what to do about Keaira.

How could he offer her comfort when an undeniable part of him was glad of the night's events? Even if his feelings toward Alessandro's death were uniformly negative, what would he say to her? 'You'll get over it someday?' He'd had no notion of how to comfort Caity after Mallan's death, so he simply hadn't made the attempt. He couldn't very well ignore the situation this time though. Not given his feelings for Keaira and the bond they shared. Zee felt that his next move would be critical, but had no clue what it should be. Uncertainty and hesitation bothered him more than most things.

Despite the aggravation Caitlin's words evoked in him, Zee couldn't help but feel grateful that she had provided a distraction and granted him more time to figure out what to do next. Still, her speech revealed only more of those irritating and foolish ideals and he had no desire to rehash their conversation from the kitchen. Turning his head her way, intent on snapping an angry response and sending her away, his face swiveled back to Keaira as she beat him to the punch.

Quite frankly her words and tone once more shocked him, and he could do nothing but stare. When they had been questioning Kerridon upon finding him in the Forbidden Forest, Keaira had shown him a side of her he'd not seen before, a ruthlessness that had surprised him. Still, that had been against a suspected servant of Darkness and for the purpose of rescuing Alessandro. Caitlin was one of them, herself a Shadow Warrior, and the only purpose Zee could attribute to Keaira's words was venting her anger. But that was just it; Zee felt no anger from her. In fact he was getting virtually nothing from her.

His staring continued as she worked. As each second passed, Zee grew more and more concerned. Something was different. Something in the girl beside him was very wrong, broken. His mind was drawn back to Wysteria. Alessandro had left and so she had gone on a mission alone, and though she had not precisely died, she had changed. The Wysteria he had loved was gone. Now he stared at the methodical, emotionless Shadow Warrior of Metal. Alessandro had left. She had changed, and a terrible feeling crawling up Zee's intestines made him wonder if the Keaira he loved was gone.

His vision shifted from her to the ashes she gathered, and slowly his teeth began to grind together. Images from the night's dream flashed through his mind as he considered how Alessandro had perhaps just accomplished in death what he couldn't in life: making Zee lose Keaira. Then came the coup de grace. That damned Italian Horn. She cradled it in a way that simultaneously brought tears to Zee's eyes and made his blood boil. How he had always hated seeing her wear that thing. He had often considered buying her some extravagant necklace in the hopes she would wear it instead, but never did, partially in respect for her feelings, partially because he knew it wouldn't have worked. It proved too much, and Zee let his thoughts run wild. He likely would have found some hidden reserve of discipline and held them in check had it not seemed as though Keaira's mind was too unfocused to really pick up on his thoughts anyway.

Whatever hell you've gone to Darko, stay there. If you don't I swear to you I will send you back and it won't be in a mercifully quick burst of flame. What happened to Cooper will be as a holiday to what I will make you endure, and when you finally find yourself in eternal damnation you will feel only relief that you are no longer in my clutches.

How did the villainous wretch always manage to ruin things for him? It seemed whenever Zee had found the right path, the path that would lead him to a bright future, the damned Ravenclaw found some way to thwart it simply by existing, and now by not existing. He dearly wanted to spit upon the ashes Keaira had yet to gather, but could hardly have pulled that off unnoticed. As he stared balefully at Alessandro's remains he noticed the tremble in her grasping fingers. Pulling his eyes from the ash, he noted how her entire body had begun to react to the cold and felt a shiver run up his own spine. His hair was dry and his night wear slightly warmer, but it would not be a good idea for either of them to remain outside. He glanced once to the discarded bathrobe that may have provided Keaira with enough warmth to finish her task, but refused to follow that path.

Instead he covered the hand she was using to gather the ashes with his own, wrapping his fingers around and keeping her from continuing her scooping action. His other hand moved to cork the vial she'd been filling and place it back in the bag with the others. His intent was to then sling the bag over his shoulder, scoop her into his arms, and make his way back inside and to the Slytherin common room.

"Enough, Keaira. Enough. I'm taking you inside."

His voice was firm, but he made sure it was also warm. Zee fought hard to shove his bitter feelings aside and focus only on his affection for her. So far, he wasn't completely succeeding.

[Wysteria Edwin]

"No...DARKO what are you doing!?"

A small intake of breath, and a scream she muffled a split second after she opened her mouth. Then more screaming; the kind of noise heard when an animal died.


She would have known he died even if she had not seen the fall from her arboreal perch deep in the forbidden forest. Whatever pain she had known as a human dulled in her vampire state, but an event as profound as Darko's death pushed through her cold skin. Losing Darko meant losing part of her soul. Although they had barely communicated after her rebirth and his amnesia they shared an unbreakable bond. Even with Zee's betrayal Wyst was comforted simply by Alessandro's existence. The fact that he was alive made her feel that at some point, somewhere, things would be made right again. She still had her Alessandro, her big brother, her Elemental Master; the person that would bring her back into the Light. Wyst knew this in the back of her mind, but it was fair to say she took advantage that Alessandro would always be there when she decided to go back into the fold. Time went by so quickly for her now, especially after her encounter with Zee, she never thought it might be running out. Emotions had also been shut off for the time being, since she could do that easily as one of the undead, and little came into her mind other than the occasional correspondence with D'rorah.

So the pain came in the worst way: as a surprise, with no knowledge of how to endure agony at this level. Part of her soul left the physical world without her. At the core of her being, a light had collapsed and become a black hole were he willingly wanted her whole existence to disappear.

Running so fast she actually felt winded, Wyst reached the edge of the forest within a few moments but knew she could go no further. If she set foot on that lawn several dark alarms would sound in the school, and her whole escape would be for naught. She watched helplessly as Caitlin, Zee and Keaira descended upon the ashes. The orb was there...glowing and fiery, quite beautiful from an objective prospective. But Wyst had a horrible pang as she realized the orb reminded her of Alessandro. The fire inside him that whole time had been because of the orb...how disgustingly ironic.

Wysteria growled as Keaira had the nerve to try and scoop up his ashes...her Elemental Master's ashes...after all the pain she had put him and Wyst through.

"Bitch..."

It was not that she was unaware of the others' pain or how much they all loved Alessandro. But in her torn and quite inhuman state, rejecting all but what was necessary to survive, she became a true animal and thought only of her own pain and needs. She could see Zee trying to pull Keaira back and take her inside.

"Do that...do exactly that...leave him alone to be blown away by the wind...have you no respect...." her eyes widened as she realized there was one person in the entire school who might be able to help her to Alessandro, in addition to the fact that she would feel the loss as much as the others, but not quite the same as her. Wyst cosed her mind the way Dee taught her; she didn't want her to pick up on her private thoughts.

Dee...Alessandro died...I can't get to him...we need to get to him and collect his ashes...please, we need your help...I can't...this is too much

Wysteria began gasping and coughing in voluntarily. All the sounds associated with sobbing, without the tears and sniffles involved. A disturbing sound to anyone within a few feet of her...she heard many animals crawling away quickly,

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah had, as usual, cloistered herself in the sanctuary of the library. She had found her preferred table, one completely away and by itself in a small alcove of the restricted section. The lighting was awful, but that was easily enough remedied. At least here she could engage in the research that was her first love with little fear of being accosted by another student. She had been spending most of her time here, searching desperately for the secrets that would give the Lightfighters the vital edge they would need to ensure their survival, and ultimately, a victory for Light rather than for Darkness. She had uncovered some small secrets... not much, but every bit of precious information was a gem to be gathered up and carefully polished so that its true lustre might be seen. For the past two weeks, she had shunned everything--even her classes--while she conducted her search. She found little need in showing up to classes where the lessons were basic enough for first years... and she was ahead in all of her work, so she had little worry that her grades would suffer. Her subsistence had been helped along by a few dedicated house elves who, in their concern, had seen to it that water was kept nearby and sandwiches were delivered. They had learned quickly that anything not easily held in one hand while eaten so she could continue writing with the other hand would be left on her plate, pristine and untouched. Even the sandwiches were left so on occasion... those times when she was too engaged in her research to notice that they were there.

Her mind was clear and sharp, as she had finally managed to close out the rest of the school. It had taken some doing, for the restless minds of teenagers had a reckless potency in their typically inane and trivial thoughts that would drive one to madness. Tonight, however, she had felt a tension creep in around her as she worked. Something in the very air felt urgent... but her research would prove to be more important. If the Lightfighters needed her, they could communicate mentally... she wasn't the only telepath among the bunch. What affected her the most sharply first were Zane's emotions. They were so strong that at one point she nearly dropped her quill.

It wasn't enough to pull her completely from her concentration though. Zane had been feeling a lot of strong emotions lately... especially since he and Keaira had begun their relationship. It was easier to ignore the things that lately passed through his head when he was with her, rather than feel like some sort of unwilling voyeur. She was certain he felt much the same about her own time spent alone with Dylan. Wysteria's communication was what finally broke the spell that her books had upon her, lifting her widened eyes to stare in the direction from which the mental voice had come. Of course, to her physical eyes, there were only stone walls and books to be seen. But her mind was focused upon the scene outside, and it was as clear as day.

"[blue]Alessandro...[/blue]" the whispered name trailed off at her lips. Not him... not only was he their strongest Elemental Master, but he was a friend. They had been through a lot together. She had spent so much time in his mind, not only teaching him Occlumency and Legilimensy, but also helping to reunite the shattered fragments of his psyche as his stepfather had ripped his mind to shreds with a powerful obliviate. She didn't realize she was moving until she was already out of her seat and across the room. With a stabbing motion of her wand, she secured the items on her table with a string of rather nasty curses and hexes... things which would undoubtedly cause her expulsion if anyone happened to try to touch or read her precious texts. Not having seen anyone but house elves since retreating to this particular spot though, she felt reasonably assured that there would not be a problem... or, she would have felt so if she had spared any thought for the matter. In mid-stride, she leapt into the air running and transfigured herself to her animagus form, a sparrow. She could fly faster than she could run, and she would attract no attention, given that birds tended to wander into the castle on a fairly regular basis. Plus, she would have the added benefit of not having to dodge students as they lumbered about the hallways.

She flapped her wings as though mere speed would allow her to travel back in time to prevent whatever had happened. She arrived on the scene just as Zane was trying to tempt Keaira away from the spot. An unseen sneer caused her tiny beak to part slightly in distaste. She couldn't identify with Keaira's torn emotions... it had always been sufficient for her to have affections for one man. And she knew how deeply Alessandro had been wounded after having been rejected by her after his mind had been restored to wholeness. To her, it smacked of disloyalty that she had so quickly abandoned Alessandro... D'rorah almost felt as though she had betrayed him in bringing him back only to have to encounter such chaos.

Not caring whom she startled, she landed amidst the group, returning to her human form just as her feet landed on the grass. Her eyes immediately rose to Zane. She knew his thoughts just as clearly as he knew them. "[blue]Take her away from here,[/blue]" she demanded, gesturing to Keaira. Her mind communicated clearly the displeasure she felt at Zane's lack of leadership skills. He should have called her immediately, rather than indulging in his own satisfaction... satisfaction at the death of his comrade. [blue]If some miracle happens, Bishop, and he does return, you will welcome him with open arms and as a fellow Lightfighter... because I promise that any attempt you make against him will be thwarted by me... and I will not be forgiving or compassionate in the least...[/blue]"

Disloyalty had always disgusted D'rorah. She had no time or energy to spare for those who would call themselves allies one moment and fickly abandon that allegiance the next. She knew Zane's complicated story of allying himself with the Lightfighters, and was certain he would force himself to do the right thing in situations when the need arose... but that didn't mean she would tolerate the sorts of thoughts he was entertaining now. She knew how one's thoughts could become actions if left long enough to fester. As a leader, it was her duty to set the standards of what would and would not be tolerated. And wishing to torment any Lightfighter would certainly not be tolerated.

Her eyes snapped up to Caitlin, but finding no fault in her at the moment, she returned them to the pile of ashes at the ground. Taking a deep breath to focus her mind, D'rorah used a modified version of the chant she would have used to collect the dusts of destroyed Shadows to gather up the ashes. They swirled for a moment before coalescing into a small black orb, which shuddered and compacted itself several times until it was about the size of a pearl. The tiny, rock hard bead shone with a luster one wouldn't expect from ash, so that it looked very much like a cross between black pearl and hematite. The small bead came to rest in her palm.

"[blue]Bishop, calm your female,[/blue]" she commanded quietly. "[blue]Collins, gather everyone in the training room. We must all decide how to move forward from this point.[/blue]" She would have to be the one to return the ashes to Wysteria... it was only fitting. As the leader of the group, she knew that many such unpleasant duties fell upon her shoulders. She had missed informing Caitlin of Mallan's death because she had been imprisoned at the time by the Ministry. As she held the small pearl in her hand, she couldn't escape the feeling that something was not quite right... the aura of death didn't seem to be present in this place. But then, she held the proof of Alessandro's death in her hands at this very moment. A moment of pained sadness swept across her face for her friend and comrade before she forced it back. There were more important things to do at the moment than indulge her own emotions. Those emotions would be indulged in private, if at all.

She made to turn to head toward the Forest, knowing she would find the vampire she sought on the very outskirts of the trees.

[Caitlin Collins]

Faced with so much death and pain since she had returned to England, Caitlin’s brain had apparently decided it had had enough. She had seen Alessandro fall from the tower and burst into flame, but with his dead body nowhere in sight, her mind was attempting to refuse to allow the knowledge of his death to be processed into Cait’s conscious thoughts. There had to be another explanation, because there could not be so much death and pain in one place. And if he was dead, than that meant another part of her would break, and her mind was quite keen to prevent that from happening. With the aftershocks and direct effects from the pain of Mallan’s suicide still at her very core, even if she would not admit it to anyone, another death would likely push her further into the grasp of the depression that had taken hold of her since his death. But that self-defence mechanism was obviously not appreciated by either Zane, or more pointedly, Keaira.

You would have to be blind not to notice the fury that overtook Keaira when she heard Caitlin’s words, and then not to see how all the emotion suddenly drained out of her. The coldness in the other girl’s voice was frightening, and coupled with what was said Caity found herself biting her lip so hard it drew blood. The taste of it was a welcome distraction when Mallan’s name was mentioned, and as she was told that Alessandro truly was dead. She couldn’t argue with the conviction in the other shadow warrior’s tone, but didn’t step forward to see “what’s left of him”, as had been so aptly put. Completely unnoticed to her at first, a few tears ran quickly down either side of her face. When she did realise she blinked rapidly to rid herself of them. She didn’t want them to see her like this. Hold together, until she was alone again. That was the entire story of this year for her so far. Hold it all together until no one was watching, and then break down. Sometimes it failed. But she still couldn’t prevent the trembling that was going through her body right now.

Bringing one hand out of her pocket to wipe away the blood on her lip, she noticed as if from a distance that it was already bloody; a few deep, nail-shaped cuts were imprinted on her skin. It looked as though one hand had been clutching the other a bit too tightly, and she hadn’t even noticed. Even now she could see it, the pain was just a dull itch at the edge of her consciousness.

Once again Caity was struck by the knowledge of how different she seemed to be to most of the other lightfighters. They were used to death, and pain, and everything else that came with both. How long would it take Keaira to recover and just get on with life? She couldn’t deal with it like that... in fact, she was finding it near impossible to deal with any of it at all. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to be able to just brush it off, even if the lesser pain would be nice... because weren’t all these people worth feeling the pain at their loss? It might be excruciating, but didn’t they deserve to be mourned?

She barely noticed Zee’s attempts to pull Keaira away from the ashes, concentrating more on defending herself from the sudden rush of emotions that were crushing her. She didn’t notice the sparrow at all until it transformed back into D’rorah, making her jump a little. Critical eyes being snapped to her alarmed her a little, but soon enough they were redirected. Caity didn’t like that kind of focus being aimed at her. It always made her feel uncomfortable.

Gather everyone in the training room... and there was her excuse to get away from Kee and Zee and anything more they might have to say to her. Plus she would be doing something useful... not detrimental as Zee seemed to think some of her actions were. “I’ll go get the others,” she muttered, backing away even as she spoke and heading back towards the door she had exited by. Since both were Gryffindor it made sense to get the two of them first, and then find Dylan. Because one of them would hopefully know exactly where the Ravenclaw common room was. She was pretty sure it was a couple floors down from the Room of Requirement, but its location on that floor was unknown. If worst came to worst she could always mentally call Dee and ask. She had just wanted to get away from that and those people she felt so ostracised by as soon as she could.

As she made her way up the many flights of stairs, Cait found herself running, her speed increasing as she went. The tears she had been fighting against earlier were now damping her cheeks and she haphazardly wiped them away with the non-bloody hand. Not now, not yet, she still needed to get through whatever was going to be discussed in the Room of Requirement, and she was almost certain that that was not going to be enjoyable. Running so fast that it hurt with the effort, she focussed on that pain and the stinging on her hand to distract her form the true pain that kept stabbing at her every time she thought about it. Too soon she was by the portrait that she had accompanied the two first years to about an hour before, and had to stop running. Fortunately the Fat Lady was in her portrait and not off on some trip to another portrait, as apparently she was renowned for doing. Also luckily, Caitlin had heard one of the first years utter the password earlier. Although fairly sure she wasn’t supposed to be doing such a thing, Caity gave the same word and was reluctantly given admittance.

No one was in the common room at this time and Cait headed up the stairs that were identical in both appearance and position in the room to the stairs up to the girls’ dormitories in the Hufflepuff common room. Quiet now apart from her breathing – which was quite heavy nevertheless, she made her way through the door to the 5th year dorm and quickly found the bed with Susan in. Placing a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder, she shook it lightly, hoping she wasn’t a deep sleeper. “Susan,” she whispered quietly, praying that the other 5th year Gryffindor girls were deep sleepers and wouldn’t hear any noise made. She could do without explaining why she was in their dormitory at this time of night... or morning, to be precise. “Wake up, please...” Her own tear-streaked face was probably not a lovely sight to wake up to when everyone normal would be asleep, but at least it would hopefully let her know that something was wrong. Realising she’d been using the hand with blood on in an attempt to wake Susan, she quickly switched hands, trying to wipe away some of the red liquid onto her jeans where it would be less noticeable. The cuts weren’t actually all that bad, but they sure were messy.

[Susan Matthews]

It had been a particularly uneventful day. Susan had woken up and gone to class with the rest of the student body. She had turned in her homework, occasionally supplied an answer, taken notes, broke for lunch, and returned to what one would consider a regular day. It wasn’t often Susan got to forget about the dramas that went with her participation in the Shadow Wars. On this day, especially, one so normal; sure she had come into contact with the others from their circle, but it had been on ordinary terms.

Like a game, Susan had made it her goal not to think of her reasons for affiliating with the others for as long as she could. The moment the thought entered her mind, the game was considered lost. Some days easier than others; today Susan had managed this entire day, pretending she was normal. After dinner, it was back to the common to work on the day’s homework with the few peers she shared classes with before choosing to try some sleep in the dormitory.

It was usually as she went to sleep that her thoughts slipped in the obvious direction, toward all of those she had evaded earlier. Tonight however, Susan had slipped into her pajamas, chattering with her fifth year friends as girls do at sleepovers. It hadn’t taken long for Susan to drift from the mindless nebulous conversation into a peaceful dreamland. A maelstrom of the nights assignments along with various faces that she had encountered during the day swirled in her dreams, amounting to nothing significant.

Susan was unaware of how much time had passed since the conversation ceased when she felt the slight pressure on her shoulder and was suddenly aware of the urgent whispering at her ear. Susan’s eyes fluttered lightly as she struggled to wake. Even in the dark, Susan recognized the familiar face hovering above her. “Caitlin?” she whispered, her voice cracking with the second syllable. She blinked a few more times to clear her vision before propping her self up on her palms. “What’s going on?” she asked a little louder, yet still not audible to the other Gryffindors, aware for the first time of the tears evident on the Hufflepuff’s face.

Following the movement of her hand on her jeans, Susan recognized, even in the dark, the red-brown liquid smearing into the denim as blood. Glancing to her shoulder where Caitlin had pressed previously, she saw the same dark red staining her white undershirt. Her face now filled with a light horror, she rolled out of bed to take Caitlin’s injured hand. Holding it in her own, she angled it toward what dim light there was in the dormitory. The cuts were small, but the blood still gushed.

“Do you know any healing spells?” she asked in the same whisper before changing her mind, deciding there wasn’t time, “Nevermind. Here, just take this,” she told her as she reached into the trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled out a white knee sock, and wrapped it around her hand several times, adding pressure to stop the bleeding. Then taking her other hand, she made sure to grab her wand before leading Caitlin out of the dormitory, allowing them both to stop at the foot of the stairs before she pressed again, “Caity, what’s happening?”

Taking in the tears and the blood, Susan’s thoughts were at last brought to a possibility that might bring Caitlin in such a state to break into her dormitory and wake her at whatever time it was at the moment. Susan flinched, remembering that they were all anything but ordinary. The nerves set in as she attempted to imagine what could have gone wrong. Who was hurt? What was the danger? Who was attacking? Who had died this time?

[Keaira O'Connell]

In the moment that her emotions had gone blank, everything in her mind cleared. As if someone had thrown a switch and the noise around her went off. For a few seconds there was nothing, and then slowly the world around her came back into focus. The mind closest to her own cleared first and she once again was able to feel Zane’s thoughts and emotions. It was sluggish and hazy at first, but she clearly felt the sense of shock at Keaira’s tone and words. But then that shock turned to concern, and finally a fear. A fear that he no longer would have the girl that he loved, that this death will have pulled her completely away from him.

When Caitlin did not react with much of anything after Keaira’s words were said, Keaira simply choose to ignore the other girls’ existence. There was no part of her that wanted to feel what was in Caitlin’s mind, and so when the haze lifted around the other girl, Keaira allowed the barriers that she had managed to pull back up slam into place. Caitlin would not get sympathy from her. She would not get comfort. At best, tonight, Caitlin would receive a bit of knowledge, but only if she chose to hear it.

Part of Keaira wanted to turn and comfort Zane, to let him know that she would be fine, and that this would not change their relationship in any way. His next thoughts however, held her comforting in check. She would not comfort him, while his thoughts ran to that nature. Yet, she knew that his thoughts were provoked entirely by her actions, and thus she also would not punish him for it. His thoughts were that of anger, anger that Alessandro might tear Keaira away from him even with his death, anger that he didn’t know how to comfort her, anger that this made them a step further away from their own goals. Anger that she did not fault him, and anger that she knew would only last so long.

“Enough, Keaira. Enough. I'm taking you inside."

His words were accompanied with the light touch of his hand on her own. Her eyes were drawn up to him; his hands were warm against hers. Yet, even that warming touch left no warmth in her eyes. She would not be persuaded, not against this. There were few qualities that defined Keaira as much as this. She would see things through to the end, her every goal would be fulfilled. When her path was decided Keaira had a way of stubbornly pursuing it and doing so with everything she had.

“No Zane. He was a friend, and a human, and so we have to make sure he is laid to rest properly. I will not leave him if I can help it, not like I left Dien and Teresa.”

The image of her former Elemental master and his wife broken, and chained in the torture room of the shadow mages castle seared though her mind. She couldn’t save them, and they had died, alone. No one had been able to take their bodies back home to be remembered by their family and friends, or to be honored in any way. Their deaths were swept under a rug, and forgotten by everyone, except her. No she got to carry that burden alone. It was her nightmare, and it was one that would never be resolved.

She placed on of her hands on top of Zane’s, and tried a small bit of a smile, just for him. It however was only a small bit that disappeared as soon as D’rorah arrived. Her greeting words, made the small bit of compassion in her leak away again. D’rorah had no right to say those things. She was not the master here, and most definitely was not in control of Keaira. Keaira straightened herself up, and slowly stood to her feet. Keaira watched as Dee gathered up the remaining bit of Alessandro’s ashes, and compounded them into a tiny ball. It was a good use of the chant, one that Keaira would memorize and make sure she knew in case it was ever needed again.

And yet again, D’rorah’s words struck an angry cord in Keaira’s mind, and heart. The statement was uncalled for, and Keaira was not going to tolerate it. Keaira may have decided to love Zane, and to give her heart to him, but that in no way made her his possession. She was no one’s possession, and therefore calling her his female would not be tolerated. Although, Keaira’s body was involuntarily shaking due to the cold, her voice was calm, and clear as she looked straight at the older Ravenclaw.

"D'rorah if you had actually taken the time to assess the situation before speaking you would have noticed that I am perfectly calm, and in no need of comfort or control. Also, I would remind you that even though Alessandro and I were not on the best of terms, he was still dear to me, and if I was falling apart it would be well deserved.”

Keaira was still in that utter calm state that she was when she spoke to Caitlin. Her eyes showed none of the anger that should have been present, none of the sorrow at the death of Alessandro, and no sense of loss. Just that same empty calm that she held when she addressed Caitlin. Caitlin had actually wandered off at this point, ready to follow every order that was given to her like the weakling she was. Caitlin would not have the strength of will or personality to lead them all, Caitlin was a follower, just like Susan.

“As for your gathering us into that room, I will tell you now I will not be attending. I have far better things to do than to hear your attempts at leading us. How many times have you been the one to lead us into a battle situation any way? I can’t actually recall one. Yet, I have hastened all to help Alessandro, Zane, Caitlin, Jacques and even You, from the dangers that we face, saving many lives in the process, including yours.

And I was the one that killed Kade, after he was turned from us, and I am the one that has lost the most from being in this group. YOU have not been to the shadow realm twice to save people. You have not been the one to lead any of us to battle, and You have been capture and tortured twice, and needed to be saved twice. I no longer hold to the fact that you hold the authority over us, because you are not the one who has been risking her life to keep our group alive. I am the one who has. And I am through with it. Hold your meeting, and discuss what you wish, but I will not be there."

Keaira thought of her broom safely tucked away in the locker with her name on it in the changing room at the quidditch pitch. It was the closest one that she could think of and would cause less of a stir than anything racing through the dungeons and the like at this hour. “Accio Thunderbolt.” The broom would be here within seconds of her summoning it, and so she picked up her bathrobe, and put it on. Her book bag soon followed suit, and was tossed over her shoulder.

The broom soon flew into view, and Keaira easily plucked it out of the air. Her hand closed around the artistic engravings that adorned the brooms handle, including that of her own first name. She ran her thumb across the silver word, and remembered the happiness she had when she had removed the last box in a series of larger boxes, that revealed the broom, with its personalized engraving. The broom was meant only for her, and even had the foot holds customized so with a flip, both would be positioned on the same side so one could ride side straddled easier.

She held it in her right hand for a split second before she tossed it into the air, and it hovered beside her. Unlike most people, Keaira did not sit on the broom with one leg on each side; instead both legs were dangling off the left side. Her body positioned properly, she pushed off the ground a few inches, and turned so that she faced Zane. Her left hand extended out to him.

“Will you come with me Zane, please?”

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

Not paying any attention to the distressed Hufflepuff, Zee didn't notice the blood she drew from herself, didn't notice her trembling, and even if he had, he may have ignored it anyway. Caitlin was not on his good side these days. His focus remained on Keaira and the few words she offered him. Whether intentionally or not, her words were quite diplomatic, hitting the points that had conjured sadness in him at Darko's death and avoiding those that has evoked fury. He did not return her attempted smile, but gave a solemn nod, intent on allowing her to finish to her satisfaction.

The turmoil and boiling rage that had been running rampant through Zee's mind prevented him from even noticing the tickle in his consciousness at D'rorah's approach. Thus he was as surprised as everyone when she suddenly appeared amongst them. The surprise died away immediately though along with the calm Keaira had begun to nurture, washed away by a new wave of anger at the Ravenclaw's command and thoughts. However poorly he may have been leading at that moment, he hardly thought good leadership meant running to your immediate superior as soon as something happened. Her response to his spiteful oath served only as more fuel for his continuing rage. Rising to his full height and taking some small pleasure that he alone of the group topped D'rorah's, he glared back at her and shouted his own thoughts into her mind.

"Ah yes D'rorah, because you clearly know so much about leadership, always attempting to simply intimidate me into compliance. I do not fear you. You have no more an understanding of forgiveness or compassion than do I. You are no leader. You're still just the scared little girl who lay helpless as darkness swept over her life and consumed all that she loved, still just a victim. I've seen your nightmares. Perhaps at one time they gave you strength, but now? Now you're nothing but a broken shell, a shadow of your former self."

Zee watched impassively as the final bits of ash were gathered, glad at least the the task was done with. He did not wish to be out here any longer. The cold had crept fully through the single bit of fabric that covered only his lower half and he wished to put this entire experience behind him in whatever way was most convenient. Catching the shift in D'rorah's focus, he followed her gaze to the woods, wondering what she had perhaps seen. After a short moment he realized she was not expecting to really see her target, but the look gave away what that target was. Of course, she had gathered the remaining ash for the other Shadow Warrior Alessandro had been dear to. The vampire. Zee flinched involuntarily as he thought of his last meeting with her.

He looked away from D'rorah then, back to Keaira to try once more to lead her inside. But again his Shadow Warrior surprised him with her stoic voice and demeanor. Zee hated this new attitude, or lack thereof, and again leveled a glare D'rorah's way for summoning it forth once more. Still the words themselves were something of a shock. Where did she plan to go then if not to convene with the others? The summoning of her broom did little to answer his unspoken question, but it did bring a ghost of a smile to his face as he remembered the day she'd received it.

In the aftermath of the great celebration following their defeat of Ravenclaw in his first quidditch game, Zee had discreetly visited the owlery and sent out an order for a second Thunderbolt, quite pleased with the performance of his own. It had arrived the next day and he'd had to go to great lengths to avoid Keaira knowing, actively thinking about the game itself and their classes for the day, the broom hidden in his dorm. That afternoon he'd sequestered himself away for a short time, modifying the designs along the broom to be unique and doing his best to engrave 'Keaira' in such a way that the flowing script joined seamlessly with the abstract designs. Once that was done he returned it to its original packaging then conjured a series of increasingly larger boxes. He packed it all together such that she would have to open an ornately wrapped package nearly a dozen times before the gift itself was revealed. The finished product was a perfect square and nearly as tall as himself, fitting Zee's flare for the theatric perfectly. He'd presented it to her that evening in the common room. The ostentation had been perhaps a little more to his taste than hers but she'd been thrilled regardless. He'd felt like he could spend hours just gazing into her beautifully smiling face.

Coming back to the present, Zee found that he was even now staring at Keaira's face, though it did not hold much of a smile. His gaze drifted to her extended left hand, away from her to D'rorah, from the Ravenclaw to the forest, then to the castle. He considered all the other lightfighters, the relationships he had with them. He could think of only two that were cordial, perhaps one other that was neutral, and the rest? The rest either detested him, were thus reviled by him, or both. Letting his anger at the late Darko spill over to cover most of the others, Zee grimaced. He would need that wall of anger for this. He would need it to silence the nagging sense of logic.


"Absolutely."

Placing his left hand in Keaira's and using that grasp as a focal point, he swung himself up onto the back of her broom, calling quietly for his own with a murmur and a gesture of his right hand.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah saw Caitlin hurry off from the corner of her eye, and nodded to herself. This would be a difficult loss for their group to bear... the Lightfighters could only handle so much turnover. This would mean training a new Elemental Master from scratch, finding a new anchor for a vampire who would now have none... D'rorah didn't know how their group could handle if Wysteria lost her hold on the balance between light and dark and toppled into Darkness. A Shadow Vampire would be a formidable opponent, even for all of them together.

Hearing Keaira's voice address, her, she turned to face the others again. The tiny black sphere was clutched in the palm of her hand as she listened to Keaira, and then Zane rebuke her as a leader. It was something she had heard in her own head over and over again for quite some time now.

"[blue]Please, both of you, wait,[/blue]" she asked calmly, seeing that Keaira was indeed correct and seemed to be in control of herself. Or at least, emotionally shut down, which D'rorah recognized well as a defense mechanism against this type of loss. The trembling of her hands and body she could see now came from cold rather than from overwrought emotion... but then, to watch a girl frantically scoop up ashes with shaking hands, D'rorah supposed it was an easy enough mistake to make; especially considering the exchange between Caitlin and Keaira she had witnessed through Wysteria's eyes in the forest. So then, she could admit that she was wrong. She could admit that perhaps she had often been wrong, in fact. "[blue]Keaira, I apologize for not taking time to more fully assess the situation.[/blue]"

Her eyes moved to Zane. "[blue]You are both correct. I am not a leader. I have never wished to be one... to this point, I have led you all to the best of my abilities at the expressed wishes of my Master, Master Xiu. I would gladly pass the mantle to anyone willing to take the responsibility. My place is with my texts... I would serve us all best by being able to find more of these spells and chants... any advantage that may exist for our side. I have, perhaps, been pushed to the extent of my usefulness. I am no longer the person I was upon arriving here. And, we have all risked our lives for the sake of this group. I have been fighting Shadows since before any of you even knew you were Lightfighters. I have served my share on the battlefield. Because of my experience and training, I was for a long time the only choice to lead our group. The occasions of my torture have given me much insight into the Shadow Realm. I have, I believe, spent more time there than any of our group. I have clung to what humanity I was able to with every last ounce of willpower I could muster. However, I will point out that anyone who steps up to take lead will likewise become a target of the Mage.[/blue]"

Her eyes returned to Keaira. "[blue]You speak of all you have endured, and I do not discredit it. I have also suffered my own share of loss at the hands of the Mage. We have all suffered some sort of loss in the course of this war... and I cannot promise anyone that more loss will not occur. As I made clear when I found each of you to be Lightfighters, we have a choice of whether or not to serve. I do not wish to run a dictatorship. If there is someone more qualified who is willing to take the lead, I implore us to appoint that person. My only goal in this conflict is to win. I have lost enough thus far that I do not care what else I may lose along the way. I do know, that no matter what anyone decides, we are all safer together than we are apart. The fate of any Shadow Warrior or Elemental Master who succumbs to the Mage is death. The fate of our entire realm if we are not victorious in this struggle is likewise, a horrid death. The Shadow Realm was once a realm much like our own... and nothing can now survive there except for Shadows, Wraiths, and Reapers. I do not wish others to suffer as we have all suffered. I do not wish anyone to suffer as I have suffered...[/blue]"

She took a deep breath, feeling almost hopeful at the thought that someone else might step forward to lead them. No longer would the difficult decisions be given to her. No longer would she have to feel personal guilt at every death or injury suffered by her allies. "[blue]The loss of one of our most powerful Elemental Masters is something we must come together to face if we wish to have any hope of survival. I will follow anyone who is willing to lead. Leaving now, however, only puts you both in greater danger from the Mage. Please, do not endanger yourselves on a night when we have all already lost one friend and comrade.[/blue]"

She waited for a reply as her mind played through her own losses, memories brought on by her words of everyone they had lost, of everything she had endured. She had nothing left but this fight... she had nothing left besides striving to defeat the Mage. Her family was gone... dead and tortured... her own humanity had been slowly beaten from her... Dylan was nowhere to be found of late and it seemed that the tentative friendships she had managed to forge among her fellow Lightfighters were as fragile as ashes scattering in a wind. From where she stood now, the only two options were winning this war and death. And she hadn't given up enough yet to resign herself to death... no matter how much of a relief it would be.

[Caitlin Collins]

After what seemed a lifetime of attempting to wake the other Shadow Warrior but what was in reality only a few moments, Caitlin felt Susan stir. Releasing Susan’s shoulder when her name was spoken, she waited impatiently for the girl to properly awake. Her face screwed up a little as the question of what was going on was asked, as she should have expected, but before she could say anything Susan had apparently noticed the blood on her hand – and then that it had gotten onto her shirt. “Sorry,” she muttered when the expression of horror appeared. Taking an involuntary step backwards when the Gryffindor quickly rolled out of bed, she winced a little when her bloodied hand was taken and examined. She didn’t pull away – what would be the point? It was clearly visible anyway. “It’s not that bad...”

Nevertheless, the makeshift bandage found its way onto her hand, causing her to wince again from the pressure. But at least that would help prevent the blood from staining anything else. “I know healing spells... but I don’t have my wand,” she explained, trying to ignore the croakiness of her voice when she spoke. “Thanks,” she whispered. Not that she’d actually thought of healing spells beforehand, she’d had far too much on her mind. But she didn’t want Susan to realise quite how messed up her head was right now. Even if Susan might be one of the only lightfighters she could relate to and who might understand, Caity still hated sharing what she was feeling. Because all this was too much... another tear made its way from her eye down to the bottom of her cheek until it fell down on to her arm, but she made no effort to get rid of it as she was led out of the dormitory.

Knowing that it was inevitable did not help when Susan finally asked what was happening again. She had to be told... But saying it aloud made it final, irreversible... as was the nature of death. Nearly choking up again, she began in a faltering voice. She could see nerves being displayed in Susan’s expression and couldn’t leave it any longer... ”It’s... it’s Alessandro.” Her voice nearly broke at saying his name, and she gulped in an attempt to swallow the pain that assaulted her as she said that. Susan needed to know... and saying it aloud would not truly change anything. It was a fact anyway. Staring over Susan’s shoulder, she continued. “He fell... off the astronomy tower. Burst into flame.”

Meeting Susan’s eyes now, she pulled together the strength to say the next part. She couldn’t just leave it hanging at that, leaving Susan with the hope that he was still alive, just maybe injured badly. Hope, she had learnt, was useless if it was false hope. False hope was torturous when you learnt it was so. “Susan... Alessandro’s dead.” Just as expected, that sentence sent a wave of anguish crashing through her, but she succeeded in holding it together just enough that she wouldn’t have her legs collapsing under her. Her hands were clutching Susan’s tightly, but she at least wasn’t digging her nails in and drawing blood from her friend as well. She had been holding together so well before this... at least, well in comparison to what it would be like if she let the full force of her emotions be released and acknowledge them. If she did that she would just end up screaming.

No crucio could compare to the pain of losing someone you cared about... She had lost Mallan, and it had crushed her. Was still crushing her. Since arriving at Hogwarts, she had lost so much that made her Caity... the one thing she was still holding onto were her beliefs about fighting and war; but even those were being torn away slowly by the other lightfighters’ reactions when they were displayed. Susan. Think of Susan, she ordered herself. Cait didn't know how Susan would react to this news, but if she fell apart, she would need someone to hold her up. Remember what Dylan did for you. Keep it together, for now.