One windy day, cold biting any unprepared, a half angel was forced with a decision. Adhere to her mother's desires, or disregard them and stay by her side. Elithia had simply smiled as she tucked a strand of hair behind Raziel's ear. "This is what you wanted." The angel held her tongue, wise enough not to contradict the woman. Her desire was to travel and explore the world, preferably with the nymph at her side. Forcing the angel to embark on a quest was not what she had in mind.

With trepidation, she packed essentials. Blankets, herbs, food, a canteen of water. While not wishing to be caught without necessities, Raziel needed to pack light. Warm cloak wrapped tight about her neck, staff gripped tight in hand, a large timber wolf pressed against her leg reassuringly. "Well, Zander, ready to explore the huge world out there?" Yet that first step was nigh impossible to make. Her mother was ill, and Raziel felt she would be much better use to the other angels in treating the woman. However, a request was not to be ignored.

If she was on her deathbed, Raziel needed to find those with the names Rammy and Gabe. How was the angel supposed to find them? Did her mother forget she was blind? With a shiver, she took a deep breath and thrust her staff out against the ground. One step, thrust staff, two step. Her feet were buried beneath the virgin snow, the first steps on a grand journey. Pushing all thoughts of doubt and questions aside, the petite woman trudged on, faithful wolf her shadow and protector.

After hours of travel, the elf sighed as she wiped her brow with the back of her hand. "Zander, do you hear the wind howling? Does something approach?" The wind grabbed her cloak, ripping it off the short statured woman, revealing lavender hair and tucked wings. As the cloak danced with the wind, the angel raised her face to the sky with despair. "My cloak!" Her hands gripped her staff tight, listening to the ripples of fabric decrease with distance. An attempt to chase after it was made, yet in her haste, she tripped and fell in the snow. The canine gave chase for her, the angel's eyes where she had no sight.

Their journey of trickery and mischief has led Kat and Dexter into the mountains. Both hailing from a desert region and accustomed to the warm weather they didnt like the cold too much. Kat covered herself in what she called cloathing and Dexter hid under that same cape like scarf. "Dexter, im cold!" "So am i! But there must be a village in this wasteland!" "Why cant we turn back?" "Because we've been traveling for long enough that going back would take longer than pressing on." "Do you even know where we are going?" "Jawohl, of course i know vhere we are going. Im the smartest creature in this primitive, unintelligent continent. Now press on! Zhere are ores here just for the taking that we can make our ticket out of this world with!" "Where do we look for them?" "Should be at the top of zhe mountain." Kat pressed on while rubbing her arms and shivering her way through the area when suddenly, out of nowhere she got a rogue cloak in her face, immediatly causing her to panick. "AAAAHHH DEXTER THERE IS SOMETHIGN ON MY FACE! GET IT OFF, WHAT IS THAT?!" she screamed while frantically trying to get the cloak off her face, throwing Dexter off of her in the process. "Oy SCHEI- Kat! It's just a cloak, stand still und pick me up! The snow is cold here, Dumpfkop!" After struggling to get the cloak off her face for a while she managed to remove it. After picking up Dexter she looked at it curiously.

"Where did this come from?" "No idea, but it's a cloak and we are cold. Wrap it around yourself and move on before someone comes to get it." "But what if someone comes to get it?" "You're a thief Kat… Und look around! Zhere is no one to be seen. Just use it and warm yourself up." "Okay Dexter…" Hesitantly Kat wrapped the cloak around herself and moved on, stopping to hear barking. "Dexter, what is that?" "Must be a wolf, whack it with your wrench if it gets too close und move on…" "You know i dont like hurting animals!" "Und animals do eat little girls. Ideals are nice unless you are put in harms way, zhat's why nobles scream the hardests about zhem." "I will make the difference" "How nice… BUT NOT WHEN ZHERE ARE WILD ANIMALS ATTACKING. You know what? Just use your invisibility bracelet i made for you if you are ZHAT passionate about not harming…"

Zander made quite the announcement of his arrival, barking at the new scents in the air. Still, he bound after the cloak, following the scent of his master. Soon, a woman and some strange companion came into view, and Zander stopped a safe distance away. They had his prize, his fur-less master would surely freeze without it. Determined to obtain what he sought, the wolf gave some warning barks.

Meanwhile, the angel picked herself up from the cold. Ignoring the stray pockets of ice sticking to the folds of her clothing, Raziel continued to press onward, using the sound of the wolf for orientation. Deciding to abandon the hastened pace, her feet slid through the snow almost cautiously. "Zander?" she called, receiving an answering yip from a short distance ahead. "Did you find it?" Now standing next to the wolf, the angel gripped her staff tight.

"Who's there?" Raziel's eyes were cast slightly upwards, a standard position for her steel grey orbs. Anxiety filled her as the unknown lay before her. Zander pressed against her before planting himself in front, a protective stance. He was ready to pounce should they make any sudden moves. "Hello? I'm sorry, but have you seen my cloak? It was caught by the wind." For the first time ever, there was a desire to have a companion capable of speech. They could describe the scene, or offer some kind of communication she could react off of.

As it was, she was alone with a wolf, hindered by her dark eyes. Maybe this whole trip her mother thrust upon her was a mistake. It was not too late to turn back. Surely, her mother would understand. The angel shivered as another gust of wind whipped her hair into her face. Where the most typical reaction would be to push it away from the eyes, Raziel made no move against it.

"Oh it's just a pet wolf! Nothing to worry about!" "Pet wolves are more likely to bite because someone can order them around, dumpkopf." Kat tried to pet the wolf on it's head before continuing her walk through the frozen wasteland. "Now im hearing a voice." "Excellent, than i know im not the only one going insane due to hypothermia." "We're going insane?!" "Most likely." "NOOOOO- Wait i see someone!" "Well that probaply means that we are dead…" "Dexter… Does that mean i will see dad again?" "Depends on wether you go to hell for stealing or not." "WHAAAAAAAA" "Oh wait, zhere really is someone there… We arent dead, zhere really is someone there…" "WHAAAAAAAAAAAA" "GUTENTAG STRANGER! DO YOU KNOW SOMEPLACE TO WARM UP?" Dexter tried to talk with Raziel while Kat kept crying. 

"This is Dexter Diasun speaking, most brilliant inventor in this cult infested realm! KAT VILL YOU DRY YOUR TEARS ALREADY?!" "Okay…*sniff* Who are you…?" "Jawohl, me und my little girl Kat are looking to get to zhe top of this mountain to retrieve or to make a way out of this blasted realm." "A cloak? Noo… i dont think i saw one…?" Kat said slowly stuffing the cloak further below her own cloak. "Must have flown off the cliffs. You know how it is with strong winds up here…" In contrast to Dexter, Kat was a terrible liar, she wasnt convincing at all though it was probaply to do with her age while Dexter's manipulative nature made him come over as if he were speaking the truth. "Dexter! I want to go back and just hire a carriage. We're both from the desert!" "Zhat would be a waste!"

Listening to them react to her was an odd experience. It was obvious they had some kind of odd relationship beyond mere acquaintances. One word stuck out, though. The word stealing. When they finally turned their communications to her, Raziel had a decision to make. Either she could direct them to her home, Zets'Ki Cradle, or send them down the mountain. If she were to help them, would they try to steal anything from the Reverie temple? The palace? What kind of damage could they do to her beloved home?

Dexter Diasun and Kat? So they were trying to leave the realm, but why was beyond her. There was an underlying sense of something from the girl, something that Raziel was unfamiliar with except from young children. Like she was trying to hide the truth, and hoped she was believable enough to escape notice. The older one was more smooth, confident. If he wanted to hide something, the angel believed he could without effort. Zander gave a low growl, adding his own two cents into the mix.

"I don't think there's anything in Zets'Ki to help anyone get out of the realm. It's a place of worship and seclusion. While visitors are welcome, we don't often see many, and none who dwell there desire to escape the realm. Travel by foot or wing is the only way to or from the town." Raziel weighed every option, a small frown creasing her forehead. She shivered lightly and tucked her wings around her tighter, trying to shield herself from some of the chill.

The angel listened to many stories of her mother's travels. Deserts were known for their intense heats during the day, no shade to protect a traveler, no water except in oases, rare places of life. With nothing to hold onto the heat, as the sun sank into the horizon, the temperatures plummeted with the escaping heat. If they were truly from there, then their cold tolerance would be extremely low compared to her own. Raziel had lived in these mountains for almost a century, meaning she was quite accustomed to the weather here. "Zander here thinks you're lying to me. But tell you what. If you truly do have my cloak, keep it. You sound like you need it more than I." With that, she turned to continue her way down the mountain, using her staff to feel the safe places to put her feet. Zander looked at her quizzically, and then proceeded to walk before her, deliberately tripping the angel so she face planted into the snow once more.

"HAHA! Not for zhe natives of this planet with their limited knowledged of advanced logistics. I just need a substitute of any metal capable of storing electrochemical properties, or the so called mythril here, mana crystals or the local magic crystals should also do. I've been told back in adeluna that they can be found on mountains. It's not the temple we're heading to, most likely i can find these growing in cave pockets under or nearby the temple." "I thought you said that there were cults in those areas that would attack us if we damaged their temple." "Ja, that's why we are beginning our search away from the temple and without blast magic, im still working on that other equipment." "Oh so the cult that lives there is welcoming visitors?" "Best not to call them a cult, Kat. This person could be one of them." "Oh… So you're part of the peoples in that temple?" Truthfully, not only was the young girl shivering from the cold but also was the dog making her nervous. The girl kept a close eye on it as it kept circling her while the talking scorpion occasionally made a swiping gesture to get it to leave. Despite the fact that physically she was 14 ish and the scorpion was 3 the scorpion was the adult out of the two. In reality he wasnt always a scorpion and it was obvious that there were otherwordly properties to him, especially regarding his intelligence. 

Kat had something of a blush/emberassment on her face when Raziel made clear that she knew that Kat stole her cloak and pulled it up a bit more to hide her face and shyly nodded when she heard that she could keep it. Dexter instead wanted to get down to bussines more. "So… Where is this temple of yours? I have to feed the little one and set up a map based on the temple and decide wether there are decent mining pockets nearby it."

The girl and scorpion had been wandering in what appeared to be an aimless pursuit, but it was the angel that had his attention. He’d been called one on many occasions, but he couldn’t be further from that. This girl, however, was genuine. Or, at least enough of her was. Something else was mixed within her, but he wasn’t able to tell just what, and it felt inappropriate to ask. A few hundred years ago and he would have skipped up to her and inquired about every invasive detail with extreme bluntness, but over time he’d learned that it wasn’t the way to do things.

Of course, sitting atop a wall of snow on the edge of the cradle wasn’t much better. Someone could call it stalking if they really wanted to, but he preferred ‘motivated curiosity’. Besides, it wasn’t as if he’d harm her. Even from this far though, he could see how cold she was, that despite her guiding wolf she might need an extra hand. Aside from that, he wanted a closer look at that scorpion. If that’s even what it really was.

Well then, he thought to himself,No time like the present. He tucked his pencil into his leatherbound journal, and then tucked that into a sewn in pocket inside his long, black, hooded jacket. His white hair and ice blue eyes glowed naturally and cut through the darkness, so he drew his dark hood up: it covered all the way down to his nose, revealing only a set of pale pink lips and fair skin.

Without a second thought he disappeared from his perch and reappeared three yards away from the small group, barely making a sound in the snow as he did so. He smiled, his voice quiet but with enough volume to be heard through the wind, “You’re looking for a temple?” he asked. Even though they couldn’t see his eyes, he looked between the four of them, first on the young girl, her scorpion companion, the wolf, and ending on the blind one.

“I can show you,” he offered, “If you tell me more about your friend there.” he said, nodding towards the scorpion. He’d never seen one like this so close before, and still had his doubts on whether or not they really were as they appeared.

Advanced logistics? Was he talking about some form of logical problems? "So you want a substance that stores electricity, say from lightning or a spell? I can tell you this, you can search, but I don't think you'll find anything. The only thing near the temple is the palace, and one would be a fool to attempt to go under it. Our temple is a place of reverence, and punishment for any who violate or disturb the peace is extreme. Best look far away from the city." What she said was true. The angels were harsh and swift when it comes to the disturbers of the peace, the breakers of worship. Raziel shuddered at the thought of it.

She realized that she could go on about how they were not a cult, but an actual race of angels. Regardless, she nodded in ascent to the question. She wasn't born of them, but was raised as one. Raziel decided she didn't trust the older voice, and was about to declare her refusal of assistance when another voice spoke. A jolt of startled fear caused her heart to race, a small jump in reaction their only visible clue. Zander even missed it, a small growl starting at the back of his throat, which oddly quieted almost as soon as it started. Which meant that the voice's owner was someone they knew.

Najima's voice was like warm honey, a small blush warming her cheeks at the description. He offered to show them the temple, however, he seemed as skeptical of the companion as she did. "Najima, it's been awhile." Even Zander bounded over to him, wagging his tail as an excited puppuly as he hopped in circles around him.

"Yes, from a spell perhaps. There are many ways to generate electricity." "Im coooold" "Stop complaining, you're not making it any easier to get directions, Kat." "Hmpf. Just hurry please…" "Right… Well you heard the little one, ill not damage any of the settlements nearby the temple, und i never broke my solemn vow either." "Do no harm?" "Ja, zhat one." "But you-" Kat was interupted by Dexter who put his claw over her mouth. "So… Directions please? The little one is co-" In turn, Dexter was interupted by another voice, one he didnt recognize nor could guess the origin of. Though much like himself it was very otherwordly, something Dexter had a knack for figuring out. As usual he responded in a rather disgruntled way. "Who the hell are you?" "Dexter, cant you be nicer?" "Und what are you going to do about it, Kat." "I can do the thing." "…" Kat took the word and asked the newcomer who he was while the more rude Dexter retreated under the cloak to warm up but like any arachnid he would lurk from under the covers. Kat, much nicer but more impressionable than Dexter now turned to the newcomer, whom she didnt know. Normally Dexter would be barking at them to keep their distance from the girl but he had to warm up for now. Though that didnt mean he didnt hear any of what was going on. "I have a name, vriend! Und it is Dexter!" "Stop yelling please! But you want to know about Dexter?" "Tell him that i am a venomous cross between a scorpion und a lobster BWAHA" "He used to be my dad's sidekick." "I was NOT a sidekick! I pulled the strings, preplanned the operations and provided the equipment, your father simply executed mein plans."

Kat rolled her eyes and just ignored him, it seemed even she got annoyed with him at times. "So my dad's boss-" "That's more like it." "And he came to me when my dad had to flee because he'd get us both caught if he stayed with me. He now helps me survive until i can meet with my dad at the other side of the continent." "I really need to have a talk with you about that…"

His lips parted from surprise when the timber wolf came up to him. Though he’d seen this familiar muzzle before, he was still cautious before outstretching his fingers and gently touching between his ears. There was brief hesitation, waiting to see if anything would happen to the wolf even though he’d touched their kind many times before. Old habits died hard. An easier smile spread along his lips when no harm befell Zander, and he stroked through the thick fur along his back happily.

“Mm,” he nodded, “A while indeed.” Truth be told he couldn’t remember the last time he’d come across her; time felt different here at times. Had he seen her last week? A year ago? Her face was coming in clearer, but if he were pushed to name a date then there’d be no answer to give. Not quickly at least. Returning to the cradle was always a challenge in itself due to the painful memories it brought, but he pushed through his own discomfort as much as he could. For the most part.

The scorpion and young girl, however, were much less soft spoken and his smile shifted as he listened to the two converse. Spunky, he thought to himself. Fascinating was another word that popped into his head, and his fingers itched to scribble out a likeness of the talking arachnid. Instead he kept his fingers in Zander’s fur where it was warm and safe. Dexter, an interesting name.

“Interesting…” his tone was drawn out in thought. Did he have the same anatomical structure as others like him? Why was he able to talk? How old was he? If too many questions like this were asked then there was a risk of coming off as a threat, which he didn’t want.

“So he is like your…guardian?” he asked, eyebrows raising under the hood that still hid his face. He patted Zander’s side before removing his hands should he want to go back to his own charge. “If your concern is making sure she is safe and needing to set up a base, so to speak, then why such great focus on the temple itself? You mentioned mining…if I heard correctly.” Each theological system had their own practices of course, but he wasn’t sure how safe it would be if someone went digging nearby a holy place.