Questionable Choices Indeed ( Adrain )

[helena]

Light specks of snow fell from the clouds that hung over head; It was just before the sun was to set. The temperature rather chilly, though signs of spring was on it's way was beginning to pop up everywhere. New growth began to surface adding a bit of color to the washed out gray colors of winter. The sun just setting over the horizon; creating a splash of cool colors that were blues, yellows, and purples within the underbellies of the thick snow clouds. Even though snow was beginning to fall; It seemed to do little to the Hot Springs. The springs barely touched by the pockets of white snow that speckled all over Nova.

The black pebble rocks were warm due the the temperatures of the water that the natural spring provided. It had been two full moons sense the siege attack. The Winter Festivals had passed and by now the bodies of the dead were long forgotten and the panic nearly gone due to celebrations after celebrations lead by the Royal family. This even gave fresh wounds time to heal for those who lost more in the Battle then what they bargained for.

One of those souls in particular being that of a woman who crept quietly along the undergrowth of the Forever Forest towards the well known Hot Springs. She didn't care if there were others within the area. She kept continuing forward until finally reaching the springs. The woman's body covered in a black burlap cloak that drug across the forest floor. Once she arrived at the water's edge, the maiden halted and stared into the crystal clear blue pool. A secluded pool; one that looked to be thigh deep from the looks of the water's color depth.

" This will have to do."

A rasp voice came from under the cloak hood, while chard colored hands emerged out from under the grungy cloth to undo the claps of the cloak. The hood being the first to fall off, resting on her shoulders revealing the white hair and black soul-less eyes that were more like black pits. The Goddess of Souls stared out, lifting her head to seemingly look onward and then turned her head to look around. Her lips pressed, though she causally stepped a little closer to the water to lightly test the water with her feet. The warm water's of the spring lapping at her toes while the cloak fell from her shoulders onto the ground behind her. Her right arm flicking the cloak back away from the water so it wouldn't get soaked.

The cold air making her perk in several places; Though the Goddess did not stay long outside the spring's water. The moment her body was bare, she strode into the water causally stopping in the center of the pool; She dropped to her knees into the water, allowing her body to soak within the hot healing water's of the springs. Her shoulder's being the only thing visible above water.

Her mind drifted with the steam that came off her chard colored skin; Her back showing a huge scar all the way down on her left side. A ugly reminder; Even in human form, what a fated human had done to her that day at the Siege. A day that should of went without any casualties on her part; However it seemed 'Fate' was more cunning than he let on. That man was A dangerous Dova that made her blood boil every time his name crossed her thoughts. She should have killed him back then...

Helena bared her fangs at the thought of the human who was helping him; The blond that had crossed her path at the siege and had taken from her...The thought brought her to pause and reach behind her to touch the scar that was on her back. Her finger tips tracing the freshly healed wound as though it was something dear.  Her guard down at the moment as she continued to dwell within her own thoughts; Not aware that someone had found her secluded spot and was close by.

(( Edited. ))

[Deleted]

In an adjacent pool, Adrain sat in the waters near a corner wearing naught but swim shorts. He had taken to coming to the springs on a more consistent basis of late, using the waters to help him to rejuvenate and think. While the battle at the gates was forever etched into his head, at this point it had faded from complete forethought in light of the duties the Archmage had. He was writing in a journal, the material rested upon a natural shelf of rock, whether it were natural or conjured, who knew.

He had been here for an hour already, Serai deciding to be a bit of a layabout this time and remaining at the Arch. The mage had never really felt threatened generally, his presence alone typically unnerving to hostile beasts or brigands that might cross his path. The weapons of his mind could be unsheathed at a moment's notice. Adrain's wounds had long since healed by now, only a few tattered scars faintly visible among the lines of his fit body's tone.

The mage heard faint water sounds and a murmur nearby, but paid little heed to it at first since it was a public place after all, and he had no reason to trouble whoever might be there. Instead, he focused on what he was working on, a new form of spell. He held three spheres of fire above him, having them form a line to a central point to create a sphere of light and heat infusing into a frost orb, gradually turning it into a frostfire sphere. It wasn't that he couldn't use frostfire magic normally, but this was an analysis of the mechanics and the more technical parts of the spell to see what could be gleamed.

[helena]

The spring pool felt amazing against her ebony skin. The steam trickled down her form in the form of beads, which pocketed in the groves and indents of her scars that riddled her body. Helena sank further into the water; Finally letting her mind escape and give the goddess a moment to meditate within the warm water. However, within her stillness and silence she could feel another presence enter the area and travel by an adjacent pool just a few clicks back behind where she was wading in her own secluded pool. The soul wasn’t alone; Another traveled with, A soul that was smaller and different.

Helena twisted her neck back looking over her shoulder, Her cheek resting on her shoulder as she listened to the sound of the mortal’s heart beat. There were several souls within the area, mostly animals, however a more intelligent being would have a more slower heart rate and a different rhythm to the thrum of their beating soul.

Helena clicked her tongue at each beat of the humanoid’s heart; soon coming up with a tune to his soul’s song. The mortal was concentrating on something by the time her clicks became gentle hums. Such a sad tune this soul played as she sat for about an hour. No longer singing, she had stopped the moment she began to understand the lyrics of what she would call a ‘Lost Soul’.

She slowly stood, emerging her body out of the pool and waded very slowly to the edge to where the water was just at her ankles.. The goddess stepped out slowly, crouching down on all fours on the black pebble beach like an animal. Helena picked up her robe; very slowly wrapped it around her form loosely to not make any sound, before creeping along the forest floor around the springs in the shadows. She kept low, her steps silent as she glided along the darkness flawlessly around the backside of the mortals pool.

She could see the soul’s aura through the tree’s that weaved around the flickering beating soul of Adrain and Serai. Now that she was behind them, she was down wind to catch scent of their natural smell. The scent that came off was familiar but yet diluted by the water vapors that carried from the steam of the springs. This peeked her curiosity. So Helena crept closer to the man’s pool, keeping an eye on the animal’s soul while rapidly closing distance between herself and the man. When she was finally behind him, she elegantly, seemly jumped up into a tree. Catching herself in the branches and placing herself on a sturdy limb. head tilted as she looked down over the mortal, her eyes void of any color or white reflected his image like a black inky mirror.

“ You are making your body too hot mortal; That spell will never work while you are changing the element of your manna steaming in that water.”

Helena spoke out in an amused tone making herself known to the mortal below her hanging branch 10 ft above where he sat studying.

[Deleted]

Serai, whom was apparently there all along and Adrain had spaced out thinking that he wasn't there initially lays on a rock nearby, not overly interested in Adrain's magic experiment. The large housecat was at this point mostly desensitized to displays of magic and this one was no different. He held his front paws in the water, enjoying the warmth but refraining from indulging in a full blown spaz in the water.

Adrain would remain distracted with his analysis of the Frostfire blend of magic. It was interesting how the two forces could combine into something that is both yet neither at the same time. One could compare the process to how two parents have a child perhaps, sharing traits of both yet being it's own. It was an odd tangent to take it, but could it be possible to create perfect magic by 'breeding' combined elements? It was a solid theory, but combinations of the base elements was plentiful and would take much work to find the goal, whatever that may be since 'perfect' magic is more a theory than not.

It was during this time that Helena would have started prowling about. Adrain's attention was lower since he was starting to dive more and more into potential combinations. Sandstorm plus Frostfire...what would that make exactly? Normally it wasn't needed to go beyond basic combinations and not many mages had the mastery to execute that high level of blending, but now Adrain gave more serious thought to an advanced form of elemental magic. Plus, it's more boring if Adrain were to just sense Helena's approach.

Serai would raise his head as his feline senses pick up on something, but in the darkness it's less than obvious. It could have been a squirrel for all he knew. Of course, when Helena was close enough such that a scent was more obvious to the cat. Serai grunted and raised his head at the same time that Helena decided to spring into the tree not entirely unlike the aforementioned squirrel, then seemingly taunting Adrain.

He looked up, his eyes ever so slightly widening when he realized it was Helena in a damp robe, looking at him like the proverbial Cheshire cat. He raises a brow when she declares it will never work then chuckles slightly.

"Those who believe in never deny themselves the potential for greatness." he says as he then holds his hand in an angle well away from Helena and then wills the full spell forward as the two mana types swirl and blend into a fierce beam of frostfire energy, going into the empty sky for about a hundred feet before dispersing. At this point, he focuses his attention firmly on the goddess, twisting his side to look at her more easily.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" he inquires innocently. If Helena was going to attack, she could have done so already, so he was admittedly curious as to her intention.

[helena]

Water dripped down into the pool from her robe. Her shoulders rolling, allowing her neck to pop as she rotated her head from one side to the other. Her neck audibly making a cracking sound while the man finally looked up at her. His words were not impressive. A mortal boasting was something she had grown tired of, an her expression showed her un amusement while he spoke.

It was when he casted the combined mana spell did Helena raise a brow with interest. Her smile growing as she suddenly bursts out into a full on laughter. “ My My! Arn’t you just full of surprises!” She spoke in a amused tone. “ However, mortal… I’m surprised you learned such a thing. Sense performing such spells are something beyond normal grasp… Perhaps, you are gaining your strength from something that isn’t apart of you.” Helena’s tone became a sharp, as she dropped from the branch into the pool below.

There was no splash when the goddess made contact with the water. Her robe flying upwards exposing her lower half that wasn’t tied off at the waist. The belt around her robe loosening as she hit the water making only a steady ripple. Her black eyes met with Adrain’s as she now stood before him within the pool. Her head hung back against her shoulder as she stood within the spring pool.

“ That is just a hunch sense I can tell you have a unusual amount of manna flowing around you. Though to answer your unthought out question, You simply fascinate me. If i find it interesting I investigate to see if its worth my time. So…” Helena grinned, her posture straightening as she waded over to a rock to lean against its warm smooth surface. Her breasts some what visible through the thin robe as she pressed them up against the stone’s smooth surface.

“ Are you worth my time?…” She chuckled, not feeling threatened by the cat or showing any sign of fear around the mortal. In fact, she seemed rather relaxed, interested in what the mortal mage had to say before she deciding if she should leave or kill the man if the conversation were to turn boring. She would hate for a man of such skill to waist her valuable time and energy.

[Deleted]

He didn't respond at the cooing compliment that Helena had made, not certain at first whether it was sarcasm or actual admiration. The conclusion he came to was a mix, but when she made a comment about gaining strength from something that wasn't a part of him. It wasn't surprising Helena could detect such things, being a Goddess of souls.

"Really, honestly it felt as natural and a part of me as my own flesh and blood. I am not fully sure what it is beyond the abilities it endows, but it feels like it belongs all the same." he says, then suddenly noting that Helena descended from the branches above. Her skirt flew up and Adrain inadvertently got a glimpse of divine unmentionables, averting his eyes casually after a split second, though the image of her body would likely be burned into his mind forevermore. Not sure if he should complain or not, he doesn't address it.

"That depends, what can I do to make myself worth your time?" he says with a small laugh as Helena leaned forward, now her miraculous mammaries ever slightly visible, his eyes averting just slightly in reaction before coming back to Helena's black spheres. His eyes shift to a moment where the wings once were, though she seemed to be concealing them. Did it grow back, or was it gone, who could tell with the divine. Since Helena was expecting some sort of diversion, he figured he might as well ask the one thing that had been bugging him.

"Though I do wonder of one thing. Why exactly did you lead an attack on a human city when traditionally I believe the divine are supposed to refrain from directly being involved in that manner, or is that stipulation a mistaken belief of we ignorant mortals." he says, playing to Helena's ego and amusement while hopefully solving that once and for all.

[helena]

Helena was rather content pressed up against the large bolder. Her right hand barely dangling above the water as the traced her fingers along the still surface of the springs. Her nails causing ripples as she stared at Adrain. His response to her question rather amusing to say the least. Natural he says...Ha how far from true was magic natural to a mortals body. The very thought made her chuckle. Her fingers stopped tracing the water's surface as she lifted her head and turned to look at the rock he had been practicing on earlier. " Natural as though it were apart of your flesh and blood. Is that the delusion Caster has enlightened the world with by letting you have a taste of what it's like. " Helena's tone was rather amused, though the amusement was only temporary.

Her lips turning into a frown at his question of what he could do to make it worth her time. Now that was a silly question indeed. However, the quick glance didn't go un-noticed. So a mortal man he was indeed. She was a divine being after all. She had come to expect such things from men, though she dared not let him know she noticed this flaw about him. She could tell by the momentary direct eye contact that his soul was searching for something; Something possibly beyond his grasp or he had lost within his journey in life. Either way, Helena slowly pushed herself off the rock and slid into a seated pose within the water on some submerged rocks.

" Thats rather silly to ask a goddess that question... Do you not value your own worth for you to ask me that mortal? " she asks with a serious expression on her dark features, her skin resembling much of her father the God of Death. Her black eyes reflecting the image of the man before her in the pool. If Adrain were to focus and look within her eyes, he would see his reflection entirely different - almost a self reflection of his inner self for a brief moment. She only allowed him to look for a few minutes, before she turned her gaze else where and kicked her legs out. Her feet just barely breaking the water's surface as she rocked back and balanced on her tailbone in the water.

Helena's brow raising slightly as he began talking again, this time asking about the attack she had made on that mortal kingdom. Something that she figured would be asked eventually, after all, it was why she was wondering out in the woods still. An for what seemed like five minutes of silence, The goddess closed her eyes and finally spoke.

" I had a hunch that my target was hiding out in that kingdom... I was flushing out a coward and my hunch paid off; Now I know where he is ... You mortals were a casualty of me trying to complete my first failed mission. Now I have two failures to my name. I wonder why? " Helena smirked, knowing very well that this mortal was most likely at that siege. " I went against the Allfather's decree, So, as punishment I am no longer allowed to return to the Glade of Heros. " She sighed, her eyes still closed while she relaxed and floated back. Her head rested against the rock she was previously leaning up on earlier, legs crossed as she let the float upwards still to have her feet break the surface tension of the spring water.

[Deleted]

"It feels as such to me, though I'm sure it pales by comparison to what you yourself must feel every waking moment. Regardless, it is the talent that I have been gifted with and as such I will use it for the benefit of others as best I can." he states, admittedly finding Helena's arrogance a little tiresome, but one supposes it must be expected from a beautiful, divine entity such as she. Even if she tried to murder the kingdom of Nova, she was still a powerful entity to be respected regardless of how they may act to others.

The fact she shifted her position indicated that perhaps she noticed, or that she were cold. Either way, it was what it was. Who could hardly blame his eyes for a brief glance when she shows off so prominently. When she said it was silly to ask such a question, he chuckled a little, smiling at the deity a little as he looked upon her dark eyes.

"Now it's not that in the least, if anything I was fishing for something interesting since your lovely holiness holds to a higher standard than mortal kind I'm sure. The way you seem to show and tease just a little indicates a fascinating personality behind the myth and legend of Helena." he says, while truthful also attempting to appeal to Helena's likely large ego. "Why not a bit of a diversion then if you like something that usually happens with half naked people in these springs, something called a game of truths where one asks a question or if they decline to answer truthfully they must perform a task of choosing." he says, curious to see if she would play along though after he said it he may question the wisdom of asking as such to a goddess.

He looked at her eyes for a moment, seeing something..different, but something he couldn't make out. It was a blur to him, several images to be seen and hard to decipher to the mage. At some point, she turned away, as did he. He watched as she seemed contemplative and quiet but then finally spoke. Interesting...very interesting indeed.

"A coward? I've no love of them either, but what could one have done to incur such a powerful response from you, my goddess?" he states, once more playing to her divinity. "If this target is in the city, I have to ask why not a more...subtle approach? Concealing yourself until you get in range then strike decisively? Though I suppose that's a means that would be beneath you, wouldn't it?" he inquires, admittedly curious as to why she didn't just hide her presence instead of leading a massive assault. The last statement was of interest.

"Is there a way for you to return in the future? What is the Glade of Heroes exactly, beyond the stories we know. Even if you aren't allowed to return there, I imagine you still have Castle Morgg as home, yes?"