Attack! [All Order Members]

[Mirai]

Mirai slept soundly in her bed, shifting slightly as she felt Aricia call out to her mind. The first time, the dragon was unsuccessful; but with the next more forceful call, she bolted upright. If something wasn't really amiss, she wouldn't have woken up her rider in the middle of the night.

[Our shade is back,] Aricia informed her rider, [And he's brought a pair of friends.]

Mirai leapt from her bed and ran over to her window. She could see three figures moving recklessly fast towards the Keep, but they were still aways off. Aricia, wake everyone up,] She told the dragon, answered shortly afterward by a very loud roar.

Mirai turned and dressed quickly, fastening her belt and sword around her waist before running out, hurrying down the hallways, shouting about the attack on the Keep.

[Adonia]

Phoenix ran swiftly out his room at the sound of Mirais call. His eyes narrowed as he finished tightening the last few tethers to his pants and began to button up his shirt, ending up with it halfway up by the time he reached Mirai. Rom was at his heals, the white tiger felids ears back and his mouth open in a snarl.
"Bastards!" Phoenix hissed, his normaly gentleman nature usualy doesnt allow for swearing but the agitation was to much. He watched as Aidan rushed to his girlfriend and stood close. "What he said." Aidan said as Creon could be heard just outside the doors, his massive wings flapping rappidly to keep himself suspended in the air. "I thought that bastard was gone for good." He mumbled as he remembered how the man had thrown him ten feet into a tree the last battle. And he remembered Phoenix' broken leg. The counsil member seemed to remember that too, as the scowl on his face was rather intimidating.
Needless to say he would fight near by Yelena the entire time. As Aidan himself wouldnt leave Mirais side for anything. Creon seemed to agree {We cant let any of them get hurt Aidan.} Came his wise statement. {This is going to be the first time some of our younger members face these horrors.} Rom said to Phoenix.

[Cadelen]

Both Cadelen and Esten had been sleeping soundly through the night. Though there were still very little riders in the keep, the pair focused their attention on their students. It seemed unfair to say the two spent most of their time with Chiki and Serene. On top of being a bonded griffin pair, they also shared the same power as Cadelen and Esten. So it was natural they spent more time around them. However, today had been a rather taxing day for Cadelen training Adonia and Onyx. Onyx seemed to be growing fast. Cadelen had wondered briefly if this was what it was like to be a mother. But as all things went, growing came with the mood swings. And today had definitely been a mood swing for Onyx. He had been irritated and irrational all day long and made it difficult for Cadelen to work with the two.

The constant hard work with those two, plus training with Chiki and Serene left her feeling exhausted. Almost as soon as Cadelen had hit the sheets of her bed after taking a long and very relaxing bath, she was asleep. Esten had tucked the sheets around his rider and went to see Avery off to bed in place of his sister. Although Avery had been there for a while, he still hadn't found a room for himself (even though there were plenty) and instead made his home on the couch in their living room.

After returning, Esten assumed his place on the large bedded part of the room next to Cadelen's bed and went to sleep. It wasn't until many hours later that he was stirred from his sleep by an odd feeling. He cracked his eyes open and grumbled before sitting up and peering out of the large open glass doors that lead to the balcony from which he entered and exited by flight. Moments later, a terribly loud roar echoed through the Keep. Aricia, he thought. And she meant business. The roar was more of an awakening warning, though Esten knew it was laced with intimidation and malice.

Behind him Cadelen stirred from her sleep and rose up from the bed. "What was that sound just now?" Esten swung his head back to meet his rider's gaze. "It was Aricia. She was calling."

"Whatever for at this hour?" she asked, the skirt of her nightgown swirling around her legs as she walked over meet Esten at the door, the locks of her hair raining down around her shoulders, unrestrained as they usually were when she slept. It was then they heard a voice shouting down the hallway. Cadelen recognized it to be Mirai. Warning of an attack of Shades.

Instant dread rushed through Cadelen as she bolted to her armoire, suddenly fully awake. She yanked out her battle attire, which had sat neglected in the back of her armoire, and threw it onto the bed. She tried to yank off her nightgown and swore out-of-character as it became a bundle of cloth around her. Esten was immediately at her side, raking his claws down the back of the dress, tearing it straight down the back. The robe fell to the ground, but Esten was un-phased at the site of her naked skin. She was in nothing but her underwear aside from the rings from Saith and the necklace from Aidan she never took off, but both were still completely at home. Being bonded does that to one--well two.

She shoved on her battle attire and quickly threw her hair up tightly against her head as Avery stumbled into the room. "Sister? What's going on?" His eyes widened at her clothes and suddenly, he too, was awake. Activity was apparent in the Keep. Esten could hear a large amount of people moving around. Word got around fast. Cadelen's necklace was glowing a faint gold as mental activity between the riders increased, the normally lethargic griffin perched around the clear gem was now erect and hissing with fur and feather alike bristled. Esten tapped into Cadelen's mind, which had already been listening to the mental connections and listened to the buzz of words. "Shade attack," he grumbled.

"What's a shade?" Avery asked as Cadelen finished with her hair and crossed the room in a matter of strides, looking, even for her, fierce. Taking her brother by the arm in a firm grasp, or as firm as possible for her, she practically dragged him to his dresser, where she rummaged around for clothes that looked even remotely protective. "They are wizards who have corrupted themselves by tapping into very dark and forbidden magics. It's driven them to madness. Though they are smart, they are little better than savage animals," she explained in a rush, throwing the clothes she picked out at Avery. "Now get dressed!"

While Avery scurried off to Cadelen's room, Cadelen went to the counter in her herb garden and grabbed her field bag, stuffing it full of things she might have use for in the to-near future and strapped it around her waist. By the time she returned, Esten and Avery were by the door waiting for her. Avery had recovered his calm nature, but a frown scrunched up his adorable face, hair bed tousled and sticking up and out at odd angles all over his head. Bursting from the door, Avery had to work double-time to keep up with Cadelen and Esten. It wasn't long before they meet Mirai, Aricia, Aidan, Creon, Phoenix and Romulous in the halls. She caught the tail-end of Aidan's statement and announced their arrival by responding to him. "We had all thought so."



((Wow, that came a lot longer than I had anticipated. I guess my muse loves me again after three weeks of it's absence. xDD))

[Yelena]

Yelena was sound asleep when Aricia's call, and Faythe's answering howl in return snapped her out of her slumber. She was out of bed and dressed in moments as Faythe's growl and howl echoed through the room. "Who's attacking us?" Yelena asked as she ran over to Faythe, and the two ran together down to where she knew Mirai would be.

"I'm not sure," Faythe said as she loped beside her rider, her teeth bared. "I think it might be a shade attack," She snarled. Yelena sucked in a surprised breath, and nearly stumbled.

"A shade?!" She gasped as she managed to keep her footing and keep running. She spotted Mirai and yelled out for the woman. "Mirai?! Is there really a shade?!" She hissed once she reached her friend.

----

Silvie had already been awake when she heard the loud call from Aricia, and when Ai answered it. Silvie leaped out her window without a word to Ai, already knowing something bad was going on, and shifted into her hawk form, flying down to land near Aidan, turning back into her human form just before she hit the floor and running alongside him, Mirai, Phoenix, Yelena and Cadelen. "Aidan what is going on?" Silvie asked, looking worried as she turned to the man she had pretty much claimed as her big brother not all that long after they had met. "Ai said something about a Shade Attack?"

[Mirai]

Mirai turned to the others as they gathered in the hallway, all moving together down to the entrance of the Keep to head outside to battle. "Yes, the shade is back," She said, her voice beginning to shake as she spoke the next part, "And he's brought two others with him." One they could handle. Three? That would be a definite problem.

Arion hurried out into the hall, hearing the shouts and calls of everyone else, word that there was an attack on the Keep. He was half-shifted, already prepared to battle with the shades. He looked stretched out and lanky, his irises a bronzey color, and his skin covered in dark scales. Athera padded beside him, a fierce and focused look on her face.

Selene fell in line with the rest of the group, her staff in hand. The pegasus rider had been informed by her bond, who was waiting outside for them, of the shades. She knew what she was supposed to do already; stick close to the less experienced riders and potentials while she fought. If she had to, she and Thalia could put a shield up around them to keep them safe.

[Griffin]

Griffin was sound asleep when Aricia roared and jolted awake, knocking the book that he had been reading to the floor, shortly followed by the rider himself. 'What the!? Kana, what did she say?' (There are shades out side the keep. Three of them.) 'Shades!? Oh no.' He swore under his breath as he got up and quickly dressed, grabbing his family orcarina and the strange sword that he found in the northern temple of Involete, the Godfall weapon of blood. Omega warned him about it, how it could turn on him if he became too wounded so he had to be careful. 'Go find Adoina, Ill meet up with you at the court yard.' (Fine.) Kana uncurled herself and dashed out of the room when Griffin opened the door. He then hurried down the hall untill he met up with Mirai and the others. 'Three shades? I didnt think that scum could find more of his kind so quickly. We best repel them now and make sure we finish the job.'

[Adonia]

Adonia spotted Kana, as she had been hurying towards the sound of Aricia's roar, and she heard the unmistakeable sound of Creon joining in. Adonia hopped on Onyx who sped up to run along side Kana. "Is griffin ok!" was the first question she asked before they reached the rest and she leapt off Onyx to stand beside Griffin, relieved to see him okay.

Phoenix spared her a glance, making sure his little sister was okay before turning back to Mirai "Three of them! last time we faced even one he raised hell." He cursed to himself before his illusion power rushed out to find Sen in the form of a phoenix. Aidan however had his attention on Silvie. "Creon will stick close to Ai." He told her. "We need to stick together. I dont want you to get hurt, I'd have to rip some shades to shreads" he said with a slight smile, though it was obviously strained by worry as his face went serious again.

Phoenix turned to Cadelen, his best friend and was relieved to see her here. They would need her healing abilities before the end. But first and foremost he wanted to be sure to know where all his friends are so he knows they are okay. "im glad to see you esten and Avery are okay. When I heard the allert I thought the shades were already apon us." he said as they made it out into the open and were closer to the shades then ever, as the shades were also rushing at them.

Aidans hands began to glow with fire, ready for attack and Adonia ran next to Griffin. "Its odd they havent used magic yet" She said nervously.

[Cadelen]

Within mere minutes most of the Order members had gathered. Most of them were talking seriously amongst themselves about the shade attack. It was understandable. Three Shades. Three. Even as optimistic a person as Cadelen was, she had a feeling they wouldn't get out of this without some serious loss. There numbers were just too little and most of their riders were inexperienced. She met Mirai's shaking voice with a hard look of her own. It was an expression of shared worry, however, because there was no smile on Cadelen's face.

Phoenix looked at her then. "I'm glad to see you, Esten, and Avery are okay. When I heard the allert I thought the shades were already apon us." She shook her head. "Not yet, from what I gather. They seem to be baiting themselves. Waiting for something." She saw a shimmer of power from Phoenix and down the hall shot an illusion of himself. Off to find Sen no doubt. He didn't even listen to the mental link between the riders half the time, so he was a hard man to find.

She exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding, looking to Yelena. "Where is Chiki? I need for her to be with me. And for that matter, where are Kronos and Saith?"

[Silvie]

Silvie looked up at Aiden and gave him a sweet, almost happy smile, despite the desperate circumstances. "I will not be hurt, big brother," She told him. "You do not need to worry about me." She reached out and grabbed his hand as they ran and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go, concentrating on what Ai was seeing from circling above the Keep. Silvie shuddered. "I hate Shades."

----

"Three Shades?!" Yelena asked, barely able to keep her own voice steady. No matter how hard she tried though, she wasn't able to hide the unmistakable sound of fear that rose from her throat with her voice. "Dear lord," She whispered as she looked towards Faythe loping beside her, the candid tense and clearly agitated.

[Mirai]

"Lets just hope these other two aren't as strong as the first one is, She said. The shade they'd fought seemed to be unusually strong, even for a shade. But how many shades of such power could exist? She looked to Cadelen as she asked about Kronos and Saith. "We'll have to go on without them," She said, "I'm sure they'll join up with us soon." Going on without them was not exactly what Mirai wished to do, but time was important right now.

((Bleh. No Muse.))

[Phoenix Black]

(((Managed to beat my muse into a bit of cooperation)

Phoenix looked a bit distressed at the mention of saith and Kronos not being in on the fight but his face soon smoothed out as he saw the familiar blur that signaled sens arival. Sen stopped running close to him and the twins ran in sync-Sens face held worry anger and a bit of hessitation that wasnt enough to stall his movements. He didnt have time, soon they came apon the clearing and the shades did as well.

For a split second all was silent. Aidan could practicaly hear The heartbeats of the order members and he took in the shades appearence with guarded eyes as Phoenix stood still besides Yelena, he stood beside mirai and waited for the confrontation to start. The shades were the ones to break the silence. They laughed, cruel nails on the chalkboard kind of a laugh that made Sen want to speed forward and nock their teeth out. But thats what they wanted to happen no doubt. Anger made one fight different than they should.

Adonia stood next to Griffin with wide eyes as she took in the site of the shades-And when one glanced her way and gave her a cruel smirk and cocked his head to the side in morbid fascination at her fearful gaze she heardened her stare and gave him her most stubborn look. He seemed to eye the order one by one, and she could tell this third one was particularly sadistic.

The first one spoke up in his snake like voice. "I look forward to killing you and your bonds, I dont have any offer to make, I dont want anything but your deaths. Im surprised you let new riders come." He began before tilting up his head and smelling the air. "Ah! fear and desperation in the air. This is to be the perfect battle." He said to his comrads who laughed and used dark magic to draw weapons from energy. The sharp blades were pure dark energy and something told Phoenix as he looked at them that they were poisoned.

Sen placed a hand on Phoenix' shoulder in a gesture that was both a good bye if they dont make it, and a comfort. The twins shared a glance, speaking in that wordless way they are good at before once again standing strong against their opponents.

Aidan stood still, glaring at the Shades and his own twin daggers erupted in fire, his ice blue eyes seeming to glow as he watched them. He wasnt about to let anything on earth hurt his friends if he could help it. Creon circled the clearing, trying to see if it was big enough for his and Aricias aiding them.

And Rom and Achilles and Onyx stayed near there riders with intent to fight to the death for them.

[Griffin]

[Meep, sorry for my not posting. Im realy busy in RL right now.]

Griffin shifted his feet when he saw the Shades. He heard rumors about them, how they sold their very souls to the forbidden arts, sometimes they sold their very beings, their humanty, their exsistance for pure power. Power that always destroyed them. By just looking at them he knew that the rumors were lacking on the darker side of these shades. Their obstain blades stunk of blood and death, both new and old. The robes that were wrapped around their skelition bodies were old, faded, and ratty. The worst part was their eyes...Their eyes were pure black with veins of a deseassed yellow cracking through them, and the last being the pupil of their eyes, a crimson so bloody that he felt like it was from a child cut in the first moments of its birth.
As the shades looked over the assembled order members one of the shades, the one that was makeing not one sound, locked its gase on the blade in Griffin's hands. It ignored everything else that was happening around it and focused on Griffin and the blade in his hand. "Godfall..." Once it said that a mass of...Some type of energy surounded the Shade and many strange circles appeared around it. Out of the circles appeared strange beasts, reptilian creatures that no bigger than a child with long claws, and circled around the Shade. There was now something different about the Shade, like it was under the control of a more powerful being.