--- Timeskip ~ Late Night ---

Jason: Kyton: *In the basement, alone in a room, Kyton sits propped up against a wall, a quill pen in his hand and a notebook on his lap. The quill scratches furiously against the paper as the Shapeshifter writes several things down rapidly. Though dark, his faintly glowing yellow eyes can see almost perfectly in the lightless space, enough so that he can see what he is writing down.* /So much has been going on lately,/ *He muses, closing the notebook and placing it and the quill on the ground next to him.* /I'll need to stay on my toes with this one./ *In a fluid transformation, his human shape becomes that of an iridescent green viper, coiling almost protectively on the notebook as Kyton begins to settle down for sleep. A slow trickle of fear rises in him, though not on the level that he would be experiencing the emotion himself. No, this is more... sensing it. An inexplicable, uneasy feeling flows through the area in a radius for him, at first affecting a few nearby rooms, then the basement, and finally the entire building. Once the feeling has reached everyone remotely close enough, it spikes in intensity. Kyton hisses quietly. This will be a long night.*

Valerie shifts restlessly in her sleeping bag. With Kayera nearby and Shadow on the opposite side of the room, the room seemed calm enough... however, as Valerie's eyes twitched rapidly in her dreamstate, she could feel a shift of imminent danger. She was running so fast, kicking up the pavement in horror as she bolted from her front lawn. She had seen it first-hand; the mutilated appendages of her father, the two pieces of the woman she had called mother. She whimpered, trying to push herself further forward. /this has to be another night terror./ she thought, /This can't be happening again.. I escaped.../ Her breathing became hoarse as her lungs burned, bidding her to slow to a stop. However, as she did, she heard the maniacal cackle of something above her. No, all around her. Standing up from her slouched position from catching her breath, she looked up with utter horror. /No, crazE got rid of you! This isn't real!/ she screamed, crumpling to her knees. The ground then shifted as a black, tarrish substance started to climb up her legs. Slowly it began to encase her lower half, escalating further. The numb horror cause her to look up, catching her breath as she met a horrid red-eyed gaze from the black abyss of the sky. /I live in you!/ Valerie, muttering "no", tried desperately to stop black splotches from appearing in her vision. She was blacking out. As the darkness started to consume her, she fought desperately. "Noo!" she suddenly yelled, bursting into a sitting position from her sleeping bag and causing the sides to rip from the immediate action. She gripped her chest as she still felt the darkness around her grip her tightly, causing her to not breath. She started to pant harder and harder, trying desperately to breath again. /No, no! It's not real! Please no!/

Valerie: Darius: *standing silently by the entrance to the basement, Darius holds his vigil leaned against the cold surface behind him. He cold already feel the immense temperature change drastically dropping; the only thing that was protecting himself from the cold was a thing outfit and training weights. However, his experiences high in the mountains made him resilient. This type of weather was not going to deter him.* /If Vale is right and these things are headed for us, then I cannot allow myself to rest./ *He had thought this repeatedly since the talk in the meeting room, assuring himself of his plan to be a good thing. However, as he scouted the area warily with his Spirit, he felt a chilling edge of fear in the air.*

Shadow || A few minutes prior, Shadow had awakened. Rather than staying on the bed, he had walked up to the room's door, siding with the wall the entire time--throughout still-vivid flashes of scenes, events, reenactments of his mind's fabrication--but had ultimately chosen to just lean back tiredly against the adjacent wall as opposed to exiting the room, a hand gripping his forehead as his eyes adjust to the very dim light of the room, his head pounding with a throbbing headache. He takes a deep breath, and exhales. The broken, yet sequential imagery is still present, almost overlapping with his own gaze. And always taking root in his own memories. /I haven't.../ The dull coldness of endless metallic corridors, the contrasting hue of splattered blood, the purple gaze that he found hope in, the miserable, almost apologetic last moments in those very same eyes. /...had this nightmare in forever... why now of all times?/ Shadow winces slightly. Surely the headache is subsiding, but... A small gasp somewhere in the room precedes a yell. He immediately looks up to try to discern the source, his tired brain only fully registering the voice a second later. He tries to eliminate all traces of exhaustion--both physical and mental--from his own voice before he calls out "Val?"

Jason jerks awake with a nearly feral growl, limbs rigid as he bolts upright, looking around wildly. His emerald-green eyes glow brightly in the darkness, scanning the room for a threat that does not exist. Beside him, Mimring raises his head, scales only now beginning to flatten. /That... was an interesting one,/ The dragon muses. Jason gives a shuddering sign and leans back against his Familiar's side, exchanging a glance with him. Their minds, so tightly entwined, had experienced the exact same nightmare, making it seem all the more real. Even now Jason's instincts are seized with the urge to run, to escape from something he hasn't had to deal with in months, but logic is slowly taking over and he knows he is safe. Relatively, at least. Mimring's tail coils comfortingly around his master, and both seem to settle down a bit... but neither can seem to get back to sleep. Or want to, for the matter; the sheer panic they had felt in the dream is persistent and does not seem to go away easily. Playing on Jason's nerves even more than this, however, is the sharp /scent/ of fear in the air, and the quiet sounds of the other cultists stirring. They are not the only ones being roused, it seems...

Hobekitsu entered another room within the basement, pulling his cigar out of his mouth to let out a small puff of smoke. "Man, that was boring," he mumbled with a yawn as he slowly closed the door behind him. He was attempting not to make too much noise, as he didn't want to disturb Kenchoi, who was asleep in small bed in another corner of the room. "I was hoping he'd try something, but I guess he just decided to stay in his room. Bummer..." His eyes then began to shift around the dark room, then he slowly cracked the door open to allow him to take a glance of the hallway outside. Nothing. He sighed, once again closing the door. /What is wrong with me... As far as I know, Mya should have prepared something to protect the base from whatever Zaiek was talking about. They shouldn't be a problem for us tonight, but why.... Why do I feel this uneasy? What is-/ He had cut himself off as he suddenly began to hear muttering within the room. But where was it coming from? Besides him, the only person in the room was... He walked over to the bed Kenchoi was asleep in, seeing the boy violently shifting within the bedsheets. A rather unconfortable look was present on his face as he continued to stir. Hobekitsu couldn't exactly make out what the boy was saying, though he could understand at least two words within the dissonance of words. "No". Well, that just made it more obvious that Kenchoi was having some kind of nightmare. But the second... "Uldorn". /Uldorn? ... Wait... Isn't that.../ He blinked as he had then realized what Kenchoi was going through, then reached down toward his shoulder and started to shake him. "Kenchoi," he began to spoke as he continued to shake him in a desperate attempt to wake the boy up. "Come on, Kenchoi. Wake up!"

Starr ) The outside world shifted between chaos and peace under the heavy-pelting ice and snow diving down to the untamed forests of Ustream. It hasn't even been a complete day since the newly born deity had released and the area was unforgivingly transformed into a dark, snowy wasteland. Under the snow-caped foliage, a black as night claw pierced through to slam onto the snow slowly. An unusual blue light eminating from above shined upon the black foot, revealing a patch of misty black fur covering the back of its foreleg. Upon further moving closer into a snowy clearing, the figure revealed itself under its own light. A towering 6 foot black deer-like canine, seething with a space distorting aura as luminescent blue markings filled its back, tail, and finally converging at its black animal skull forehead. A malicious tendril tipped with the same blue hue waved around with intrigue to survey the area as it crouched suddenly by a subtile soundwave that acts like their candy: A scream. The mysterious beast raised its long neck upwards, the jawline of the black animal skull vibrating ever so softly as it let out a haunting cackle resembling that of a hyena. Without any spare seconds, the phantasmic prints it sported on its body vanished, allowing the beast to turn intangible and phase right through to the ground. Such cackle echoed loudly, causing the resident scout of SoS to snap his eye open and immediately jump out of his bed

Valerie could hear her own heart slamming against the confines of her ribs, the pain of the darkness around her becoming more and more unbearable. She tried ripping herself from the constricting bag, only to helplessly get tangled upon trying to crawl from the black bag. From somewhere amid her struggling panic, she heard a voice slice the air- a comforting voice she hadn't expected to hear from the swathe of black. "Sh-Shadow!" she calls, trying desperately to locate the Diclonius's voice. "Shadow!"

Valerie: Darius: *For some reason, Darius found himself opening his eyes. He hadn't noticed that he had dozed, but that small moment of time he felt an immense spike of spiritual disarray. His Spirit whilst sleeping sourced the location of a drastic spike of fear, forcing him forward into an instinctive run. Darius focused on that essence, turning and opening the door to the basement.* /that essence is Valerie. She can't be the first target... I won't allow that!/

Shadow: Mya: || A weary yawn echoes through a room in one of the deepest, central sections of the bunker-like basement of the SoS HQ. It is the same, ample room that was a battleground against the Cult a little more than a month prior, in fact; with greenery bizarrely growing out of the floor, the walls, the ceiling... it almost seems like a verdant sanctuary of sorts, with the green-tinted lights of Nature Mana orbs drifting lazily and purposelessly throughout the room, giving it an almost mystic, dim illumination. Mya is sitting back against the twisted trunk of the "plant"--or monster by all rights--attached to one of the walls: a tree-like amalgamation of solid roots entwined around a glowing, pulse core of red light, with these roots having spread and crawled across the nearby walls. She had projected a powerful barrier around SoS HQ hours ago: a nearly translucent sphere centered on this room and completely encasing the whole building, glowing an extremely faint green due to the myriad, individual particles of Nature Mana composing it... but otherwise nearly invisible. She had used this monster's vast reserves of Mana and attunement to the element to greatly bolster the spell's practical efficiency, though she has willingly remained awake all of this time just in case something happened. She gives another small yawn, to which a nearby figure--Slash--replies to:

Shadow: Slash: *casts a sidelong glance at Mya, leaning back on a wall nearby. In contrast to her growing exhaustion, he does not seem tired at all. In fact, it is almost as if he is alert, anticipating something unseen...* Go to goddamn sleep already.

Shadow: Mya: *simply giggles at this, shaking her head.* You know full well I can't do that. Everyone's safety depends on this. *as if on cue, one of the drifting lights suddenly freezes and shoots down towards the ground near her, revealing a complex, previously inactive magic circle that glows with the element's associated color shortly before powering down into inactivity... at least for now.*

Shadow hears Valerie's desperate fumbling around with getting out of her sleeping bag, though he cannot still really see her yet through the darkness, partly because of his own exhaustion, partly because of his headache. Her voice, as she calls to him, raises a mental alarm of danger, mostly because of the sheer, almost uncanny similarity to prior events in the Cult... /No./ he shakes the thoughts away. "Val? Did something... happen?" he calls out again, allowing concern to leak out, already gaining a vague idea of what just happened. He manages to send a vector through the haze of dull throbbing in his head, the psychokinetic hand reaching out reassuringly towards her position.

Valerie: Kayera: *shivering from the dwindling temperatures within the sleeping bag Valerie had provided, she felt a strange, almost irrevocably tense feeling pierce through her mind. Ripping her eyes open, she realized that something had called out. Eyes glowing, she pulled herself into a sitting position as she glazed her eyes about the room. However, nothing immediately strange was wrong. Rather, her eyes befell the sleeping bag where Valerie lay, where Valerie was struggling with some unseen force. She glanced over to see Shadow had noticed it too- or, rather, was trying to handle it. She could see a miniscule outline of a vector stretched across the room to Valerie's location, causing her eyes to widen* Wh-What's going on?

Valerie finally rips the majority of her sleeping bag apart, freeing herself from the cloth embrace. She pulled herself close to the cold wall near her, eyes desperately scanning the blacknees. She couldn't see much; in fact, nothing above distant light from what could be the stairs illuminated and it wasn't illuminating much. She saw spots encompass her vision; she was going to black out. As she gripped her chest, she desperately forced her condition to lower; it had to be a dream. It was then that, quite suddenly, a force touched her. She panicked, letting out another sudden yell as she reached for whatever was touching her. As soon as her hand went through whatever force it was, she desperately tried rubbing it off, trying everything to pull herself away. "N-No!" she called.

Jason frowns, still uneasy. Now he can hear more clearly the voices of Valerie, Shadow, and Kayera... something's going on, and it's clearly not something good. Pushing away Mimring's tail and uninjured wing- the dragon glances at him tiredly- the Shapeshifter stands, approaching the door to the room he and Mimring had taken refuge in. The general tension in the air is making him bristle, sensing danger where there is none... he takes a moment to get his bearings in the unfamilir setting once he exits the room, before searching out and quickly heading for the room with Shadow, Valerie, and Kayera. He can hear and smell Darius, as well, now; clearly Jason isn't the only one alerted by the strange unease.

Kenchoi ) After seconds of being shaken in his fear-induced state, he had finally awakened and jerked up from his bed with somewhat of a short yelp. He spent the next few seconds panting. His eyes were widened by the fear from the nightmare he was awakened from. One of his hands had clenched onto his shoulder as the other slowly reached for his forehead. He felt his head pounding under the palm of his hand, not to mention the sweat that has formed from the result of his previous state of panic. It was several seconds more of this before he managed to relax a bit, albeit still a bit uneasy. It was then that he had finally glanced over to Hobekitsu, noting the concerned look on his face. "Wha..." He stared at him before it had finally sunk in... He sighed, both of his hands now planted upon his forehead. "T-Thanks, Hobek... I really needed that..." He paused for a moment as he rubbed his forehead with his hands in attempt to relieve his current headache. As much as wanted to go back to sleep, he was still feeling a bit too uneasy to do so. "I just...." He stopped, moving his hands down toward his bedsheets, getting a firm grip upon them. "I never thought that I would ever have that nightmare again..."

Starr shifts uncomfortably in her makeshift cott Zaiek managed to make for her. Nearby the woman, her sleeping children slowly began to wimper and then break out into a full-blown cry. Starr's mind was drunk with the deathly poison of her subconcious, rendering her unable to sense something amis. Let alone hear anything from the outside. There were incoherent flashes of scenes ranging from her childhood to recent times. /..Let me out...p-please.../ her voice echoed after her dreams went dark. She could feel a terrifying set of footsteps clacking above her being, making her acumulating beads of sweat drop down to the floor to cause a sizzling effect. It was hot. Starr motioned around in her little dream world, but was surprised to feel that she was enclosed in a tight, hot, metalic space. A box. /No....no NO!/ her hand shivered just before a blinding light lit up the area, revealing the sight of the clear blue skies riddled with heat waves and the sight of a man staring right down at her. Next thing starr knew, a bucket of water dropped down on her, causing every inch of her body to burn and sizzle. Starr cried out in pain, then in an instant her eyes opened as she sat up in her room to look around. She could feel her heart pulsing like mad. "...Wh.......what was.....was that...I.."

Shadow retracts his vector as it only seems to agitate the girl further. Her yell cuts, once again, through the already-established layer of silence he had gotten used to, eliciting another, albeit minor spike of throbbing pain to pound at his head. Ignoring the scattered remains of the nightmare still trying to worm through his vision and forefront thoughts, he resorts to calling out instead. "Val! Calm down... it's me; that was my vector. What happened...?" it is at this point he pretty much rips himself from his position as his hand finally leaves his forehead, walking a few steps towards Valerie as he sees her, faintly, mostly backed against a nearby wall. It is also at this point he notices something inherently different about the atmosphere: there is a palpable, dense feeling of fear that makes him momentarily hesitate in approaching further into the darkness.

Dark: Jack: *He knelt in utter sadness over an unknown figure of a Lycan. The toher one's long, blue-streaked hair sprawled out over the metallic floor beneath them, however, something wasn't right. If they we sleeping, Jack's presence and beyond firm pressure on their chest would have woken them up by now. Instead, there was an observed lack of movement from both parties, although the unknown Lycan's wasn't by choice. Jack's hand shifted the fur on their chest, revealing a huge stab wound. The other one was dead.* /N-no... I've failed. I couldn't stop them.../ *he then looked up, finally taking note of an unseen third figure. This third entrant was holding a long dagger, covered in the familiar red tone of blood. This blood was different, however, as on closer inspection it was not blood at all. Nonetheless, it was the murder weapon. He left the other figure's side, screaming in pure anger, before the third made a quick jab toward his chest. Before it connected, however, everything went black.* NO! *Jack roared the word out loud for most everyone in the building to hear. Panting, he threw the blankets off and tore himself out of bed. It was all a bad nightmare.*

Dark cringes at the three--no, four seperate screams from fellow Cultists. Each one seemed to come closer and closer until the fourth came from the person who was sleeping literally right next to him--Jack Evans. Jolting to his left in shock, he hastily asked him, "What happened? Is everything alright?" He then realised that Jack must not have had any normal nightmare. No, he'd known him long enough to deduce that it had in fact been a memory. A warped memory, but still a memory. This only added to the unease he had been feeling all night. Jack wanted to forget what happened. This could very well unhinge him.

Starr feels Shockwing's hand grazing her own for comfort while the screaming and comotion continued to drown out her thoughts. Dazed and confused, the first instinct that drives her is to make sure her children are okay. Quickly as she can, the serpent woman hefted her twins into her arms from their respective cots and held them close to her chest. The agitated beating of her heart only made the spontaniously-awoken children even more scared. "..S-Shockwing." She whispered under her breath while seeing her lips visibly let out a warm puff of air. The temperature was falling even more. She looks at Shockwing, whom himself seems very tired as well "What is going on..? Why is everyone...Nrgh." Then she paused and closed her eyes, a vein on the side of her head pulsed madly...then vanished.

Starr: Shockwing: *Quickly sits next to Starr and embraces her, shivering madly as well* I think these events...th-they're messing with our m-minds... *He exchanges a glance at Zaiek while he stared at the duo with a very startled expression and proceeded to stand up and head for the stairs. Then looked back with curiousity. Not only were the nightmares so...uncalled for, for some reason his master's thoughts began to fog up just like the atmosphere. Fear...and then a slight feeling of hopelessness sunk in. Shockwing calls out to Zaiek with a tone that shows he is in no mood to deal with things*Y-You. Where are you going?

Starr: Zaiek: *Almost like being broken out of a trance, he snaps his head back while his foot firmly stomps on the first step* I...I don't..know? *He pauses* ...A hunch just told me that I should go patrol outside...or..something.​.

Hobekitsu sat next to Kenchoi on the side of his bed. He sighed as he had then spoke. "It must have have been difficult having to relive that moment like that." He let out a small puff of smoke toward the wall at the opposite end of the room with a sigh. "It's always been something you should never have had to go through in the first place." He paused for a moment as his eyes then glanced downward toward the floor. "I was suppose to protect the two of you. I was supposed to get the two of you back home.... But instead, I just let him run off and sacrifice himself to allow us time to escape." He paused once more as he then shook his head. "I can't help but feel that it should have been me who had done that. Uldorn-" He had stopped when he had suddenly felt Kenchoi's hand on his shoulder, glancing over to the boy.

Kenchoi ) "You know, you really should stop beating yourself up about that, Hobek. After all, it /was/ our fault that you had to go looking for the two of us anyway." He paused as he glanced down toward the floor. "Sure, I miss big bro a lot, but..." Kenchoi then smiled at Hobekitsu, albeit struggling to do so and keep the smile as he attempted to hide his current feeling of uneasiness in the process. "At the same time, I don't mind having you around in the slightest. By all means, it's almost like I still have Uldorn around."

Hobekitsu stared at Hobekitsu as he spoke and attempted to hide the same uneasiness he was currently feeling. To which he couldn't help but chuckle. "Your naïveté knows no bound, Kenchoi."

Kenchoi chuckled in response. "If you say so." His smile disappeared as he then shuddered. "Still, even after that, because of that nightmare, I doubt I'll be going to sleep anytime soon."

Hobekitsu nodded. "Yeah, I've been unusually uneasy tonight too. Though perhaps there's something that could help us both..." He then got up from the bed and slowly pulled Kenchoi off of it. "As much as I'd rather not wake up Mr. Igneite this late at night, I think we'll be able to relax a bit after having some of his tea."

Valerie: Darius: *flying into the room to where he saw Valerie's essence desperately trying to escape an unknown force, Darius quickly extended his palms forward. Almost immediately, the air about the room lit up immediately in a swathe of gently-glowing blue strands. They flowed mystically through the air as Darius quickly pulled back into a defensive stance in preparation. However, as nothing soon came, Darius lowered his arms. There was nothing here. He slowed his slightly heavy breathing, quickly looking over her soul's essence for any sort of possible threat. However, again and again, nothing conclusive came. Darius took a few assured breaths before he let out a final audible exhale.* Valerie...? Was it the dreams?...

Valerie closed her eyes as an immediate flash of light lit the room completely. She pulled her arms in front of her as a gasp escaped her lips. /Please, just stop torturing me! End it!/ she thought, bracing herself for whatever unseen existence that was tormenting her. However, she stopped her tensed panic as Darius' voice entered the room, blinking her eyes slowly to get the splotches from her adrenaline-fueled nightmare, she allowed her hands to edge forward from their protective position. As her shaky arms retreated, she glanced through the dimly-lit atmosphere from Shadow's form, to Kayera's concerned gaze, to Darius' own, deeply troubled face. Valerie only now noticed a bead of sweat gently caressing down her numb cheek, watching her own hands shivering violently with her own breaths. As Darius' next words came out, Valerie took a moment of perspective, releasing the intense horrors that had petrified her. As she did so, she felt each thought well up within her eyes. Gazing at Darius, a tear escaped from one of her hazel irises, then another. Valerie slowly closed her eyes as her cheeks burned, pulling her hands to her face to hide herself. /It was so real... so much more real than before... why did it happen now?.../ Valerie, tightening her arms closer to her body, sobbed into her shuddering hands.

Jason arrives not long after Darius, taking a moment to watch from the doorway and give Valerie a bit of space while she calms down. He remains by the entrance to the room, but takes a hesitant half-step in, the concern in his expression mingling with the exhaustion of being woken up by his own nightmare. Quietly he asks, "What happened?" in a tone that suggests that he probably knows the answer. The thick feeling of tension and fear in the air, the sounds of cultists waking up here and there, Darius's question, his own nightmare... there's too much for it to be a coincidence. Even now, he can sense Fricai somewhere in the basement, near-frozen trying to hold back the reaction that automatically arises in the dragon when there is a threat. At least Fricai'd had enough clarity of mind to get away from someone he might attack, but he doesn't seem to be doing well on his own. A comforting thought goes unheeded and Jason suppresses a sigh as he examines the room before him.

Shadow steps back immediately in alert as Darius suddenly barges into the room, the sole vector involuntarily tensing for immediate action. It almost acts on its own, in fact, but Shadow quickly suppresses the reflex--the result being the vector jerking erratically to the side, but visibly relaxing after that. It took a bit more effort than Shadow would have liked due to the sudden display of blue, spiritual lights... but also due to his current frame of mind. "Darius...?" he manages out, momentarily glancing at the glowing strands before his eyes fall upon Valerie. She looks terrible, and Darius' question confirms the oddly coincidental event. Just seeing her like this makes a vein of concern take root in Shadow, but before he can really think of anything to say, Jason also arrives at the scene. He blinks. Are these many people simply awake at this hour, or did something really happen? Making no effort anymore to hide the (somewhat lessened) exhaustion in his voice, he replies with a sigh, "...Seems like a particularly bad nightmare..."

Espira || Outside, in the same hallway, the door of the adjacent room--occupied by none other than the Crimson Meister--opens almost simultaneously as Darius urgently dashes straight towards the room Shadow's currently staying in. Notoriously focused, fierce red eyes flick towards the open door in the room beside her, coated with a layer of indiscriminate, cold aggressiveness. She steps out with acute stealth, allowing her to inhale the fog of fear that, while abstract and intangible in all meanings of the word, is just enough to grind her nerves into a state of alert. The memory--or memories--are vague. Gruesome encounters from the past. The moment of frightening finality when she was defeated by the Black Assassin. Struggling in a hopeless battle against her sister. The crazed, outright murderous slashes of her own that tear through the Diclonius--/Fucking weakness./ the self-directed, venomous thought prevents her from going further than that. Instead, she proceeds towards the commotion, narrowing her eyes at the strange light that seems to emanate from within. "What," her voice calls out, as she stops a distance from the door, having gained enough of a viewing angle to see Jason and Darius inside. It is deceptively calm and composed, but holds a definite edge to it, "do you think you are doing?"

Jason straightens slightly. Shadow's words more or less confirm it. /This cannot be random chance,/ Mimring states, his mental voice strained by both exhaustion and tension. Jason nods, opening his mouth to reply aloud... when suddenly Espira is there. The Shapeshifter looks sidelong at her, noting the subtle edge in her voice, and frowns. "... I came to see what was the matter, after hearing Valerie scream, and it seems that it was a nightmare." He pauses, looking around at the assembled cultists. He's bristling, visibly. "... Normally, I would just assume it was a normal nightmare, but... there's something wrong. Mimring and I just woke up from one as well. I keep hearing other cultists wake up and cry out. Fricai seems to have been disturbed by something, but I can't seem to get a coherent response from him." He pauses again, glancing at Espira. "... And, well, judging from your tone, I'm guessing you had a similar experience."

Kenchoi "Yeah, I suppose that might help..." Kenchoi slowly climbed out of his bed, after which he had reached under his bedsheets. He pulled out his black headband, which he then wrapped around his forehead. "Alright then, let's go." He then proceeded toward the door of the room and headed out into the hallway, Hobekitsu following him outside. The two of them then sluggishly proceeded down the hallway toward Bophez's room. Their glances shifted in different directions around the dark hallways as they progressed. However, as the two of them progressed, they began to hear the voices of several people further down the hallway. Curious about who else would be up at a time like this, they continued forward until they eventually stopped as they saw Jason and Espira outside of another room, looking into it. Something must have happened. "H-Huh?" he eventually spoke as Hobekitsu moved in front of him. "What's going on here?"

Valerie: Kayera: *staring blankly at Valerie as she heard Jason and the red-eyed girl at the top of the stairs, her mind drifted to her own, minor images.* /Had they been real, could I have been prepared?.../ *she shook her head, standing up slowly* I have a headache... Excuse me. *nodding curtly to those already standing, she grabbed her forehead with two fingers and slipped past Jason and Darius, heading up the stairs slowly*

Valerie: Darius: *tightening his lips, he approached Valerie slowly, kneeling down next to her and wrapping his arms around her* Valerie, it's okay... you're safe. You're safe with all of us here. *About Darius, the shifting colors slightly intensified, only by a margin of illumination for a few seconds. Slowly but surely, Valerie's violent sobbing turned into a gentle sobbing and sniffling. Darius held her close for a few moments, his eyes closing with wear.* The dreams aren't real. They never will be. We escaped; we're safe. You're safe. *Darius' calm, soothing voice seemed almost mesmerizing with the accompanied calming feeling emanating through the air. He opened his eyes and looked to Shadow, motioning for him to come over*

Valerie keeps her head against Darius as he encases her in his calming warmth. Slowly, she felt the panicked craze she had been in earlier ebb away, leaving nothing but a torn, ruptured soul. She could feel the lurching pain beneath her, tearing into the old wounds. "I... I knew they were dreams..." she started between sniffles, "B-But... this one was so real... I'm scared, Darius..." Valerie felt the warm, salty tears from her eyes cascade down the curve of her soft cheeks, as they came, releasing the pent-up horrors from her conscience at the same time. "I... I can't... I can't sleep anymore... I don't want any more night terrors..."

Shadow perks up at the sound of Espira's voice. Or, more particularly, he takes notice of the daggers beneath her tone. Glancing minutely around as the spiritual lights in the room shifted slightly as Darius tries to calm Valerie down, he approaches the actual door, mostly to get within Espira's range of visibility. "Espira...?" the Crimson Meister's gaze instantly flicks towards him, their eyes connecting for several seconds. The dangerous sharpness in her look soon fades to something several leagues more indescribable, even to Shadow... he tilts his head slightly as she visibly begins to relax. This is certainly strange. It is almost as if--"Others... had nightmares, too?" the train of thought pretty much completes itself as Jason reveals this. He blinks, his gaze going from Espira to Jason... yes, this is far too coincidental. "And Fricai..." he mumbles, his mind already wandering to the small dragon's whereabouts, and whatever he could be doing right now. Shadow blinks as he barely catches sight of Darius motioning for him in the corner of his vision. Momentarily leaving these thoughts on hold, he approaches the man.

Espira exhales lightly. "I'm fine, Shadow." is everything she says to the Diclonius in response, knowing full well that these words alone are more than enough to reassure him about her frame of mind. They do their purpose well, allowing the Crimson Meister to collect her thoughts into logical arrangements after eye contact is broken. Even so, and whether this is an aftereffect of the atmosphere or her nightmare, she cannot help but quickly twist to face the opposite hallway of concrete as Hobekitsu and Kenchoi become detectable a distance away, an obsidian dagger already materializing in her left hand... just to be crushed into black shards that fall from her palm and dissipate into residual Mana as Espira confirms their identity and thus, nonthreat status. "I wouldn't be remotely surprised if this bullshit is a byproduct of the current state of Ustream." she states, utterly ignoring the newcomers and instead looking straight at Jason. If it was not obvious by this point, Espira clearly is not in the mood to fuck around. "What should we do, leader?" she lingers on the last word with a barely perceivable sense of mockery.

Starr widened her eyes and handed the twins over to shockwing in order to catch up with Zaiek. Her trembling form stumbled right behind the blood scripter "Zaiek...wait!" reaching out, her hand caught onto the man's shoulder, causing him to make a full stop. The temperature was starting to lower even further. Anyone who wanted to scout outside was absolutely insane. Starr couldn't even imagine herself, let alone another reptilian like Zaiek, risk their wellbeing in the snowy wonderland of Frozen Ustream. Even if it were Zaiek, a man who had sworn to harm her. Zaiek's blank gaze soon turned into one of confusion as he looked down to see Starr's hands grip his shoulder harshly. Blinking, he turned around and patted her back. /what the--/ "You should stay down here like the rest of us. At least until morning so that we wont have any casualties."

Starr: Zaiek: *Gives a soft sigh and sits on the staircase steps* You don't trust me? I can hold my own. Its not like I'll get lost, its a territory I know well, after all~ *In an attempt to lighten the mood, his voice lingers with a casual and light-hearted tone. But then he went serious* Besides, this unrest we are having is too unnatural for my tastes...and I think its due to that damn field this god's got us in. I at least need to further look into that and you...you need to stay back and keep your loved ones safe and warm.

Jude can be seen descending the stairs into the basement of the headquarters of the Station of Seotara, a large pouch slung across his back. Visibly poking out of the pouch is the handle of the now-shattered White Lightning Blade, and the audible chinking of metal indicates that the other shards are present within the pouch as well. He notes the tenseness in the atmosphere, though not fully feeling it himself, and for fear of triggering the wrong reaction, intentionally avoids asking the reason. Not seeing Gaga or Vale around, he decided to find someone else trustworthy to drop the pieces with, then to go back outside and find them. Of course, the best option, given how long they've known each other for, was Jack, and where there was Jack, there would be Dark, so he need only look for the only non-dragon Cultist taller than he was. Dark wasn't hard to find, however, and after picking up on his location, he walked over and asked him a semi-rhetorical question; "Dark, may it be allowed of me to leave the White Lightning Blade--or, what remains of it, at least--with yourself and Jack while I notify Vale that I have retrieved it?"

Dark looks up from the shivering form of Jack just in time to see Jude approach him with what appeared to be a sword slung across his back. What came next confused him slightly. "The White Lightning Blade? Why do you want me to--" He was cut off as Jude thrust the pouch at his chest with enough force to nearly knock him on his ass a second time. He managed to steady himself by opening his wings and planting his left foot against the ground behind him before looking back at Jude. "Okay, I guess I don't have much of a choice then..."

Jude nods in confirmation and Dark's response, then slowly looks down toward Jack, who appeared to be shivering. He had an idea why, though he figured it would be best to confirm it with Dark. "What would have Jack petrified as he is?"

Dark was struck by Jude's sudden question, though he nonetheless knew the answer. Looking down at Jack again himself, he responded, "He..." A sigh. "He lived through it again."

Jude looked back up at Dark, who met his gaze with one of his own. "That very moment is one he did not want to see again. I understand why he is stiff and shivering." Turning, he made a sort of 'stay put' gesture to the two of them before turning his head and saying, "The two of you should stay here. It is becoming colder by the second, and I fear for what may happen to you if you had a run in with what waits for us outside." He then headed back towards the front door of the building by way of the basement stairs.

Jason allows a small spark of irritation to cross his face, but his expression smooths itself out as he composes himself. /What CAN we do?/ He asks Mimring, but the dragon does not seem to know either. "Obviously we can't go back to sleep with this going on." He pauses, appearing to consider. "There's something wandering around out there- What did Vale call it? An Oriphyrin?" He glances over towards Valerie briefly, then looks back at Espira. "I wouldn't be surprised, myself, if it's the one causing this. Meaning the only thing we /can/ do is get out there and drive it off or kill it."

Starr ) After a glorious run through the frozen trees, the blizzard veil gave way to the lone Oriphyrin figure graciously strolling through the snow. The intricate markings on his back and underbelly were glowing again, leaving behind trails of light as the beast motioned around. The atmosphere was cluttered and dense with negative emotions. Optimal conditions for an Oriphyrin to take advantage of. With it's lower jaw vibrating, it cackles even louder while raising its head to boldly announce to other Oriphyrin nearby that it was there. This was its territory. This was it's kill. The Oriphyrin shook its head and jumped off the ground, causing a crater of snow to form by the force of such leap. Its target was HQ, and it new well that it might find a good source of nurishment there

Hobekitsu most likely ended up doing the right thing by moving in front of Kenchoi as he had spoke. He noticed as for a moment, Espira seemed ready to attack them as she materialized a dagger in her hand, only for it to disappear as she identified them. He glanced at her, finding it unusual that she seemed to be on edge... However, what she and Jason had said regarding a situation that had everyone suddenly awake at a time like this made his eyes widen. "You guys too, huh?" he muttered.

Jude almost walks right past Jason on his way to the stairs, and he would have done, if it weren't for the topic of the discussion they were having. The Oriphyrin. He stopped dead in his tracks before backpedalling slightly. "Jason, I am almost certain that would not end well for any of us." he paused fr a second to recount his trip back. Something--which he could now say with near-certainty was an Oriphyrin--had been following him back here. "... There may be one quite close at hand, as well. I seem to remember something following me here."

Starr: Vale: *with a rifle at hand, the scarlet gunslinger held his position on the roof firmly alongside Emma, who had her bow drawn out and aimed. Both guardians of Gaga had an inch of uncertain emotions swirling in their irises. The cold was unnatural and the cries of the Oriphyrin had them on high alert. As Vale began to shift positions to scout on the other side of the building, he stopped cold upon hearing the cackling from afar being carried by the blizzard winds. Vale exhaled and closed his eyes, which had a tint of red under them from the cold* Blast this luck of mine. *turning his head back at Emma, the gunslinger pointed his fingers eastward in a gesture to signal the possible origin of the cackle* This barrier is by far our only defense against these things. Should it fail, I want you to do exactly what I told you to do.

Starr: Emma: *nods and takes a breath*Its a gamble, but I believe in your word, Five. *She continues to aim around. The tip of her arrow glowed with a purple hue, allowing her to see a little better. Since she was in fact, previously living in these kinds of conditions back home, the woman sported a mask that for so long in her culture allowed people to have better visibility in blizzards and even protected them from going blind should the weather intensify* Come at us, abomination..

Valerie: Darius: *grabbing Shadow's shoulder non-threateningly, he encourages the Diclonius into a kneeling position. After a moment, Darius slowly pulled from Valerie, who reluctantly retreated herself. He stared seriously at Shadow.* Stay with her. *As soon as he had said this, Darius stood up fully and retreated slowly before he turned and approached the small gathering of sleep-deprived cultists. He stared at each of them in turn as they talked, waiting for a small pause before speaking.* It is not Spiritually-caused. This means that by whatever capability it is caused, it is coming from the mind. *Darius pauses, reading each essence to their reactions before continuing* It is attacking us mentally. This may be fine for many of us that can get over an irrational, primal fear. For others- *he glanced back at Valerie before turning back* our minds may not have the strength to overcome it. Unfortunately, many of us here may not be able to work rationally with a spike of terror going about. Paranoia, above all, cannot be accepted in our scenario. For now, I've placed a calming aura around the immediate area to counteract that primal trigger. But as far as I'm concerned, we need to be actively moving to inhibit the emotional assault- starting now. *Darius shifted his stance, almost into a readying stance. His gaze focused on Jason expectantly*

Shadow is at first slightly puzzled as he kneels as instructed, then blinks as suddenly he is thrust with this responsibility. The situation, as he has been overhearing, has developed quite quickly as well--a glance towards the hallway outside as he shifts to a more comfortable position reveals that there are at least five people gathered outside. Jason was not exaggerating when he said he heard multiple Cultists were waking up. Keeping an ear on whatever he can hear about their conversation, he turns to Valerie. He only guesses that it is due to whatever Darius did with the room then, but she seems to have considerably calmed down... actually, he realizes, it seems that the thick fear in the air had lessened considerably since that happened. "Hey..." he begins somewhat tentatively, "Are you okay?"

Valerie: Kayera: *walking slowly across the hallways, Kayera kept a hand on her forehead as she walked. The ground was much too cold for her liking; with each step, she could feel her soles being frozen to the stone- almost painfully. The pulsing in her head was becoming obnoxious; closing her eyes, she tried to picture something to soothe her nerves. However, as she did, Kayera stopped in her tracks. Beyond the normal senses she had, Kayera realized that the pulsing in her head did, in fact, have a source. Rather than coming from her own mind, it was coming from /somewhere/. Kayera's eyes drifted as she saw the literal strands of mana traveling intangibly through the air and through the structure of the building.* /Nature mana in a building like this? And this large?/ *Kayera started forward, opening to reveal her sapphire gaze glowing ever slightly. She walked carefully, keeping a tab on the man whilst traversing the strange hallways and passageways. As she did, she felt the cold become less and less significant, although it was a minute change in atmosphere.* /This must be deeper into the building.../ Very suddenly, her trail stopped abruptly as she stared directly at a large metal door. Whatever was behind it was brightly illuminated with immense amounts of nature-aligned mana; each surge of its power brought a strange pulse that rippled through her. She reached for the door and grabbed onto the chilling door handle slowly. With a tentative pull, she peeked into the room with curious- although wary- eyes.*

Shadow: Espira: *spares a glance at Jude--similar in nature to when she noticed Hobekitsu and Kenchoi, although dimmed in intensity--as she seems to analyze the facts. The Oriphyrin, the nature of the "attack" of sorts...* Let us slay it, then. *to punctuate her conclusion, a blade literally appears from nowhere next to her, is skillfully caught by her right hand, and then twirled around slightly.* It is about time we stopped relying on defense alone.

Jason nods at both Espira and Darius, straightening slightly. His prior bristling is less apparent, now that the tension in the air has lessened, and he definitely takes advantage of the newfound (relative) lack of distraction. "Jude, we can't afford to let it run around if it's what's causing all of this," He replies to the Lycan. "Espira and Darius are right; we need to be rid of it, and the sooner the better." He pauses to look at Shadow and Valerie- the latter, thankfully, seems to be calming down- and nods again. "Alright, yeah, let's just go kill it. A group of us should be able to take down one on its own fairly easily, and we can probably handle it if there are more nearby."

Valerie remained staring blankly ahead as she rested her folded arms and head on her knees. Her tears had considerably slowed, but they had not finished leaving her eyes. She was still shivering, although half of it could be attributed to the cold. She nodded slowly a moment later in reply to Shadow, closing her eyes and involuntarily letting out a small, momentary whimper. She had not expected it to come out, but as soon as it did she felt herself become smaller and smaller in the corner of the wall. She disliked the cold, unforgiving surface next to her, but it was currently the only thing that kept her in a state of conscious reality. /How did this ever happen?.../ The thought wandered in her mind for a moment before she blinked it out. She couldn't be thinking about that now. For now, a moment of thinking about the encouraging words of both Darius and crazE during their traumatic experiences helped her for now. She sniffled and looked over at Shadow for the first time since she had woken up, shivering again, almost violently. "I-I'm so cold..." she spoke in a raspy voice.

Shadow: Slash: *Aside from the minute squeal of the metallic hinges, Slash is instantly able to notice the scent of the newcomer mingling with the essence of plants as she peers into the room. The situation inside the small, natural sanctuary is quite the same from several minutes ago--with Mya sitting back against the passive, apparently-nonviolent monster of sorts, and Slash leaning back into one of the lateral walls as they are devoid of the bizarre tree's crawling roots. The Shapeshifter instantly locks his gray eyes with Kayera's, the dim illumination of the room giving way for Slash's luminescent irises to truly take that ethereal, ghostly aura. His question is simple, and to the point.* Who?

Hobekitsu listened as Jason, Espira, Darius, and Jude were talking about the Oriphyrin that had apparently appeared closeby- no thanks to Jude-with three of them agreeing on attempting to kill it off. "Well if anything, we might be able to sleep better knowing this monstrosity's dead." He then reached into his pockets, pulling out a cigar and a black lighter. He then placed the cigar in his mouth and prepared to light it. "You sure you want to want to do this?" he asked Kenchoi.

Jude sighs. They really wanted to go this route, and given how stubborn Espira and Jason could be, there was no talking them out of it. "Very well. I will aid in this as well." he replied, though he was uncertain that it was the Oriphyrin that had caused the tenseness and anxiety he felt from the others, as well as Jack's warped memory of a dream. "There will almost certainly be more. I heard many of them on my journey back here. Be prepared."

Valerie: Darius: *Sensing Espira's immediate, if not equally passionate, response in tracking the one that is causing the complete upheaval of the residents' peace. Darius nodded to Jude with acknowledged agreement.* I'm not waiting. I suggest we start making a sweep immediately. I only say this because it is necessary, but those unable to take harsh cold for long periods of time will not come. This has been made clear before, but to reiterate, there is no plausible cause of losing people to the harsh conditions alone. *glancing to each of them in turn, he continued* given that in mind, I can lead the way. Visual stimulus for everyone else seems to be... minimal, so I will keep track of our target. Hopefully at that point I can pierce whatever it is hanging over us for a few moments to give us a clear shot. *Darius looks to Jason once more* With all due respect, of course. This thing has caused damage to someone that I cannot allow to be threatened. Not while it is within my power to act.

Kenchoi blinked as Hobekitsu had asked him of decision to help them fight this Oriphyrin. Truth be told, despite how uneasy he was currently, he did want to help them out. He glanced at Hobekitsu, who apparently was aware of his decision, then to everyone else in the small group before looking back to Hobekitsu and gave the man a nod.

Valerie: Kayera: *freezing in place by a man's sudden recognition of her presence, she remained in place for a moment to see if he was, rather, speaking to someone else. However, the obvious focus was to no one else; timidly, she swung the door gently open, taking a few steps forward* My name is Kayera... I am with the others. *pausing, she glanced from both the man and the girl leaning by the source of the immense mana source- a tree. As Kayera stared at it with minor awe, she realized that it was much, much more than a tree.* This plant... it's powerful. *with her gaze slowly gazing upward, she traced a mana essence rising upward before dispersing over- a barrier.* Is... this protecting us?

Jason nods at Darius. "It's fine. You'll have the easiest time navigating through this, anyway." He looks at some of the others who are expressing a willingness to come along and kill the Oriphyrin. "I'm not sure how powerful this thing is, but I think a group of this size should be able to take it down well enough. Depending on how many more there are, we might be able to take them down as well, but we shouldn't bite off more than we can chew. We're all tired enough as it is. Or most of us are."

Shadow glances at the only bed in the room, or more precisely at the blankets. A vector inches out of his back again, extending several dozen centimeters towards the bed before stopping, awaiting for further directions. He figures she is about done with the sleeping bag for tonight, based on what just happened. "I can get a blanket if you'd like, but..." he furrows his brow as he already imagines how ridiculously harsh it must be outside. "It... doesn't seem things will stop get colder anytime soon." he sighs at this. On a whim, he moves towards the same wall, propping into a sitting position within talking distance of the girl. He shivers slightly as his back touches the wall, though it is not really too bad. His attention momentarily goes to the group outside. /They are actually going out there.../

Shadow: Espira: *despite having individually accounted everyone as they arrived, her eyes flick from person to person in the span of a couple of seconds. Her eyes linger on the room immediately next to them, almost thoughtfully, before they refocus on the group.* Whether or not this will be an effective measure depends on how well we eliminate the sources. *a pause.* ...if it even is the right source to begin with.

Jude hung on Espira's last words for a second. He too was uncertain whether the Oriphyrin was at fault for the atmosphere in the basement. /"If," indeed, Espira.../

Starr ) after Zaiek left to have a look outside and have a brief word with Vale, Shockwing had settled down into a nice nap along with the twins positioned on opposite sides of the bed. Starr was still uneasy despite the precautions taken to block out her negative emotions, but it proved to be too hard. A trance-like stare into open space made the woman muse over her misfortunes by the batch. The multitude of losses and solitude coupled with an amplified force of pain throbbing in her very soul. Suddenly she felt an immense need to leave the basement. To get some fresh air. Slowly the serpent woman stood up from the sitting in the stairway to exit the area, ceasing to shiver under the cold---almost ignoring it while putting another priority ahead of herself. All she could hear were echoing cries of an animal.

Shadow: Slash: Ah. *The aspiration is drawn out, with a certain grim playfulness behind it.* With /them/, you say. *slowly, he pushes himself from the wall to stand upright, the glint of something long and metallic becoming noticeable as his the bladed tip of his chain drops to the ground with a soft, muffled click. He begins walking to the center of the room, his eyes never leaving the girl--but a motion from the corner of his vision stops him. Mya holds up her open palm towards Slash, as a gesture of stopping. The "Slash, it's fine." that follows does it for him. The Shapeshifter gives her a look of "Really now.", before shrugging and retreating back to position with a sigh that marginally resembles a low growl.*

Valerie: Darius: *cracking his knuckles, Darius frowned. He tensed his muscles, making sure that he would not be inhibited too greatly by his weights for combat* Regardless of the cause, Vale made it clear that it is a threat. There is only one way to find out in the end. *looking about the group for a moment, he turned and headed toward the exit of the building. His firm steps echoed down the cold walls*

Starr: Zaiek: *gives off a very excited sigh as he placed on foot above the ledge of the rooftop. Now sporting a thick jacket and a fur hat of sorts, he looks back at Emma. * If I listened right, these things stalk the most unfortunate hm? If there is such thing as fairness in these parts of Euthora, then we as a joint group have little to no shit in protecting ourself from attracting more of these Oriphyrins. *he looks down to gaze upon the snow below. He then realizes he can't see jack-squat--- even worse since he only had one eye* If it were not for this darkness literally keeping my view fogged, I would be glad to aid you two

Jason gives a low mutter, "Right, then," before making sure he has his bow and following after Darius. Now that he pays attention to the cold- he doesn't normally need to, being built for the extreme temperature- he does realize it's /still/ getting colder, and even people inside the building may well be at risk soon. With that cautious thought towards Mimring, Jason gives a slight sigh before readying his frame of mind for fighting.

Starr: Emma: *she narrows her eyes* I was led to believe you had talents. Sight shouldn't be the only sense you can rely on. *she pauses* Say, how...good are you at making things? *with an idea brewing in her head, she gives a look at Vale to prompt him to pay attention*

Starr: Zaiek: *smirks* Pretty damn good--- I'm a class above my kind in terms of making my black blood ink useful. I put a lot of detail and care on making things-- Well, what exactly do you want with that?

Hobekitsu watched as Darius, Jason, and eventually Kenchoi head off toward the entrance of the building. He decided to wait for Espira and Jude to proceed before heading off himself, with the intent of staying about a foot behind the group to avoid irritating them with the smoke from his cigar. They were already a bit on edge, and the last thing he wanted to do was to make it even worse.

Starr: Emma: Pay close attention to the enemy, that's what.

Shadow: Mya: *Disaster averted. She smiles at Kayera after watching Slash back down definitely, her hand lowering to the ground and fingertips lightly, rather idly grazing the lines of the magic circle adjacent to her, as if confirming their existence. Her verdant eyes, as she looks at the azure-haired girl, are accentuated by the light of the myriad orbs of Nature Mana in the room. Mya nods at the girl's assertion about the plant: not particularly many are able to truly understand its importance in its current state.* Yes; that's quite spot on, actually. I'm merely supplying the magical infrastructure behind the barrier, and this--the Xerahyest-- *she motions towards the bizarre plant behind her* is feeding it enough Mana to maintain it active and stable. An anchor point of its own, if you will.

Starr: Vale: *raises a brow while catching on to what Emma was suggesting* Believe me I'm all for using whatever we can to keep ourselves alive but if I'm guessing right, would it be wise to even attempt to make this man draw something up to counter them? It seems ridiculous

Starr: Emma: As I trust you, Five, you should trust me. *her gaze diverts momentarily at Zaiek* And I take it that you along with others here are well with magic?

Starr: Zaiek: Why wouldn't we? Though I'm limited on that department...but if you want someone who's dominion is that, you should take that to Mya.

Starr: Emma: I shall if things go wrong....but as I recall from our last encounter, you're very good at giving your creations some interesting traits and abilities. That is what I'm refering to

Shadow: Espira: *follows Darius as well, needing absolutely zero mental preparation: not only she was specifically trained for these situations, she has also been on edge since the moment she woke up. The cold becomes more and more evident as they near the entrance to the basement, only to build up to the eventual peak when they actually go outside. It does not matter--to an extent, as while numbing the superfluous hindrance is something she can do, the technique does not last forever.*

Jude follows at a brisk pace behind Espira. He was unfazed by both the cold and any mental attacks, which was a large part of how he survived the journey he made, but nonetheless, he remained on alert.

Valerie: Kayera: *With eyes warily watching the man with the chain, her fingers twitched ever slightly at his movement. However, judging between the two in the room, the girl sitting down had control of the situation. Luckily, she was kind and welcoming. Kayera smiled slightly, nodding in acknowledgment* that's quite a tree. We have technology that works in much the same way... *approaching the Xerahyest and the girl, she raised a hand gently to its form. quite gently, she extended her palm to it which caused a sudden illumination of the nature-aligned mana. She twirled it through the air before it dispersed into the air.* It's effective, but maybe not as efficient as it could be. All it's doing is stopping physical things, but nothing about creating a real, personal atmosphere. I think, maybe... hmmm... *extending her palm again, she quickly thought over possible actions. Suddenly, a burst of mana flew from Kayera's hand and directly into the tree, focusing on the mana put in specifically. After a few moments, a sudden, bright pulse of energy momentarily light the room before everything returned to normal- that is, except for a tinge of blue glow. Kayera looked at the girl, smiling* if it's ok, I bolstered the functionality of the barrier. Right now, it will be filtering out the atmosphere inside the barrier and specifically target foreign intangible sources on both sides. Everyone here should be ok, but everyone on the outside won't have a chance. *she smirked* We'll be able to see better after it kicks in completely, too.

Valerie nods absent, giving a very curt smile before it fades quickly. She let Shadow reposition himself next to her, to which she didn't mind the sudden contact they had between each other. As Valerie drew in another breath, she suddenly let out a sigh as the warmth from shadow started to pass from his arm through hers as they sat there. "W-We need to not be leaning on this wall so much... or the floor.." she says suddenly. "It'll be sucking all our heat out..." slowly, her eyes focused onto the sleeping bag that she had left torn on the ground. A red pouch lay within. She shivered again, realizing she had little energy to move at this point. "Can you grab my void, please?...."

Shadow: Mya: *Listens to Kayera intently as she approaches the monster, then launches a burst of prepurposed Mana that causes a blue glow to overtake the room and meld with the green lights drifting around, if only for a few seconds. Slash has his eyes on the newcomer as this happens, though Mya knows he is only exercising a necessary amount of caution, even with her previously telling the Shapeshifter that she had accepted Kayera's presence to begin with. The spellcaster directs her attention towards the circle beneath her as the graphical representation of her spell's logic composition begins reshaping with Kayera's new components. Even she is quite surprised as the integration is as smooth as it could be to her magic, with her only needing to optimize a few segments of the glyph with her hands and nothing else, while simultaneously understanding the purpose even before Kayera actually explains it.* Impressive... *she glances at the girl for a few seconds, before back down at the modified circle, studying it.* I had only focused on practical defense to conserve my own energy in case something happened, but... *looks back at Kayera, smiling appreciatively.* Thank you. With your abilities, we might as well do something about the environment, too.

Shadow watches from his position as the group in the hallway begins leaving, apparently intent on slaying a creature of sorts roaming outside the base. A momentary feeling of concern towards the Crimson Meister in particular is quickly cast aside, for the most part, due to the current arrangement of the group. /They will be fine./ he assures himself, noticing Valerie nod and thus fully extending the vector to retrieve the blanket and then hand it over to her with a light smile. /Not much I can do about the walls.../ he thinks, idly testing the concrete behind him with his own palm--he recoils slightly at the touch. Cold. "Ah, sure..." Shadow eyes the sleeping bag, locating the familiar pouch almost immediately, and then sends the same vector to fetch the item. "Here," the vector inches towards her after retracting to Shadow's position, with the void in its grasp.