Fantasy Unlikely Partners

[Tharivle]

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong." Chris picked his next words carefully, "I was not trying to imply that this whole mess with the crash is something that is your problem. I am just telling you that I will be leaving for the grove soon and they can help you with your book if you wanted to come with me." Chris paused to gauge her reaction the continued, "And if you do want their help, you have to understand that most Moon Children are not as lawful as you are, and they will be apprehensive about the idea of letting you in."

Just as Chris finished talking his cell phone rang. He flipped it out a little annoyed but grew serious when he looked at the screen. "Hello." He answered in a very professional tone. "Wait.. The grove is WHAT...." Chris hung up the phone and looked Ilaria in the eye, "The Golden Grove is under attack. I must go now."
Chris ran outside and Rex was already standing crouched over ready to run. Chris ran past Rex straight down the driveway. Rex let him get about 30 feet ahead then ran after him full speed. As Rex got closer he started to shimmer, golden wisps of fire started trailing him. once he was 10 feet away from Chris his body was literally on fire. Just before Rex was upon Chris his body all but disappeared as he leapt up. What would have been his body collided with Chris in a wispy golden explosion.

Chris was still running but he was moving incredibly fast. Just as fast as Rex could run, his feet not really touching the ground but more running through the air inches above the ground. In addition to the speed there was a jet of golden flam trailing him. It was obvious that it was still him but his features were slightly distorted and more predator like. His hands were still hands but now his nails were claws. His hair turned a lighter brown that fades into black towards the middle just like the coloring on Rex.

Once he was about 20 yards away from his car they separated. It was the same thing in reverse. Chris slowed down and Rexes head could be seen coming out of Chris's chest. Chris then stopped and Rex landed on the ground in front of Chris as if he had just run through him. Rex gave a little shake as if shaking off the little bits of fire that was still rippling around his fur. The two of them jogged up to their car and Chris opened the back door for Rex to get in then moved to get in the drivers seat.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria sighed and shifted a little in her seat. "I get it, but I'm willing to take that risk if it will help." She said softly, looking at him a little guardedly. She couldn't tell if he was grasping how dangerous the book could be, but maybe he was just not letting on.
His phone rang, and it went from a casual conversation, to him running out the door in a matter of second. Ilaria grabbed the book, and a small, cross-body backpack that was near the door, and ran after him.
She had never seen a Golden Flame member bond with their animal in person before, but this time she got to watch it from above. Ari chose a peregrine falcon this time, not one of her common forms, but definitely fast enough to keep up with him.
They went almost straight across the woods, and by the time he was opening his driver side door, she was closing the passenger door.
Ari pulled on her seat belt, and then opened the small backpack. The book went inside, and out came a pair of tennis shoes and socks, which she began to pull on while waiting for him to drive.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris got in and she was sitting there next to him. He almost didn't notice her in his hast to get going. Chris started the car then looked over at her, "Matters not why you are coming, but I am grateful that you are here." Chris didn't turn around to go back to town, but pulled out onto the road and speed off towards the countryside.
He drove in silence for about 5 minutes before speaking, "The grove has been crafted and improved every day sense its inception during the fall of the spirits. The way the trees grow is passively formed for comfort and protection. Near the center the trees block all rain, so wile outside you wont be wet. Small clusters of trees under the larger ones grow to form buildings, with the canopy makes it appear to be just a normal forest. Every leaf, every branch, even the dirt in that place radiates with magic from the great sun spirit. It is the longest lasting and now the last place on earth that the sun touches in the dead of night." Chris talked in almost a trance, as if he was remembering the grove as he knew it, but not as how they would find it.
Chris grew a little more serious and started speaking clearer, "There are two main defenses. The first is a powerful distractor spell, anyone and anything without the mark of the flaming sword will forget what they were trying to do as they approach the grove. They will be convinced that they are going the wrong way and change course. To some they won't even be able to see the woods, or they would see the grove where it actually isn't and head for it until they are miles away or forget why they want to get to those particular woods." Chris paused for a moment to insure that she was listening.
"If one finds a way to over come the distraction spell, they will have to deal with the willows. Evenly spaced in three rings pulse the center tree are willow trees. They move and will slash, stab, and throw needles at intruders. They are very lethal to those that mean harm, but to friends they are very comfortable trees because they will move to create soft hammocks to rest in. The inner ring has 5 large willows and they have the farthest reach because they are bigger, they are also the hardest to bring down because they are bigger. The second ring has 25 but they are about half as big as the first 5. The outer ring had 100 rather small willows, but what makes them so deadly is that the small ones can move. They can uproot themselves and use their roots as legs and crawl across the ground. So weather they surround the grove or attack at one point an invading force will eventually have to deal with every small willow. Also because they were crafted with power from the sun spirit, it is very hard to burn them, they ware resistant to magic and because they are trees small ranged weapons don't hurt them and not many get close enouph to use bigger handheld weapons." Chris seemed to be thinking deeply now.
"Any questions?"

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria didn't really look up at him from tying her shoes, the lightweight sneakers fitting snugly around her feet. It had been a while since she had worn them. She listened passively to him talking, trying to catch as much detail as she could. By the end of it, the Golden Flame sounded right paranoid.
"If its so well protected against outsiders, how are you going to make sure I'm not attacked while trying to help?" She said quietly, as she reached into the back pack and drew out a pair of finger-less gloves, sort of like the kind often seen on cyclists. She pulled them onto her hands, and fastened them carefully. "And what is the Golden Flame hiding that needs to be so well protected?"

 

[Tharivle]

Chris thought hard as he considered her questions. "When we get there and you are willing, I will give you a temporary Secondary Membership. It will appear just like my sword and flame mark, but the flames wont move and it will fade away within 10 days. And that will identify you as a friendly to all people and defenses even if you take a different form."
Chris paused and almost seemed unwilling to tell her more but spoke anyway, "All those many years ago when the spirits started fading they all did different things with their last moments. Moon created your people, Sun created the first of the Golden Flame, and the list goes on. But what is not widely known is that when a spirits power wane to the point when they would die they transform into an object and their power can be tapped by those who know how to use it and to preserve their life."
Chris paused and looked again to see if she was listening. "When it was time for the Sun Spirit to take its physical form it chose to turn into a simple amber shard, and it fell from the sky. The grove is located where the sun literally touched the earth. And at the center of the grove there is the most beautiful tree anyone could imagine, for at the heart of that tree rests the Sun Spirit."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria nodded, and mumbled, "As long as I don't get killed by a tree, works for me."
She listened intently to the next part, meeting his eyes evenly every time he looked over at her. The Moon Child gave a small humph when he finished, and turned to look out the windshield. She vaguely recalled someone in her life talking about shards. But she thought it might've been when she was an actual child, which meant the source was probably pretty nutty.
"So what you're saying is, there's an object of almost immeasurable power hanging out there, and now somebody knows and would like to borrow it." Ari gave tightened her ponytail and shook her head a little. "Seems about right."
"Whats the best way for me to help? Form-wise, should I go small or large, agility or strength..?" She paused and looked over at him, "Any special requests? I already used my fancy falcon to keep up with you."

 

[Tharivle]

"This is not a joke...." Chris said sharply, "Over the years only about 10% of all mergers have died of natural causes. And of those that were killed before they died about 70% of them died defending that grove." Chris continued in a softer tone, "I'm sorry for getting on you, but from what I have seen from that crash earlier today and the fact that this is the third attack in two months means that the dark forces of this world have greatly grown in power, and if the seat of power for the Golden Flame is destroyed, it will cripple the light in this world."
Chris was silent, letting his words sit for a moment, "And as for what form you should take, I don't know, we will have to wait till we get there."
Chris held his hand out to Ilaria, "We are about 20 minutes out, take some power. I know that the day is harder for you to work in. Don't worry about me, I regenerate quickly in sunlight."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria clamped her mouth shut, gritting her teeth softly. He really needed to lighten up. Stressing out the entire way there will only mess with your hormones and muddle your brain, buddy. And what, you think the Golden Flame is the end-all-be-all for light in the world? Please. One group falls, another one rises. Light always rises to meet dark. She kept her thoughts to herself though, seeing as he was in a mood.
Ilaria hesitated before taking his hand. Know that she knew he was Golden Flame, the way his energy felt to her concerned her a little. Oh Gods, what will walking into a place of eternal sun-magic feel like?
She had no clue how the Golden Flame stronghold would feel, so she slipped her hand into his and drank in a small amount of energy. Once the heady rush had subsided from the first sip, she took a little more. Ilaria only dared take a third bit, and then pulled her hand away. Without the influence of alcohol to dampen it, his energy made her feel like she had been struck by lightning. Her eyes had closed while she fed, and she let out a soft groan as she opened them. "How do you keep all of that in you?" She mumbled, as she leaned her head back onto the headrest and let the energy settle out in her system.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris heard her mumble but decided to say nothing in response, for they had arrived. Chris pulled off the highway into a rundown little service station. It had one gas pump, the paint was faded and peeling and completely covered in dirt. The awning leading into the building was leaning, the roof was sagging and there were shingles missing.
Chris pulled around the back and there was a covered parking lot. It looked like it was once a drive in restraint but now it was just a roof over 20 parking spaces. About half the spots were taken and Chris parked in the first spot he could get to.
"We are here, lets go." Chris said with a little smerk.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria opened her eyes slowly as she felt them pull of the road, and slow to a stop. They were at a horribly derelict gas station, and as they pulled to a stop, she rolled her eyes a little and pushed the car door open. Well, what's a secret hideout without a fancy secret smokescreen? She thought, looking at his smirk with a small eyebrow raise.
"You yelled at me about making jokes not 15 minutes ago, Chris. Aren't we on the clock?" She said, pulling the backpack's single strap over her shoulder, securing it over her chest. Ilaria stood with a hip popped and waited, a little impatiently, for him to the whole second-membership and big reveal of the hideout thing.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris opened the back door to let Rex out, then looked up at Ilaria, "I know we are pressed for time, but you have to want to do this or it wont work and you might get stabbed by a tree." Chris said as he walked around the car to stand in front of her.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria watched him quietly, and made a little face when he spoke. "Chris, I wouldn't have agreed if I didn't want to do this. Let's go, the longer you wait, the more damage." She waved him over and leaned up against the hood of the car, not wanting to be unsupported if she had a weird reaction to whatever he was about to do.

 

[Tharivle]

"Fair enouph, just wanted to ask again before proceeding." Chris said as he walked up to her. "Hold out your arm, palm up." When she complied he took ahold of her forearm with both hands. "Now this is going to burn a litt...." Chris didn't finish the sentence so she wouldn't have time to pull away, he did that because it wasn't going to burn a little. She was a Moon Child and because it was a Sun Spirit blessing it was going to burn allot.
There was a golden light that shown between Chris's fingers as they were wrapped around her arm, as well as a burning hiss that lasted just a few seconds, and Chris held her tightly in case she tried to pull away. Once it was done he released her. "I'm sorry that hurt, the pain will subside in a moment or two."
On her forearm was the same sword tattoo as he had, and just like Chris said, the gold flames were there as well but they did not move.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria stuck her arm out. She bit her lip a little when he touched her, but quickly released it when he started to mention it might burn. He didn't actually fully mention it, because he started before he finished the sentence. And it didn't burn 'a litt..'
It burned a lot. It felt like an actual iron being placed on her skin. She took a sharp inhale, and her knees wobbled a little. It was a good thing she had leaned against the car. It only lasted a few seconds, but it sent adrenaline rocketing through her. When he let go, she blinked a couple times and looked down at her arm. Sure enough, there was a flaming sword on her skin. Ilaria looked up at Chris with a withering look, and said, "Thanks for the warning." She muttered, and then stood straight up. She flexed her hand, and motioned to him. "Let's get a move on."

 

[Tharivle]

"Now the grove is still several miles that way. This is just where people park their cars." Chris went inside the store and walked up to an old man that was at the counter.
When the old man saw him he looked relieved and smiled, but then his smile disappeared when Ilaria followed him in. "Is she ok to talk in front of?" the clerk whispered.
"Yes, she is a secondary, and is here to help." Chris said quietly wile looking around the room to see if there were actual other people there. "How are things, it seemed bad?"
The clerk looked sad. "This attack has been bad, 7 small willows and 2 members have been killed."
"There is going to be a gap in the defenses if we louse any more willows, and it is getting harder to find worthy and willing replacements." Chis paused with a sad look, then regained his composure, "Two for the fast flight."
The clerk smiled at Ilaria and said, "Follow me" with a little deviousness in his voice. Chris followed the old man outside again then around to the side of the building and asked Ilaria, "How do you feel about roller coasters?"

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria let them have their little exchange, pretending to look around the store. She shuffled her feet, and looked up at the ceiling, the walls, the floor. She heard every word they said though, it wasn't that big of a place.
She raised an eyebrow. "I love them, but I hope you don't actually have one hidden in here." She said flatly.

 

[Tharivle]

"No of course not, but this will be quite the ride." Chris replied.
Once they were around the side of the building the old man reached behind a stack of crates and pulled out a staff. It was polished to perfection and glistened in the sun. It was a wavy staff that had a figurine of an eagle in the top. The eagles mouth was wide open and there was an amber jewel between its wooden beak.
"Chris Rex are you both ready?" Chris nodded and Rex gave a quick bark. "And you young lady are you familiar with the Fast Flight?"

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria was honestly just along for the ride.
Her face remained neutral, and she just looked at the old man. "No, but Im a fast learner." She quipped, a little confused about why he was asking.
Its not like she really had a choice, since this seemed to be the super secret entrance to their lair.

 

[Tharivle]

"The grove is still about 20 miles away and this staff congers an eagle that will carry friends to the grove. We use it to get there when the grove is under attack so people don't have to fight their way in, they can just be in then go help with the defense. Rex will go first." The old man spun the staff around with a skill that could only come from years of practice and as it spun around the amber started to glow. Once the amber was almost burning the man stabbed the ground with the bottom of the staff so he was holding it upright in front of him, and when the staff hit the ground Rex ran forward and jumped. As he leapt into the air an eagle materialized behind him and scooped him up in its talons then took a few flaps to gain altitude. Then it turned into a jet of golden flame as it streaked away at an impossible speed.
Just a few seconds later the old man turned back from watching Rex speed off and said, "Rex just traveled 20 miles. Your turn now miss. Just stand in the open and hold out our arms. This won't hurt a bit.... Unless you flinch and the eagle doesn't get a good grip under your arms."

 

[Flutterby]

"That all just sounds so.. great." Ilaria looked over at Chris. "You owe me one. Non-negotiable."
She said quietly, and she stepped forward and held her arms out. She felt ridiculous. This is why I don't do groups.

 

[Tharivle]

"I already did... You are here to start with." Chris replied with a smile.
The old man did the same short build up and the eagle came back and scooped Ilaria up in the same manor as it did Rex. Once she was whisked away the process was repeated for Chris.
As the eagle grabbed Chris it took a few flaps and the speed away. The speed at which they were flying should have ripped his arms off but it was as if he was in a bubble and the pull was on the bubble not him, because he could feel the talons around him but they stopped pulling him as soon as the shot out with the incredible speed. Chris could see the landscape go by and the trees approach, but what trouble him was that he could see smoke from one part of the woods.
Once he got there Chris was set down nicely by the golden bird then it disappeared. "How was your flight." Ha asked Ilaria.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria closed her eyes tightly as she waited, and then all of the sudden she was flying through the air. She could feel the pressure of the eagle's talons on her arms, but that wasn't the sensation she was focused on.
At least the flight was relatively short. Once her feet were on ground, she put her hands on her knees and gulped in some fresh air. Chris landed next to her, and asked her how it was.
"Nothing like a rollercoaster," She snapped at him, as she straightened up slowly. It took a minute for her head to stop spinning, so that she could see what was around her.

 

[Tharivle]

"Right, sorry about that.... But you made it in one piece, which is more than the last visitor I brought could say." Chris said win response, and with a little smirk.
They were standing surrounded by various trees. From towering oaks that blocked the sky, to the smallest of fruit trees that were in blossom. But most noticeable among them was a very large willow tree. It had a large rounded trunk and it had 6 distinct branches that rose up then dropped down to the ground, each breaking off into smaller branches that each broke off into vine like branches that had soft feathery looking leaves. Unless one sees it strike it they would never imagine that such a cozy looking tree was in fact a deadly defense.
Chris walked up to the large willow and asked, "Great willow. Where is the fight at, and who is in command of the battle?"
There was no wind, but the tree moved. Its vine like branches pointing towards the west. "Grand Master Felix is in command." The words were heard like a whisper on the wind, but they were also clear and unmistakable. Both Chris and Ilaria heard the tree speak, for it was words spoken out loud just like if it was a person talking.
"Thank you." Chris said, and he turned in the direction that the tree had pointed, with Rex directly on his side.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria looked up at the tree, and found herself wanting to climb it more than anything. It would be perfect for that. One could sleep on the larger branches without worrying about falling off. She was.. a little thrown when it spoke, but she was running out of things to be surprised at with these Golden Flame people.
She noted the direction it indicated though, and after a moment of thought, she chose a panther as her form. With a small flash of light, a sleek, ebony black panther was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Rex, just a little bit taller than he was. The panther looked up at Chris, and gave a small nod.

 

[Tharivle]

As Ilaria came to stand next to Rex, he looked at the panther next to him in surprise, gave a quick sniff to insure that it was still her, then turned his attention back to Chris who was now walking briskly westward towards the growing sounds of fighting. Once they got close enouph to see what was going on it was clear that the battle wasn't as dire as it was made out to be. A group of about 15 demons were "attacking". They were massed in a group in front of two willows that had broken formation to meet the demons. They attacked in groups of 3 or 4 and retreated when 1 or 2 were killed. There was no honor amongst demons, they would push each other into the reach of the willows to be shredded so they themselves could retreat, or leave an injured demon on the field to be finished off so they could return to the group. 10 golden flame members were standing either under or behind the two willows, and engaged the demons if they actually stood and fought while the trees cut down the others.
It was clear that their help would not be needed, for when the three of them reached Felix, the remaining 12 or so demons scattered and fled. "I want prisoners if possible." Felix ordered as Chris approached him. The willows pulled back to the grove and either as a team or merged the members and their companions pursued the demons as they fled, killing 4 more and capturing 2.

"Grandmaster." Chris said as he walked up and greeted Felix. Felix was dressed very different from Chris. Chris was in his modern day police uniform with the accompanying gun, flashlight, nightstick, tactical vest wile Felix was dressed in polished armor, golden cape, sword, shield, unlit torch on his hip. He looked very imposing to anybody that would have been alive 500 years in the past, and there was a massive golden eagle perched on a tree behind him, with special forged armor that covered its body and back and parts of its wings.
"Chris" The man said in a cheerful tone, only glancing at him before looking back as the others were hulling their prisoners back to the grove. "You missed all the fun." Felix turned and looked at them fully and then noticed Ilaria in her panther form. "And who might your friend be, I haven't meet her before."