Gyrfalcon

The two penguins blinked in surprise as two occtopi appeared out of thin air in front of them. "I saw, what's this then?" the one with the magnifying glass inquired as he peered closely at the two occtopi. Thinking quickly for once, Melvin said "Actually, we're just a pair of octopi who got caught up on land, I don't suppose you could get us to warmer waters at all?" The two penguins stared at each other and then placed the octopi on the catapult. "Any place you want to go, dear chaps?" the second penguin asked as they cranked the catapult around. "Southern Californa sounds fine to me!" Vinnie burbled, already imagining wrapping his tentacles around a busty blond beach babe. One of the penguins consulted a map as they made delicate calibrations. Finally, they were ready and nodded together. "Enjoy your flight, and remember to return your tray to an upright position before landing!" the first penguin shouted before pulling the lever. As the two molluscs flew into the air, Vinnie cried "What's the inflight mooooooooovieeeeee!" Due to a heavy crossbreeze, the two mollucs landed not at a popular resort beach that they dreamed of, but instead...

Gyrfalcon rubbed the bridge of his nose, already feeling tired with the sun not yet reaching its peak. He had gotten fewer hours of sleep then he had wanted, and the day already promised to be quite long. With a long sigh, the ranger started down the path that would take him back to the Hostel’s front doors and the meeting he should attend inside with the newly risen owner of the Hostel. Mind locked in thought as he approached the Hostel’s damaged open doors; the half-elf didn’t initially hear the shouts of his name. “Gods curse you, half-elf, turn and answer!” a voice roared, bringing Gyrfalcon out of his reverie. Eyes burning with anger, he whirled to face the speaker, an impressively armored paladin by the name of Taerloc the Pure. Gyrfalcon privately detested the man, but he led one of the larger mercenary units designed to deal with the undead. “What do you want, Sir Taerloc?” Gyrfalcon asked, his voice dangerously cold. “I want the head of that shadow spawn you protect is what I want, ranger!” Taerloc roared, coming to a stop a mere foot from the half-elf, sneering down at the half-elf and attempting to use his greater size to intimidate. The half-elf was hardly concerned, and his eyes narrowed. “Tamaranis?” he asked, trying to determine the cause of the paladin’s fury. “I care not what the murdering monster calls itself! I want it out here and turned over to the Burning Light’s justice, NOW!” Taerloc roared. “Murdering? Were some of your soldiers foolish enough to attack him?” Gyrfalcon said, anger rising quickly at the paladin’s abrasive manner. “They follow the call of the Light! The beast crippled one and only the intervention of a priest saved the other!” “Tamaranis is a member of The Mighty Pen. I could not compel him to surrender, nor would I choose to. Your soldiers struck against my ord-“ “Damn your orders! The Burning Light follows the dictates of God! Now turn him over or we will seize him!” Taerloc snarled, face purpling with rage. “I specifically told you that Tamaranis was not to be challenged before we agreed to the contract. Your soldiers broke that contract and nearly paid the final price. Now stand down and return to your post.” Gyrfalcon said, every word delivered in frozen tones. Taerloc stepped back and a hand snaked down to grasp the hilt of his longsword. “Think wisely, half-elf. You don’t want to be branded a follower of the dark powers. Turn over the vampire, or this will get bloody.” Gyrfalcon stared hard at the foolish paladin, his hands hooked on his belt, bringing his sword hand close to his blade. “You’d draw blade on your employer?” he asked, voice as hard and cold as bared steel. “Petty words on papers are not to be honored with followers of the dark!” Taerloc snarled, his paladins and clerics beginning to drift closer, weapons prominently on display. “You said that it would get bloody, and you’re right, you steel-shelled idiot.” a third voice snapped as Ardavial stepped out from around a hedge, Daryl following him in human form, cracking his knuckles. From around corners and trees, even up on the roof, rangers appeared, longbows and crossbows held at the ready and every arrow and bolt pointed at the suddenly surrounded Burning Light. “Bloody for you.” the druid finished, thumping his staff against the soft soil. “The contract is broken by your actions, Taerloc.” Gyrfalcon said coldly. “While I will not attempt to compel you to return the contract deposit, no further compensation will be given to your company. Furthermore, I will make certain that news of your attempted betrayal is carried far and wide.” Many of Taerloc’s soldiers winced at that, for this brush with mutiny would be a black mark against their company, one hard to erase from their record and one that would make it difficult in the extreme to find new employment. Taerloc’s hands flexed open and closed. “You’ll pay for this, half-elf!” he snarled before turning and gesturing for his soldiers to follow. “We ride at once!” he ordered. “You think he’ll be trouble?” Daryl asked as he came up to stand next to Gyrfalcon, eyeing the way the half-elf’s knuckles whitened as he clenched his fists tight. “Possibly, though the fool is still a paladin when all is said and done, short-sighted as he is. He won’t strike at innocents, though if he encountered me alone, I’m sure he would attack me.” Gyrfalcon said, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm his raging anger. Because of the paladin’s shortsightedness, the majority of the Hostel’s defenses were departing, and Gyrfalcon would have to pull back many of the scouting druids and rangers to guard the Hostel now. “Yeah, but you’re hardly innocent.” Daryl said, weakly attempting to change the ranger’s mood to the better. His glare said that the attempt had failed, and Daryl shrugged before walking into the Hostel. “See you at the meeting.” he called back over his shoulder. Ardavial thumped his staff on the ground and snorted before waving at the other druids and rangers to get back to what they were doing before Taerloc started causing trouble. Gyrfalcon closed his eyes and breathed in deeply and then breathed out slowly, slowly bottling his anger and forcing it aside. It was harder then normal to do, no doubt because of how tired he felt. With a sigh, he rubbed the bridge of his nose before opening his eyes again. It was already a long day, and showed no signs of getting any shorter. He sighed again and followed Daryl into the Hostel, finding a seat near the end of the table, near Merelas and Daryl, offering nods to Tamaranis, Ayshela and Salinye.

I do think that the sudden decision to revert to canabalism is a bit odd, as they had packed supplies before they toggled their spaceship/time capsule/thingy forward in time again. Another note is that its unlikely any of the bodies would still be bleeding by the time the last survivor died of starvation - blood tends to dry up in a few hours, though its possible the last person refused to eat the others... *shrugs* I think seeking painless ways out might be possible, or they could keep on hopping forward in time in hopes of finding earth regrown so they can live out their last years peacefully. Worst case, they hit the heat death of the universe and expire.

But... *twitchtwitch* I won't have a crazy fox to talk to! Ah well, glad you're getting back to high speed internet my friend, and I hope the move goes quickly.

Gyrfalcon made to roll backwards, propelled by the force of the assassin’s kick. But instead he froze as a pulse of sound roared through his skull, one of the Pen’s many silent alarms. His mind cleared in a split second, but by that time the dagger had reached his throat. And it deflected away cleanly, the blade ringing like it struck a stone wall. Gyrfalcon rolled to his feet even as the faint blue glow surrounding him faded once more, facing the snarling mercenary who swung his flaming long sword in one hand, drawing another dagger with his free hand. Behind Gyrfalcon and to his left, Salinye moved her hands in precise patterns, muttering the words of a spell. As the mercenary advanced, Salinye uttered the final words of the spell and pointed a hand at Tayne. A massive arc of lightning shot from her hand to the mercenary... and split around him, merging on the other side to thunder out the doorway and down the corridor, bouncing from wall to wall. “He’s resistant to magic, GyrE!” she said, not entirely surprised but disappointed none the less by the lack of effect from her spell. “It would have made this easier.” Gyrfalcon grunted, parrying sword then dagger then sword again, circling between Tayne and Salinye as the mercenary made to throw his dagger at the wizardess, Tayne’s face twisted with rage. “The alarm ringing in my head doesn’t help either!” he said, suddenly stealing the offense from Tayne and coming forward, slashing with each step, forcing the mercenary back away from Salinye. The half-elf’s momentum was stolen as Tayne leapt ahead, taking a vicious hit to his dagger arm for a chance to chop at the half-elf with the flaming longsword. Gyrfalcon dived aside desperately, and Tayne turned to pursue before his eye caught the vulnerable Salinye, caught in the midst of another futile spellcasting. With an evil laugh, Tayne turned towards Salinye and raised the longsword high, intending to split her head in half. The elven wizardess completed her casting and smiled beatifically at Tayne as the sword began to sweep in. To the side, Gyrfalcon’s chair leapt from where it had been pushed at an angle to the desk and smashed Tayne across the shoulder and head, throwing him against the wall. As the mercenary rose to his hands and knees and shook his head, Salinye’s eyes met Gyrfalcon’s for a second before she rushed by the mercenary, disappearing through the doorway. Gyrfalcon grinned, relieved that he would not have to worry about his grievously injured companion and lunged at Tayne, catching the man’s shoulder with the tip of his katana, the enchanted blade rasping across the chainmail beneath Tayne’s clothing, rupturing a few rings but doing little else. In return, Tayne slugged Gyrfalcon hard in the stomach. Gyrfalcon dove back in a roll and came to his feet, keeping his distance to catch his breath. Even as he did so, Tayne grinned as the wound on his dagger arm slowly closed and hefted his longsword. “You don’t have a chance, half-elf” he boasted, and right about then, Gyrfalcon was starting to agree with him. The ranger growled and discarded those defeating thoughts. His eyes narrowed as he swung his katana through a pair of loops before pausing in a guard. “Keep on convincing yourself of that, it’ll make killing you easier.” he said coldly before gliding forward, katana flashing and ringing off Tayne’s weapons as the mercenary attacked as well, laughing maniacally.

Otherwise, very good. I like the detail you added to section. I want to know mooooooore!

Yui-chan stepped out of the shadows into her favorite garden, holding the bouquet of Moon Flowers and Ozymandias’ letter in her hands. She paused a moment to close her eyes and inhale the pleasing fragrance of the flowers. Which is why she didn’t notice the presence of others until a quiet “Yerf.” caused her to open her eyes. Yui-chan blinked several times as she lowered the Moon Flowers to stare at the two foxes in front of her. The two foxes stared back until one of them helpfully wagged her five tails, and Yui-chan smiled. “I see you brought your lady friend, Daryl.” she said, bowing slightly to the kitsune. “Hello, Jehane-san.” Yui-chan said with a friendly smile. The kitsune yerfed a greeting in return and gestured to Daryl as they pushed two wrapped objects, one a bundle wrapped in colorful wrapping paper, the other a long, thin object carefully wrapped in muted cloth. Yui-chan smiled as she knelt down to bestow pats and ear scratches on both foxes. “You didn’t have to bring me presents.” she chided Daryl, who merely yerfed and grinned a foxy grin in response before nosing the bundle closer to Yui-chan. With a laugh, she sat and set the Moon Flowers aside to carefully open the bundle first. Inside was a patch of darkness which Yui-chan lifted and shook out to reveal that it was a black cloak that seemed to blend into the nearest shadows. She smiled as she inspected it. “It’s wonderful, Daryl.” she said warmly, impressed by the fine weave of the cloth. Daryl grinned widely and yerfed and yipped for several minutes, explaining that the inside of the cloak also had many pockets and flaps for her to store all the essentials – snacks, a water bottle, pen, ink, paper, a sketchpad and all the necessary tools. Yui-chan smiled and rubbed behind his ears when he finished. “Thank you very much Daryl.” she said, smiling also when Daryl said that Gyrfalcon had helped in acquiring the cloak. She turned her attention to Jehane, who yipped a simple ‘Happy Birthday!’ as Yui-chan unwrapped the object. It turned out to be an empty sheath, lacquered ebony in color with black steel fittings. Ringing the top of the sheath were evenly spaced black pearls. As her fingers traced down the sheath, they felt curls of black steel creating a faint tracing on the sheath, of multi-tailed foxes winding their way from the tip of the sheath to the top. With a smile, Yui-chan gave Jehane a scratching behind her ears, causing the kitsune to make happy noises. “Thank you both.” Yui-chan said simply as the foxes helped her gather up all her belongings. “Happy Birthday!” the two foxes chorused in Fox as Yui-chan stepped through another shadow portal to deliver her newest presents to her rooms.

Heh, good luck and have a good trip Annael! Try to avoid starting a war between the US and Canada, a'right?

Daryl yerfs and runs around in circles, bouncing happily from place to place as schemes begin to boil over in his already too fertile mind. "Oh dear gods, a monster has been created." Gyrfalcon comments, shaking his head.

“You want me to do what?” Ardavial, the old druid of the Hostel, asked skeptically. “Come on, it isn’t that hard of a task.” Gyrfalcon said, an uncommon note of wheedling in his voice. “I didn’t say it was too hard you daft ranger, I was questioning what little sense you have! You want me to tell the mage that she can’t go anywhere near half of her own inn?” the druid yelled, face growing more red by the second. “It’s well within your capabilities, I’m sure.” Gyrfalcon said calmly with a disarming smile. “It would be except I’m not as crazy as you are! She’ll blow me up when I tell her that!” Gyrfalcon grinned. “No she won’t, you’re her favored druid. On the other hand, she’ll blow me up if I tell her that, I’m just a ranger after all.” The old druid peered at the half-elf. “Why do you need those rooms, anyway?” he asked suspiciously. Gyrfalcon merely grinned. “You can’t give away what you don’t know. Thanks for running interference though.” He said, quickly walking away from the druid. “I haven’t agreed to anything, you idiot! Come back here! You aren’t saddling me with an angry mage! Oh, Mielikki curse him...” the druid trailed off before sighing and stumping towards the kitchen. If he was going to have to guard the place, he might as well have his breakfast. ----- “Yui-chan!” a voice called from behind the small woman, and she paused, looking back to see who was hailing her. She blinked in surprise and dismissed the shadow portal she had been about to step through, surprised to see Gyrfalcon running towards her. Immediately, she suspected that trouble was afoot. “Whew, you’re hard to catch up with, Yui-chan.” Gyrfalcon said, bending over to catch his breath. “This is the third time I’ve tried to catch you just before you stepped through one of those portals, and the first I actually managed.” Yui-chan smiled as she relaxed, realizing all that the half-elf wanted was to talk to her. “Sumanai, Gyr-kun, I apologize for ignoring you, I’ve had a thought for a story bouncing around in my head, and I’ve been doing a bit of writing here and there.” Yui-chan explained. Gyrfalcon straightened with a grin, more then used to that common distraction at the Pen. “I wish to ask a favor of you, Yui-chan.” “Oh? And what favor would that be, Gyr-kun?” Yui-chan asked. “Well, you remember the birthday party you and Salinye threw for Solivagus and I?” Yui-chan permitted herself a rare broad grin. “Of course I remember it, though I’m surprised you remember anything of that night at all!” Gyrfalcon snorted in resigned amusement. “No thanks to you, and your constant call for Sake Bombs.” Yui-chan chortled in response before shaking her head and regarding Gyrfalcon. “They got the job done, did they not?” The half-elf shook his head and smirked. “I suppose so, but speaking of my birthday, before Falcon started jumping into the food and otherwise causing havoc, I was quite impressed with the wonderful smell of what your chef cooked... and what little I managed to taste was also excellent.” Yui-chan smiled, thinking she’s discovered what he wished. “Would you like some of Eddo’s recipes perhaps, Gyr-kun?” “Um... actually, I’d like to borrow him for a day or two. Though finding out some of his recipes would be nice too.” Gyrfalcon said with a grin and a shrug. Yui-chan eyed the half-elf with amusement. “What is this about?” she asked, now curious about whatever plans would involve her own chef. “Promise not to tell your partner in crime?” Gyrfalcon said, realizing that he’d have to divulge his plans to someone. “Hai, now tell me!” Yui-chan impishly demanded. After a few moments, she was laughing in delight. “Ah, Gyr-kun, she’ll love that.” Yui-chan said. “I certainly hope so. So, could I borrow Eddo?” “Certainly, I’ll bring him straight to the Hostel in an hour or so.” Gyrfalcon smiled and bowed his head to shadowy one. “Thank you, Yui-chan, I appreciate this.” Yui-chan’s eyes twinkled as she opened the shadow portal once more, this time to her estates. “You should thank Eddo-san too.” she reminded the half-elf, who laughed in agreement. “As soon as I see him, Yui-chan, as soon as I see him.” Gyrfalcon assured her. He watched her step into the shadows and disappear before pulling out a list and checking something off of it. “Daryl, need to find the troublemaker.” He mumbled to himself, starting off towards the tower where his quarters were, since Daryl lived on the floor below. So much to do, so little time to get it done...

*Daryl yerfs as he bounces up and down excitedly* "30 from the fox, do I hear 35?!" the auctioneer shouts in response.

Iiiiiinteresting! I like it, shows that some things will outlive even the cockroach.

Glad you enjoyed your vacation.

Daryl stepped up and yipped up at the auctioneer, aided by a spell of translation. "I hear 15 from the fox, 15 from the fox in front! Do I hear 20 from anyone, 20...?"

Thank you Yui-chan for the poem about Daryl, it captures the fuzzy little menace perfectly. Thank you also to Salinye and Tanuchan. for your poem (or in Tanuchan's case, Haiku)

Gyrfalcon looked between Salinye and the bounty-hunter Mira before closing his eyes and massaging the bridge of his nose. “A demon army rampaging through our world is a serious problem.” he said quietly, trying to sort his thoughts out and starting with the most obvious one. "How kind of you to notice after you set them loose." Mira spat. Salinye turned her weary eyes from Gyrfalcon to her companion turned hostage. She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Mira. Even the worst of criminals get to plead their case, yes?" He violently shrugged her hand off, but clenched his jaw in silence once again. Gyrfalcon clenched his jaw as well and turned towards Mira, his eyes blazing. “Understand this, bounty-hunter. Yes, at one time I was an Archmage. And yes, I led a host of demons when I was possessed by the arch-demon, Exophek. Through the valiant efforts of many, I was freed of his scourge and I helped stop the destruction he had started. I’ve spent centuries since that time trying to atone for what I did under his domination, and I still find those like yourself who aren’t interested in anything more then the gold on my head.” he said heatedly. Salinye placed a gentle hand on Gyrfalcon’s shoulder, hearing the pain that lay under his anger. Mira looked shaken for a moment, then his eyes narrowed once more. “Tel Reth would prove differently, wouldn’t it?” he said evenly. Gyrfalcon leaned towards him, and Mira pressed back against the chair in the face of the half-elf’s anger. “Understand this, I lost my powers to help heal the wounds to Terra inflicted by the war. I can no longer cast spells, bounty-hunter. Ask Salinye if you don’t believe me, but I could hardly be the source of this demon army.” Mira chuckled oddly. “Oh, is that her real name? Salinye? When your little spy went among us, she called herself Dove.” he said with a sneer directed her way. Salinye blushed and then shook her head, closing her mouth on whatever she was going to say. It was suddenly too much for Gyrfalcon, and he closed his eyes and shook his head before turning to Salinye, his expression pained. “Please, could you watch over him? I’ll see to bringing a healer here to tend to both of your wounds, as well as getting meals sent up.” he said, voice flat as he forced himself back to a state of relative calm. “Of course, GyrE.” Salinye said, though she looked slightly worried as she saw the pain still in his eyes. Gyrfalcon let the door close softly behind him before he punched the wall hard, barely noticing the physical pain as he walked blindly towards his quarters. Once again, his past had caught up with him, and now it seemed that the Mighty Pen itself might be at risk if the demon army came. All of his friends at risk... because of his past. Gyrfalcon slumped against the wall and closed his eyes, a sick feeling bubbling through his stomach. All of his friends were in danger because of him. The thought left a sour taste in his mouth.

Congratulations, Tanu-chan.

Gyrfalcon and Daryl wait patiently for Merelas to finally extract himself from the pile of people hug-tackling him. "Whew." he said, wiping his forehead and glad that the tackling was over. Silly half-elf. Taking a fox to the lower legs and a half-elven ranger to the upper torso, Merelas went down yet again under the latest overenthusiastic congratulations. Finally, Gyrfalcon helped Merelas stand. "Congratulations, it's a promotion well-earned." the Elder said with a broad grin.

Meh, if you say so Finnius. My first experience with the game is: 1) They require a lot of personal information when you register, which is a definite no-no in my book. 2) The first person I met tried to con me into dumping all my money on the ground so he could steal it. I'll take another run at it tomorrow.

Congratulations, Psimon. Now don't let it go too far to your head, your wife did a lot of the hard work just recently, make sure to congratulate her more often then you do yourself. Congratulations.

Guardian of nature Yet touched still by his past Ready to spring to his friends defense Fighting hard in their need. Always the pursued Lover of the road Cannot deny the tingle Of whats over the next rise. Never resting, chasing always the sunset. ----- Darkest night his home Always ready with a quick joke Rapid movements a blur Yet never a sound heard Loyal furry thief. ----- Silly and salacious! Angry and blushing! Laying about her with the Broom of Doom In defense of her own name No use her ranger, he's the one who tagged her so Yet she laughs even as she swings Enjoying their moments together.

"Yeah, you got to be wary of Salinye, she's eeeeeevil! Especially if you're writing with her or for her..." Gyrfalcon said sagely. He suddenly noticed her glare. "See? That glare means she's about to bring out the Whip of Inspiration or whatever she calls it and threaten me if I don't write." "GyrE!" she shouted, and he laughed as he ran away before she could do anything horrible to him. (Welcome, Crichon. )

*laughs at Xaious* You're too sensitive about a number, my friend. Happy birthday you horribly dirty little dwarf.

Gyrfalcon didn’t bother sheathing his katana before racing out of his quarters, leaving the door open behind him in his haste. He bounded down the stairs between his quarters and the ones that Salinye kept near the bottom of the tower. The half-elf nearly ran over Daryl (human for once) as he raced down a corridor between two sets of stairs. Daryl flattened himself against a wall with a yelp of surprise before turning to stare after the ranger in surprise, scratching the back of his head. “I wonder what got into the half-elf?” he muttered to himself before shrugging and continuing towards his room. Gyrfalcon slid to a stop in front of Salinye’s door and reached for the door handle before stopping and shaking his head, remembering that Salinye’s door had no handles. Instead, he knocked loudly. After a long moment, the door clicked open. “Come in.” Salinye called. The half-elf pushed the door open and stepped through, letting it swing closed behind him. He barely noticed the fine decorations as he instead took in Salinye, dressed in a long-sleeved nightgown. Her hair was down and she looked worse for wear, a large bruise marring one cheek and her entire face looking sunburned. “What happened, Salinye?” the half-elf said in shock, starting towards her to inspect her wounds. She held up a hand with a small grimace. “I went to a meeting with the ones who are organizing the hunt for you. We can talk about that later, GyrE. More importantly, demons attacked the town while we were there. The others were split up, but Mira and I stayed together.” She explained. Gyrfalcon blinked and then finally noticed the bound and gagged figure on the floor. “Mpppph!” the tightly wrapped man said as he stared wild-eyed at the half-elf. “GyrE, you might want to put the katana down. Mira, he’s not going to hurt you. A lot of what we’ve been told are out and out lies.” Gyrfalcon noted that the man looked less then reassured. Gyrfalcon blinked at the katana in his hand, and then gently set it aside. He shook his head and turned back to Salinye. “Here, let me look at those.” he said, gently inspecting the bruises and burns on Salinye’s face. “Really GyrE, there’s nothing to worry about, I’ll be fine until I can talk to that cranky old druid at the Hostel...” Salinye’s protests went ignored as he stood and looked at her back as she bent forward to pick something up. “Bloodstains aren’t ‘nothing’ Salinye.” he said gently. “Oh, those...” she said, wincing as she straightened. “Hold still, this might sting a little.” Gyrfalcon advised, quietly chanting his most powerful spell of healing – only moderately effective, but it sealed the gashes the demon’s claws had left and went to work on some of the burns and bruises she had suffered. He whispered another two healing spells, less effective but suitable for the more impressive burns and bruises she had collected. “That did sting.” she admitted, finally unclenching her jaw and stretching, muscles twinging and aching but happy not to experience the burning pain of those cuts.” “I told you so.” he said with a slight smile. “You’ll be sore for a couple days at this stage, but that should have taken care of the worse of it.” he explained, feeling the slight exhaustion that always followed casting several spells in a row. He began to clear his mind to take care of the last of her injuries, but she raised her hand to stop him. She eyed him speculatively. “Do you have a few more healing spells?” she asked him, and he nodded. “Two or three more, though they’re the last I’ll have today, why?” “I can live with being sore for a few days, GyrE, but he was wounded too, and splashed with the demon’s blood as I was.” Salinye explained, brushing a cheek, dead skin flaking away to reveal healthy skin beneath. Gyrfalcon nodded, knowing the blood of some demons to be acidic. “Could you heal him as well?” The half-elf smiled slightly and looked hard at Mira. “He’s a bounty hunter, though...” he began, and her hand touched his shoulder. “He also saved my life.” The half-elf grimaced, then shrugged. “He’s in the Pen, after all. It’s not like he can cause me trouble around here.” he said, stepping forward to kneel next to Mira. Mira glared up at him, caught between defiance and terror. He didn’t believe the half-elf would heal him despite his words to the traitor among the bounty hunter’s ranks. His grimace shifted slightly towards confusion as the tingling prickles of healing coursed through his body with the half-elf’s chanting. Gyrfalcon heaved a deep breath before picking up the still-bound Mira and placing him in one of the chairs and pulling Salinye’s makeshift gag from Mira’s mouth. “So... Mira, is it? Care to tell me why bounty hunters are following me again after all this time?” Mira glared at him stubbornly.

Finnius - an excellent date. I enjoyed reading it very much. You're as excellent with prose as you are with haiku. Salinye - Nice dress. *grins* Zool - Actually, if you want I can e-mail you the entire Gyrfalcon Saga arc from the boards. (A few people have asked before) - I have the entire Conservatory (stories only, I'm afraid) backup up from the beginning to December 2001, I believe. The arc includes: Mount Tyrant Gyrfalcon the Mad The Search for Joat When World Collide - The Finale to the Joat Saga