Welcome to Gaia! ::

Malis stared at the scroll looking quite glum. What looked like the results of a whirlwind of chaos surrounded her, the only place untouched was a stack of papers neatly in the corner of the lone desk in the room. The quill dripped in onto the wooden surface as the large blue hand attempted to make delicate squiggles on the paper. Bright eyes peered at the marks before looking at the reference book she had been attempting to copy. While she was learning how to make the squiggles make sounds, she was still hopeless at writing them down on paper. Tossing down the quill and staring at the ink stained paws in front of her she sighed loudly, wishing that she could be out and hunting down that dragon she had just found out about.

But no... she was determined to do what Mister Joni had asked her to do. He was so old, much older than her grandmother, her grandmother's grandmother even and she was ancient! He had to know what he was talking about and she wanted to show him and the others that she could surmount everything asked of her. The troll stretched out and shook her head to release the tension she felt around her neck. Her long dreads shifted with clinking sounds as her large beads bounced off each other. She had hoped to write a bunch of letters to everyone but she couldn't even get the first written. She imagined how proud he might be if she surprised him with a letter she had wrote him. Maybe she would even write one of those poem thingies. The troll had never known that people could write songs down in such a way. She had spent the whole night trying to decipher the poem she had found and marveled over the beat that it conjured up in her head. A whole new world had opened up to her when Malis had started to open some of the books that she had found in the archives. A new place for her to explore and travel and learn now things...

Except she needed to learn how to write too... The troll glared down at the scroll as if it offended her. While reading was still slow and arduous, she could use the special book she had been given to look up the bigger words and sound out the others she couldn't find. With writing, however, she needed to be able to form the squiggles as well as place them in the correct order. There were so many different ways to write some words, she didn't think she would ever get that right. Only the other day the troll had been agonizing with 'There, They're and Their' and was still not quite sure she had that one down right. Growling slightly she decided to at least get the next sentence written before going outside and getting some well deserved fresh air. Malis looked around for the quill she had managed to loose for the second time that morning before being interrupted with the banging of the front door. She tilted her head, using her senses to listen to the movements down stairs before suddenly skirting her way to the curtain that blocked her rooms from the ones that belonged to the rest of the house. The troll was never one for doors and preferred the wind to blow through her living areas but did respect the Sin'dorei's need for privacy.

However, for once she was thankful for that same privacy, she still had not told Rynn of her decision. The troll was still not quite sure how to broach the subject and wasn't sure of the warlock's reaction. She stepped outside to greet her blood sister, Amirynth, with a grin. "Heya sis! How ya been doin' t'day? Ya go out to t' market?" The blood elf had gotten into the habit of leaving little pictographs for Malis to find if she went out, not knowing yet that reading was an option now. The troll made her way down the stairs to the small cottage they shared in the golden city. Well... when Malis was there, of course. Most of the rooms belonged to Amirynth, the troll was not allowed in the kitchen as the last time had proved to be disastrous. The lower areas were for the guests, a simple sitting room, a dining area and the kitchen as well as a small corridor that lead to Rynn's labs. Upstairs was Malis' rooms and Rynn's sleeping quarters though she was more often than not in her labs most nights.

"Yes, I went to the market." The soft voice replied as the red-haired elf took off the cloak that covered most of her body. A small frown escaped her as she hung the material on the hook by the door and then moved slowly towards the couch near by. "I have a few things for components and I found something you might like." She gestured towards the parcels that seemed to be levitating a foot off the floor. "Yazuri, can you put those in the corner please."

In response the packaged moved in hopping motions towards their designation before a small imp peeked out over the top of them. "You need a man to do this job..." The imp scowled before adding, "M'lady" At her frown he scooted back and made his way towards the lab where he would find interesting things to do until she called him back.

Shaking her head, Amirynth smiled, "Technically he is a man..."

"Bah... Ah wouldn't be callin' him a man. He be complainin' too much. What ya need is someone who be fierce an' strong wit' big tusks an' enough muscle..." The troll moved over to the floor near by where a small array of pillows lay. "Though ah be guessin' ya be likin' t' wimpy types..." She added with a toothy grin. She never could see the attraction of the Sin'dorei, even if she did respect them.

"Yes, but who would be interested in me?" Amirynth's smile lessened a little as she thought of her 'sickness'. "I doubt I will ever find anyone who would be able to be with me, let alone be able to... well..." She tapered off before turning her attention to the packages. "There, that blue one is yours, open it." The blood elf did not want to lay all her troubles onto Malis, even though she knew that the troll would gladly accept anything and everything. The attack so long ago had left her disfigured and weak, she was lucky that she had never lost her powers but on some lonely nights she wished that the bear had taken her life instead of leaving her in the state she was. She would never dance again, her limbs too weak and body to frail. The bond she had created with Yazuri helped her take her steps through the day but still the whispers of fear surrounded her in her dreams. Her thoughts were interrupted by the exclamation of joy from the troll.

Malis was grinning as she held the long spear of fluorite in her hands. The light caught it and let the inner purple heart glow as it was surrounded by the bands of green and white. "It be so perty Rynn! How did ya find a shinie like this!" The troll held it up to the light and admired the crystal shadows it gave the place. "It be lookin' just like t' crystals I found in that cave. Ya remember ah be tellin' ya about that?" Malis wished she could take the Sin'dorei to Un Goro to see the crystal cave that had inspired Malis to move some of her things there and stake a claim in it's depths. As time had gone on, however, her blood sister had been getting weaker, as if she was loosing her will to continue. It's one of the reasons why Malis had taken up sketching to be able to send messages to her sister and show some of the things she had seen in her travels. "Thank ya Rynn... it's perfect! Ah be puttin' this in t' catcher... ah think it be perfect for t' antler ah be findin' in Winterspring."

The troll nodded happily before making a face. "It be hard though... I don't understand why all t' squiggles be so important but Mister Joni says that ya can be getting lost o' in-form-a-shon from t' books, even ones wit' t' pretty pictures! Ah be writin' sometin' special but ah don't want t' show it until it be finished." She wiggled in place for a moment as the urge to show her sister what she had done washed over her. The labor she had spent on it had been time consuming but had been the most fun as she couldn't wait to see the expression on the face of the one who would recieve it.

"You don't have to show it if you don't want to, Malis." Rynn couldn't help but smile at the shaman's enthusiasm. She smoothed out her robes and made as if to rise. "I should be getting back to my..."

"No Wait!" Malis suddenly stood up, her dreads flying about her as she bolted for the stairway. "Wait there! Ah t'ink ah be finishin' now and ah want ya t' see it!" She tore up the rest of the way up to the landing and hung over the banister. "Don't go inside until ah be comin' back out!" The troll darted into her room and searched around for the scroll that held the fruits of her hard work.

Rynn sat and waited, her mind going over the events she had bee told. So Malis had decided to join the Symphony? She had heard a little about them from the corners of the city and seen their recruitment posters in the hall. They had seemed like a nice guild but Rynn never could bring herself to ask to join. A thud from upstairs caused her to look up suddenly and she felt her back twinge in protest. No... she couldn't ask to join, she didn't have anything to contribute and would just be a hindrance. She already felt as if she was more of an encumbrance to the troll rather than an asset. Once she could filter the life from the creatures around her but recently, more and more she felt as if she was weaker. The sickness must be coming back she thought to herself. That's the only explanation. She had already lost connection with the other demons she had called up in the past, only Yazuri remained. The warlock wondered if something had happened to cause the pact to have been dissolved. The hope fluttered in her chest for a moment before dieing. No... If that dissolved then her dream of dancing was gone forever... even if it meant she would loose Malis one day to the curse. The blood elf sighed and looked back upstairs for her blue blood-sister. It was if the troll's exuberance was the only thing keeping her going sometimes which terrified her. If she ever lost Malis...

"Here we be!" Malis ran down the stairs, a scroll in hand. Skipping most of the steps down she almost tumbled before catching herself and landing with a laugh. "Ah got hit by a nagah an' had t' finish it!" She proffered the scroll to her sister and then sat back down on the floor, watching Rynn as she unscrolled it. "What ya t'ink?"

"I have to read it first silly..." The Sin'dorei paused as she started to read the scrawling handwriting, the parchment covered in splotches and ink drops but still readable...



She sat there and felt a tear come to her eye. "Oh Malis... it's beautiful." The sin'dorei was rendered speechless and smiled softly as she let the scroll fall to her lap. "Thank you..." She felt a fluttering in her chest as the darkness seemed to draw away from it for the moment. Closing her eyes she breathed a deep shuddering breath to quiet the roaring that seemed to sing within her ears. "Thank you my sister."

Malis grinned, pleased that her work had been well received. She leaned back and watched her sister, enjoying the relaxed aura that now surrounded the warlock. It was in this moment that the troll saw the glow she had missed for so long. The glow that had drawn Malis to her so long ago now when they fought that dragon together. One day she would keep the darkness away... "Hey Ryn...? When ah be gettin' accepted into t' guild... you wanna come wit' me? Ah be sure they would be lovin' t' have ya around too... An then ya can be part o' t' family too!"

Rynn's eyes widened... would she join the Symphony? At that moment she almost felt like she could dance again, if only for the love for her sister. For that love she would do anything...