Time to learn.

[Keaira O'Connell]

The past four days seemed to come and go, quickly but not quietly. Since Saturday Keaira had been in turmoil. Her mind would not allow her guard to be dropped so she could grieve during the days, so each night had been plagued with dreams of torment, and watching various people die at the hands of the Mage. Seeing Dien’s broken body over and over with in her sleep had left her sick each night. What made it worse was that Alessandro had been replacing Dien in some of her nightmares. It was enough to make her decide that tonight she would double the dose she normally took, in hopes to get a dreamless sleep.

Her mind was restless with the thoughts of whether increasing her medicinal tea was a good idea. After all she might not be able to wake up the next morning if she increased the dosage too much. It was a risk that she wasn’t sure if she was willing to take yet, but if she could not sleep without it then it was something she was willing to consider. As she approached the sixth floor she began taking better actions to ensure her path was not being followed. She mentally checked the hallways before turning down them so as to make sure they were empty. It was 8:30 so she had plenty of time before Zane had agreed to meet her. By now the students had begun to thin out. Dinner was served in the great hall, and classes were over. Most of those that chose not to eat now were busy doing homework or other things; nearly no one would be wandering about the headmistress’s hallway at this hour.

After waiting a bit longer, Keaira headed down the hallway that would lead to the room of requirements. It was dangerous to train at a location that the headmistress knew of, but Keaira had come up with a way that would help keep their practice safe from intruders. They just needed to be specific about what they needed to room to do for them. As she approached the stretch of wall, she began thinking. ‘A training room, that only Zane Bishop and Keaira O’Connell can see and enter, a back door, that leads to an empty classroom on the 4th floor, which seals after the door is closed. Sparing equipment, including wooden swords, bows, dulled arrows, targets, give us the elemental room of metal.’ It was good enough. It limited the people that could enter the room, and it gave them a path out if they needed it. Yes these instructions would work. She paced back and forth in an effort to convey all she needed to the room. As she passed the area on her third and final pass the door began to materialize. Her eyes swept the hallway as she stood with her back to the door that only Zane and herself could see. With no one in the hall she turned the knob, and waited. When Zane came in to view she would make sure they were alone and then they would back through the door.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

A light dinner (more of a three bite snack than a meal) and Zee had predictably retreated to the astronomy tower to think, to brood, and to mourn. Now though the hour approached nine and he had an engagement he would not be late for. Few things these days provided Zee with much motivation; minuscule was the number of subjects that could rouse him from his internal strife or cause him to move with much purpose. The beginning of the training that he would need if he were ever to pay back those that had taken Wysteria from him however was certainly foremost on the list.

There was something more than that though. As he hurried down the winding stairwell from the top of the tower Zee realized he also didn't want to make Keaira wait for him. Zee wanted nothing he did to cause her any amount of pain or stress, minor as it may be. It was a small thing, but there it was. Perhaps he simply understood that any pain she felt, he would to some degree share and selfishly wanted to avoid that. Perhaps not though. This girl, whose life had been so full of tragedy and loss . . . Maybe Zee thought she had had enough and wished to shield her from any more.

Alessandro entered his thoughts as he reached the sixth floor. It was an interesting mix of thoughts that went along with that name. He meant a great deal to Keaira and thus his well being went along with Zee's desire to ease the pain in her life. Irrational as it might be, there was also still a part of Zee that held Alessandro responsible for Wysteria's death. It was the duty of a Shadow Warrior to protect her Elemental Master, but as Zee understood it the two worked as a team and Wysteria's safety was as much Alessandro's responsibility as his was hers. Wysteria however would certainly not have wanted there to be any ill feelings between himself and the Elemental Master of Fire. Wysteria's best friend, Keaira's romantic interest. Whatever Zee's own feelings about the boy, he would have to be found and protected as much as any of the others.

Just before his Shadow Warrior came into a view a comparably silly thought came to Zee. His head was cold. He'd had relatively long hair, nearly shoulder length, for many years and now it was cropped much closer to his skull. His ears in particular had lost a considerable amount of insulation. Running one hand through his severely shortened locks, Zee approached Keaira, a slightly sad smile coming to his lips.

"Hello Keaira."

He didn't call her Alecto. Despite having done so earlier that same day, he now felt it was somewhat presumptuous of him and he shouldn't continue until they had a conversation concerning the subject and he was granted permission.

((You can go ahead and assume Zee follows you into the room. He has every intention of doing so))

[Keaira O'Connell]

Keaira was gently resting with her head and back leaned against the door. It wasn’t an all too uncommon sight, but the location might look slightly suspicious if the person knew what she was standing in front of. As the thought ran through her head she felt another person headed her direction. At first she did not recognize the mental signature, and she felt as if her heart had simply stopped beating for a moment. She silently scolded herself for being so careless, and was about to abandon her position. That was until she came to realize that it was Zane turning down the corridor.

Her body relaxed significantly with that realization, she had thought she had been careless, but in truth she was merely on edge. Several nights of bad sleep had left her mind playing tricks on her, something that she would need to rectify and soon. As Zane moved closer, Keaira noticed that he looked a little different than usual. She wondered if his hair had been as short earlier that day during class, but found that she couldn’t remember. She let her gaze linger on his face for a few moments, as he approached. Was she really that consumed with her own world during that class to even notice a change as drastic as this? Or had he simply changed it in between their meetings?

She couldn’t help but smile as he ran his hands through his hair, the motion had brought her memories of when Alessandro had done a similar thing after having his hair chopped unceremoniously from his head by Gat. Although Alessandro had been very upset about it, Keaira felt the need to laugh at him, and make a joke about it all the same. Something he had been a bit irate about, but she had not cared that his self image was hurt, only that both curses aimed at him had missed.

The smile grew as he greeted her, but she felt it waiver a second when she mentally picked up on the name Alecto. She couldn’t understand why he had such a desire to use that name. It was as if he couldn’t get it out of his head since first hearing it. She made a note to remember to bring it up after they were done with this tonight.

“Good evening Zane.”

She said the words while reaching her mind out to check that they were alone. When she felt certain that no one was with in seeing distance she pushed on the door behind her and swung it open. She held the door for a moment and allowed Zane to pass through as well, before closing it securely, and turning to face the room.

It was perfect. The room felt like home, in a weird sense. Perhaps it was due to the fact that almost everything within its walls brought a sense of familiarity. The floors and walls were made from un-worked metals. Things that were present in nature everywhere down to the very core of the earth. True that it was not entirely metallic within their room, but the presence of the element alone throbbed through her. She knew that none of the elements existed alone, and as such they were designed to work together. Her shoes fell on the soft but firm gravel like ground, as she moved forward into the room more. As she looked upon the room for the first time she felt as if they were within a mountain, surrounded by a cave with more natural lighting than one would think possible. The room was good. She spotted the weapons rack that had assembled itself to their left, and the targets that were set up on the other end of the room. But more importantly she noticed another door that had appeared in a far corner, giving them the escape route that they might need.

The room had given them more though; as she looked across the way she spotted mats that they could lay down to soften the impact of any landing. Yes, this would do for their training. Making her way through the room she found a comfortable looking spot on the metallic earth, and gracefully sat down. She removed her shoes, and tossed off the robe that covered her attire. She was not wearing your standard robes, but instead she wore a red and black leather dress, that was split in to six inch panels, that came all the way up to her thighs. Under the dress, she wore stretchy black pants, to allow her plenty of movement, without sacrificing decency. The dress laced up both sides, and had buttons that came across her left breast, insuring that the outfit was not moving from place even though they may train hard.

Seated on the floor Keaira smiled up at Zane, she was quite comfortable and relaxed. Something she was not sure he felt yet. This was her first time with in this room, something they could both boast for today, so they needed to make sure they were good and ready for what this room brought.

“Have a seat, let’s talk a bit first. So, I know Mallan told everyone the history of our existence the other day, so now’s the time to make sure you understand it. If you have any questions on why we need to fight, or how we came to be, now is the time to express them.”

((Feel free to add to the room description, and since I did a crap job on her outfit here’s the link. www.ravenswoodleather.com/Dresses/Images/Saberist%20Dress/saberist-dress-sm.jpg))

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

A tiny grimace flashed across Zee's face as Keaira's smile faltered. It reminded him of the false grin she'd worn when he'd left her there in that very spot the week before. Why, even with he who could see beneath any outer facade she projected, did she offer that smile regardless of how she truly felt? Why did she insist on greeting a world that had taken so much from her with an often false show of happiness?

Zee quickly abandoned that line of ponderings. It reminded him distinctly of the way he'd always tried to figure out Wysteria, and the reminder wasn't welcome. Zee saw no point in investing his effort in fully understanding someone who could easily meet the same fate Wysteria had. Hopelessness had nearly consumed Zee and by his estimation most if not all of the lightfighters would be killed before long.

Pushing those thoughts away as well as they were hardly constructive to his goal, Zee nodded and headed through the door. It was an odd room that greeted him. Spelunking had never been a pastime of his and so he had spent little time in cave complexes. The unfamiliar environment likely would have made him quite nervous except that Zee could plainly feel the energy coursing through the place. It resonated within him as well and the feeling of power pleased him enough to overshadow anything else. He also felt inexplicably secure here, as if every molecule of the floor, walls and ceiling would come to his aid were anything to threaten him.

After a few moments of gazing around the room in awed appreciation, Zee turned to see Keaira sit down and remove her outer garment. This confused him, but only for the split second it took him to register the outfit she wore beneath. Zee regretted not having the forethought to have dressed appropriately himself, but he supposed he would have to make do. Sitting down a couple feet from his shadow warrior and facing her, he shook his head slightly at her words.

"Keaira, while knowledge is indeed power and I typically would gather all I could, I can't seem to bring myself to care much for the history of the order. I know why we fight and I agree that it is absolutely necessary, but right now all I care about is learning how to fight them, how to hurt them, and if it's possible how to kill them."

The words were presented without much emotion and Zee's appearance was calm enough. A growing excitement within him however betrayed how much he looked forward to being armed with the weapons Keaira would show him. He was eager to begin.

[Keaira O'Connell]

Sitting on the cool ground Keaira let her hands drift down to the floor as she listened to Zane. Slowly she began moving her hand in a circular motion, drawing little swirling lines across the metallic ground. It was nice to be able to relax in a room that felt as if it was a part of her own body. The way the room seemed to pulse through her was almost as good of a feeling as drinking a vial of elixir to induce euphoria.

She smiled as he explained that he didn’t care to hear about the history of the organization or any such thing. It was a bit of a relief, mostly because Keaira was fuzzy on some of the details herself. It wasn’t the best idea to be talking about something you weren’t good at talking about any way. She nodded silently as she thought that talking was best suited for other people.

“Well then let’s get down to it. I suppose the first thing we should try would be to see where you elemental abilities are currently at, and then we’ll go from there. Personally I’m the best suited if you want to learn how to shoot and arrow, D’rorah is awesome with sword techniques, and unfortunately, Wysteria was our best hand to hand combatant. That being that I’m going to give you a very basic course that covers all four aspects, and then you will have to train with D’rorah for a little bit.”

Keaira paused for a moment, making no move to stand, or progress away from her location. While she had been talking her hands never stopped. The continued in their swirling motions, and to the untrained eye, it appeared that she was simply making lines in the sand that seemed to be intertwined together, however, that was not the case. As she had been speaking, she had been calling the metal on the ground to come together, forming in to a single solid object. She smiled gently as she picked up what appeared to be a grey, unfinished, metal mask. It held none of the quality, embellishments, or details that the mask she wore to the masquerade held, but it was similar in shape and structure.

“As I’ve demonstrated before my own prowess with controlling metal is limited, however, in this room, a small amount of control is all that is needed. The room amplifies the power to control metal.” Keaira paused for a moment to shift mental gears and head off on a different track. “Now, if you’ve studies any amount of what muggles call chemistry, you might know that they have classified the components that make up the earth, to the best of their knowledge. Most of their scale is divided in to metal and non metal components. Things like iron, Aluminum, Tin, lead, Silver, and gold, all metals, all things that you can manipulate, all things that are found in nature, almost anywhere around you. As such, at any given time, you should be able to simply pull on the inherent metal in the earth, to fuel what you need. Dien was able to pull metal from around him to form armor, and also metal projectiles. For now let’s see if you can summon enough metal to form a solid sword. All you need to do is open yourself up, and feel the room around you, feel the metal that surrounds, and coax it forward.”

She remained seated, and waited, seeing if Zane could manage to pull enough from the room for form, a sword, or if he would progress beyond that. After this depending on what happened, she would probably progress to hand to hand combat.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

As Keaira explained a bit about the training and who knew what best Zee leaned forward, intently listening. He was a talented wizard for sure and in a duel of wand magic he felt he could take most any student in the school, regardless of whether he actually had a wand or not. Whether he was as good as his ego convinced him he was was less certain, but he was good. When it came to a more mundane form of combat though, Zee was completely lost. He'd never even punched anything. Why on earth would Zee smash his knuckles into a thing he wished to hurt when the cruciatus curse caused so much more pain, left no telling marks, and held no risk of bruising his lovely hands?

That at least had always been his attitude toward the concept. Now though, as his shadow warrior spoke of archaic weaponry his eyes took on an eager gleam. Something in him was marvelously intrigued by the notion of pouncing upon his prey and beating the life (or rather unlife) from it. Something primal in Zee wanted to simply tear out the vampire's throat and shove a silver stake down through the resulting hole until it reached the vile heart.

Zee expected he might withdraw into his melancholy shell at the mention of Wysteria, but he found the rage and thirst for vengeance somewhat dulled the pain. Instead a tiny wistful smile crept onto his face. Going back to his memory of his initial meeting with the dead shadow warrior atop the astronomy tower, he remembered how he had very briefly considered disarming her and casting her from the ledge. Now he realized that if he had tried he likely would've ended up lying dazed on his back with several broken bones and innumerable bruises.

The thought of training with D'rorah, and with swords no less, made him slightly nervous. How delightfully opportune a time it would be for the girl to extract some measure of revenge for what he'd done to Dylan. Logically she wouldn't want him weakened since he was fighting on her side, and certainly wouldn't kill him. She needed him to be alive and capable, but as he considered how he felt concerning those who had killed Wysteria, he lost some confidence in the belief that any amount of logic would stop D'rorah were she to find herself standing over him with a sword at his throat.

Pushing thr thoughts to te far back recesses of his mind as he had been doing with so many others lately, Zee nodded in response to Keaira's instructions. It seemed simple enough, and he was after all Zane Lucifer Bishop. He should have the entire room at him command in a matter of moments. Zee closed his eyes, planted both palms down on the ground, and commanded the metal to come to him. It would obey him he knew. It would burst forth from the ground, from the walls, and it would form itself into a huge blade, too big to be wielded even. He had barely been able to mold the metal tray, barely been able to make it look remotely like what he wished it to, but this was the elemental room of metal. Here he was a god and could not fail.

For a few moments nothing happened. But then . . . still nothing. With a frown Zee lifted his hands and gazed at his open palms. A thin dusting of metallic fragments gave them a slight sheen, but that was about all. Lifting those eyes to Keaira, he wore a frustrated expression. Failing was one thing he was not accustomed to.

In truth the problem was that Zee wasn't really opening up. It went against all that he'd trained himself to be. Zee had meticulously built a wall about himself. His occlumency kept his mind safe, his ability to express feelings he didn't feel and say things convincingly he didn't mean kept others at a safe distance, though close enough to be used. True Wysteria had become a considerable chink in that armor, and now his connection to Keaira was a second, but willingly opening himself to his environment was something he simply didn't understand how to do.

"It's not working Keaira. It won't listen to me."

Zee didn't even understand why it wouldn't work. As far as he knew he was opening up. The way he kept himself closed off had become so instinctual that he no longer willfully did it. It just happened.

[Keaira O'Connell]

Keaira was both excited, and nervous about training Zane with weapons. He already had the command of all metal around him, if he only just knew how to use it. So to give him even more ways to hurt people did make her feel slightly uneasy. The thought that one day he might decide to use his training to hurt someone that didn’t deserve it, came unwillingly to her mind. It was not something that she would accept. If he turned against them, or even away from them, she would turn him back. She had to, because if not, she would kill him.

It came as no surprise when she felt the small wave of nervous energy coming from Zane at the mention of training with D’rorah. Keaira herself had already thought of what that training might come to, but she trusted Dee to put the needs of the light-fighters before her own personal vengeance. After all Zane had shown himself to be quite a different, and more importantly, a remorseful person. However, if it seemed that there might be any sort of complication with the training, Keaira would know, and would be ready to step in and take action if needed. Zane was unfortunately connected to her now. She had complete access to him, from most distances, a bond that would grow with time, and she did not feel like waiting around for the next Elemental Master of metal, only to have her worst memories relived for a third time. If Dee’s intentions turned to be malicious, Keaira would step in and prevent any permanent damage to Zane.

As she had finished giving him the instructions for how he should be able to feel the metal and call it in to being, she watched him begin to take action. The shift from nervous energy to the self exalting confidence had most definitely not gone unnoticed by Keaira. He seemed so sure of his ability to control his power, but yet, Keaira could feel the way he held himself guarded. It was as if he had become so accustomed to keeping himself locked away that he didn’t even realize he did it any more. Keaira smiled as she looked in to his frustrated eyes. They would need to work on a few things first. Keaira had understood what it meant to keep oneself closed off from the people around you, but she also, and more importantly, understood what it meant to be alone with a room. Feeling her surroundings, and letting them just flow within her.

Silently she reached out, and placed her hands an inch away from his open palms. She let her outstretched fingers hover above his metallic dusted hands. She could feel the way the metal the sheened his palms thrummed and throbbed, each particle its own thing to command. As she felt it, she called towards the particials in each hand, causing them to hover between their palms. The small metal fragments floated of her will, and then slowly they came together, bonding on to one another, molding and melting in to a single solid form. Then she stopped, and let the single small round ball in each hand fall gently back in to his own.

“Can’t you feel it? Try to relax.” The question was mostly rhetoric as she was well aware that he could not because he had chosen to keep himself separate. As she sat there, she closed her eyes, and ebbed her mind toward his. She felt his mental block, although it did nothing to impede her, she pushed past the layers that he had built up. Searching for the Zane that was behind the mask he wore. It was not easy helping someone realize that they had practically built a fortress surrounding themselves. She felt as if she was drilling a hole to the center of who he was. A hole that was deep, but narrow, so that he would be able to patch it back up when she was done. As she felt the barriers becoming thinner she stopped. In order for him to understand, he would have to push through the last few, and allow himself to actually reach the room around. “This power is nearly entirely a mental power. If you do not have the force of will to push aside the walls you have surrounding you, you’ll never be able to wield it. Try again, and don’t stop until you’ve done more than the last attempt.”

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

Watching intently as Keaira silently commanded the metal dust to come to her hands and form into two perfect little spheres, Zee understood that nothing he saw with his eyes would explain to him how to manipulate the element. He was about to ask her about this when he felt her push against and through his defenses. At first he thought she was merely attempting to communicate telepathically on a deeper level, which seemed odd given they were already alone and she could say whatever she liked without anyone overhearing. As she pushed deeper though he began to panic. Knowing the Keaira could access his mind freely had unnerved him. Thinking that she was actually doing so terrified him.

There was nothing he terribly felt the need to hide. She had after all seen his worst deeds already. Still the loss of all control was abhorrent to him. Even when he had confessed to all the gathered lightfighters about his brutal torture of one of their own he had chosen the words and the inflection he put on them. At his most honest he was still in a position of power. Now though . . .

Keaira's words went unheeded as Zee, tightly gripping the two metal spheres rolled backwards away from her, desperate to get away any way he could. His face had gone uncharacteristically wild, eyes wide and nostrils flaring.

"What are you doing!!??"

The words were screamed both out loud and in her mind. In desperation Zee pushed back, trying to force her out despite knowing their bond wouldn't allow it. Instead he succeeded only in opening up the few remaining barriers separating his mind from hers, but more importantly separating his mind from his element.

His one overwhelming thought was on self defense, doing something that would protect him from the world now that his carefully constructed fortress had been breached. The metal in the room heard the call and answered. From all directions burst forth streams of liquid metal, like tiny geysers spewing forth from the floor and walls and ceiling. Each stream shot unerringly to the Elemental Master of Metal and flowed around and through him. In a matter of moments Zee had been transformed from the flesh and blood and clothing he had been into a creature of metal.

His silhouette remained unchanged, his hair and clothing appearing just as it had before except that, along with his skin, and even eyes, it had all taken on a brilliant silvery sheen. It seemed that either the metal had formed a skin tight armor around him or had infused itself into him, granting him its beneficial properties and perhaps its not so beneficial properties.

Standing there gazing at his hands, Zee's metallic features crinkled in confusion and wonder. Taking a tentative step forward he found that his movement didn't seem to be impaired in any way. Looking up to his Shadow Warrior his features remained contorted in confusion. His question was simple and vague, but he could think of no other words.

"What?"

Other than having assumed a quality that seemed to echo regardless of his surroundings Zee's voice was unchanged and the inside of his mouth was similarly silvery.

[Keaira O'Connell]

There seemed to be no end to the surprising things that Zane Lucifer Bishop did. As she pushed forward on his mind she felt the fear and the discomfort that spilled forth from the place just beyond his final walls. Keaira wasn’t sure what he would do when he finally managed to push his way out of the castle he had built. However, it really didn’t matter as she knew that she could manage what he might send her way if he attacked, besides, he needed to do this, or they would never be able to work together.

Keaira felt the cry that he sent mentally and physically, her eyes opened quickly as she watched him fall backwards. Was he really that afraid of allowing himself out of the castle he had cemented around himself? Or was it that he was afraid to allow someone to touch him and know him that personally. A slight look of triumph crossed her face as she felt his mind push back at her, and through the last few barriers that surrounded him. It was what needed to be done in order for him to bear the control he needed.

The second after she allowed herself to feel proud of him, she nearly cried out as molten metal burst forth from the room. It raced to his body and encased him in a manner that she had never seen used before. Afraid that he might have actually done something to hurt himself she rushed toward the metal covered form of Zane. Concern etched across her features.

“Zane??!! Are you Alright?” Her concern was quickly replaced as she noted that he did not seem to be in pain, and instead look very confused. Relief replaced her concern as she moved to bridge the gap that had been placed between them when he fell backward. “You did it. You managed to open yourself up enough to feel your element.” Keaira’s eyes crossed his metallic ones, searching to see if he could feel the element that surrounded them.

“You must have felt very vulnerable. Calling for such protection. Perhaps next time, you’ll be able to do it without having it so violently burst forth from the room. We’ll have to work on getting you more comfortable with opening yourself up, although it might be better that you’re like that, particularly when I teach you to hold on you my memories and emotions so that I can fight efficiently.”

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

"Oh."

It was not Zee's most eloquent response ever, but distracted as he was examining his metal shod body he couldn't be bothered with eloquence. As occupied with other things as his mind had been, he hadn't taken much time to seriously consider all that "complete control of his element" actually entailed. Zee certainly felt that his level of power had drastically increased. Yet such amazing results were likely not going to occur again soon. Panicking the way he had been was something he rarely did, and he doubted he would actually be engaging in any battles within the elemental room of metal. He would not have such control out in the world. He would need to practice.

Rebuilding a few of the walls closest to his mind, Zee felt more relaxed and secure, and thus did his second skin seem to slide off him as if it were a thick, viscous liquid, sinking back to the floor and vanishing within it. Flexing his once more ordinary fingers before his face, Zee gave a little shiver.

"Interesting."

Lowering his hand, he gave Keaira his full attention. His eyes seemed to be smiling in a way they hadn't since he'd heard the report of Wysteria's death. Power was still the best medicine for Zee.

"I'm still not clear on how that works Keaira. How do I hold your emotions and memories and why is it necessary? What is a Shadow Warrior? I know Elemental Masters have control of their element, and Shadow Warriors share that control to a lesser extent, but what else can you do? That chanting you performed in the forest, I remember. You were collecting something. The essence of the shadows? And does it have anything to do with the darkness I've seen threatening to overcome D'rorah on occasion?"

Before he had been uninterested in simple information, wishing instead to simply learn to control his powers. Now though he'd been intrigued by the taste he'd been given and sought to more understand it. For the first time he had forgotten about his desire for vengeance, had forgotten about Wysteria's death completely. He wanted to fully know this power, whatever he might use it for. Power was the greatest lure for Zee. He was a Slytherin through and through, something that Caira had exploited to almost draw him to her side.

[Keaira O'Connell]

Keaira was not at all surprised by the lack of a real response from Zane after he had realized what had happened. She simply sat back and watched as he dismissed the metal that had encased his body. Then much as she had originally expected, the slew of questions followed. She took a moment to think about where she should head first with his questions. Which was the most logical way to proceed after his first real bonding with metal?

After several moments of contemplation Keaira looked in to Zane’s’ eyes, and addressed him. “Fighting A shadow creature is a dangerous thing to do, particularly if you do it alone. A shadow warrior has the ability, through the learning of the proper chants, to destroy the shadows. The problem is, if they attempt to do this while they hold on to their memories, and emotions the shadow can use that to corrupt them, eventually to the point where they themselves are turned in to a shadow being. Or at least that’s my understanding of it. When a shadow is destroyed, all that remains is dust, which if inhaled, or touched, can be deadly. That’s why it is collected after the shadow is destroyed. There are two reasons that the elemental master and shadow warriors were created in pairs. One is to help prevent the corruption of the shadow warriors; the other is so the shadow warriors can protect the elemental masters, who in turn must guard the fragment of light that was sent to earth during the first seperation. The telepathic bond we share is much more than being able to read each other’s thoughts. This bond was made to be able to withstand one of us completely projecting in to the others mind. It was made so neither of us goes insane when dealing with the entirety of the others life before their eyes. When I separate myself from my memories, and emotions it allows me to fight the shadows clearly, and it will not affect your abilities. It might be a bit distracting at first, but after a while you will get used to it, and it will be something that you hardly notice. Of course when you hold my memories, and emotions, I do expect a certain level of privacy. Some things are meant to stay privet, a luxury I don’t have if you’re going to meticulously go through my past.”

Keaira talked slowly, and made sure she breathed after ever other sentence. Part of that was to make sure the information was being absorbed; part of it was to ensure that she did not run out of breath while answering Zane’s questions. There was still one question which she did not answer, mostly because the answer of obvious. D’rorah was slowly being overtaken, something that really did worry Keaira. D’rorah had gone through a lot in her life, as had Keaira, but just how much more would Keaira be able to withstand before she fully succumbed to the darkness that was within her each and every day? What if something did happen to Alessandro? Would she be able to recover, and continue, or would she simply fall in to the Mage’s hands like she almost had twice in her life.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

Far from the composed, meticulously fabricated disinterest Zee had always shown when others were giving him what he wanted, he instead was leaning hungrily toward Keaira, absorbing her every word. Nothing she said truly related to his own power over metal, though her explanation of their connection did give him a clearer picture of the power he could have over her. He began waving away her concerns that he would invade her privacy even before she began speaking them. While the advantage it may give him to so thoroughly know her would be tempting, there was no way he could gain it without her knowledge, and nothing would keep her from knowing just as much about him, and as a practiced telepath, she could likely do far more damage to him than he could to her. Besides, wasn't he trying to be good?

About to ask her again about D'rorah, Zee instead simply listened to her surface thoughts. So it was true. D'rorah had begun to succumb. But then she had been without an Elemental Master for . . . how long? If Professor Kade had been the anchor for her emotions and memories . . . well, the man had never been around since Zee had come to the school. And now he was nothing but another tool for the mage. Mallan had replaced him however, so perhaps D'rorah would recover. She certainly wouldn't be alone. Zee remembered with a slight smirk how the boy had insisted on speaking to him when he quite clearly wanted to be left alone.

Picking up Keaira's concern over her own sanity, and of course, the fate of Mr. Darko, Zee's jaw tightened. He had never exactly been a fan of the Ravenclaw boy, of any Ravenclaw boy really, and yet he understood keenly both Keaira's desire that he would safely return and her great apprehension that he would not. And the fear of the darkness in her, well, Zee could relate to that as well. Empathy was not something he was accustomed to, not something he had ever really felt before, so it was with a degree of awkwardness that he placed his hand on Keaira's shoulder, trusting in their bond to show her the innocence and sincerity of the gesture.

"We will find him Keaira. We will get him back."

[Keaira O'Connell]

Keaira felt vaguely satisfied with the way their time had panned out. Not only had she gotten him to understand, or at least hear out many of the issues that surrounded them, but she had also managed to get his level of control over the metal around them to a higher level. All together though, Keaira felt drained, and there was still a bit left before she could go to bed. Not only did they still need to patrol the floors, for out of bounds students, but she also needed to do her nightly meditation. At least 2 hours of activity still greeted her before the warmth of her bed would allow her to succumb to sleep.

A small trace of a smile edged at Keaira's features as Zane attempted to comfort her. Although he lacked certain things like the morals she prized, Zane, although he might never want to really admit it, had all the workings he needed to be a great good guy. He just needed a bit more work, however, tonight was not the night for that quest. A yawn escaped her lips, her right hand moving to cover her open mouth. Small drops of liquid threatened to fall from her eyes, though not due to an emotional event, merely due to the strange way yawning effected her body. Keaira rubbed her eyes, small bits of 'sleep' and water were wiped away.

"Let's call it a night shall we? Theres plenty more to learn, but for now, I think it would be best to sleep on it, and see what progress will be made tomorrow. We shall meet here every third night at the same time, until I feel confident in your control over metal, your long range accuracy, and your ability to guard my memories and emotions with out them distracting you. D'rorah will work out a schedule of her own training with you at another time. But for now, we have a patrol to do, and sleep to catch.So let's get one with it shall we?"

Standing to her feet Keaira brushed her clothing off gently, not that it was really necessary, but it made her feel better anyway. Smiling down at Zane she held her hand out, as an offer to help him stand, not quite sure if he would reach out and take it, or to use his own strength to stand. Either way, it did not matter to her.