Nammay POV


“You ought to be more careful.”


The male Ancient swirled the spoon in his cup, as much as he was a fan of metal for some reason he preferred to use plastic cutlery when he was home alone; a fan of the mortal realm, he often traversed between his realm and the mortal one. The plastic cutlery didn’t clink against the cup and that was one reason he liked it - he also just had to dispose of the spoon or rinse it and be done with it.

As he picked the cup up, inhaling the strong scent of coffee he shut his eyes and listening to the cadence of her voice; she was tired. “Hey, it’s late. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
there was a hushed sigh on the other side and he placed the cup down; she wanted to argue and he bit his tongue as she continued to speak “Look, a little bit of sleep, even if it’s on the way there will do you good. For you and the babies.”
he made sure to switch to Ancient tongue with that last part.

She responded back with a soft attack and he laughed; before she laughed too “Look I’ll keep an eye out, get some sleep. Call me when you arrive or after whatever it is you have to do there”
she agreed before he heard the line drop and disconnect. Placing the phone down he stepped away with his cup and moved towards the window.

He felt an itching in his throat and he inhaled there was someone trying to contact him, he sipped his coffee enjoying the sensation of the bitter liquid slightly burning the roof of his tongue before going down; once the cup was done he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall backwards until he was back in the realm he had created the moment of his inception.

He hadn’t expected to see his younger relative standing in the room when he emerged; how long had she been waiting; the air was charged with electricity and he cleared his throat “Chaemai. What can I do for you?”
the younger female Ancient reached for his arm and he pulled back; unsure of her intention she shook her head before opening the palm of her hand to reveal a small scroll “What’s this?”
“A message from the Citadel.”


Opening the scroll - it’s wax seal already discarded, he presumed that this was Chaemai’s copy of the scroll and that his own copy would be on his desk “I think one of your Claimants attempted to enter the realm just a moment ago but failed to do so.”
“Nier.”
he breathed out; his younger relative nodding and he read the scroll.

Drip Drop. Drip Drop. The first book arrived. Flitter, flatter my spell has begun. The webs grow thinner and thicker; traps are set and the quest is set. Seek the drops as the moon wanes and rises and begin the hunt; my spell will last until the cords are cut.


“What is any of this meant to mean?”
“Your guess is good a mine, but before I lost contact with my Claimants they told me two of three had been found, we’re running out of time. What do we do Nam?”
“We warn them in the only way we can.”




As she brushed herself off, she looked up at the male who had now approached her, he was spewing words almost too fast for her to comprehend; granted she was very much intoxicated she gave him a half smile before laughing like a hyena. She ignored his hand and instead with her bottle in tow, moved past the bent over figure and straight into the bathroom; where she proceeded to vomit up copious amounts of alcohol - of which tasted like ass coming up. Once she was sure most of the alcohol in her system was gone she cleaned the bathroom as best she could before rinsing her face with icy cold water; flinching a little. "Nice to meet you."
now that she was clear of most of the liquid poison in her system she smelt the overbearing scent of Iron. "What did you say your name was?"
she bit her lip as she emerged from the bathroom with a slightly damp face.

Should have landed in another room. This was a mistake landing in this one.
she cleared her throat before offering the male her hand, which was damp with water, she wiped it on her singlet before cracking a proper smile “Nice to meet you. I’m Vivi. A kiddo of Air.”
part of her pondered which of the two in the room smelt worse, his iron or her weed. “Guessing you’re here cause that lady came down in white light and uhh told us to all come and you know find it.”
she was definitely still drunk. “So when are you headed over?”
she still hadn’t answered any of what he had proposed or offered - she was just going to pretend he had said nothing.

She decided perhaps it was not worth the time trying to listen to him or whatever he had to repeat, she smiled again before turning and returning in the direction of the place she had come; reaching into her pocket she grabbed the small rolled up cigarette and lit it with her lighter, taking a whiff of it before disposing and snuffing it out with her foot; she climbed atop the balcony ledge, turned to face the male she had so rudely intruded on; did a mock salute before jumping-falling off the ledge and flying to where she needed to be.

As she flew she noticed a girl… no a woman; two of them were on opposites of the streets; the scent of vinegar came from one of them and Vivi had to cover her mouth and pray she didn’t throw up again. The other had a less severe scent and smelt of something floral. It didn’t matter they couldn’t; fly that was her advantage. She willed herself higher with the wind, using a current she had just notice above her to drift up and over into the Colosseum walls before landing on one of the higher rows; she couldn’t see or tell if anyone else had arrived. She shrugged and rampaged in her pockets again this time for a packet of CBD oil infused rice krispies and immediately started to snack as she walked throughout the abandoned rows. “Anyone here?”
she called out, stupid question but oh well.





“WE’RE HERE. OH WE’RE HERE! COME ON. COME ON. NO TIME TO WASTE!!!”
she could hear him from within the separate car that he insisted on travelling in, she winced her ears ringing from his voice but she made no protest as she opened the door of his car and he stepped out, swords in tow. “Is that an entirely good idea?”
she looked at the swords, mostly out of concern but also out of fear - she didn’t let him know that though. “We’ll be fine, fine, fine. Come on. Come on. Gotta get there first. First.”
the crazed man scurried off into the colosseum and Adaline sighed.

She reached into her pocket, the screen turning on revealing a message that made her smile she texted back, before shutting her phone off again and stretching her joints and particularly her back and feet were swollen these days. The other assistants that Professor Pickering surrounded himself were following after the man, a sense of urgency filled her and she found herself waiting by the vehicles, something told her it was a bad idea to follow them; Phillip would understand, she was sure. Beside as she opened her car door again and unlocked the briefcase, the drones would capture anything he’d miss… she didn’t need to be there.

As she played with the settings for a moment; a slight tingling shot through her system and she looked over her shoulder as two females, - they seemed to be trying to avoid each other. “I’m sorry. But the colosseum is closed. You’ll need to return to which you came. It’s closed for maintenance.”
the darker skinned female ignored her and continued on her way, but the other female with long hair approached her; a soft smile. Adaline gave her a look of confusion.

An overwhelming sense of calm washed over her as the female who stood in front of her whispered words, Adaline found herself leaning against her car door trying to remain conscious as the female spoke in droves… she smelt like saffron… as she lowered herself onto the floor. The woman who had been speaking moments ago was thrown into the air; and Adaline found herself snapping out of it as her husband of all people appeared.

“Adaline.”
he turned towards her; a look of concern crossed his face as he lowered himself; she nuzzled into his hand. “Did she do anything, I’ll kill her, fuck it if she’s a kid of fire.”
Adaline shook her head. “I think she was trying to put me to sleep… but the swords… they are inside with him. You need to leave.”
her husband laughed before helping her from her position and wrapping her into an almost bone crushing hug.

The sky above them, she had noticed now looked stormy, were they stormy moments ago? She breathed in Nammay’s scent and shut her eyes. The sound of thunder and a flash of lightning gave Adaline the impression that Chaemai was here too. “What are you both doing here?”
“We’ve come to warn the children. This. all of this. The fuss about… the book. It’s a trap.”

Nammay POV


“You ought to be more careful.”


The male Ancient swirled the spoon in his cup, as much as he was a fan of metal for some reason he preferred to use plastic cutlery when he was home alone; a fan of the mortal realm, he often traversed between his realm and the mortal one. The plastic cutlery didn’t clink against the cup and that was one reason he liked it - he also just had to dispose of the spoon or rinse it and be done with it.

As he picked the cup up, inhaling the strong scent of coffee he shut his eyes and listening to the cadence of her voice; she was tired. “Hey, it’s late. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
there was a hushed sigh on the other side and he placed the cup down; she wanted to argue and he bit his tongue as she continued to speak “Look, a little bit of sleep, even if it’s on the way there will do you good. For you and the babies.”
he made sure to switch to Ancient tongue with that last part.

She responded back with a soft attack and he laughed; before she laughed too “Look I’ll keep an eye out, get some sleep. Call me when you arrive or after whatever it is you have to do there”
she agreed before he heard the line drop and disconnect. Placing the phone down he stepped away with his cup and moved towards the window.

He felt an itching in his throat and he inhaled there was someone trying to contact him, he sipped his coffee enjoying the sensation of the bitter liquid slightly burning the roof of his tongue before going down; once the cup was done he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall backwards until he was back in the realm he had created the moment of his inception.

He hadn’t expected to see his younger relative standing in the room when he emerged; how long had she been waiting; the air was charged with electricity and he cleared his throat “Chaemai. What can I do for you?”
the younger female Ancient reached for his arm and he pulled back; unsure of her intention she shook her head before opening the palm of her hand to reveal a small scroll “What’s this?”
“A message from the Citadel.”


Opening the scroll - it’s wax seal already discarded, he presumed that this was Chaemai’s copy of the scroll and that his own copy would be on his desk “I think one of your Claimants attempted to enter the realm just a moment ago but failed to do so.”
“Nier.”
he breathed out; his younger relative nodding and he read the scroll.

Drip Drop. Drip Drop. The first book arrived. Flitter, flatter my spell has begun. The webs grow thinner and thicker; traps are set and the quest is set. Seek the drops as the moon wanes and rises and begin the hunt; my spell will last until the cords are cut.


“What is any of this meant to mean?”
“Your guess is good a mine, but before I lost contact with my Claimants they told me two of three had been found, we’re running out of time. What do we do Nam?”
“We warn them in the only way we can.”




As she brushed herself off, she looked up at the male who had now approached her, he was spewing words almost too fast for her to comprehend; granted she was very much intoxicated she gave him a half smile before laughing like a hyena. She ignored his hand and instead with her bottle in tow, moved past the bent over figure and straight into the bathroom; where she proceeded to vomit up copious amounts of alcohol - of which tasted like ass coming up. Once she was sure most of the alcohol in her system was gone she cleaned the bathroom as best she could before rinsing her face with icy cold water; flinching a little. "Nice to meet you."
now that she was clear of most of the liquid poison in her system she smelt the overbearing scent of Iron. "What did you say your name was?"
she bit her lip as she emerged from the bathroom with a slightly damp face.

Should have landed in another room. This was a mistake landing in this one.
she cleared her throat before offering the male her hand, which was damp with water, she wiped it on her singlet before cracking a proper smile “Nice to meet you. I’m Vivi. A kiddo of Air.”
part of her pondered which of the two in the room smelt worse, his iron or her weed. “Guessing you’re here cause that lady came down in white light and uhh told us to all come and you know find it.”
she was definitely still drunk. “So when are you headed over?”
she still hadn’t answered any of what he had proposed or offered - she was just going to pretend he had said nothing.

She decided perhaps it was not worth the time trying to listen to him or whatever he had to repeat, she smiled again before turning and returning in the direction of the place she had come; reaching into her pocket she grabbed the small rolled up cigarette and lit it with her lighter, taking a whiff of it before disposing and snuffing it out with her foot; she climbed atop the balcony ledge, turned to face the male she had so rudely intruded on; did a mock salute before jumping-falling off the ledge and flying to where she needed to be.

As she flew she noticed a girl… no a woman; two of them were on opposites of the streets; the scent of vinegar came from one of them and Vivi had to cover her mouth and pray she didn’t throw up again. The other had a less severe scent and smelt of something floral. It didn’t matter they couldn’t; fly that was her advantage. She willed herself higher with the wind, using a current she had just notice above her to drift up and over into the Colosseum walls before landing on one of the higher rows; she couldn’t see or tell if anyone else had arrived. She shrugged and rampaged in her pockets again this time for a packet of CBD oil infused rice krispies and immediately started to snack as she walked throughout the abandoned rows. “Anyone here?”
she called out, stupid question but oh well.





“WE’RE HERE. OH WE’RE HERE! COME ON. COME ON. NO TIME TO WASTE!!!”
she could hear him from within the separate car that he insisted on travelling in, she winced her ears ringing from his voice but she made no protest as she opened the door of his car and he stepped out, swords in tow. “Is that an entirely good idea?”
she looked at the swords, mostly out of concern but also out of fear - she didn’t let him know that though. “We’ll be fine, fine, fine. Come on. Come on. Gotta get there first. First.”
the crazed man scurried off into the colosseum and Adaline sighed.

She reached into her pocket, the screen turning on revealing a message that made her smile she texted back, before shutting her phone off again and stretching her joints and particularly her back and feet were swollen these days. The other assistants that Professor Pickering surrounded himself were following after the man, a sense of urgency filled her and she found herself waiting by the vehicles, something told her it was a bad idea to follow them; Phillip would understand, she was sure. Beside as she opened her car door again and unlocked the briefcase, the drones would capture anything he’d miss… she didn’t need to be there.

As she played with the settings for a moment; a slight tingling shot through her system and she looked over her shoulder as two females, - they seemed to be trying to avoid each other. “I’m sorry. But the colosseum is closed. You’ll need to return to which you came. It’s closed for maintenance.”
the darker skinned female ignored her and continued on her way, but the other female with long hair approached her; a soft smile. Adaline gave her a look of confusion.

An overwhelming sense of calm washed over her as the female who stood in front of her whispered words, Adaline found herself leaning against her car door trying to remain conscious as the female spoke in droves… she smelt like saffron… as she lowered herself onto the floor. The woman who had been speaking moments ago was thrown into the air; and Adaline found herself snapping out of it as her husband of all people appeared.

“Adaline.”
he turned towards her; a look of concern crossed his face as he lowered himself; she nuzzled into his hand. “Did she do anything, I’ll kill her, fuck it if she’s a kid of fire.”
Adaline shook her head. “I think she was trying to put me to sleep… but the swords… they are inside with him. You need to leave.”
her husband laughed before helping her from her position and wrapping her into an almost bone crushing hug.

The sky above them, she had noticed now looked stormy, were they stormy moments ago? She breathed in Nammay’s scent and shut her eyes. The sound of thunder and a flash of lightning gave Adaline the impression that Chaemai was here too. “What are you both doing here?”
“We’ve come to warn the children. This. all of this. The fuss about… the book. It’s a trap.”

Nammay POV


“You ought to be more careful.”


The male Ancient swirled the spoon in his cup, as much as he was a fan of metal for some reason he preferred to use plastic cutlery when he was home alone; a fan of the mortal realm, he often traversed between his realm and the mortal one. The plastic cutlery didn’t clink against the cup and that was one reason he liked it - he also just had to dispose of the spoon or rinse it and be done with it.

As he picked the cup up, inhaling the strong scent of coffee he shut his eyes and listening to the cadence of her voice; she was tired. “Hey, it’s late. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
there was a hushed sigh on the other side and he placed the cup down; she wanted to argue and he bit his tongue as she continued to speak “Look, a little bit of sleep, even if it’s on the way there will do you good. For you and the babies.”
he made sure to switch to Ancient tongue with that last part.

She responded back with a soft attack and he laughed; before she laughed too “Look I’ll keep an eye out, get some sleep. Call me when you arrive or after whatever it is you have to do there”
she agreed before he heard the line drop and disconnect. Placing the phone down he stepped away with his cup and moved towards the window.

He felt an itching in his throat and he inhaled there was someone trying to contact him, he sipped his coffee enjoying the sensation of the bitter liquid slightly burning the roof of his tongue before going down; once the cup was done he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall backwards until he was back in the realm he had created the moment of his inception.

He hadn’t expected to see his younger relative standing in the room when he emerged; how long had she been waiting; the air was charged with electricity and he cleared his throat “Chaemai. What can I do for you?”
the younger female Ancient reached for his arm and he pulled back; unsure of her intention she shook her head before opening the palm of her hand to reveal a small scroll “What’s this?”
“A message from the Citadel.”


Opening the scroll - it’s wax seal already discarded, he presumed that this was Chaemai’s copy of the scroll and that his own copy would be on his desk “I think one of your Claimants attempted to enter the realm just a moment ago but failed to do so.”
“Nier.”
he breathed out; his younger relative nodding and he read the scroll.

Drip Drop. Drip Drop. The first book arrived. Flitter, flatter my spell has begun. The webs grow thinner and thicker; traps are set and the quest is set. Seek the drops as the moon wanes and rises and begin the hunt; my spell will last until the cords are cut.


“What is any of this meant to mean?”
“Your guess is good a mine, but before I lost contact with my Claimants they told me two of three had been found, we’re running out of time. What do we do Nam?”
“We warn them in the only way we can.”




As she brushed herself off, she looked up at the male who had now approached her, he was spewing words almost too fast for her to comprehend; granted she was very much intoxicated she gave him a half smile before laughing like a hyena. She ignored his hand and instead with her bottle in tow, moved past the bent over figure and straight into the bathroom; where she proceeded to vomit up copious amounts of alcohol - of which tasted like ass coming up. Once she was sure most of the alcohol in her system was gone she cleaned the bathroom as best she could before rinsing her face with icy cold water; flinching a little. "Nice to meet you."
now that she was clear of most of the liquid poison in her system she smelt the overbearing scent of Iron. "What did you say your name was?"
she bit her lip as she emerged from the bathroom with a slightly damp face.

Should have landed in another room. This was a mistake landing in this one.
she cleared her throat before offering the male her hand, which was damp with water, she wiped it on her singlet before cracking a proper smile “Nice to meet you. I’m Vivi. A kiddo of Air.”
part of her pondered which of the two in the room smelt worse, his iron or her weed. “Guessing you’re here cause that lady came down in white light and uhh told us to all come and you know find it.”
she was definitely still drunk. “So when are you headed over?”
she still hadn’t answered any of what he had proposed or offered - she was just going to pretend he had said nothing.

She decided perhaps it was not worth the time trying to listen to him or whatever he had to repeat, she smiled again before turning and returning in the direction of the place she had come; reaching into her pocket she grabbed the small rolled up cigarette and lit it with her lighter, taking a whiff of it before disposing and snuffing it out with her foot; she climbed atop the balcony ledge, turned to face the male she had so rudely intruded on; did a mock salute before jumping-falling off the ledge and flying to where she needed to be.

As she flew she noticed a girl… no a woman; two of them were on opposites of the streets; the scent of vinegar came from one of them and Vivi had to cover her mouth and pray she didn’t throw up again. The other had a less severe scent and smelt of something floral. It didn’t matter they couldn’t; fly that was her advantage. She willed herself higher with the wind, using a current she had just notice above her to drift up and over into the Colosseum walls before landing on one of the higher rows; she couldn’t see or tell if anyone else had arrived. She shrugged and rampaged in her pockets again this time for a packet of CBD oil infused rice krispies and immediately started to snack as she walked throughout the abandoned rows. “Anyone here?”
she called out, stupid question but oh well.





“WE’RE HERE. OH WE’RE HERE! COME ON. COME ON. NO TIME TO WASTE!!!”
she could hear him from within the separate car that he insisted on travelling in, she winced her ears ringing from his voice but she made no protest as she opened the door of his car and he stepped out, swords in tow. “Is that an entirely good idea?”
she looked at the swords, mostly out of concern but also out of fear - she didn’t let him know that though. “We’ll be fine, fine, fine. Come on. Come on. Gotta get there first. First.”
the crazed man scurried off into the colosseum and Adaline sighed.

She reached into her pocket, the screen turning on revealing a message that made her smile she texted back, before shutting her phone off again and stretching her joints and particularly her back and feet were swollen these days. The other assistants that Professor Pickering surrounded himself were following after the man, a sense of urgency filled her and she found herself waiting by the vehicles, something told her it was a bad idea to follow them; Phillip would understand, she was sure. Beside as she opened her car door again and unlocked the briefcase, the drones would capture anything he’d miss… she didn’t need to be there.

As she played with the settings for a moment; a slight tingling shot through her system and she looked over her shoulder as two females, - they seemed to be trying to avoid each other. “I’m sorry. But the colosseum is closed. You’ll need to return to which you came. It’s closed for maintenance.”
the darker skinned female ignored her and continued on her way, but the other female with long hair approached her; a soft smile. Adaline gave her a look of confusion.

An overwhelming sense of calm washed over her as the female who stood in front of her whispered words, Adaline found herself leaning against her car door trying to remain conscious as the female spoke in droves… she smelt like saffron… as she lowered herself onto the floor. The woman who had been speaking moments ago was thrown into the air; and Adaline found herself snapping out of it as her husband of all people appeared.

“Adaline.”
he turned towards her; a look of concern crossed his face as he lowered himself; she nuzzled into his hand. “Did she do anything, I’ll kill her, fuck it if she’s a kid of fire.”
Adaline shook her head. “I think she was trying to put me to sleep… but the swords… they are inside with him. You need to leave.”
her husband laughed before helping her from her position and wrapping her into an almost bone crushing hug.

The sky above them, she had noticed now looked stormy, were they stormy moments ago? She breathed in Nammay’s scent and shut her eyes. The sound of thunder and a flash of lightning gave Adaline the impression that Chaemai was here too. “What are you both doing here?”
“We’ve come to warn the children. This. all of this. The fuss about… the book. It’s a trap.”

Nammay POV


“You ought to be more careful.”


The male Ancient swirled the spoon in his cup, as much as he was a fan of metal for some reason he preferred to use plastic cutlery when he was home alone; a fan of the mortal realm, he often traversed between his realm and the mortal one. The plastic cutlery didn’t clink against the cup and that was one reason he liked it - he also just had to dispose of the spoon or rinse it and be done with it.

As he picked the cup up, inhaling the strong scent of coffee he shut his eyes and listening to the cadence of her voice; she was tired. “Hey, it’s late. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
there was a hushed sigh on the other side and he placed the cup down; she wanted to argue and he bit his tongue as she continued to speak “Look, a little bit of sleep, even if it’s on the way there will do you good. For you and the babies.”
he made sure to switch to Ancient tongue with that last part.

She responded back with a soft attack and he laughed; before she laughed too “Look I’ll keep an eye out, get some sleep. Call me when you arrive or after whatever it is you have to do there”
she agreed before he heard the line drop and disconnect. Placing the phone down he stepped away with his cup and moved towards the window.

He felt an itching in his throat and he inhaled there was someone trying to contact him, he sipped his coffee enjoying the sensation of the bitter liquid slightly burning the roof of his tongue before going down; once the cup was done he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall backwards until he was back in the realm he had created the moment of his inception.

He hadn’t expected to see his younger relative standing in the room when he emerged; how long had she been waiting; the air was charged with electricity and he cleared his throat “Chaemai. What can I do for you?”
the younger female Ancient reached for his arm and he pulled back; unsure of her intention she shook her head before opening the palm of her hand to reveal a small scroll “What’s this?”
“A message from the Citadel.”


Opening the scroll - it’s wax seal already discarded, he presumed that this was Chaemai’s copy of the scroll and that his own copy would be on his desk “I think one of your Claimants attempted to enter the realm just a moment ago but failed to do so.”
“Nier.”
he breathed out; his younger relative nodding and he read the scroll.

Drip Drop. Drip Drop. The first book arrived. Flitter, flatter my spell has begun. The webs grow thinner and thicker; traps are set and the quest is set. Seek the drops as the moon wanes and rises and begin the hunt; my spell will last until the cords are cut.


“What is any of this meant to mean?”
“Your guess is good a mine, but before I lost contact with my Claimants they told me two of three had been found, we’re running out of time. What do we do Nam?”
“We warn them in the only way we can.”




As she brushed herself off, she looked up at the male who had now approached her, he was spewing words almost too fast for her to comprehend; granted she was very much intoxicated she gave him a half smile before laughing like a hyena. She ignored his hand and instead with her bottle in tow, moved past the bent over figure and straight into the bathroom; where she proceeded to vomit up copious amounts of alcohol - of which tasted like ass coming up. Once she was sure most of the alcohol in her system was gone she cleaned the bathroom as best she could before rinsing her face with icy cold water; flinching a little. "Nice to meet you."
now that she was clear of most of the liquid poison in her system she smelt the overbearing scent of Iron. "What did you say your name was?"
she bit her lip as she emerged from the bathroom with a slightly damp face.

Should have landed in another room. This was a mistake landing in this one.
she cleared her throat before offering the male her hand, which was damp with water, she wiped it on her singlet before cracking a proper smile “Nice to meet you. I’m Vivi. A kiddo of Air.”
part of her pondered which of the two in the room smelt worse, his iron or her weed. “Guessing you’re here cause that lady came down in white light and uhh told us to all come and you know find it.”
she was definitely still drunk. “So when are you headed over?”
she still hadn’t answered any of what he had proposed or offered - she was just going to pretend he had said nothing.

She decided perhaps it was not worth the time trying to listen to him or whatever he had to repeat, she smiled again before turning and returning in the direction of the place she had come; reaching into her pocket she grabbed the small rolled up cigarette and lit it with her lighter, taking a whiff of it before disposing and snuffing it out with her foot; she climbed atop the balcony ledge, turned to face the male she had so rudely intruded on; did a mock salute before jumping-falling off the ledge and flying to where she needed to be.

As she flew she noticed a girl… no a woman; two of them were on opposites of the streets; the scent of vinegar came from one of them and Vivi had to cover her mouth and pray she didn’t throw up again. The other had a less severe scent and smelt of something floral. It didn’t matter they couldn’t; fly that was her advantage. She willed herself higher with the wind, using a current she had just notice above her to drift up and over into the Colosseum walls before landing on one of the higher rows; she couldn’t see or tell if anyone else had arrived. She shrugged and rampaged in her pockets again this time for a packet of CBD oil infused rice krispies and immediately started to snack as she walked throughout the abandoned rows. “Anyone here?”
she called out, stupid question but oh well.





“WE’RE HERE. OH WE’RE HERE! COME ON. COME ON. NO TIME TO WASTE!!!”
she could hear him from within the separate car that he insisted on travelling in, she winced her ears ringing from his voice but she made no protest as she opened the door of his car and he stepped out, swords in tow. “Is that an entirely good idea?”
she looked at the swords, mostly out of concern but also out of fear - she didn’t let him know that though. “We’ll be fine, fine, fine. Come on. Come on. Gotta get there first. First.”
the crazed man scurried off into the colosseum and Adaline sighed.

She reached into her pocket, the screen turning on revealing a message that made her smile she texted back, before shutting her phone off again and stretching her joints and particularly her back and feet were swollen these days. The other assistants that Professor Pickering surrounded himself were following after the man, a sense of urgency filled her and she found herself waiting by the vehicles, something told her it was a bad idea to follow them; Phillip would understand, she was sure. Beside as she opened her car door again and unlocked the briefcase, the drones would capture anything he’d miss… she didn’t need to be there.

As she played with the settings for a moment; a slight tingling shot through her system and she looked over her shoulder as two females, - they seemed to be trying to avoid each other. “I’m sorry. But the colosseum is closed. You’ll need to return to which you came. It’s closed for maintenance.”
the darker skinned female ignored her and continued on her way, but the other female with long hair approached her; a soft smile. Adaline gave her a look of confusion.

An overwhelming sense of calm washed over her as the female who stood in front of her whispered words, Adaline found herself leaning against her car door trying to remain conscious as the female spoke in droves… she smelt like saffron… as she lowered herself onto the floor. The woman who had been speaking moments ago was thrown into the air; and Adaline found herself snapping out of it as her husband of all people appeared.

“Adaline.”
he turned towards her; a look of concern crossed his face as he lowered himself; she nuzzled into his hand. “Did she do anything, I’ll kill her, fuck it if she’s a kid of fire.”
Adaline shook her head. “I think she was trying to put me to sleep… but the swords… they are inside with him. You need to leave.”
her husband laughed before helping her from her position and wrapping her into an almost bone crushing hug.

The sky above them, she had noticed now looked stormy, were they stormy moments ago? She breathed in Nammay’s scent and shut her eyes. The sound of thunder and a flash of lightning gave Adaline the impression that Chaemai was here too. “What are you both doing here?”
“We’ve come to warn the children. This. all of this. The fuss about… the book. It’s a trap.”

Nammay POV


“You ought to be more careful.”


The male Ancient swirled the spoon in his cup, as much as he was a fan of metal for some reason he preferred to use plastic cutlery when he was home alone; a fan of the mortal realm, he often traversed between his realm and the mortal one. The plastic cutlery didn’t clink against the cup and that was one reason he liked it - he also just had to dispose of the spoon or rinse it and be done with it.

As he picked the cup up, inhaling the strong scent of coffee he shut his eyes and listening to the cadence of her voice; she was tired. “Hey, it’s late. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
there was a hushed sigh on the other side and he placed the cup down; she wanted to argue and he bit his tongue as she continued to speak “Look, a little bit of sleep, even if it’s on the way there will do you good. For you and the babies.”
he made sure to switch to Ancient tongue with that last part.

She responded back with a soft attack and he laughed; before she laughed too “Look I’ll keep an eye out, get some sleep. Call me when you arrive or after whatever it is you have to do there”
she agreed before he heard the line drop and disconnect. Placing the phone down he stepped away with his cup and moved towards the window.

He felt an itching in his throat and he inhaled there was someone trying to contact him, he sipped his coffee enjoying the sensation of the bitter liquid slightly burning the roof of his tongue before going down; once the cup was done he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall backwards until he was back in the realm he had created the moment of his inception.

He hadn’t expected to see his younger relative standing in the room when he emerged; how long had she been waiting; the air was charged with electricity and he cleared his throat “Chaemai. What can I do for you?”
the younger female Ancient reached for his arm and he pulled back; unsure of her intention she shook her head before opening the palm of her hand to reveal a small scroll “What’s this?”
“A message from the Citadel.”


Opening the scroll - it’s wax seal already discarded, he presumed that this was Chaemai’s copy of the scroll and that his own copy would be on his desk “I think one of your Claimants attempted to enter the realm just a moment ago but failed to do so.”
“Nier.”
he breathed out; his younger relative nodding and he read the scroll.

Drip Drop. Drip Drop. The first book arrived. Flitter, flatter my spell has begun. The webs grow thinner and thicker; traps are set and the quest is set. Seek the drops as the moon wanes and rises and begin the hunt; my spell will last until the cords are cut.


“What is any of this meant to mean?”
“Your guess is good a mine, but before I lost contact with my Claimants they told me two of three had been found, we’re running out of time. What do we do Nam?”
“We warn them in the only way we can.”




As she brushed herself off, she looked up at the male who had now approached her, he was spewing words almost too fast for her to comprehend; granted she was very much intoxicated she gave him a half smile before laughing like a hyena. She ignored his hand and instead with her bottle in tow, moved past the bent over figure and straight into the bathroom; where she proceeded to vomit up copious amounts of alcohol - of which tasted like ass coming up. Once she was sure most of the alcohol in her system was gone she cleaned the bathroom as best she could before rinsing her face with icy cold water; flinching a little. "Nice to meet you."
now that she was clear of most of the liquid poison in her system she smelt the overbearing scent of Iron. "What did you say your name was?"
she bit her lip as she emerged from the bathroom with a slightly damp face.

Should have landed in another room. This was a mistake landing in this one.
she cleared her throat before offering the male her hand, which was damp with water, she wiped it on her singlet before cracking a proper smile “Nice to meet you. I’m Vivi. A kiddo of Air.”
part of her pondered which of the two in the room smelt worse, his iron or her weed. “Guessing you’re here cause that lady came down in white light and uhh told us to all come and you know find it.”
she was definitely still drunk. “So when are you headed over?”
she still hadn’t answered any of what he had proposed or offered - she was just going to pretend he had said nothing.

She decided perhaps it was not worth the time trying to listen to him or whatever he had to repeat, she smiled again before turning and returning in the direction of the place she had come; reaching into her pocket she grabbed the small rolled up cigarette and lit it with her lighter, taking a whiff of it before disposing and snuffing it out with her foot; she climbed atop the balcony ledge, turned to face the male she had so rudely intruded on; did a mock salute before jumping-falling off the ledge and flying to where she needed to be.

As she flew she noticed a girl… no a woman; two of them were on opposites of the streets; the scent of vinegar came from one of them and Vivi had to cover her mouth and pray she didn’t throw up again. The other had a less severe scent and smelt of something floral. It didn’t matter they couldn’t; fly that was her advantage. She willed herself higher with the wind, using a current she had just notice above her to drift up and over into the Colosseum walls before landing on one of the higher rows; she couldn’t see or tell if anyone else had arrived. She shrugged and rampaged in her pockets again this time for a packet of CBD oil infused rice krispies and immediately started to snack as she walked throughout the abandoned rows. “Anyone here?”
she called out, stupid question but oh well.





“WE’RE HERE. OH WE’RE HERE! COME ON. COME ON. NO TIME TO WASTE!!!”
she could hear him from within the separate car that he insisted on travelling in, she winced her ears ringing from his voice but she made no protest as she opened the door of his car and he stepped out, swords in tow. “Is that an entirely good idea?”
she looked at the swords, mostly out of concern but also out of fear - she didn’t let him know that though. “We’ll be fine, fine, fine. Come on. Come on. Gotta get there first. First.”
the crazed man scurried off into the colosseum and Adaline sighed.

She reached into her pocket, the screen turning on revealing a message that made her smile she texted back, before shutting her phone off again and stretching her joints and particularly her back and feet were swollen these days. The other assistants that Professor Pickering surrounded himself were following after the man, a sense of urgency filled her and she found herself waiting by the vehicles, something told her it was a bad idea to follow them; Phillip would understand, she was sure. Beside as she opened her car door again and unlocked the briefcase, the drones would capture anything he’d miss… she didn’t need to be there.

As she played with the settings for a moment; a slight tingling shot through her system and she looked over her shoulder as two females, - they seemed to be trying to avoid each other. “I’m sorry. But the colosseum is closed. You’ll need to return to which you came. It’s closed for maintenance.”
the darker skinned female ignored her and continued on her way, but the other female with long hair approached her; a soft smile. Adaline gave her a look of confusion.

An overwhelming sense of calm washed over her as the female who stood in front of her whispered words, Adaline found herself leaning against her car door trying to remain conscious as the female spoke in droves… she smelt like saffron… as she lowered herself onto the floor. The woman who had been speaking moments ago was thrown into the air; and Adaline found herself snapping out of it as her husband of all people appeared.

“Adaline.”
he turned towards her; a look of concern crossed his face as he lowered himself; she nuzzled into his hand. “Did she do anything, I’ll kill her, fuck it if she’s a kid of fire.”
Adaline shook her head. “I think she was trying to put me to sleep… but the swords… they are inside with him. You need to leave.”
her husband laughed before helping her from her position and wrapping her into an almost bone crushing hug.

The sky above them, she had noticed now looked stormy, were they stormy moments ago? She breathed in Nammay’s scent and shut her eyes. The sound of thunder and a flash of lightning gave Adaline the impression that Chaemai was here too. “What are you both doing here?”
“We’ve come to warn the children. This. all of this. The fuss about… the book. It’s a trap.”

Nammay POV


“You ought to be more careful.”


The male Ancient swirled the spoon in his cup, as much as he was a fan of metal for some reason he preferred to use plastic cutlery when he was home alone; a fan of the mortal realm, he often traversed between his realm and the mortal one. The plastic cutlery didn’t clink against the cup and that was one reason he liked it - he also just had to dispose of the spoon or rinse it and be done with it.

As he picked the cup up, inhaling the strong scent of coffee he shut his eyes and listening to the cadence of her voice; she was tired. “Hey, it’s late. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
there was a hushed sigh on the other side and he placed the cup down; she wanted to argue and he bit his tongue as she continued to speak “Look, a little bit of sleep, even if it’s on the way there will do you good. For you and the babies.”
he made sure to switch to Ancient tongue with that last part.

She responded back with a soft attack and he laughed; before she laughed too “Look I’ll keep an eye out, get some sleep. Call me when you arrive or after whatever it is you have to do there”
she agreed before he heard the line drop and disconnect. Placing the phone down he stepped away with his cup and moved towards the window.

He felt an itching in his throat and he inhaled there was someone trying to contact him, he sipped his coffee enjoying the sensation of the bitter liquid slightly burning the roof of his tongue before going down; once the cup was done he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall backwards until he was back in the realm he had created the moment of his inception.

He hadn’t expected to see his younger relative standing in the room when he emerged; how long had she been waiting; the air was charged with electricity and he cleared his throat “Chaemai. What can I do for you?”
the younger female Ancient reached for his arm and he pulled back; unsure of her intention she shook her head before opening the palm of her hand to reveal a small scroll “What’s this?”
“A message from the Citadel.”


Opening the scroll - it’s wax seal already discarded, he presumed that this was Chaemai’s copy of the scroll and that his own copy would be on his desk “I think one of your Claimants attempted to enter the realm just a moment ago but failed to do so.”
“Nier.”
he breathed out; his younger relative nodding and he read the scroll.

Drip Drop. Drip Drop. The first book arrived. Flitter, flatter my spell has begun. The webs grow thinner and thicker; traps are set and the quest is set. Seek the drops as the moon wanes and rises and begin the hunt; my spell will last until the cords are cut.


“What is any of this meant to mean?”
“Your guess is good a mine, but before I lost contact with my Claimants they told me two of three had been found, we’re running out of time. What do we do Nam?”
“We warn them in the only way we can.”




As she brushed herself off, she looked up at the male who had now approached her, he was spewing words almost too fast for her to comprehend; granted she was very much intoxicated she gave him a half smile before laughing like a hyena. She ignored his hand and instead with her bottle in tow, moved past the bent over figure and straight into the bathroom; where she proceeded to vomit up copious amounts of alcohol - of which tasted like ass coming up. Once she was sure most of the alcohol in her system was gone she cleaned the bathroom as best she could before rinsing her face with icy cold water; flinching a little. "Nice to meet you."
now that she was clear of most of the liquid poison in her system she smelt the overbearing scent of Iron. "What did you say your name was?"
she bit her lip as she emerged from the bathroom with a slightly damp face.

Should have landed in another room. This was a mistake landing in this one.
she cleared her throat before offering the male her hand, which was damp with water, she wiped it on her singlet before cracking a proper smile “Nice to meet you. I’m Vivi. A kiddo of Air.”
part of her pondered which of the two in the room smelt worse, his iron or her weed. “Guessing you’re here cause that lady came down in white light and uhh told us to all come and you know find it.”
she was definitely still drunk. “So when are you headed over?”
she still hadn’t answered any of what he had proposed or offered - she was just going to pretend he had said nothing.

She decided perhaps it was not worth the time trying to listen to him or whatever he had to repeat, she smiled again before turning and returning in the direction of the place she had come; reaching into her pocket she grabbed the small rolled up cigarette and lit it with her lighter, taking a whiff of it before disposing and snuffing it out with her foot; she climbed atop the balcony ledge, turned to face the male she had so rudely intruded on; did a mock salute before jumping-falling off the ledge and flying to where she needed to be.

As she flew she noticed a girl… no a woman; two of them were on opposites of the streets; the scent of vinegar came from one of them and Vivi had to cover her mouth and pray she didn’t throw up again. The other had a less severe scent and smelt of something floral. It didn’t matter they couldn’t; fly that was her advantage. She willed herself higher with the wind, using a current she had just notice above her to drift up and over into the Colosseum walls before landing on one of the higher rows; she couldn’t see or tell if anyone else had arrived. She shrugged and rampaged in her pockets again this time for a packet of CBD oil infused rice krispies and immediately started to snack as she walked throughout the abandoned rows. “Anyone here?”
she called out, stupid question but oh well.





“WE’RE HERE. OH WE’RE HERE! COME ON. COME ON. NO TIME TO WASTE!!!”
she could hear him from within the separate car that he insisted on travelling in, she winced her ears ringing from his voice but she made no protest as she opened the door of his car and he stepped out, swords in tow. “Is that an entirely good idea?”
she looked at the swords, mostly out of concern but also out of fear - she didn’t let him know that though. “We’ll be fine, fine, fine. Come on. Come on. Gotta get there first. First.”
the crazed man scurried off into the colosseum and Adaline sighed.

She reached into her pocket, the screen turning on revealing a message that made her smile she texted back, before shutting her phone off again and stretching her joints and particularly her back and feet were swollen these days. The other assistants that Professor Pickering surrounded himself were following after the man, a sense of urgency filled her and she found herself waiting by the vehicles, something told her it was a bad idea to follow them; Phillip would understand, she was sure. Beside as she opened her car door again and unlocked the briefcase, the drones would capture anything he’d miss… she didn’t need to be there.

As she played with the settings for a moment; a slight tingling shot through her system and she looked over her shoulder as two females, - they seemed to be trying to avoid each other. “I’m sorry. But the colosseum is closed. You’ll need to return to which you came. It’s closed for maintenance.”
the darker skinned female ignored her and continued on her way, but the other female with long hair approached her; a soft smile. Adaline gave her a look of confusion.

An overwhelming sense of calm washed over her as the female who stood in front of her whispered words, Adaline found herself leaning against her car door trying to remain conscious as the female spoke in droves… she smelt like saffron… as she lowered herself onto the floor. The woman who had been speaking moments ago was thrown into the air; and Adaline found herself snapping out of it as her husband of all people appeared.

“Adaline.”
he turned towards her; a look of concern crossed his face as he lowered himself; she nuzzled into his hand. “Did she do anything, I’ll kill her, fuck it if she’s a kid of fire.”
Adaline shook her head. “I think she was trying to put me to sleep… but the swords… they are inside with him. You need to leave.”
her husband laughed before helping her from her position and wrapping her into an almost bone crushing hug.

The sky above them, she had noticed now looked stormy, were they stormy moments ago? She breathed in Nammay’s scent and shut her eyes. The sound of thunder and a flash of lightning gave Adaline the impression that Chaemai was here too. “What are you both doing here?”
“We’ve come to warn the children. This. all of this. The fuss about… the book. It’s a trap.”

Nammay POV


“You ought to be more careful.”


The male Ancient swirled the spoon in his cup, as much as he was a fan of metal for some reason he preferred to use plastic cutlery when he was home alone; a fan of the mortal realm, he often traversed between his realm and the mortal one. The plastic cutlery didn’t clink against the cup and that was one reason he liked it - he also just had to dispose of the spoon or rinse it and be done with it.

As he picked the cup up, inhaling the strong scent of coffee he shut his eyes and listening to the cadence of her voice; she was tired. “Hey, it’s late. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
there was a hushed sigh on the other side and he placed the cup down; she wanted to argue and he bit his tongue as she continued to speak “Look, a little bit of sleep, even if it’s on the way there will do you good. For you and the babies.”
he made sure to switch to Ancient tongue with that last part.

She responded back with a soft attack and he laughed; before she laughed too “Look I’ll keep an eye out, get some sleep. Call me when you arrive or after whatever it is you have to do there”
she agreed before he heard the line drop and disconnect. Placing the phone down he stepped away with his cup and moved towards the window.

He felt an itching in his throat and he inhaled there was someone trying to contact him, he sipped his coffee enjoying the sensation of the bitter liquid slightly burning the roof of his tongue before going down; once the cup was done he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall backwards until he was back in the realm he had created the moment of his inception.

He hadn’t expected to see his younger relative standing in the room when he emerged; how long had she been waiting; the air was charged with electricity and he cleared his throat “Chaemai. What can I do for you?”
the younger female Ancient reached for his arm and he pulled back; unsure of her intention she shook her head before opening the palm of her hand to reveal a small scroll “What’s this?”
“A message from the Citadel.”


Opening the scroll - it’s wax seal already discarded, he presumed that this was Chaemai’s copy of the scroll and that his own copy would be on his desk “I think one of your Claimants attempted to enter the realm just a moment ago but failed to do so.”
“Nier.”
he breathed out; his younger relative nodding and he read the scroll.

Drip Drop. Drip Drop. The first book arrived. Flitter, flatter my spell has begun. The webs grow thinner and thicker; traps are set and the quest is set. Seek the drops as the moon wanes and rises and begin the hunt; my spell will last until the cords are cut.


“What is any of this meant to mean?”
“Your guess is good a mine, but before I lost contact with my Claimants they told me two of three had been found, we’re running out of time. What do we do Nam?”
“We warn them in the only way we can.”




As she brushed herself off, she looked up at the male who had now approached her, he was spewing words almost too fast for her to comprehend; granted she was very much intoxicated she gave him a half smile before laughing like a hyena. She ignored his hand and instead with her bottle in tow, moved past the bent over figure and straight into the bathroom; where she proceeded to vomit up copious amounts of alcohol - of which tasted like ass coming up. Once she was sure most of the alcohol in her system was gone she cleaned the bathroom as best she could before rinsing her face with icy cold water; flinching a little. "Nice to meet you."
now that she was clear of most of the liquid poison in her system she smelt the overbearing scent of Iron. "What did you say your name was?"
she bit her lip as she emerged from the bathroom with a slightly damp face.

Should have landed in another room. This was a mistake landing in this one.
she cleared her throat before offering the male her hand, which was damp with water, she wiped it on her singlet before cracking a proper smile “Nice to meet you. I’m Vivi. A kiddo of Air.”
part of her pondered which of the two in the room smelt worse, his iron or her weed. “Guessing you’re here cause that lady came down in white light and uhh told us to all come and you know find it.”
she was definitely still drunk. “So when are you headed over?”
she still hadn’t answered any of what he had proposed or offered - she was just going to pretend he had said nothing.

She decided perhaps it was not worth the time trying to listen to him or whatever he had to repeat, she smiled again before turning and returning in the direction of the place she had come; reaching into her pocket she grabbed the small rolled up cigarette and lit it with her lighter, taking a whiff of it before disposing and snuffing it out with her foot; she climbed atop the balcony ledge, turned to face the male she had so rudely intruded on; did a mock salute before jumping-falling off the ledge and flying to where she needed to be.

As she flew she noticed a girl… no a woman; two of them were on opposites of the streets; the scent of vinegar came from one of them and Vivi had to cover her mouth and pray she didn’t throw up again. The other had a less severe scent and smelt of something floral. It didn’t matter they couldn’t; fly that was her advantage. She willed herself higher with the wind, using a current she had just notice above her to drift up and over into the Colosseum walls before landing on one of the higher rows; she couldn’t see or tell if anyone else had arrived. She shrugged and rampaged in her pockets again this time for a packet of CBD oil infused rice krispies and immediately started to snack as she walked throughout the abandoned rows. “Anyone here?”
she called out, stupid question but oh well.





“WE’RE HERE. OH WE’RE HERE! COME ON. COME ON. NO TIME TO WASTE!!!”
she could hear him from within the separate car that he insisted on travelling in, she winced her ears ringing from his voice but she made no protest as she opened the door of his car and he stepped out, swords in tow. “Is that an entirely good idea?”
she looked at the swords, mostly out of concern but also out of fear - she didn’t let him know that though. “We’ll be fine, fine, fine. Come on. Come on. Gotta get there first. First.”
the crazed man scurried off into the colosseum and Adaline sighed.

She reached into her pocket, the screen turning on revealing a message that made her smile she texted back, before shutting her phone off again and stretching her joints and particularly her back and feet were swollen these days. The other assistants that Professor Pickering surrounded himself were following after the man, a sense of urgency filled her and she found herself waiting by the vehicles, something told her it was a bad idea to follow them; Phillip would understand, she was sure. Beside as she opened her car door again and unlocked the briefcase, the drones would capture anything he’d miss… she didn’t need to be there.

As she played with the settings for a moment; a slight tingling shot through her system and she looked over her shoulder as two females, - they seemed to be trying to avoid each other. “I’m sorry. But the colosseum is closed. You’ll need to return to which you came. It’s closed for maintenance.”
the darker skinned female ignored her and continued on her way, but the other female with long hair approached her; a soft smile. Adaline gave her a look of confusion.

An overwhelming sense of calm washed over her as the female who stood in front of her whispered words, Adaline found herself leaning against her car door trying to remain conscious as the female spoke in droves… she smelt like saffron… as she lowered herself onto the floor. The woman who had been speaking moments ago was thrown into the air; and Adaline found herself snapping out of it as her husband of all people appeared.

“Adaline.”
he turned towards her; a look of concern crossed his face as he lowered himself; she nuzzled into his hand. “Did she do anything, I’ll kill her, fuck it if she’s a kid of fire.”
Adaline shook her head. “I think she was trying to put me to sleep… but the swords… they are inside with him. You need to leave.”
her husband laughed before helping her from her position and wrapping her into an almost bone crushing hug.

The sky above them, she had noticed now looked stormy, were they stormy moments ago? She breathed in Nammay’s scent and shut her eyes. The sound of thunder and a flash of lightning gave Adaline the impression that Chaemai was here too. “What are you both doing here?”
“We’ve come to warn the children. This. all of this. The fuss about… the book. It’s a trap.”

Nammay POV


“You ought to be more careful.”


The male Ancient swirled the spoon in his cup, as much as he was a fan of metal for some reason he preferred to use plastic cutlery when he was home alone; a fan of the mortal realm, he often traversed between his realm and the mortal one. The plastic cutlery didn’t clink against the cup and that was one reason he liked it - he also just had to dispose of the spoon or rinse it and be done with it.

As he picked the cup up, inhaling the strong scent of coffee he shut his eyes and listening to the cadence of her voice; she was tired. “Hey, it’s late. You need rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
there was a hushed sigh on the other side and he placed the cup down; she wanted to argue and he bit his tongue as she continued to speak “Look, a little bit of sleep, even if it’s on the way there will do you good. For you and the babies.”
he made sure to switch to Ancient tongue with that last part.

She responded back with a soft attack and he laughed; before she laughed too “Look I’ll keep an eye out, get some sleep. Call me when you arrive or after whatever it is you have to do there”
she agreed before he heard the line drop and disconnect. Placing the phone down he stepped away with his cup and moved towards the window.

He felt an itching in his throat and he inhaled there was someone trying to contact him, he sipped his coffee enjoying the sensation of the bitter liquid slightly burning the roof of his tongue before going down; once the cup was done he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall backwards until he was back in the realm he had created the moment of his inception.

He hadn’t expected to see his younger relative standing in the room when he emerged; how long had she been waiting; the air was charged with electricity and he cleared his throat “Chaemai. What can I do for you?”
the younger female Ancient reached for his arm and he pulled back; unsure of her intention she shook her head before opening the palm of her hand to reveal a small scroll “What’s this?”
“A message from the Citadel.”


Opening the scroll - it’s wax seal already discarded, he presumed that this was Chaemai’s copy of the scroll and that his own copy would be on his desk “I think one of your Claimants attempted to enter the realm just a moment ago but failed to do so.”
“Nier.”
he breathed out; his younger relative nodding and he read the scroll.

Drip Drop. Drip Drop. The first book arrived. Flitter, flatter my spell has begun. The webs grow thinner and thicker; traps are set and the quest is set. Seek the drops as the moon wanes and rises and begin the hunt; my spell will last until the cords are cut.


“What is any of this meant to mean?”
“Your guess is good a mine, but before I lost contact with my Claimants they told me two of three had been found, we’re running out of time. What do we do Nam?”
“We warn them in the only way we can.”




As she brushed herself off, she looked up at the male who had now approached her, he was spewing words almost too fast for her to comprehend; granted she was very much intoxicated she gave him a half smile before laughing like a hyena. She ignored his hand and instead with her bottle in tow, moved past the bent over figure and straight into the bathroom; where she proceeded to vomit up copious amounts of alcohol - of which tasted like ass coming up. Once she was sure most of the alcohol in her system was gone she cleaned the bathroom as best she could before rinsing her face with icy cold water; flinching a little. "Nice to meet you."
now that she was clear of most of the liquid poison in her system she smelt the overbearing scent of Iron. "What did you say your name was?"
she bit her lip as she emerged from the bathroom with a slightly damp face.

Should have landed in another room. This was a mistake landing in this one.
she cleared her throat before offering the male her hand, which was damp with water, she wiped it on her singlet before cracking a proper smile “Nice to meet you. I’m Vivi. A kiddo of Air.”
part of her pondered which of the two in the room smelt worse, his iron or her weed. “Guessing you’re here cause that lady came down in white light and uhh told us to all come and you know find it.”
she was definitely still drunk. “So when are you headed over?”
she still hadn’t answered any of what he had proposed or offered - she was just going to pretend he had said nothing.

She decided perhaps it was not worth the time trying to listen to him or whatever he had to repeat, she smiled again before turning and returning in the direction of the place she had come; reaching into her pocket she grabbed the small rolled up cigarette and lit it with her lighter, taking a whiff of it before disposing and snuffing it out with her foot; she climbed atop the balcony ledge, turned to face the male she had so rudely intruded on; did a mock salute before jumping-falling off the ledge and flying to where she needed to be.

As she flew she noticed a girl… no a woman; two of them were on opposites of the streets; the scent of vinegar came from one of them and Vivi had to cover her mouth and pray she didn’t throw up again. The other had a less severe scent and smelt of something floral. It didn’t matter they couldn’t; fly that was her advantage. She willed herself higher with the wind, using a current she had just notice above her to drift up and over into the Colosseum walls before landing on one of the higher rows; she couldn’t see or tell if anyone else had arrived. She shrugged and rampaged in her pockets again this time for a packet of CBD oil infused rice krispies and immediately started to snack as she walked throughout the abandoned rows. “Anyone here?”
she called out, stupid question but oh well.





“WE’RE HERE. OH WE’RE HERE! COME ON. COME ON. NO TIME TO WASTE!!!”
she could hear him from within the separate car that he insisted on travelling in, she winced her ears ringing from his voice but she made no protest as she opened the door of his car and he stepped out, swords in tow. “Is that an entirely good idea?”
she looked at the swords, mostly out of concern but also out of fear - she didn’t let him know that though. “We’ll be fine, fine, fine. Come on. Come on. Gotta get there first. First.”
the crazed man scurried off into the colosseum and Adaline sighed.

She reached into her pocket, the screen turning on revealing a message that made her smile she texted back, before shutting her phone off again and stretching her joints and particularly her back and feet were swollen these days. The other assistants that Professor Pickering surrounded himself were following after the man, a sense of urgency filled her and she found herself waiting by the vehicles, something told her it was a bad idea to follow them; Phillip would understand, she was sure. Beside as she opened her car door again and unlocked the briefcase, the drones would capture anything he’d miss… she didn’t need to be there.

As she played with the settings for a moment; a slight tingling shot through her system and she looked over her shoulder as two females, - they seemed to be trying to avoid each other. “I’m sorry. But the colosseum is closed. You’ll need to return to which you came. It’s closed for maintenance.”
the darker skinned female ignored her and continued on her way, but the other female with long hair approached her; a soft smile. Adaline gave her a look of confusion.

An overwhelming sense of calm washed over her as the female who stood in front of her whispered words, Adaline found herself leaning against her car door trying to remain conscious as the female spoke in droves… she smelt like saffron… as she lowered herself onto the floor. The woman who had been speaking moments ago was thrown into the air; and Adaline found herself snapping out of it as her husband of all people appeared.

“Adaline.”
he turned towards her; a look of concern crossed his face as he lowered himself; she nuzzled into his hand. “Did she do anything, I’ll kill her, fuck it if she’s a kid of fire.”
Adaline shook her head. “I think she was trying to put me to sleep… but the swords… they are inside with him. You need to leave.”
her husband laughed before helping her from her position and wrapping her into an almost bone crushing hug.

The sky above them, she had noticed now looked stormy, were they stormy moments ago? She breathed in Nammay’s scent and shut her eyes. The sound of thunder and a flash of lightning gave Adaline the impression that Chaemai was here too. “What are you both doing here?”
“We’ve come to warn the children. This. all of this. The fuss about… the book. It’s a trap.”

No news travels faster than word of mouth. Evans knew about the Ancient of Time's arrival on the Earth not long after she had made it despite the seven hour difference in time zones. Getting to Rome was difficult, no doubt. But it was nothing so difficult that a professional con man and scammer couldn't handle. In fact, he'd gotten the guy whose identity he stole some unforeseen frequent flyer miles. Giving back to the community was obviously one of his priorities.

Italy was beautiful. Not only that, but it was full of gorgeous women and handsome men. The air felt different from Nola. He didn't know how well he was going to get along in a country full of people that ran the risk of not understanding the language he spoke, but he was excited to try. He had never been anywhere but Louisiana before. Not only had there never been a need, but he'd never had the urge. Home was home. He knew every street of New Orleans like he paved and populated it himself. In Rome, he was nobody. He knew nothing. But he was eager to change that.

He hadn't secured a place to lay his head for the night just yet, but he was working on it. Stealing a car from the airport had been easy. Getting a room for the night was another matter... He had some money, but if he didn't have to spend it, he didn't want to. If there was a way to scam to get to his ends, he was more than happy to chase it.

He hummed as he walked through the crowd, pickpocketing idly. It was quick work among the tourists. This lot was even more gullible than the old people in the Quarter. By the time he'd done one walkthrough, he was holding two wallets and a phone. Not only that, but they hadn't even noticed yet. From across the open space he could see his victims taking pictures and carrying on as if nothing had ever happened. A nice hotel was looking more attainable with every potential victim. Maybe he'd get one with a hot tub or something.

There was a lot going on with the humans in the place, but there was the unmistakable smell of something else. Evans couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew there was something different about this blend of smells. They were strong and distinct. One was like a bag of charcoal and the other, sickly sweet candy. The smell of other claimants... Other godsends.

Her grinned idly to himself. He'd meant what he'd said to Destodai: the book would be hers. Her warning was just a warning, though, right? Surely there was no way she'd honestly be upset with him for socializing.

The redhead dropped the spent wallets as he walked around, following one distinct smell wherever it would lead him. Whatever this candy shop smell was... he felt like the title was just on the tip of his tongue. Taffy?

It was then that he felt the change. It was like the air shifted--or rather, there was a lack of it. The slowly mulling crowd of passersby that had gathered and grown around the edge of the historic Colosseum was frozen. Well, sort of. It was like everyone had decided to take a nap at the same time...

Evans didn't know what to make of it. He halted in his tracks, staring out at the strollers that had stopped moving and slumbering security guards. What the hell was this? The damn book again? No matter. It would just make for the easiest working day he's ever had.

The descendant of Life approached the brightly advertised gift shop, wondering if that liquorice person had stayed inside or come out of the back entrance. Evans knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that there were other Claimants in the Colosseum. As if he couldnt sense them already, he could smell them. Swirling smells that just layered on top of one another rather than mixing. Liquorice, flowers, and coal, and the smell of weed was starting to get a little strong, but he supposed that could be attributed to anything. The liquorice was a dead giveaway because no one was selling anything like it.

It was as if there was a target on the man's back that said 'Claimant'. Not only could Evans smell him across the room, but the white-haired man was also one of the only other people not immediately asleep.

Oh, Destodai would be so pleased when he reported in later.

"Oh, you must be like me,"
Evans began as he approached the man from behind, weaving through the few people that had collapsed where they stood. "But you smell like Dark. Well..."
he shrugged as he reached into the pants pocket of a man slumbering in his seat, pulling out all of the cash in his wallet and placing it back. "Looks like we're late to the party, huh, bèl? Echowix pulled a fast and slow one on us."
A slight dimple showed itself as he grinned. "You waiting for an invitation to go down there? All of the humans are sleeping."

bèl meaning handsome

The gift shop wasn't too far removed from the great, ancient attraction. The electricity in the air almost felt like adrenaline pumping through his veins. Destodai had never asked him to do anything so exciting. And he'd never been in a place to meet so many Claimants before. It felt like his first day of pre-school all over again.

"Do you smell them out here? The rest of us?"


He couldn't tell if he was asking his new companion or himself. In the few moments he'd been inside the gift shop, the first remnants of a storm began circling the skies like vultures. Evans's brows lowered--he could swear he saw not only one, but two women flying through the air. One seemed to be actually flying while the other looked like she was going to land on her neck somewhere. There was no arguing that those were fellow claimants. Had to be.

"Fuck,"
he mumbled under his breath. If that girl really did land wrong, she was probably dead. What could throw her that far, or that high into the air? And the other woman, she had to be flying. There was no other explanation. He watched the other woman approach the Colosseum and disappear inside it. Were they all after the same thing? Why else would they be in the same place at the same time?

He exited the gift shop as if in a trance, his eyes partially glued to the sky to see if there was a chance he'd spot that flying woman again. No such luck. But what he did get was a barrage of conflicting smells--all coming from the immediate vicinity of the once-great structure.

"Feels liike a high school reunion, damn near,"
he muttered to himself. "I'm real nervous, like I got performance anxiety."


Inside the old Flavian Amphitheatre was huge. Evans' jaw dropped. He'd always thought he saw the most romantic and magnificently old architecture in Nola, but he was wrong. He was taken aback by the beauty of the architecture before him. So amazed, in fact, that he froze in place for a moment to ogle it. He returned to his senses after a moment, raising his nose to the air and taking a deep breath. "I bet I look like a golden retriver."
But at least with that, he knew which direction to go. There were a few already in the Colosseum, up high. They could probably smell him, too, if that was how he was tracking them. But he didn't mind. He was confident in his ability to hold his own, but he wasn't too bent on fighting at the moment. He was more interested to find out who they all were and guaging their strengths first.

No news travels faster than word of mouth. Evans knew about the Ancient of Time's arrival on the Earth not long after she had made it despite the seven hour difference in time zones. Getting to Rome was difficult, no doubt. But it was nothing so difficult that a professional con man and scammer couldn't handle. In fact, he'd gotten the guy whose identity he stole some unforeseen frequent flyer miles. Giving back to the community was obviously one of his priorities.

Italy was beautiful. Not only that, but it was full of gorgeous women and handsome men. The air felt different from Nola. He didn't know how well he was going to get along in a country full of people that ran the risk of not understanding the language he spoke, but he was excited to try. He had never been anywhere but Louisiana before. Not only had there never been a need, but he'd never had the urge. Home was home. He knew every street of New Orleans like he paved and populated it himself. In Rome, he was nobody. He knew nothing. But he was eager to change that.

He hadn't secured a place to lay his head for the night just yet, but he was working on it. Stealing a car from the airport had been easy. Getting a room for the night was another matter... He had some money, but if he didn't have to spend it, he didn't want to. If there was a way to scam to get to his ends, he was more than happy to chase it.

He hummed as he walked through the crowd, pickpocketing idly. It was quick work among the tourists. This lot was even more gullible than the old people in the Quarter. By the time he'd done one walkthrough, he was holding two wallets and a phone. Not only that, but they hadn't even noticed yet. From across the open space he could see his victims taking pictures and carrying on as if nothing had ever happened. A nice hotel was looking more attainable with every potential victim. Maybe he'd get one with a hot tub or something.

There was a lot going on with the humans in the place, but there was the unmistakable smell of something else. Evans couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew there was something different about this blend of smells. They were strong and distinct. One was like a bag of charcoal and the other, sickly sweet candy. The smell of other claimants... Other godsends.

Her grinned idly to himself. He'd meant what he'd said to Destodai: the book would be hers. Her warning was just a warning, though, right? Surely there was no way she'd honestly be upset with him for socializing.

The redhead dropped the spent wallets as he walked around, following one distinct smell wherever it would lead him. Whatever this candy shop smell was... he felt like the title was just on the tip of his tongue. Taffy?

It was then that he felt the change. It was like the air shifted--or rather, there was a lack of it. The slowly mulling crowd of passersby that had gathered and grown around the edge of the historic Colosseum was frozen. Well, sort of. It was like everyone had decided to take a nap at the same time...

Evans didn't know what to make of it. He halted in his tracks, staring out at the strollers that had stopped moving and slumbering security guards. What the hell was this? The damn book again? No matter. It would just make for the easiest working day he's ever had.

The descendant of Life approached the brightly advertised gift shop, wondering if that liquorice person had stayed inside or come out of the back entrance. Evans knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that there were other Claimants in the Colosseum. As if he couldnt sense them already, he could smell them. Swirling smells that just layered on top of one another rather than mixing. Liquorice, flowers, and coal, and the smell of weed was starting to get a little strong, but he supposed that could be attributed to anything. The liquorice was a dead giveaway because no one was selling anything like it.

It was as if there was a target on the man's back that said 'Claimant'. Not only could Evans smell him across the room, but the white-haired man was also one of the only other people not immediately asleep.

Oh, Destodai would be so pleased when he reported in later.

"Oh, you must be like me,"
Evans began as he approached the man from behind, weaving through the few people that had collapsed where they stood. "But you smell like Dark. Well..."
he shrugged as he reached into the pants pocket of a man slumbering in his seat, pulling out all of the cash in his wallet and placing it back. "Looks like we're late to the party, huh, bèl? Echowix pulled a fast and slow one on us."
A slight dimple showed itself as he grinned. "You waiting for an invitation to go down there? All of the humans are sleeping."

bèl meaning handsome

The gift shop wasn't too far removed from the great, ancient attraction. The electricity in the air almost felt like adrenaline pumping through his veins. Destodai had never asked him to do anything so exciting. And he'd never been in a place to meet so many Claimants before. It felt like his first day of pre-school all over again.

"Do you smell them out here? The rest of us?"


He couldn't tell if he was asking his new companion or himself. In the few moments he'd been inside the gift shop, the first remnants of a storm began circling the skies like vultures. Evans's brows lowered--he could swear he saw not only one, but two women flying through the air. One seemed to be actually flying while the other looked like she was going to land on her neck somewhere. There was no arguing that those were fellow claimants. Had to be.

"Fuck,"
he mumbled under his breath. If that girl really did land wrong, she was probably dead. What could throw her that far, or that high into the air? And the other woman, she had to be flying. There was no other explanation. He watched the other woman approach the Colosseum and disappear inside it. Were they all after the same thing? Why else would they be in the same place at the same time?

He exited the gift shop as if in a trance, his eyes partially glued to the sky to see if there was a chance he'd spot that flying woman again. No such luck. But what he did get was a barrage of conflicting smells--all coming from the immediate vicinity of the once-great structure.

"Feels liike a high school reunion, damn near,"
he muttered to himself. "I'm real nervous, like I got performance anxiety."


Inside the old Flavian Amphitheatre was huge. Evans' jaw dropped. He'd always thought he saw the most romantic and magnificently old architecture in Nola, but he was wrong. He was taken aback by the beauty of the architecture before him. So amazed, in fact, that he froze in place for a moment to ogle it. He returned to his senses after a moment, raising his nose to the air and taking a deep breath. "I bet I look like a golden retriver."
But at least with that, he knew which direction to go. There were a few already in the Colosseum, up high. They could probably smell him, too, if that was how he was tracking them. But he didn't mind. He was confident in his ability to hold his own, but he wasn't too bent on fighting at the moment. He was more interested to find out who they all were and guaging their strengths first.