Marienen, once of the house Q'Xorlarrin, a name she still carried, stood at the edge of the lake, peering down into waters, her soft, amber-colored eyes taking in the reflected view of the dark thunderclouds that roiled overhead, hiding away the sun. She looked up for a moment, frowning, and shook her head. "Phor tresk'ri vee'ther zhah ji b'vecko," she said softly, her voice a low rumble. "Xal uss tangi Usstan orn kampi'un ol." She pulled her rivvil piwafwi around her, shuddering slightly at the droplets of rain that plinked softly onto her exposed skin. She'd gone swimming in the Underdark before, its water-filled caverns dark and cold and, at the time, comforting.

Now, though, after feeling the warmth of the upper world, and the comforts of her outcast sisters, the other champions of Eilistraee, Marienen didn't think she could ever return to that dark place. Despite not having any food or warmth to share, as her sisters had when she'd first stumbled across them one dark, moonless night, the drow outcast still had hospitality, should anyone chance upon her. It was part of what she did as a champion.

Lightning flashed overhead, momentarily blinding Marienen, her eyes still not quite adjusted to the bright lights of the upper world. A deep thunderclap caused the air around her to vibrate and press down on her, and for a moment, it was like being in the Underdark again. She could picture the clock tower of Narbondel, the heat inside slowly fading away with the lowering of the upper world sun. As the sky grew darker, her eyes slowly adjusted. She used her inherent faerie fire, limning her body with a soft bluish-purple glow, and settled down at the edge of the water, pretending, for a while, that she was the water, flowing down from the sky, down her body, and into the lake, eagerly awaiting this fresh rain. "Nindol zhah gre'as'anto," she said, and closed her eyes, resting as the storm raged above and around her.

Shain walked through the rain, cowl of his cloak up, eys downcast. His umbra, whyverin, stakled along beside him, twitching her ears irratably. She despised all forms of water unless it was to be consumed. Shain once loved the rain, but all his loves has disapeared around a month ago. Now, his mind, when it wasn't in the wonderful realm of liquour, was on the constant thought. Most of it was about Shorin. He wracked what memories he still contained to attempt tracking his drow half from sun up till sun down, but never succeeded in finding his other. Curses spewed forth often enough, and if he was not looked down upon for his newly aquired drinking habit, he was frowned upon for his language.

Whyverin growled next to him, and Shain looked up, drawn out of his thoughts. A scowl mared his vissape, cold, silvery eyes pearing out into the downpour. Whyverin growling was never somethign to be taken lightly, and since she was the last companion he had left that he could trust, he followed her lead as often as she followed his. This time, she was appearently inidicating company. Shain squinted through the rain, but his eyes no longer functyioned as well as they had in the darkness of the storm. It was not a darkness of night, but the heavy clouds blocked a great deal of the sun's light.

What Shain could make out indicated that there was indeed someone else here. They stood by the nearby lake. Shain did not know its name, since there were many such lakes throughout the land. He could not tell the persons gender or race, though he thought he could see the tapered ears of an elf. Shain narrowed his eyes further. Whoever they were, they were short. Dark sister. Shain looked at Whyv for a second in question. Dark sister? what was that supposed to mean. he had no relatives, or at least none on the surface that were dark. The drow house his mother had once belonged to sent out scouts to find him now and again, but they had stopped when the split had occured. Now house Shlaylornd had a legitamate child, though Shain was not sure whether they would sacrifice him or not. He was still the result of a forbiden union.

Shain pondered this while he continued to approach the now sittign figure. When he was within speaking range, he inhaled and shouted above the storm. "Hello there!"

Marienen heard the sounds of movement before she heard the voice. Without turning, or even opening her eyes, she raised a hand in greeting. "Vendui, dalninuk. I am surprised there is another out in this weather." Now she turned, giving the newcomer and his companion a slight bow. "I would offer you shelter, but I have none. The same with food. Water, however, I have plenty of." She gave a small smile, her teeth glinting white in the dark, a stark contrast to her dark skin.

The drow female advanced slowly, cautiously, not wanting to startle the newcomers. "I am called Marienen, once of house Q'Xorlarrin. And you are?" she asked quietly, probing gently. The faerie fire she was born with faded from her body slowly, it's bluish-purple light dimming and dimming before it finally winked out. "What a charming companion you have there," she said dryly, well aware that the creature was wary of her. And as well it should be. It seemed familiar, somehow, as if she'd seen it before, but the memory escaped her.

"Vel'drav Llolth ssinssrickla, l' phor tresk'ri niye," she spat as another spark of lightning sizzled across the sky. "Terrible day, isn't it?" she continued in Common, not really realizing that she'd spoken in the drow tongue. "You are not a rivvil, are you?" she continued as she stopped a few feet away from the male, her amber eyes narrowing slightly as she tried to take in his appearance, made more difficult by the weather. She knew she wasn't letting him answer, but it had been a while since she'd spoken with another, and she was anxious for the interaction.

Shain was shocked when he heard the first two words that issued from the woman's mouth. Of all the tongues he had expected, drow had not even made the list. He froze a couple of paces away from her, his eyes now staring openly as she turned to face him. Not only did she speak drow, she was of the race as well. So that is what you ment by dark sister, he thought, thinking back to what Whyv had told him. A drow woman, and upon the surface. What were the odds that Shain would happen to run across one. He was so cuaght up in these thoughts that he nearly missed what she said.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, he listened closely to the words that came from the drow. He had lost his fluencey when he was separtated from Shorin, but he still speak it chopily. He understood that she called him brother, qand something about Lolth luaghing. Other than that, she only asked him if he was human. The rest was in common thankfully. His slivery eyes locked onto her amber ones, and he frowned for a moment. Drow eyes were normaly red in infrared, or blue in normal light. Not amber.

"Nau..Usstan..." Shain stumbled as he tried to respond in drow. he failed and revereted to common with a growl. "No, I am not human. I am moon elf." His eyes narrowed. Beneath his cloak, his hands wandered to his two fighting knives. He had always had a natural distrust for his dark brethrean, but now even more so. "What would bring one of Lolth's children to the surface, might I ask?" he said rather bluntly. His eyes narrowed as he kept contact with the drow's eyes.

Marienen smiled dryly, noting his problem with her native tongue. She figured he may have had problems understanding what she'd said, since he'd reverted to Common so soon, so she repeated in the same language: "When Llolth giggles, the upper world weeps." That he'd called her a child of Llolth did not escape her. "I am not her daughter. Not anymore," she said softly, frowning. "I am a daughter and champion of Eilistraee, sworn enemy of Llolth, and for that, I am hunted by my mother and true-sisters."

She bowed her head slightly, hiding the anger that flashed across her face. She missed only two of her family - her youngest sister, who was just now of age to become a cleric of Llolth, although she was secretly in agreement with Marienen; and her only brother, the male who had taught her what sorcery she knew. She would never see them again, she knew, not unless they were in the hunting party that caught up with her, if they ever did. "That is why I am in the upper world," she continued, having gathered back her confidence.

"My heart-sisters are champions of Eilistraee, and we travel the upper world, meeting with rivven, duergan, lu' darthien. If I had food to offer, I would; if I had a fire or shelter, I would offer to share. Were the moon out, I would ask if you would like to join our dance, a celebration of our goddess, the mother of song and sword. I have no other purpose. My only desire is to stay alive and away from the house Q'Xorlarrin. Usstan belbau dos ussta bel'la 'zil natha rumunasin, naut 'zil natha ilythiiri, nindol zhah l' aster," she finished in Drow, bowing low, exposing her neck and back, a sign of trust, proof that she was willing to die should she be lying.

Shain's eyes did not loose their chill as the drow explained herself. Thanks to Shorin, an unfounded suspiscioun od drow had been born, even though a voice in the back of his head was scolding him for doing such a thing. He did, however, loosen his grip on his blades, but only so much. This Eilistraee was something he had never heard of. Of course, any teachings of the drow had come from his now sacrificed mother, who had once been a cleric to Lolth. However, he did not detect the lies of a drow in hiding, waiting for the kill. A drow would not lightly blaspheme Lolth for their own ends if they truly followed her ways. Shain decided that she was trust worthery. Espescially since Whyverin was not leaping for her throat.

In response to her bowing her kneck, he crossed his arms across his chest, palms flat to show that he was unarmed, in the typical drow greeting. He couldn't remeber the motion exactly, but he hoped the curtousy would get across. Shorin had stolen much of his knowledge of his race. "My appologies. I have had many unpleasent encounters with the drow, the most recent setting me on edge to all of the dark brothers. House Q'Xorlarrin shall here nothing from me, as I hope House Shlaylornd hears naught from you."

Marienen smiled slightly and straightened up, taking his greeting in stride. "My brothers and sisters tend not to be the most pleasant of companions, I'm afraid," she said, half-jokingly. "Your house will not learn of you, I can promise you that." She shrugged one shoulder and turned back to the water, her warm amber-colored eyes peering into them, watching the water roil with the storm overhead. Suddenly, she turned, a smile once more on her face.

"There is a tree nearby, with a rather spacious den carved into it. I've been in it before, and it's quite comfortable. I cannot promise you will be warm inside, but at least you could be dry?" she offered, gesturing toward the area in question.

The forest she was pointing toward was very old - even Marienen could feel that. Lightning streaked across the sky once more, illuminating the horizon. The trees looked as if they were close, but from experience, she knew they weren't. She began to head in that direction, whether he was going to come or not, when she stopped.

"You never did give me your name," she said, suddenly wary. "Only that of your family." Her drow senses kicked in, and she began to back away slowly, that wariness that he had been sent by Q'Xorlarrin to hunt her taking control, even though deep down she knew he couldn't be.... Q'Xorlarrins did not stoop to speaking with upper-worlders, not even their own slaves. Part of the reason Mari had been punished frequently by her mother.

((Apologies to you for my taking so long. Been very busy lately))

Shain smiled in a grim, but not unfriendly, way as he responded. "No, drow siblings are never all that hopsitable to those marked for sacrifice upon their alters. One gets used to it after they realize that being hunted is something they cannot avoid." He puased fro a moment, thinking back to his earlier thoughts. Was he still hunted. After all, Shorin was free now, but he was still technically the Abomination.

Shrugging to himself, he returned his thoughts to the present, and in good time to. He almost missed what Marienen said. "I don't mind being wet, but if you are going ther, I'll follow. I'd rather be dry and in company right now than wet and alone." Whyverin growled at his side. Shain looked at her and said in only a half joking voice. "You don't carry on a very good conversation." He couldn't bring himself to kid anymore, his present mood still a little on the down side.

As he followed the Marienen, he let his thoguhts go a little. As always, they returned to his other self. Nothing elaborate, just generaly thinking about SHorin, and how to become whole again. Habitualy, he looked down at his hands and flexed the fingers. Since most of his fighting style had been drow, and since almost all drow parts of him had gone to Shorin, he had lost much of his skill with his blades. that woudl be a problem if he faced Shorin any time soon.

Marienen's voice broke his ponderings. Looking up, he turned his head towards her, only to see her edging away with slight distrust in her eyes. What had she asked? He thought for a moment. "Ah, my name. My name is officialy Shain Volgornd. However, recent changes in my overall self have reduced me to only Shain Volgaran." He paused for a moment, then continued. "It is a rather intracate explanation about that if you want to here it."