Soo... just a little something there to give Mosic's POV and to put he and Ara in a somewhat defensable position whilst awaiting Kith and Ch'dau.

Took a few liberties with Ara's words and such, there, but, if Rer doesn't think I did the bladesinger justice, I will more than happily edit.

Also - I'll leave the exact nature of that particualr outbuilding up for interpretation for the time being... Are there any access points to the manor house to be found inside, perhaps? Might Ch'dau find his daktar and falcata within? Hmmmmmmmm.... stranger things have happened.

Mosic was agape at just how quickly the makeshift plan had come together and, even moreso, how quickly it had been acted upon. The little priest watched in something close to awe as the kazari warrior and the half-syl thief whispered off along the parapets and disappeared into the dark. When his eyes could no longer pick either of them from the gloom, his attention turned back to the bladesinger at his side. He opened his mouth to speak but, as the Syl’s golden gaze fell upon him, his words failed and he offered a fractional shake of his head, instead, as his eyes panned along the darkened tops of the wall and, then, to the horde of animated skeletons below…

“Something troubles you, Mosic,” Aranwen murmured. It was more statement than question.

…The Cid’s gray eyes came back up, finding Aranwen’s face again, as a sigh blew past his lips. “I’ve been in the service of Falloes a long time,” he almost whispered, “and, in those years, The Helping Hand has led me to fight on occasion, when it was necessary, but only rarely have I ever had to kill. In the hours I’ve known the three of you, though, I have been party to more killings in the past few hours than can be counted in, perhaps, my last ten years…”

The bladesinger arched a brow and nodded faintly, understanding how a cleric of his particular order might be more than a little upset by these goings on. “If you are having second thoughts,” she said softly, “I doubt any of us would hold them against you, good priest. You’ve rendered us aid and we thank you for it…” her eyes flitted along the battlements and over the yard, “…and, I imagine, we may need it, again, but, if Falloes deems our venture unworthy, you may go and worry on us no more.”

Mosic shook his head, the twin pony-tails bouncing from his shoulders. “No. That’s not it,” he said, an almost sad smile on his lips, “I was led to you for a purpose and, until that purpose is fulfilled, it is with you that I will stay.” He sighed again and shrugged. “It just happened to strike me, rather profoundly, just now, that the world is, more often than not, a bad and cruel place.”

A smile that closely mirrored the Cid’s crossed Aranwen’s features, then, and she offered another nod that may have been meant to lead into a reply but, before her mouth could open, the faint sounds of steel scraping stone carried through the night from both sides of their position. Almost immediately after, the dull, wet thud of bodies hitting the earth sounded from below. Her words abandoned, the bladesinger peered over the wall and watched as the throng of skeletons below split apart into two separate groups and, drawn by the sounds, moved off to investigate. “It is time,” she said, kicking the rope from the wall, “We’ll need to be quick.”

With that, the bladesinger took the rope in hand and made a hasty decent into the now clear swath of lawn below. Her blade came free of its sheath even before her feet touched earth and she stood on guard, eyeing the skeletal tides warily, until Mosic thunked to the ground behind her.

“When we are finished, here,” the priest huffed, tugging his mace free of the ring on his belt, “perhaps we can make our exit some other way besides climbing?”

The Sylvari woman smiled over her shoulder, gave a noncommittal nod, and then, with the point of her sword, gestured toward a squat, brick building some fifty yards away. “Go,” she whispered.

The Cleric of Falloes glanced left and right and, seeing the skeletons on either side still engrossed in their searches, sprinted as quickly and quietly as his legs could carry him toward the outbuilding with Aranwen close behind. As he reached the shed, he pressed into the deeper shadows under its eaves. His back pressed to the brick, he, once again, swept his gaze to the divergent groups of bone troops before allowing them to turn back to the wall where, it appeared, the rope had been cut loose of its anchor above and now fell in a disordered heap onto the trampled grass and mud. A larger, darker mass followed the rope earthward, landing with a surprising silence considering its size. Then, that larger shape broke into two; the smaller, darker part of it raced quickly toward where Mosic and Aranwen clung to the shadows whilst the larger figure seemed to occupy itself with gathering up the rope.

“If nothing else,” he quipped, glancing up at the bladesinger, “at least I’ll be able to say I’ve seen what kazaari are capable of.”

*takes the filter and tosses it in the trash*

My bad. Hot tubs and Kazari fur don't pair precisely well... I'll go buy another.

Great idea!!! I LOVE it!

I'll do my best to see that we not get the little guy murdered.

I'm thinking I'll probably start out with actions/reactions to the "Game Plan" posts from Mosic's POV (leaving room, of course, for Ara's comments, etc) and get the two of them, at least part way across the lawn. We'll see what happens.

I used to blast Flyleaf ALL THE TIME... then, somehow, they just kind of found their way out of my rotation (not sure why)... After writing that epilogue, though, and skimming through songs, that one popped up and I was like; "Oooooooooh. YEAH!!!"

Dance With You spoke to me in the context of our "post-HC" stuff, as well, but, even more, the images in that video kind of hit me as very Capasha-like and just.... *sigh*

Anyhoo... I may get a post going here, soon, if no one minds... had a couple of thoughts, last night, that chased me through sleep and now I've got that writer's itch.

Good morning, dear ladies!

... I couldn't stop reading once I started. It was that good!

Anyhoo... on the music side of things... A couple of songs came to mind as I was writing up that "epilogue" scene. They may not apply directly to that moment, really, but I can see both having some bearing on Ch'dau and Ara in the aftermath... and, oddly enough, both are by one of my all time favorite groups.

First off, there's "The River." 

Next; "Dance With You."

Both kind of put me in mind of dealing with grief, loss, and maybe loneliness but finding comfort from any of it with another, I guess.

Dance With You kind of strikes me as the more "immediate" tune to be played at this particualr point in our unofficial soundtrack... it's slower/moodier but I can definitely see the lyrics applying to Ch'dau and Ara following their arrival in Meadowbrook.

The River is a little more "upbeat" as far as tempo and whatnot and, opposite of Dance With You, I think this one would be more of an "Ara to Ch'dau" thing, in certain circumstances... His own rage gets the better of him at some point and Ara turns the proverbial tables, soothing him in that moment... reciprocating his nursing her back to stability, so to speak.

*shrugs* I dunno... give a listen if you like and let me know what you think.

Edit: Ever have one of those moments where you just happen to stumble upon song after song that seems to fit? Yeah, me too... In fact, going along with the theme above but with a bit more of "Ch'dau's harder edges" I found this one... Kind of hits all the marks following HC...

EDIT Jr: These lyrics, though... *sigh*

Holy... I mean... Just...

That was horribly, hauntingly agonizing and amazing, Bree! 

What? These? No these aren't tears... I sneezed... Yeah... Like a bunch of times and... And... Allergies, you know?

I'd read it!

...me either.

Got some running around of my own to do and kraken and heavy machinery are not a good mix... especially from a legal I want to keep my liscence intact standpoint.

I was in that same place!!! Of course, now I'm cuddling my lovely Sylvari wife and trying to make her see that all is not lost and.... oh wait... that doesn't happen until later.

*hard kraken reboot*

...where Eol adds extra letters to words and sometimes forgets to space.

Make it so!

I'm down for that!

Sweet! that give ch'dau plenty of time to train and specialize with a battleaxe!

U da MAN, Olan!

And, to quote the man, himself; "I wonder if these characters know just how real they are?"

As much as I'd like to eat that slitch, myself, you're probably right... If there's a way to "fix" Kith, who's to say that Bae-vena can't be helped, as well. I mean, she's been in the game for quite a bit longer, so take what it might take to fix Kith and multiply that by the nth degree... Who knows?

Also, what are the hypothetical ramifications of Kithy's "murder baby" being born but killed afterward, I wonder? Been having some back and forth with Bree and Rer regarding the aftermath - what happens with Ara, etc - and one possibility take Ch'dau and Aranwen out of the picture for a month or three, most likely. I mean, supposing that Ch'dau takes Ara away, the two settle down in some remote village, mourning the loss of their daughter and then, some time later, Gib and/or Cedric show up saying; "Hey! We've got an idea of where Kithran is. We can still stop this!"

P.S. I'd be Aranwen's pet cat ANY DAY!!!  

Yeah... things...

Re: Coathanger - daaaaaaaaayyuuuuummm!!!

Re: Bree's new character - now I'm curious!

Re: Ara - Ch'dau wouldn't want to leave her, of course, but he couldn't simply retire to the life of rural village smith knowing Kith was still out there, somewhere... and Ara probably wouldn't let him, tbh.

Re: Brainwashing - I haven't washed mine in forever! It's starting to get a bit of a funk on it.

Re: Magic healing - Kind of agree with Bree on this one. If HC2 wasn't a possibility, a good part of the first bit of our "proposed follow up" was likely going to deal with Kith trying to kill "Samuel" and "Sara" for having the audicty to "rescue" her, etc... It wasn't going to be a magical "flip the switch" thing by any means.

Aaaaaanyhooo... I won't be forgetting this game for a looooooooong time (read: EVER). Not only was the tale itself a blast but I had sooooo much fun bringing a Kazari to life. I'm kind of addicted, now.

...but I, for one, wouldn't hate to read it.

As I said, with an "epilogue" scene for Ch'dau, in mind, it may even prove useful for that, soooooo....

Hell! You just know that Ch'dau's not liable to rest until he finds Kithran and pulls his "clan" back together!

Kind of where those of us in KCandK were thinking of going, anyway... Of course, we'd have taken it down a more 'freeform' kind of road but still. If the boogaloo goes down, I'm jumping in it with both fuzzy feet!!!

EDIT: Aaaaaand now I've got an epliogue scene in mind... This adventure, man! It's sticks to one's brain ribs!!! Mayhap I'll write it up and throw it into "Personal Creations" or some such... *shrug* ... hate to step on thet big, red THE END, you know?

Ooooooh, my friend, it's only just beginning!

P.S. Post it anyway, Rer! Don't deprive us!!!

*Whistles, cheers, laughs, and cries*

Bravo, Olan... and all the rest of you, too!

That was fantastic!!! And a damn near perfect set up for what Bree, Rer, and I have been entertaining as a "follow up."

Thank you, O' Suddendeath the Mighty, for such an epic adventure!

Everything 'original' borrows from something else, somewhere, right?

Well that's all kinds of coincidental, convenient, and cute, isn't it?

We  you, too, Little Sylzari!

I'm pretty sure that neither Bree or myself have EVER thought, "No, Rer! Don't write! We'd rather just look at you and eat cheeze its!"

Can't wait to see what you put together, Butterfly.