Blissful Indifference

[Igraine]

Aeri smiled, excitement lighting her face, as she looked at Cambria with renewed eyes.

"That was amazing! I am completely thrilled to see something like that." When he was done she walked around him, asking him before touching him at all, coming to stand in front of him once again.

'Is it not Astral? Sometimes one can draw upon Air to lift a veil between worlds and step between them." Aerillia motioned to the Inn behind them and stepped just inside the doorway. "Come on, lets get inside where we can talk about it more. I've only known one person to be capable of using air in such a way and I'm not even sure he's still alive. It is an amazing talent that transcends the normal mage talents. I dare say it transcends mine as well, I was never able to learn from the man I told you about before I was taken by Pirates."

Aerillia smiled and opened the door to the Inn and motioned inside as she stepped over the threshold. The Innkeeper waved at her and she waved back. The smell of fish stew was appetizing and so Aeri called for two bowls and two mugs of watered wine to fight off the chill that was quickly descending on the shores of Xexoria. Even if Cambria didn't eat, Aeri was confident he would come inside the Inn and stay the night. He looked too interested in what she had to tell him.

[Sage]

Cambria's thoughts were bittersweet. Though he was happy to be given praise for someone who was not simply doing so to keep his leash tight, the fact that his talent was so alien to her made it less likely she would be able to put a label on his...species. The word rang in his ears as he thought about it, Cambria was a creature, perhaps a monster. The phrase 'less than human' continued to linger on his tongue as he spoke.

" I've met beings capable of traveling through almost every plane I have ever heard of, and have had them search for me as I phase. To my knowledge, I am not going elsewhere, I simply become immaterial with no way to explain the mechanics of it. It feels like it is tied to my elemental abilities, and yet I have no way of knowing what other magic feels like, as I'm incapable of trying them. "

The youth's green eyes scanned the room as he entered, noting entrances and exits, as well as taking quick mental notes on the individuals in the room. His senses were enticed by the various scents, sights, and sounds of the local food...foreign to his palate. Regrettably, he had dislodged what coin he carried in the desert sands, and so he tried to seem disinterested as he stared at the plates before their respective patrons.

" I'm not hungry. "

[Igraine]

"Nonsense. Eat up. I know you're probably starving after being out in the desert." Aeri nibbled lightly at a hunk of fish on her spoon and kept her eyes on Cambria. She was disconcerting, exotic even to this island of quickly shrinking desert sands. She gestured at Cambria with her spoon before putting it down and resting her chin on interlaced fingers as she surveyed him.

"I wonder why that Unseelie creature was talking to you and not tearing you to bits. You must have intrigued her. I can't say that intriguing her is exactly a good thing, but therein may lie your answer." Aerillia took up her spoon again and ate a little more stew before pushing the bowl aside to gesture on the table. She took bits of bread and made a sort of analogy of the human and fae realms.

"Think of the world as not one place, but many planes pushed together. Some are locked tight, but others have gaps in their fences that have been knocked out over the centuries. No one has really fixed these holes, and some have been made wider. What is the one element that pervades all? Some would say water, but Hell is not a place water lasts long." Aerillia made a gesture with one hand as she explained these things she had learned from years of training. "Oh sure, water is a universal conduit between worlds, however it can only really be used to scry. Some places, where water doesn't exist, there is no way to get back -- and you really want to get back from a place like Hell. Air, though, air is everywhere. Not everyone can utilize air as a conduit though. Even certain air elementals like myself have difficulty slipping between worlds like you showed me."

Aeri smiled and gestured with her spoon to the bread on the table.

"However, it would seem like your inability to find yourself lies in one of the two realms known as the Seelie and Unseelie. Think faeries and elves and all of the fairy tales that are spoken in the native tongue of your homeland. Not knowing your parents makes it even more probable that you might reside with the Unseelie part of the veil. The Unseelie will steal human children and replace them with children of their own. I don't know why they do this, presumably to snare humans or some strange custom. I don't know, I just know they still do it. The Unseelie are considered the darker half of the Fae whole. The Seelie are the lighter half. Though, if you ask me, they can both slide back and forth on the scale of good and evil. One can turn the other and back again. It's quite strange."

Aeri picked up her spoon and nibbled on a piece of bread as she took another bite of her stew. It all seemed natural to her, though it might shock the hell out of Cambria.

[Sage]

Cambria slumped into the chair opposite Aeri and tore a piece of bread, dipping it into the local concoction, savoring the taste as he listened to her explanation. He began to consider that her point was that he would have to seek out and interrogate the Unseelie, in which case he became restless, wondering why his body did not bolt from the room to track her before she disappeared. But her lecture seemed to be leading another way entirely.

The funny part was, she was making sense. Sieg's highest interests involved traversing the realms, but there were even some places he could not go. His element was water, and he was training Cambria to be able to utilize this power he did not really understand. Could his plan all along have been to use Cambria's absorbed soul as a catalyst to enter new worlds? But if Cambria was truly traveling to another realm, passing through the Point of Reflection, why was he not aware of it? And why was his metaphysical presence still reflected on Utopia?

There were so many questions, but here last words created the biggest one. The way she saw the universe was so much less scientific than his grasp of it. Cambria had always thought he understood a lot more than the usual mortal about the world around him, despite his lack of understanding with his own self. But what exactly was she trying to tell him, assuming his destiny lay in a dimension populated by dark sprites and fairy tale monsters.

" ...are you calling me a fairy? A dark fairy? "

[Igraine]

Aeri laughed as she looked at Cambria. She shrugged her shoulders and indicated him with a flick of her wrist. She nibbled at her stew for a moment before chosing her words carefully.

"In so much as you would consider a vampire an undead. The Unseelie detest being called Dark Faery. It's too cliche in their opinion. They're quite evil when they put their minds to it. However, you have yet to make your appearance known in that realm. You haven't caught the Unseelie King's attention just yet. Consider yourself lucky, if he didn't want you then you would be dead -- or if he did he'd hound you until you caved in to his demands."

Aeri glanced over the top of her spoon as she chewed on a piece of stewed fish. Her attention was riveted on his uncanny beauty as well as his armor and his demeanor. It was no wonder that the Bocan had been interested in him. His very countenance screamed danger and barely contained abilities with whatever weapon he chose, not to mention his power.

"Are you going to want to go after this bit of information? I can only caution you against searching it out, but if you're hellbent just stand in the woods for a while, someone will come for you. At night, around midnight or three in the morning is the best time to catch their...attention. Be prepared to fight for your life if they don't recognize you."

[Sage]

Cambria considered his options. He was interested to know what more she could tell him, as she seemed to be well-versed in the world of the Fae. But the Bocan had been equally helpful, and despite Aeri's warning, he could not deny that he wanted to hear both sides of the story.

He took a moment to weigh his options as he soaked a second piece of bread in stew, and leaned back in his chair. She had considered him an Unseelie, an evil creature. It was a strangely one-sided definition of his alignment. It never occurred to Cambria to define himself as good or Evil. Others considered his Master to be evil, and thus his deeds in that man's name to be evil. But from Cambria's point of view, he had been saved by a man he respected, and simply did as he was asked in return.

" I have all the time in the world to stand in the woods and be captured by murderous sprites. I think I will stay here for the night. "

[Igraine]

Aerillia nodded as she finished her stew and got up from her chair. She patted Cambria on one metallic shoulder and shook her head. The kid had guts that was for sure. She walked to the Inn Keeper and talked in murmured tones and indicated something about Cambria by gesturing to him. There was a vehement shake of the head and she held up two fingers. Shortly after that exchange Aeri walked back to their table and nodded to Cambria.

"I'm going to turn in. You have a room of your own. The Inn Keeper's daughter seems to be taken with you." Aeri gestured toward the girl sitting in the corner plucking on a harp. Her eyes hadn't left Cambria's strange visage the whole time they had been talking. Aeri nodded at Cambria one more time and excused herself, walking up the stairs to a room somewhere up there.

Not ten minutes later the door of the Inn opened up and a strange but pretty girl walked through. Strange in that her hair was pure silver, sparkling like fine silver thread in the firelight of the Inn. Her skin was a creamy pale and her eyes were a strange shade of violet. Her eyes scanned the Inn until they fell on Cambria, and she smiled. He stuck out like a sore thumb -- Lydia had mentioned that he would. The female Bocan had softened her features and made herself look more human, but there was a strong sense of other about her. She could feel the girl in the corner, playing her harp, glaring daggers into her strong slender back as she crossed the floor to Cambria.

The Bocan slipped into the seat once occupied by Aerillia. The girl wore a simple white dress that was of seemingly no consequence to her. She rested her hands in her lap and smiled, her teeth were perfect and not sharp as they would be in her true form.

"Cambria, I presume. Lydia said you were in the area. I've been...sent to finish her discussion with you. She is on another errand at the moment." The girl smirked, looking at Cambria through her thick black lashes. In another woman it might seem incredibly sexual, but coming from this woman it seemed too much as if she were sizing him up.

[Sage]

Cambria sighed and in Aeri's absence, retrieved his key from the Innkeeper. It was a simple bronze key with prongs rather than teeth, hardly an effective means of protecting the residents. But what was he to expect, in a place like this, and times like these. He had hardly expected to find anyone here, and yet he had already met 4 delightfully intriguing women who all seemed to have some manner of interest in him. It was as pleasant as it was exhausting. He spent the next few minutes studying the key, and grinding a small hunk of unrefined metal under the lip of the table.

His actions wouldn't be well-hidden from those around him, and his hands and the metal were only partially obscured from most angles, but it would be difficult to tell what he was doing, and he probably seemed strange to the locals, nonetheless. As the new girl walked in, he could scarcely believe in coincidence anymore. Should he stay in full view of the public, perhaps he would have a harem by week's end.

Never having been especially interested in the typical female, he decided to turn in, and see what happened. There was a small possibility his plan could backfire, and he could end up alone for the night, but he had a hunch that his luck could hold out just a few more hours.

" I'm glad to hear she's well...after the altercation. You will apologize to her for me for the rudeness. " Cambria held no prejudice against the 'monsters' he had been told the Bocans were, and as such, had no problem pursuing them further for information's sake. He finished his project by etching a '4' into his makeshift key, matching the number on the key that had been given to him. He left the cruder of the two with the woman at the table, and dropped the second in the small pile of coin near the harp player on his way into the back hallway.

He made no effort to hide himself from view as he phased out of reality and walked through the locked door with the number '4' carved into it.

[Igraine]

The Bocan waited a respectable amount of time, or at least what she considered to be so, before picking up the key and heading toward the room number indicated on the key. She paused before the door and slipped the key in the lock carefully. The satisfying sound of the key opening the lock echoed through her awareness as she opened the door a fraction and slipped inside, closing it behind her and locking it.

"We need to talk. Privately is best, you are wise to see that." The Bocan paused, listening with her head tilted to the side. The other human creature was coming, lured to the place by Cambria's second key.

"You shouldn't have given that female the other key. She has other...intentions. Or at least she assumes you want her body. You know, sexually." The Bocan made a lewd gesture with her hands before walking back to the door as it was being unlocked. She stood in the way of the door as it began to open. A cruel smile lit her face as the girl opened the door and saw her standing there with Cambria. For good measure she leaned over and pressed a firm kiss on Cambria's mouth.

"He has other plans tonight. Go on, be a good girl and leave." In reality, the Bocan just wanted to shred her. She was getting in the way and that was quite unfortunate. She leaned forward and slammed the door in the girl's shocked face and turned to face Cambria as if she hadn't locked lips with him in a heated kiss.

"The name's Amara, by the way. Lydia sent me to finish her discussion with you. She felt it was prudent that our situation was explained to you before you were swayed by the goody goody air elemental descendant. She's been conflicted about her position in life ever since she became friends with Kahlan Lothair. No mind the name, you probably don't know who she is -- no reason to dredge up old issues in one sitting." Amara pushed her fingers through her fine silvery hair and looked at Cambria with a somewhat wicked smile.

"Are you curious?"

[Sage]

There was place in Cambria's buzzing brain that hoped one girl would come, and another part that hoped for another, and a small portion of his male psyche that hoped for both. Little did he know his fantasy would go awry.

He leaned back in a crude chair, legs sprawled haphazardly and one shoulder leaning on the back peg of the chair. He appeared as arrogant as he did weary, and when prompted about the second key, and the girl's desires, he simply shrugged.

" Maybe I do. " It wasn't a question, and it wasn't a statement. His inflection matched neither description. He was simply letting her know he accepted it as a possibility, but he was no more interested in sexual relations as he was getting new information, and so he allowed the the Bocan to act as she pleased, not retracting at all as she kissed him.

He continued to seem as relaxed as possible during the split second which the Bocan turned, and sprung as her eyes left him. As soon as the door was closed, and as she was turning back to him, he would seem to be lunging at her, until their bodies touched. Cambria slipped through her corporeal form as he turned, appearing again behind her, and wrapping his arms carefully around her figure.

He grasped her across her collar bone with his left arm, so as not to spur a defensive reaction by touching her bosom or neck, and his right arm slipped diagonally across her abdomen, reaching to her left hip. He rested his head on her shoulder, applying light pressure as he pressed his cheek against the skin of her neck. Even with avoiding as many aggressive or seductive actions, his posturing would miss the mark of neutrality to a typical human and lean toward the sexual. But he spoke in a tone that betrayed his other interest in her.

" Curious? Yes. "

As she finished speaking, he released his embrace, slowly pulling himself away from her, but allowing his hands to drag across her form as he did so, before finally sighing as he fell back onto the bed, breaking eye contact entirely with her as he thought about exactly what he was doing here in this batshit crazy country.

" You seem a bit more emotional than the other. No, perhaps that is allowing too negative a connotation. We'll call you passionate. Or maybe you're just unbalanced, you seem to have a taste for murder, I can feel you tense around their kind. Should I be worried? Have I already signed by death warrant? Do you even want to be here, or are you being made to? "

[Igraine]

Amara shivered visibly as Cambria's hands trailed across her figure. She was wearing a thin white dress and his warm touch sent chills up her spine. It wasn't exactly all sexual, as it seemed as if her skin were jumping slightly like a young panther's might, part of her wanted to tear him apart and that was obvious. However, part of it was desire. She was the youngest of her brood, and only one of two living female Bocans.

Truth be told she had desires just like any other female might. Though they usually dealt with blood and not sex. Yet, Cambria's touch seemed to light her skin on fire in a way she hadn't fully anticipated.

"I was encouraged to persue this avenue by Lydia. She seems to think you worthy of my time." Her voice was haughty, but she was staring at something in the corner, her slender pale neck stretched taut enough not to look at Cambria where he lay. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she knew that staring at his prone form would do nothing to help her pulse slow down. She was trying to be good, trying not to look at him as a meal.

Truely, she would feel sorry if she killed him. He seemed so interesting to her.

It also didn't help that she looked so damn innocent. It had been Lydia's idea to let him believe her to be coy and unassuming. He'd seen through that and struck to the heart of the matter. She was one of the more passionate of her group -- more enthralled with killing, blood, and apparantly the more sultry persuits of the flesh. She had taken a few men to her bed, sure, but she wasn't exactly willing to just give it away like Lydia was.

Finally, collecting herself, Amara looked at Cambria.

"Were my orders different you would be dead already." Her face, so pretty, was devoid of any specific emotion -- though her eyes glittered with mirth. She was actually becoming amused by this situation.

[Sage]

" Then I assume she told you about me, if you are interested, you must know what I can do. "

Cambria thought for a moment, his interest in knowledge temporarily overwhelming his urge for pleasure. He, too, had been trying not to look at his temptation, so as to defeat it. These...creatures, they seemed powerful. But he hadn't seen anything as of yet that bordered on supernatural. They were powerful, certainly, but what made her so sure of herself?

" So you want to kill me...that is unfortunate... "

He worded his thoughts carefully. He could have mentioned that she only seemed to want to kill him about half as much as she wanted to talk to him...or perhaps do something else equally as violent as murder but twice as enjoyable.

" What makes you so sure you'd be able to, Bocan? "

[Igraine]

Amara snorted and settled herself on the floor in one fluid motion. She stared at Cambria for a moment, his prone form looking rather delightful.

"What makes you sure I couldn't?" It was a simple question, one that made her crack a smile. A smile that changed her features for the better. She looked less sullen and prettier by far. Perhaps it was right of Lydia to suggest such an innocent looking body to approach a man like Cambria. Though, she doubted Cambria was really wanting her body. He could have little ass down the hall that was trying to build her courage up to come back to the room.

"You really don't want to tempt me. I came into a den of humans in order to educate you. It's like sending a wolf into a hen house." She laughed and shook her head.

"I could start with your little girlfriend. She really wants you and she's really put out that you let me push her out." Amara tilted her head to the side and considered Cambria for a moment, her silky hair slipping off of her shoulder to reveal her slender neck to him. She blinked slowly, as if savoring his prone form, then she shook herself.

"I'm here on orders. I have nothing to prove to you."

[Sage]

Cambria leaned up as the catlike Bocan eased herself to the floor, so as not to break the line of sight they now shared. He thought carefully about his predicament as he began to unclasp the supports that held the blades on his arms in place. There were several of them, so as to steady it against his forearm, attributing to it's effectiveness as both a slashing and piercing weapon. The act occupied the next few minutes, and he allowed a long time to pass as he studied her.

" From what I've seen, the pressure you can exert is at least equal to what I can. Obviously there is no way of telling how quickly you can coil and strike, but I have been known to go intangible before the strike of a Darkwood viper, and I have exhausted the likes of creatures as powerful as Torynian Werewolves. "

Cambria rattled off these truths, having no way of knowing if Amara understood their significance, or even cared. He weighed things about the pair of them that he knew, the things he could guess, and ignored the things he had no way of knowing.

" I can conclude with as small a margin of error as possible that while there is no way of knowing if I could kill you, I am confident you could not kill me either. " He paused, assessing her reaction, and hoping pressing her buttons had served it's purpose of aggravating her sense of pride rather than peaking her anger. " But if you wanted to test my theory and make a mess of this place...and these people...I would be happy to oblige. "

Another moment of silence was allowed as he finished unfastening the contacts on his weapons, allowing them to clatter to the floor at his feet. " It makes sense that you wouldn't want the girl interfering with our meeting, but the fact you would even bother to bring up killing her means you hope she means something to me. Is it possible that you are jealous? "

[Igraine]

Amara's eyes were riveted on the blades that Cambria was freeing himself of. She hardly heard anything that he said as she watched, fascinated, as he dropped them on the floor. The clatter startled her somewhat and she frowned as she looked at Cambria.

"I'm not jealous. I hardly know you so I can be no judge of your character, or your mental faculties for that matter." Amara scoffed at the idea of being jealous, ignoring the fact that she had missed the better part of his conversation. She had no reason to have wounded pride, she was a skilled hunter and there was no doubt about that.

"Are you trying to make me angry? I have no desire to fight you, but if you're even remotely curious." Amara got to her feet and stretched her hands high above her head. The effect would be dramatic enough as her form rippled, her skin taking on the effect of water as she shifted her form. It was less brutal and messy than most forms of transformation. The whispering quiet of the room also leant the element of surprise to the Bocan. She was an expert killing machine and it showed as she dropped her glamour.

Standing in the middle of the room was a creature no taller than 5'6 with long silver hair. Her skin was a shiny grey, almost silver hue, and her eyes were a soft amber color. Her lips were parted slightly and each of her many, many, teeth were razor sharp and pointed. She wrinkled her nose, drawing her brows down ever so slightly as she looked at Cambria. The white dress she wore was starting to slide off of one shoulder as her form took on a leaner more wild aspect. Her hair was slightly tousled giving her the overall appearance of a barely contained savage -- and yet she was incredibly unique in that she was one of two female Bocan known to exist.

"I think we can agree that I am not exactly...harmless." She took a deep breath and looked as if she might take a step toward Cambria...and then she was standing in front of him, her body a scant few inches from his. She was fast, lightning fast -- but even then she wasn't sure she could keep him from becoming immaterial. Besides, she wasn't out to hurt him, he would know that from her lack of weapons -- despite the long nails sprouting from her fingertips.

"I think we might have each other at a slight disadvantage no matter how we look at it."