Ethstar let out a mutter as he spotted the forest, his face weakening in pure relief as the great trees were revealed before him. He had left the lake behind only about an hour ago, annd him and Amy had made a mad rush for the nearest forest. He remembered this place fairly well, for this was were he had met Silvan and the other elf... Eledin, that was his name. They had fought off bandits and dark elves alike, marking Ethstar's very first kills within this plane of humans. And Ethstar had also met that strange being, the one who had called himself Gregori. Wincing slightly, the Fallen Angel remembered the numbing grip of the man. Even with Ethstar's own impressive strength, his fingers had been left tingling by a mere handshake of the being. It had certianly led Ethstar to gain some respect for the creature, whatever he may have been. Smiling to himself, Ethstar noted that something good was finally happening. He wasn't recalling memories from the Celestial plane this time around, he was recalling memories from THIS plane of existance. Perhaps he was finally getting over his obsession, or homesickness, whatever you would want to call it.

Ethstar was uncloaked this time around though, his wings in full view of any passerby. For a brief second, the amusing thought that a bird may indeed find him quite strange passed through his mind. He had seen the interesting creatures in the first forest he had been in, the one he had come into after leaving the marsh he had been teleported to from the Celestial plane. He had stumbled onto a nest of the birds, and they had eyed him with a somewhat strange contempt. Black birds with long beaks, crows he believed. That is what the books in the library at Taras had told him, and he had no other source of information to go on.

Smiling somewhat brightly, he craned his head to the side while walking, setting eyes upon Amy. Dressed warmly in his cloak, she still looked as if she was catching cold. Perhaps it was going away, he wasn't sure. Examining her closely, it appeared as if her cheeks were flushed a bright red, but in the night shadows, he couldn't be too sure. Picking up his pace a little more, he noted that the sounds of thunder were coming closer. They were very close to the forest leaves now, if the rain could just hold off for a few more seconds... And at that thought, the heavens opened up and poured down their fury. Hidden rainclouds let loose sheets of cold, fat drops of rain, throughly drenching Ethstar and his wings the minute they hit his body. He growled out a curse, yelling two words to the night sky.

"BLAST you!"

Amy followed, walking behind him, trying to walk at the the same pace. As the clouds poured rain all over the forest, she heard him curse. She looked up and water dropped on her forehead, then slid down onto her eyebrows, then dripped onto her eye lashes, dropping on her eyes, making her vision blury. She closed her eyes, and brought her arm up to wipe her eyes, and then brought it up a bit more to her forehead to shield from that happening again.

Opening her eyes slowly, she looked at Ethstar. Noticing him all soaked up, she wished that something was there to cover him too, so she walked next to him and looked into his eyes. "You ok?" A weird question, she thought, of course he was, it was just rain after all.

Water ran down her soft cheeks while awaiting his reply.

He blinked at her, water sliding down the features of his face, pure drops of the sky's tears falling from wet strands of his hair. Once it was wet, it was obvious how long the dark hair really was. Long bangs went past his eyes, dipping down past his nose as well. For some reason, it didn't look all that girly, it just seemed to make him face even more mysterious then it had been before. The blue orbs stared at her, his long lashes protecting the eyes from any random drops of water. For a second, he simply watched her, studying her wet features. He seemed to be quite the one who studied people alot. Finally though, a smile crossed his features, little streams of water running down the full lips and down to his chin, to drop off into the wet grass below. "I will be fine. I have had worse then this." Actually, in truth, he hadn't. It didn't rain in the Celestial plane, and this was only his second experience of the natural downpour. But he had gotten used to it pretty quickly, after marvelling at it the first time. He had enjoyed it really, and this time, it was no different. The water made his clothes cling tightly to his body, making him slightly self-conscious of the body outlined underneath... but for some reason, he didn't mind it as much as simply taking off the shirt. It was slightly uncomfortable though, to have the black undershirt and long britches clinging to his body.

After answering her question, he glanced up at the sky, not breaking into a full run for fear of leaving her far behind. He wasn't sure how fast she could get, our even how fast the humans were. Although, even in his world, he had been pretty speedy. Sighing slightly, he didn't let his mind get any farther then that. Quietly staring at the sky, he noted the stars and moon were nowhere to be seen. Probably because the invisible rain clouds were blocking them from sight. It was almost sad really. The Celestial's had called the darkness weak, never being able to stand up to the light. Here, at the time of "day" known as night... the darkness had drowned out all existance of the light. It was indeed sad. Perhaps the fact that the darkness was weak had all been just another lie.

Breaking from his thoughts, he looked down to Amy, her wet face setting off a new wave of worries. She was one of the first friends he had made on this plane, so perhaps that was why he was so taken with her. Right now, even though the cloak provided some meager protection, she was getting quite wet. Speaking softly, just to be heard above the roar of the rain, he addressed her concerningly. "I am sorry I couldn't get you to an inn in time. We might have to spend the night in the forest... If I would have been thinking, we could have stayed at some of the caverns near the lake we met at..."

When nobody was talking, all that was heard was raindrops. She was deep into thought, trying to think of her past - it was bugging her. Why is it that she was the only person she really knew that didnt remember much about her past? Amy sighed, then heard Ethstar talking, and turned her attention to him, away from the rain drops.

"It is alright." Saying softly, then her eyes looked up, and she could see clouds, and the rain, which zoomed by her eyes. Looking back down, and off to the distance, she could see something on the grass, it was small, and looked like it was shaking. It looked like something alive and she wasnt sure what it was. It looked like an animal from where she stood. As she stared at it, it finally moved, and darted off into the trees, which made it dissapear from her site. She sighed, and then looked back at Ethstar.

Oh Well..

Ethstar gave a small nod, then blinked and started to drive against the rain, trying all that harder to make it to the leafy green forest that seemed to be getting farther away the faster he walked. The rain beat down on his body, smashing against his hands and neck with cold, icy fingers of wetness. He grimaced and tried to ignore it, knowing that there were more important things at hand. For a brief moment, his mind wandered yet again, this time to Kli. She probably would have thrown that cloak back in his face and growled out a curse at him. He knew she could handle herself, and he knew that was how she wanted to be treated... but he would have done it anyway, just because that in the end, his politeness would have gotten in the way. And anyway, he considered her a friend of his. Along with Amy, they were the only two friends he had in the world. For an instant, he would turn to Amy and flash her a smile that was just for her, then turn away. She might not even see it in the darkness, or against the downpour of rain... but he had done it, and it was something that he hadn't really been fond of doing in all of his years. Smiling. But he was getting better at it, that was for certain. He had somewhat of a reason to, just as long as he pushed the betrayals and lies to the back of his heart.

After a few more minutes of walking, they had finally reached the shelter. Giving a sigh of relief, Ethstar delved in between the tree trunks, and simply stood there for a moment, as if trying to calculate how wet he truly was. It was rather funny, actually. His clothes clung to him as if they had been glued on, while his hair was matted damply to his face, and water was seeming to drip from every position on his tall body. For the moment, thick leaves and wide branches were keeping the water from falling on his head. The forest was quite thick, trees pressed close together in tight embraces. Random streams of water were falling from different areas, and the area was pretty much pitch-black... but angelic eyes, and the fact that he was slowly getting used to the shadows helped him make out Amy's own form.

With a triumphant look upon his face, he plopped down on the ground, leaning his back against a tree. He was wishing he had a change of clothes. He was tempted to take off his shirt, bashfulness or not, and try to find a place to hang it so it would get dry. He was freezing, and the wet shirt was doing nothing to help the cold feeling go away. In a second he had made up his mind, and was peeling off his shirt. Growling yet another curse to hide his blushing cheeks, he started to grope around, trying to find a low-hanging branch. Under the shirt, he looked like any fit man. Defined muscles and the such, a slim body for the most part. He would turn around and let his wings expand out, letting little streams of water flow from the white feathers. Turning to the side, he finally found a nice branch that would be suitable. Quickly and efficiently spreading the shirt out and hanging it over the branch, he would focus his mind on the short project to try and keep his embarrassment at bay. He had nothing to be ashamed of.

One thing did stand out though, and if Amy could see clear enough, she would note several scars crossing his back, long gashes that seemed to have been made by a blade. They were in several locations, but mainly seemed to be grouped around the roots of his wings. Some were purple around the edges, as if they were but mere bruises, and some were just scarred-over skin. With a slight grunt, he jerked his shoulders back, causing the muscles in his neck and back to ripple, and the wings to fold once again. Perhaps they would be able to warm him. Turning to Amy, he tried to keep his voice normal as he spoke, hiding his embarrassment, or so he hoped. "Will this forest do for your night's rest? I can watch out for any dangers while you get some rest..."

Amy watched as he began to take his shirt off, and by what he said before back at the lake, she turned to give him privacy, as he did when she also asked. After he started talking, she turned back around, then looked at him. As she started to walk towards him, she answered his question.

"This will be fine. I can deal with it, besides, I really cant ask for anymore, you have been kind to me this whole journey." Seating herself next to him, she leaned her head backwards against the tree, and stared at the darkly shaded leaves, and saw hints of the few stars that were in the sky.

"And please, I dont think it is right for me to get rest, and for you not to." As the night went on, and it became colder, the raindrops were the only voice. Her eyes would begin to fall, but she would regain control and try to stay awake every minute.

Sighing slightly, he let his head fall back agaisnt the bark of the tree, his black hair providing something of a cushion for his skull. Like he had done at the lake, he slowly started to hum to himself, letting the soft sound rise above the continuing drone of the rain. Soft and sweet, it was soothing to the ear, but like before it had no rising or falling tune. Blinking, he stared up at the leafy green ceiling, squinting his eyes to make it out through the layers of night. He could see the stars, a bright one flickering more then the rest. He smiled up at it, letting his eyes focus on the brillant piece of light that had managed to survive agaisnt the darkness. Faintly, he could hear random drips of water falling between the leafs to hit the forest floor. In a somewhat impatient gesture, he reached over and brushed his hanging shirt with a gentle stroke. He didn't really expect it to be any drier then it had a few moments before, but his patience wasn't very commendable. With a soft sigh to himself, he let his fingers drop to the ground, resting against the dirt and grass. Lightly, he stretched out his legs so they were fully laid out, stretching himself in a effort to make the sit a little more comfortable. Still staring at the star, he recalled something from his magical studies. Some forms of magic that humans used depended on "constellations", which had been several different groups of stars. If he remembered correctly, all of these constallations each had a specific star, which was named by the humans.

Groping around, his right hand found Amy's, soft brushing it for a second to warn her of his idea. Then, in a few more moments, strong fingers wrapped around hers in a gentle grasp. He was guessing she wouldn't be able to see if he pointed, so he would have to guide her. He hoped she knew what he meant when he asked his question, and that the books he had studied weren't outdated. Guiding her hand gently, ready to let go if she struggled, he lifted it and aimed both their hands at the brightest star. "See that?" He spoke loud enough to be heard over the roar of the rain, his humming having stopped earlier. He blinked, suddenly remembering his skin was soaking. "Oh, I am sorry. I didn't mean to get you wetter..."

After this somewhat silly apoligy, he continued speaking, hoping he didn't come off to her as rude. "That star?" He kept his arm steady, straightening his arm agaisnt hers to provide some support. "Do you know the name of that, or if it is in a constelation?" He was quite interested in this information, and was hoping she would know what he was talking about. Magic and the study of it had always interested him, and he was wanting to learn all he could about it. Lucky for him, the obstrusive stormclouds weren't' in the way of ALL the stars.

As he reached for her hand, and felt his wet touch, she looked at him, then to their arms, she saw where he was pointing, and she could see the bright star. "Yes." She answered softly, and then he had apoligized for a silly thing. She smirked at this. Still looking at the dark night sky, her eyes focused on the star, yet her mind focused on him.

Studying the star, she was wondering if it was indeed a constellation. "I cant make it out." She looked back at Ethstar, "Im sorry." She looked back at the sky, her hand still in his, and could still feel his soft touch, and his warm arm against her arm. Her eyes turned a bright pink when she glanced at it, making her head turn the other way.

Sighing, her lips slightly parted from each other. Turning her head back to him, she smiled, then looked back up. "But they are indeed beautiful." Shining in the darkness, the only portal to your destiny. Her eyes travled back to him once again, and asked a question, "Ethstar, do you believe in destiny?"

Staring up at the sky with a somewhat listless look in his eyes, he kept silent for a few more moments. Little drops of water ran down his forehead and over his eyelashes, falling down from the edges of the long lashes to narrowly miss his eyes. He seemed completely focused on the star, keeping both of their hands pointing at the object while lying deep within thought. “Destiny…” He blinked, a few little drops of water flying from his lashes to land somewhere on the ground below. Suddenly, he seemed to realize he still had both of their hands in the air. Blushing lightly, and this time because of his shirtless self, he let their arms drop down to the ground, removing his fingers from around hers. “Excuse me, I didn’t mean to keep them in the air that long.” He didn’t want to appear rude by holding onto her, when she probably did not like the intrusion. Pulling his hand away, his palm brushed her hand before settling on the ground beside of it. A few particles of dirt stuck to his palm, managing to get them mixed in with the water. He was going to be quite dirty by the end of this night, since his whole body was soaked, and his whole body was now on top of dirt. Smiling slightly to himself, he pondered this new revelation. Not that it really mattered. He was already soaked, and stripped of his dignity. A little dirt wouldn’t hurt. Throwing a glance toward Amy, he tried to make out her features in the dark. She was quite put-together. She had reacted well to his Angelic wings, and was putting up with him and his endless apologies and questions.

“Destiny. Yes, I do believe in it. Why do you ask…?” He kept his eyes on her face, now that he had focused on the spot for a little bit, his eyes had adjusted to make out the general outline of her features. He thought about the question a little more, wondering the reason behind it. He could get much deeper into an explanation if she wanted, but he would only start if she asked. He didn’t want to overwhelm her anymore then he might have already done. Softly, he started to hum a tune again, the same tune that he had sang to at the lake. It was really the only song he knew, a lullaby that had been made up. He wasn’t sure where he had learned it from, for he couldn’t remember that far back. Oh well… the tune was stuck in his head, and he enjoyed humming it. Amy didn’t seem to mind either.

He did faintly remember that when he had heard it first, the person who had sung it had been a man… with a talented voice. He had been able to change his pitch and tone, which Ethstar was not able to do. Perhaps he had sung in one of the Celestial choirs. Although, those positions were usually occupied by women. Continuing to hum, he watched her lips, studying her face intently. He had done it several times before, and now he was starting to do it again. She was one of the first friends he had made, the second as a matter of fact. He was trying to commit her to memory, to make her something he wouldn’t forget. Friendship was important to him. More then most knew. Especially any friends that he could make that made him forget of everything that had happened in his past, all of the bad memories he could recall from the pits of his mind. Blinking rapidly, he tried to regain focus on her face, inserting her into his mind to crowd out the memories. All of the memories, all of the pain…

Amy let her hand drop softly onto the ground, making her hand a little dirty too. She had heard his reply, and then answered, "Its just something... I was wondering." Looking forward at the trees, water dripped down on one of the the leaves, what seemed like every second, onto her cheeks. Exhausted, tired, her lips parted once again and her eyes drooped down. And further on.

Amy fell asleep, her eyes closed, and her mouth did too. She breathed deeply, not loud, but deeply. Slowly, her head slipped on the rough tree, towards him. Her soft cheeks landed on his shoulders, as she rested peacefully. She truly didnt mean to fall asleep, she didnt want him to stay awake and not get any rest at all. That wasnt fair.

For only a second, she came back into reality, and shivered. Then, she began to dream.

[Dream]
It was black. Outlines of bodys filled her mind, and a moving picture started."She's gorgeous!" A women was laying on a bed, holding a baby, and a man was next to the bed, looking at the baby. "Yes indeed."

Ethstar still kept his eyes on the star, and turned to ask Amy another question about the object of light. Blinking, he watched as her head dropped down to land softly on his shoulder. "Amy?" He eyed her with a concerned look on his face, not yet completely grasping the situation at hand. He quietened for a minute and listened to her breathing, checking to see if she had fell asleep. Almost chuckling, he realized she had indeed. Grinning to himself, he adjusted his sitting position just slightly, trying to make her a little more comfortable. He didn't move too much for fear that she would topple off of his shoulder and wake up. He watched her for a few more seconds, then began to pull his gaze back up to the sky. Then he felt the shivers coming from her, and his eyes snapped back down to regard her once more. He didn't speak this time, just simply watched, and waited for any other shivers that may come. At the moment, it just seemed as if she had let loose the one. Unblinking, he continued to watch her, not moving the least bit. Quietly, he began to hum again as she seemed to still, shifting his eyes back up to the sky to watch the one star that intrigued him so much. All around him, he could hear the beat of the rain, yet no drops touched his body. He could hear the steady dripping coming from where Amy sat, but it didn't seem to bothering her. If it did, he could move her from it without waking her, or so he hoped. The humming grew a little louder, but still seemed to remain quite soft and lovely in nature. Ethstar didn't really seem to think so though, he nearly grimaced at it. How did they change notes? He could only pull off this one blasted tune... Nearly growling, he turned the hum into a song, his voice meant to soothe his own nerves.

I hold my fingers out to the endless flow,
the cold tears of the heavens dropping down...

the droplets of water touch my skin,
and the ice of the sky flows through my veins...

I lift my face to the falling water,
unblinking against the rains of nature...

Small streams of water flow down my face,
marking their own trails upon the land...

I smile in delight as the water hails down,
getting myself caught in the spell of the rain.

That song was improvised, and incredible rough. No rhyme whatsoever, like the other tunes he had heard. Sighing and reducing the singing back to the toned hum, he reached over across Amy's head and shoulders, and grabbed the cloak. Peeling the wet material off of her body, he reached back around and hung it over his own shirt. Hopefully it would dry as well, and she could use it again in the morning. Calmly he sat there after that, like a steady pillow for the girl. He simply focused on her and keeping her comfortable, still blocking out all too many memories.

The night had gone by, and the stars dissapeared.Now the sky was an orange and purple - actaully it was filled with different colors, bright ones. The sun began to shine, coming up from the distance, and Amy awoke. Her eyes blinked a few times, and the sun was shining on her face. She moved her head and streched her arms up in the sky, and yawned. It had stopped raining. "Im sorry. You can still get some rest. We shouldnt leave this early, their might be bandits out still...but even though... when arent they out? Its up to you. Though, you might only have about an hour of sleep, its better than nothing."

She hadnt looked at him yet, even though she spoke to him. She wasnt sure if he was asleep or awake still, but she assumed he was still awake. She looked down on the grass, and they sparkled from last nights rain. Thinking of the dream she had, she was confused. Was that her? The baby..? Haunted by this dream, she sighed. Her dreams were nightmares. She hadnt gotten any happy ones, all sad.

She shook her head and readjusted herself sitting down, placing her hands on the ground, the dirt was still wet, and her hands got dirty. She looked at her hands, "Dirty." She just said it aloud, when she meant to just keep it in her mind. "Woops"

His head was simply laid back agaisnt the bark of the tree, eyes closed and breathing coming slow and steady. The night before, he could hardly see with his eyes open, so he had simply decided to close them. Somehow, he had managed to remain awake all night, his sole intention being that to keep Amy safe and let her get all the rest she needed, and deserved. His eyelids snapped open, and his blue eyes slid over to his side to regard Amy quietly. After a moment of watching her, and listening to her comment on her hands, he spoke. "I am fine. Wet, but fine. You have nothing to be sorry about." He gave her a short smile, then something clicked within his mind. The rain had stopped, thank the God's, but there was something else... the sun was shining through the tree leaves, and everything was easily seeable. With a blink of surprise, he realized that he had never gotten on his shirt. In an amusing type of way, his head snapped down to regard his bare chest, as if checking to see if the shirt had managed to get on him itself. A few silent moments were the only thing that followed, then a bright red color rose to his cheeks again, the earlier bashfulness coming into full view. "I..." Another blink, and he hopped up, grabbing his shirt and cloak from the low hanging branch that he had left them on last night.

He turned to her, fully standing at his six-foot height, and bent over a little, dropping the dry cloak into her lap. "Here, it dried overnight. I found a dry spot to hang it." He gave her another smile and then lifted his arms up, and stood straight. In quick, rapid motions, he had the shirt on and down his head in a matter of seconds. Still blushing, but trying his best to hide his embarassment, he made mental notes of what they should do next. She was right, it was strange that no bandits had come during the night. But maybe they stalked the day too. He certianly remembered the one who had tried to hack off his head the last time he had been into this forest. With a slightly sour look crossing his face, he studied her. "You are quite in shape, so I imagine we can make it to town by tonight. We won't even have to hurry, so it should be a enjoyable walk. We simply have to make it through this forest, and across some hills and plains, and we should be there." At least, he hoped this was right. If he remembered correctly, that was how he had gotten to the city before.

Reaching down, he bended over a little again and reached down with a hand, intending to help her up. Always the gentleman it seemed, perhaps a little too much sometimes. It could be rather amusing how polite and reserved he was. Women had certianly found it funny before. He remembered when he had ran into a young girl on the streets once, and she had started to giggle and blush, staring at him with adoring eyes the whole time. He had spoken an apoligy and called her milady, hoping to get out of the awkward situation fairly quickly. She had laughed outright at the title, and called him quite the flirt. He had blinked and hastly agreed with her, then quickly slid out of her way and made a speedy getaway. He didn't even know what a blasted flirt was. She could have insulted him for all he knew.

Suddenly, several whispers reached his ears, coming from someone unseen. The crack of a snapping twig echoed across the area, and Ethstar immediately went on alert. Someone was here. Keeping his hand out to her, his eyes turned urgent as he whispered a warning. "Someone is out there." Obviously the bandits were still out. How wonderful, now they were going to get attacked. Although, the slight glimmer of hope remained that it may be just an animal, or another traveller such as them.

Amy took his hand in hers, and stood up slowly, and quielty. Putting her free hand on the ground, she pushed herself up. Standing next to him, she moved her head towards him, and whispered.. "Where?" Letting go of him, she moved a little closer to, in case an attack would start.

Looking around, turning her head around the forest slowly, she heard something, like the same kind of sound that happened when she stepped on the pile of small dead tree branches back at the lake. It would have been louder if it was a person, but then again, it could have been a quite small person, pherhaps a dwarf or someting like that, or maybe even just an animal. She tensed up a bit, at the moment, she only had a dagger in her boots, so she bent down, still looking ahead of her, and reached for her feet. She slowly took the dagger out then came back up.

"In case." Whispering in his ears again, she didnt want him to think suspicious that she hadnt told him she had a weapong with her, but it was just for protection if needed.

Amy quietly waited.

Ethstar held his arm steady as she pulled herself up by it, then retreated his hand to the hilt of his longsword. Tightly wrapping his slender, strong fingers around the leather-wrapped hilt, he waited for anything to happen. His eyes darted down to regard the dagger Amy pulled, and a slight nod signalled his approval. He didn't mind the blade, he was impressed by it actually. Most of the women he had seen on this plane didn't fight at all it seemed, so it was nice to find one who did. It had been strange seeing women, and then realizing that they didn't fight. Back in the Celestial plane, he was almost positive most of the women fighters could beat him easily. They were a talented bunch, or at least that is what he had heard. If he remembered correctly, there had been a specific group of women fighters that were actually a league of sorts. Made to hunt out greater forms of evil, and kill them. With his luck, the Celestials probably considered HIM a "greater form of evil", and now he had a talented bunch of women warriors after his tail. Growling a low curse, he snapped out of his gripings about his circumstances and spun around. In one swift motion, he was turned opposite of Amy. With a slight motion of the hand, his wings simply melted back into his skin, vanishing from sight. A slight grunt of pain was issued, but then he bit his lower lip to stop anything else from coming out. In all honestly, every time he did that, he wanted to scream bloody murder.

He would back up a bit, pressing his muscular back agaisnt her own. Calmly, he would then slightly spread his feet apart, remaining in the back to back stance. A few whispered words would be meant for her ears, low enough so that her and only her would hear them. "I... will get strange. It happens sometimes. Just, don't..." He never finished the sentence, his words ending at that. He wasn't so sure what he was going to say anyway, but he figured it would be best to give her a warning of some sort. He always changed when he fought. Sometimes it scared people, sometimes it didn't. He didn't usually like to talk about it, but he figured that since she was a friend, she deserved to know of it. Even if he could quite put it into words. Sighing, he finally drew his blade, a long, metallic sound ringing out as he pulled the sword from the metal scabbard. When he fully had it out, a long laugh suddenly burst from the area in front of him, mocking both Ethstar and Amy at once.

"Hahahaha... Lovers? Friends? Perhaps enemies? Doesn't really matter, kittens. You will die either way. If we are merciful, we may keep the girl... for... more personal uses." Another laugh accompanied this, several other voices joining in with the annoying sound. Ethstar simply waited, waited for the idiots to reveal themselves. Humans were always prone to make the first move. He had noted that when he had met Kain.

And of course, he was right. Five bandits leapt from the brush, completely surrounding both Amy and Ethstar. Each had a short sword drew, ready to kill by the looks of it. One in front of Ethstar, two in front of Amy, and one to each side of the pair. They were completely average looking men, each one strangely resembling a mouse. Small and wiry, with 4 out of 5 having buck-teeth. Not that it was a bad feature by any chance, it looked attractive on some people. But not these men, not by a long shot. Ethstar's eyes suddenly changed, back to the way they had looked when Amy had first met him. Pupils dilated to pricks, and the color thinned to a small ring. Demonic, threatening eyes, aimed at the one bandit in front of Ethstar. Slow and deadly words leaked out, a smirk being issued at the man, who wasn't laughing anymore, and looking slightly uncomfortable underneath the intimidating gaze. "Come. I promise you death."

Amy looked at the corner of her eyes, when she felt the slight breeze from him moving away from her back. After he spoke, she smirked, then looked back at the two bandits in front of her. She knew she didnt have that much proper experience, so she could distract or anything else until he could get to them. "Afraid the kitten might hurt you??" She said this in almost an evil and seductive voice, and anyone could tell that it had changed. Laughing a little under her breath, she ran towards them.

But after a few steps, something small darted inbetween her and the two bandits. What the?? Putting her hand on the ground, she bent down to slow down. It was...A fox? She stared at it, as did the bandits. The small fox looked at the guys, then to her. And she could almost swear that it actually smiled at her. By the expression on her face, you could tell she was confused.

Leaping up, the fox bit one of the mans arm. Trying to get it off, he shook his arm yelling, "Hey! Get off you stupid animal!!" The other, trying to pull it away. Perfect. Smiling again, she ran towards them, even faster.

Like a bullet. She ran on the side of the bandit that was getting bitten. Blood poured down onto the grass. Dieing istantly, he fell down. She had cut his side when running. Stopping after a few more steps, she stood and her head tilted down, dagger dripping blood. Chuckling, she quickly turned her head. "Next in line?" Her eyes showed.... frustation. No, it almost seemed as if she enjoyed this. The other man looked at the two bandits that were near the standing point of Amy and Ethstar at the beggining. "Take her." He simply walked away, and the two bandits ran towards her, pulling out a dagger in each hand.

Amy didnt know if she was ready for this. Remembering the fox that helped her earlier, she looked down, and didnt see it. But in the corner of her eyes, she saw something small move, looking at that direction, she saw it behind a tree. Hope it didnt get hurt. Focusing her attention back to the bandits, they had reached her, and were only a few steps away. Reaching out, they grabbed her arms.

"No! Let go of me!" She struggled, moving her arms. One of the bandits took the dagger from her hand, then whispered in her ear. "This is gonna be fun." Disgusted by his comment, she spit in his face. The bandit slapped her, and was angry now. "Bad mistake girly."

((Woah. My longest post ever.. xD))

Ethstar blinked as the man in front of him stopped sneering and looked over toward Amy. Instantly, a smirk crossed the Fallen Angel's face as he noted the distraction. He had no clue that a fox was causing amazement within the ranks of the bandits, but he did have a clue on what to do next. Instantly, he took a broad leap forward, making not a sound as he hurtled toward the bandit. With a panicked yell, the distracted man realized that he was being attacked, his eyes shooting from the attacking little fox to the murderous looking man that was bearing down upon him with a longsword in hand. He didn't even have a chance. By the time the an realized what was happening, and managed to try and bring up his short sword... Ethstar's blade was dashing in, a left to right slash aimed at the man's neck. He nearly had it though. Ethstar's slash barely got over the blocking short sword, the bandit being only a second too late from bringing it up enough to catch the slash. The Angel's steel met flesh, and completely beheaded the man. The head of the human went flying up in the air, while the body fell down to the ground, completely lifeless. Ethstar let loose a ruthless smile, and went into a neat spin, following the momentum his vicious slice had given him. Turning completely around, he saw that Amy had neatly disposed of one of the bandits, and now only two were left. What had happened to the other? Perhaps he had just ran. Ethstar had been too focused on his prey to notice anything else that was going on around him. It seemed the remaining two bandits were basically the same.

With equally loud and annoying yells, the two men leapt forward to attack Amy. Ethstar let loose another smile, his personality completely different from before. Was this to happen every single time he fought? Dropping his longsword, and moving at a speed that transcended human means, he quickly was gaining on the two bandits, who by now had reached Amy. A look of fury seemed to take Ethstar's face as the bandits each grabbed Amy and held her tight, laughing all the while. Ethstar didn't hear the words traded between girl and man, but he saw the slap. And the look of fury seemed to increase all the more, his eyes shooting promises of slow death and torture. As he reached the bandits, he would go into a slide, his boots skidding apon the ground to stop him directly behind the bandits. With a single, furious word, he would cause them both to turn and look at him. "Hey."

Two heads would turn to regard him, and the one hand that each had on Amy would come up in a frantic punch. They were scared, and for reasons they could not explain. But in any case, they still had the nerves and the reflexes to attack with some kind of power. Each punch would be caught in one hand of Ethstar, his fingers wrapping around their fists and holding the thrown punch in place. Inhuman strength, and inhuman speed. They were starting to slowly realize that they had made a mistake. This girl and this man weren't normal. They were far from normal. With a growl, one of the bandits would act smartly, and try another attack. Their attentions completely pulled from Amy, the one on Ethstar's right would snap up a foot, intending to drive it up into Ethstar's gut. Too focused on his anger, and glaring at the men's faces, he didn't see the attack coming. The boot would drive into his abs, a clean hit. Doubling over as his breath was knocked from his body, he STILL wouldn't release the fists. Growling curses, each bandit would come down with their short swords, intending to bring them down on his head.

They never got that far. Without a sound, Ethstar put all of his strength into his next move, and twisted the fists he had a grip on. With a scream of pain, and a movement that seemed to be them trying to pull away, a loud snap would echo across the forest. He had snapped their wrists. Completely and utterly rendered those hands useless. With another scream of pain, each man dropped his sword and used that free hand to grab at Ethstar's wrists, abandoning common sense for complete panic, and a attempt to get his hands off.

Amy simply watched them fight, and when she heard the big snap, closed her eyes, and looked the other way. She started breathing faster, and had a hard time breathing. Stepping back, she hit back on a tree, and slid down. Breathing faster, and faster. She was starting to have a panic attack. Her legs bent, and knees aimed upward, she place her head on her knee, hand around her legs.

Slowly bringing her head back up, her breathing had gotten worse. Making a noise from her throat, she felt like she was getting strangled. Tears came down her eyes, becuase she was scared. She tried to call Ethstar over, but she could only hear quiet fragments of her sentance.
"H-He-lp-M-me" Nose moving, breathing hard, trying to breath, feeling straggled. They were in a huge mess, and she started to realize it. Looking over to the dead body she had killed earlier, she spotted the blood.

Turning her head quickly, she started to throw up. She wasnt a big fan of blood. Save me

Taking a big breath, he stood up from his bent-over position, the air finally starting to flow normally again within his lungs. The two bandits were now making random curses and yells, and had abandoned all forms of sanity. He still had a tight grip on the fists, and it was likely not doing wonders for the amount of pain the bandits were feeling. In a hopeless effort, each one was prying at the Angel's fingers with their good hands, trying to somehow get his grip off. Amy's sobs went heard, and he let loose another growl. His eyes ferociously darted between the two bandits, then gazed dead at Amy. With a snarl crossing his face, he twisted the fists sharply in the opposite direction as before. That was enough for the bandits, who each fainted from the extreme pain coursing through their arms. Each slumped down, and Ethstar finally let go of their hands, his breathing slightly labored, an after-effect from the vicious kick he had taken. For a moment, he simply stood there, staring at Amy with the deadly look still in his eyes. Then, somehow, he managed to snap back to normal. With a realization of what was happening, and as she started to throw up, his eyes changed back to their normal innocence. With a shout, he was down on his knees in front of her, looking extremely concerned. "Amy? Amy?!" He repeated her name twice, going into his own little panic. What was happening, and why was she acting like this? Blinking, he tried to calm himself, tried to clear his mind. Help her. Clear your mind, get rid of everything. Fighting off his worry and panic, he managed to fall into a sense of mind that would allow him to use his telepathy, for at least a bit. Concentrating, he barely managed to feel the fear emitting from her mind. That was really the only thought, that, and panic. She was panicking.

As she managed to hurl her supper onto the ground, he firmly reached over and put one hand on each cheek. Heedless of any stomach bile that may be thrown in his direction, he gently pulled her face over so she could look in his eyes. "Amy. Look at me. Snap out of it." Wide blue eyes pleaded for her to be okay, and his mind was once again filled with worries and panic. He wouldn't be able to use the telepathy again, at least, not in THIS state of mind. Holding her face firm, he stared dead at her, willing her to focus on his face. "Block it out. No fear. No panic. Think of me. Only me, there is NOTHING else, do you understand me? They are dead." He wasn't sure what she was panicking about, but this was the easiest way to cure it. He hoped. It might not work on her, he had only done it to angels. Actually, Angels had only done it to him. When he had commited his first kill. Perhaps that was it, perhaps this was her first kill. Or maybe she was scared of the bandits, who really knew? Her thoughts had been to rushed and jumbled for him to pick anything specific out of them.

Amys breathing slowed down a little, and when he started to speak, she started breathing slowly, and almost back to normal. Her cheeks were red, along with her nose. Nodding her head a little, she looked into his eyes, listening. Ethstar...only.. She swallowed hard, then closed her eyes, she had gained control again, but was still a little shook up. Trying to fight the other tears back, a small scream of sadness came out, and her arms swung, and wrapped around him. "I was scared."

The truth was that when it seemed like she was enjoying it, she was actually hating it. When there was a look of evil, she was scared. Not only that, but this was the first time she killed a man. Actually, anyone.

Crying lightly on his shoulder, she thought about what was happening, and now was getting complete control over reality, or at least it seemed like it. Thank you. She thanked Ethstar, because she was thanful again, for everything he had done. Everything Her crying had stopped, but there were still tears on her face.

As she threw her arms around him, he blinked, and she would feel all of the muscles in his body snapping tight at her touch. It was almost as if he was afraid, afraid that there was no such thing as a unharmful touch. As she simply sat there and held onto him though, his body slowly but steadily relaxed, the strange reflex fading away as his mind accepted she was doing nothing to harm him. Ackwardly, he put his arms around her, and patted her back slightly. For a moment, he simply sat there, letting her say what she needed and letting her calm down. Blinking rapidly, he tried to figure out what to do, and tried to figure out if he had already done the right thing. She seemed to be calming down, so he relaxed even more. With a great sigh of relief, his body sagged in her grasp. It would seem as if all his strength just sudden was gone, in a mere second. Nearly laughing at the irony of it all, he realized what was happening. He could deal with battle, but not with one of his friends acting like that, and in so muich trouble. Almost the exact opposite of Amy. Blinking rapidly again, he pulled back from her, just enough so he could look into her eyes again. "What happened?"

With a worried cry, he brought his hand up and started to wipe away the tears, obviously panicking again. With soft, yet hurried sweeps of his thumb, he pushed the little spots of water off of her cheeks. He wasn't sure how to act around women. He was naturally being extremely gentle, but that was really the only way he knew to act about situations like this. His eyelashes blinking rapidly still, they were almost close enough to brush her face. His breath was coming in hurried gasps. He couldn't get this sickening worry out of his mind, and he was trying his best to stop her from crying, to get her all better again. That was another part of his personality, the soft gentle side that came out to aid his friends. Friends had become even more precious, ever since he had lost them all and been betrayed. They were the only ones who hadn't persucuted him. Only his friends.

"Don't cry, con't cry..." He was making a fool of himself, he knew it. He was acting completely on his paniced emotions, acting completely on the rabid worry that had arisen once she had gotten in trouble, and started crying. He was almost regretting his Angelic gentleness, for it was making him look stupid. But for some reason, it didn't even matter anymore. He was beyond bashfulness at the moment.

Amy looked into his eyes as he spoke. Her cheeks were red, along with her nose. Nodding her head slightly she gave him a reasurring smile. "I...I panicked. Ill try not to do it again... to worry you." Looking over, she cleared her mind. After gaining complete control over her body, and reality, she looked back at Ethstar.

She placed both of her hands on his cheeks, and looked straight into his eyes. "Promise me... you will protect me..." Amy whispered this to him. And I shall do the same for you.

Letting go of his cheeks, her hands came down to her side, then out a small sigh, she closed her eyes, looking down. She was just taking a deep breath from the whole situation, and knew she would be fine afterwards.

After her demand, he simply knelt there quietly, his eyes searching her face. His first worry was that she would still be panicking, but after a bit, that worry started to clear up. She seemed to be getting ahold of herself, may it be by his own help or her own mind. He didn't really care either way, as long as she was going to be alright again. After that one major worry had been cleared from his mind, he let loose a deep breath and answered her. His voice came out steady and calm, his eyes shining with resolution. "I will protect you." He blinked, and when the eyelids came back up, his eyes were filled with the same danger that they had been when he fought. Pupils dilated, and the color now a mere ring. His voice came out, low and filled with confidence. "I promise." Then falling into silence, he let the aura of quietness surround them for a few moments. After his words had sunk in, his eyes would go back to normal, right after another blink. Steadily gazing at her, he remained kneeling right in front of her for a few more moments.

Finally, he would slowly stand up, slowly getting to his full height. Gracefully stretching his body, a few pops and cracks would echo out across the area, the muscles in his back obviously tight once again. Glancing over, he saw his discarded blade, and the black cloak. Making a note in his mind, he decided to get them right before they would leave. After he had managed to pull out the kinks in his limbs, he would reach out a hand to Amy's kneeling body, ready to help her get to her feet again. Black strands of hair would fall into his eyes, a few beads of sweat dripping off of the silky locks. The fight had obviously tired him a little, or perhaps it was the mental exhuastion of going from personality to personality in mere seconds.

Suddenly recalling something that had happened, he posed a question for the girl. "What was it that distracted the bandits? My opponent didn't even see me coming until it was too late, he was focused on something happening near you. What did you do?" Staring at her questioningly, his mind was racing back over the memories. He hadn't thought it strange at the time, for he had been too engrossed within the heat of battle. But now, after his mind was calm, he noted that it had indeed been strange behavior. What kind of idiot would take his attention off of an angry-looking man with a longsword? A stupid one. And Ethstar was fairly sure the bandits weren't THAT dumb.

Amy got up from the ground, and looked at him, he was way taller that her. "As crazy as this may sound.. a fox bit its arm. I guess it preoccupied it for a little bit..." She looked around, trying to see if it was still around, and out from behind a tree, it walked out, going towards them calmly. Pointing to it in its direction, she nodded. "There."

As it walked closer, and reached her feet, she bent down to pick it up, and was willing. Stroking its back while looking at him, she had her arms wrapped around it, bringing him up to her chest. "Its funny..how this little bugger can distract some bandits, they must have been real idiots."

Still stroking its back, she looked back at Ethstar. "I think i'll keep him, he helped me after all, seems friendly too. What do you think I should name him?" It was all peaceful for now, and she was glad everything was fine. Now, it was the rest of the journey to Taras. Smiling again, this was time, it was a real one - not a fake one...

Returning her smile, he let his eyes rest with hers for a moment. After silently gazing at her, he lifting his face to the beams of sun that were managing to peek their way through the clouds. Giving off a soft sigh as the beam of heat and light touched his damp skin, he simply bathed in the sunlight for a moment. A slight brushing of the wind toyed with his black bangs for a moment, picking them up and flinging them around. Like always though, the hair would slowly come to drift down, getting in front of his eyes once again. It was something that happened all the time. It didn't take away from his beauty, but it DID do a very good job on getting on his last nerve.

Blinking, he pulled his eyes from the sky, and eyed the little animal on her chest. "A... fox?" Blinking once again, he stared at it with curiosity and confusion crossing his face, replacing the earlier smile. He wasn't unhappy or anything, just curious. The only creature he had ever really met, and known, was a horse. They had horses on the Celestial plane, even if they were a little different from the ones on this Plane. After simply judging the little creature for a few more moments, he nodded. "Genesis?" Nearly breaking into another gentle smile, he knelt down a little bit so he would be at eye level with the creature. After watching it for a few minutes, his curiosity had faded somewhat, replaced by a sudden happiness. He felt like he belonged. Here with Amy, and with her new friend. He actually felt like he had a place on this world, a place where he didn't have to lie, or hide from anyone. Placing his hands on his knees, he stared dead into the eyes of the little creature, enchanted with it. "Maybe... Gwen? Is it a girl or a boy?" Finally grinning broadly, his face lit up as he watched the creature, finding the little animal quite cute. Perhaps not a manly thought, but who could really resist those eyes? "I don't know, I am not good at this. You should name him."

At those words, his laughter faded, and he was suddenly and simply the calm and serene Fallen as before. His spurts of joy and happiness were limited and spread out, yet Amy was getting to see them quite regularly. He seemed to be quite at ease with her, being able to speak his feelings, and ask her all sorts of questions without feeling embarrassed. Once again, the feeling of belonging crossed his mind, and another smile nearly broke out across his face. So much for calm and serene. Lifting his eyes to meet Amy's, the light blue orbs sparkled with something that she had never seen in Ethstar before. To the girl, it may seem like it added to his amazing beauty, or like it was taking away from the feature. It all really depended on the person who was looking into those eyes. For it was a glimmer of mischievousness, aimed directly at the young tiefling. "Actually, now that I think of it, I DO have a good name. Perhaps Killer? It handled those bandits quite well." A simple joke, but his attempt at one nonetheless. Quite interesting. His first real joke on this place. His first real joke in a while, actually.

Looking back at the fox, she smiled and stroked her back again. "Gwen is a cute name." After he mentioned 'Killer' she laughed at the joke. "Nahh.." Looking back at him, she let go of Gwen as she jumped out of her lands, landing softly on the lush, green grass. Hmm.. It walked back, to her leg and sat down next to her. "Maybe it doesnt want to be held right now.." Looking in the direction she believed was the town, she gave another reasurring smile.

"So, Ethstar, shall we?"

[[Sorry, Im extremely busy now. Can we hold off the rp we were planning on in Taras? Thank lots. <3]]