Abigor carried on regardless as the dwarf asked her what she was doing, "You'll just have to wait and see... if you want him to survive leave this to me." She sighed as he coughed and choked into the red sands of the mysterious planet they had been dumped on, laying her hand back on his chest to draw out the final remnants of her spell. She arched her back as she felt her own energies running through her veins, snarling as he used the word tainted.

"Black magic is not a taint, it is the other side to what you elves seem to thrive on," She flexed the fingers of the hand that had previously glown a dark shade of red, "Weak, the lot of you..." She meant elves in general, she had been forced into run ins with the race before, having to slay those she did not want to, though they hunted her like an animal.

Abadon returned Zira's glance, shaking his head slightly to let her know not to get involved. "Do as I have done... merely observe." He pulled his hood down, his jet black hair flowing down past his shoulders, into his jackets. "Otherwise you may not like the retalliation from our vampire friend, seeing as now she's pumped up on Black magic."

He twisted his neck, cracking it twice, beginning to lose what energy he had left. Abigor blew through her nsoe before turning and walking into the building, realeasing the enrgy in a scream, which radiated through the household. "There's nothing in here..." She walked up the stairs, choosing a room at random and sitting in the corner, allowing her eyes to drift closed.

Abadon looked from the vampire to the elf in turns, sighing heavily when she screamed, smiling when she said the building was empty, "Bat sonar... Very nice.. A bit cliche though, no?" He looked at Zira as he asked about the cliche part, winking before heading into the building, looking forward to some well needed rest.

(Have some chibis for now...)

Abigor's actions unsettled Zira.  She wasn't overly fond of the elf, by any means, but she had never seen anything quite like that, either.  As Abadon winked at her, she found herself moderately reassured - though the warning to stay back didn't sit well with her.

"I have no desire to make any enemy of her, but..." she trailed off, looking towards Jasharn, who had folded in on himself.  He looked crumpled and horrified.

Zira looked towards Abi again, and then made her way over to the elf, crouching in front of him.  "Jasharn?" she asked.

He shook his head, and the wordlessly moved away, glowering towards Abigor before striding off to put more distance between himself and the group.  The dwarf didn't understand; her people were mundane.  And the demon and vampire would certainly offer him no solace.  He had had countless warnings about their kind from his parents and mentors.  Curses like the one the vampire had placed upon him were how dark elves came to be.  Or worse, the elven creatures cursed with vampirism - the haunting figures which shadowed the dark forests, mad and unstoppable in their lust for blood.

He strode across the ground, ignoring the sound of Zira's voice as she called after him.  He had to get away.  The magic was gone, but...

Jasharn clenched a fist.  He had never felt like that before in all the years of his life.  Ever.  He had never wished so badly to kill, had never felt such unyielding hatred brought, kicking and screaming, up to the forefront of his thoughts before.  It had been horrifying.  Awful.  Sickening.

Thrilling, a little voice added.

He squashed it, his breathing ragged as he stood in the night.  He moved until he was out of sight of the others.  The emotions boiling under his skin begged for ex
pression, and in an uncharacteristic fit of temper, he lashed out, his boot colliding against dirt and a few stray rocks.

Something shone in the moonlight beneath his boot.  He sucked in a deep breath, and then looked down.  The dirt on the ground below him was only a light covering.  Momentarily distracted from himself, Jasharn knelt down, and brushed some more of it away.  It wasn't hard.  A low breeze helped him a bit, revealing a smooth, square ob
ject.  It was nothing he recognized.  About the size of his hand, and shining like metal, with a hinge on the side.

After a moment, he pocketed it.

A ways away, Zira headed inside.

Abadon raised his head when Zira walked in, he had put his hood back up to make himself more comfortable propped up aginst the wall. "I'm sorry I couldn't help your friend, but I agree with Abigor when it comes to the dark arts, they work for most, elves just can't seem to hold their own when assisted by them..."

He looked up to the ceiling,  before sighing and looking back at Zira, "Take this for example," He raised his hand, Before it dropped off, landing on the finger tips. he had it move over to Zira, climbing up her legs and scratching the top of her head, before having it run back to him. "May not seem like much, but if you can't get into a building your hand might be able to."

He lay on his side, propping his head up with his arm, "We should get some sleep anyway... discuss more about this in the morning when we have clear heads," He let himself drift off into a surprisingly quiet sleep, only raising when the light of the morning hit his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He stood, stretching, laughing deeply as he felt his old self again, hopping from foot to foot in order to test his balance, "Perfect." Looking over at Zira, who he assumed was still slumberring, he decided to go out and look for something to be used as food.

Walking through the vast areas of sand around the structure they had stopped in, he found something that resembled a store on earth. walking down the aisles, he saw something that he assumed used to be a meat of some sort. Turning his nose up at the rancid smell, he moved on, looking for something that was not long expired.

Finding tins, all labels unreadable, either it was in a language the demon was not versed in or the ink had ran due to the heat. He looked at the top and bottom, failing to see anything tha resembles an expiry date, deciding to morph his hand into a large scoop, filling it with whatever cans he could reach.

(I generically banished Abigor to being 'somewhere else' for part of this one, since I wasn't sure where she would be - hope that's alright?)

Zira held still as Abadon’s hand made its independent debut, more out of shock than anything else.  When the fingertips and raced down off of her again, she unfroze, and stared fixedly at the line of his wrist.  The flesh fused itself back together, dark beneath the skin, and bloodless.  She swallowed.

“Never seen anything like that before,” she confessed.  She’d seen a few men lose their hands in her day, but they’d never gotten them back again afterwards.  “Looks useful,” she finally decided.  Magic had types, she knew.  The dark kinds that vampires and demons and the like employed, and the fuzzy nature-sort or whichever that elves had, but she wasn’t a scholar for it.  She didn’t see how it made much of a difference.  Unless it was like mixing the wrong drinks in a tavern – which, actually, might have done a fair job of describing the elf’s reaction.

Zira took a little longer to fall asleep than Abadon did.  Her gaze wandered over to the vampire, time and again, before exhaustion finally won over.  She slept like a stone when it finally did.

---

A hand prodded Zira’s shoulder, sharp an impatient.  “Dwarf.  Wake up,” someone hissed at her.  She blinked her eyes open, and for a few bleary moments wondered what she’d done the night before that left her feeling like someone had used her as their personal punching bag.  Then memory resurfaced, filtering in through the hazy sunlight and the hot, dry floor beneath her.  Jasharn was crouched across from her.  There were dark shadows under his eyes, and his skin was pale.  He didn’t look as if he’d slept the night before.  Zira sat up, batting his hand away.  She couldn’t see either Abadon or Abigor.

“Ha’somethin happn’d?” she mumbled, running a hand across her sleep-weighted mouth.

“Shh,” the elf replied, shooting a glance towards the doorway.  “The others are gone.  I saw the demon walk into one of the large shop buildings.  The vampire… I’m not sure.”  He frowned, and then looked back towards her.  There was a harried, frantic quality to his movements.  “If we’re going to get away, now is the time.”

Zira raised an eyebrow at him.  “Get away?” she asked, finally properly awake.  She sat up.

Jasharn’s mouth tightened into a thin, pale line.  “I’ll warn you now, dwarf.  Dark magic comes with dark consequences.  The longer we spend in their company… I have already paid a price for this association.”

Abigor stepped off the final step from the staircase beside where the dwarf and elf were holding their congress. Her eyes glowed a crimson red, grabbing the elf's collar and throwing him through the front door and into the sand. "You want to kill the tainted so bad? Here's your chance!" She picked her blade up from near the front door, embedding it in the ground, "No weapons," She removed the armour from her arm, dropping it near the blade, leaving the cuiraiss for decency's sake.

Abadon walked out of the store, stopping when he saw Abigor stood over the elf. He veered around the side and got into the building, letting the cans drop in the corner he was lay the night before, "What's he done? He's triggered her bloodlust... that saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' ? It was made to signify this exact thing, female vampires are hell to calm down when they've been wronged."

Abadon wiped his sleeve across his mouth, mroe from nerves than anything, "Looking at the elf he's been driving himself cuckoo for coco pops all night long... If there's anyway of saving him we need to do it now before he loses all of his sanity in this fight." He looked back, "You're a dwarf... surely you know of some spell that can work in situations like this, I mean they're not exactly rare on earth."

(Fair enough - ninja art post for now, update later tonight.  I must think, hmm...)

(I forgot that she took off her armor for this... XD)

Zira, whose jaw had dropped the moment Abigor had thrown Jasharn like he was a sack of grain, did a double-take towards Abadon.  She shook her head, and then squared her shoulders as the elf picked himself up again.  "Believe me, Sir Demonshield, if I knew any magic, I'd have used it by now."  She cracked her neck, and on that note, charged.

Jasharn saw red as soon as he hit the ground.  The vampire was fast, but elves weren't known for slouching in the department of speed, either.  He kicked out one of his legs into a low arc, calling some of his ancestral magic to him with the move.  It came, but with a sluggishness and reluctance he was unused to.  Tainted, his own thoughts reminded him.  You are tainted, you are touched, if you went home now, the others would turn their eyes away from you... they would know...

They would know.

White flames licked up between the specks of earth and red grit, which flew up and lashed towards Abigor like a wall.  Zira dodged around it, not looking to see what, if anything, Abadon would do.  Instead she barreled straight for Jasharn.  She wasn't used to magic and she didn't think there was much in this situation that qualified as 'normal', but she'd seen dwarves fall into berserker rage before.  She chastised herself for not recognizing the signs sooner - desperation was desperation, regardless of how tall the person in question was.

Jasharn lashed out as Zira tackled him, landing a good hit and singing some of her hair before she managed to pin his arms behind him.  She was the stronger, she found, and his punches and kicks did little more than bruise through her leather jerkin.  The acrid scent of burnt hair was highly unpleasant, though.  Particularly knowing it was her own.

"Calm down, Jasharn!" she barked.  "Stop!"  Not that he had much choice, with her more or less sitting on him.

Now, she thought.  The only question is whether or not the vampire can be stopped...

Abadon sighed heavily as Zira charged towards where Abigor was stood over Jasharn. "Don't do something you'll regret..." He walked to the door, smiling slightly as he saw her tackle the elf to the ground. "That's the way to do it... Play things safe, by ear..." Abigor snarled, leaping therough the air and raising her arm, her hand going bolt straight, her finger nails flying towards the eyes of the elf.

She stopped an inch before contact was made, her feet still not touching the ground. She managed to turn her head against whatever force held her in place. She glared at Abadon, who had a hand raised, evidently the one keeping her in check. "Never attack a vulnerable opponent, fights should be fairly fought or not fought at all."

He threw her to the side, walking over to jasharn and offering him a hand. He heard steps coming at him in an alarming pace, shooting a hand out and holding the vampire in palce once again, "Let's see how long that dark magic you absorbed takes to dissipate,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around twenty minutes later, Abigor's eyes had returned to normal and she smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry, elf." Abadon let her drop, laughing slightly as he helped her up. "I'm sorry to you too, demon... I heard what you told the dwarf, what you have been through in your lifetime... the last thing you need is a snotty vampire." He shook his head, smiling warmly.

"The important thing is we all be friends now, Jasharn,  try to make things up with Abigor, please."

Zira watched with undisguised relief as Abadon managed to keep Abigor from tearing either herself or Jasharn to shreds.  She wasn't even sure what the vampire's main target would have been, but she would have had to go through her to get to Jasharn, anyway, so it probably wouldn't have mattered.  The elf strained against her a little as Abadon toyed with Abi, his clear head giving him an obvious advantage over his blood-raged opponent.

After a moment, she eased up enough to let the elf back onto his feet again.  His ex
pression was subdued, and more weary than hunted for a change of pace.  He watched their allies fight it out beside Zira in silence for a moment, letting her direct him back when the dark energies between them came too close for comfort.

"He saved your life, you know," she said below the din of fighting.

Jasharn's mouth tightened, but after a long, tense moment, he nodded.

The situation, to his mind, was getting worse and worse.  Not only had he been corrupted by dark magic, now he was indebted to a demon, of all things.  But he let out heavy breath, and when the fighting subsided, kept his peace as the demon and vampire exchanged their apologies.

Abadon requested that he 'make up' with Abigor.  He wasn't sure quite what there was to repari in a relationship that had started at zero and gone downhill from there, but after a long, imperious moment, pride faltered in the presence of its own utter impracticality.  He inclined his head, glancing towards the vampire.

"...I will keep my peace if you keep yours," he said, not realizing that that had likely been her preference all along.

They were still standing around when the sun began to crest the horizon in earnest, and the temperature around them rose from 'hot' to 'intolerable'.  Zira nevertheless donned her armor, and took stock of the supplies with Abadon had gathered. Preserved items, bottled water, useful odds and ends for keeping camp - she still wasn't sure that she believed he was as old as he said, but she could certainly tell that he was an experienced hand at dealing with necessity.

"We should search around," she suggested.  "Whoever used to live here, maybe they had some knowledge about this place that we could use."  Or, she thought, the reason why they left in such a hurry could hold a clue or two as well.

As she turned towards Abadon, ready to ask him what he thought, she heard something like the crunch of dirt beneath a heavy boot from behind her.  The others were all within sight, though, and hadn't moved.  When she turned to look, she saw nothing - merely the sparse and desolate skeleton of the settlement around them.

"Did anyone else hear that?" she wondered.

Abigor was stood smirking at the elf, "Jasharn... All I have ever wanted to do is keep my peace, I'm a quiet person by nature." She looked him up and down, before hugging him. "All I want in life is peace, quiet, survival... I just wanted my own small piece of land back on earth, but I was hunted like a wild animal." She let go of him and walked back into the buildng, leaving her armour laying where it was.

Abadon followed her, smiling slightly to Zira, giving Jasharn a few parting words before hand, "For that action you have repaid me for my little stunt back there..." He clapped him on the shoulder, "Though if you cause her to fly into a rage like that again I won't bother," He walked back into the building, laying back in his corner, "We're going to have to get some distance between us and those tunnels today, there willbe mroe of the things coming to see what hapenned."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abadon was playing around with his morphing again, changing his hand into shape after shape, frowning as he realised something. "Lucifer gave me my abilities to protect the planet... If I went against him and now I'm not anywhere near the planet." Abigor had her head back singing to herself when she heard the demon speak, "That is strange... You'd think he'd of just taken your soul back when you went against him..."

he looked over at Zira, coking an eyebrow at her, "What d'you think?"

(Sorry about the delay - busy weekend for me)

Jasharn froze as Abigor hugged him, every muscle in his body stiffening in shock.  When she finally let go of him again, he stood there for a few moments, blinking and not really focused on anything until Abadon clapped him on the shoulder.  Then he blinked, looking down at the front of his tunic in a vague sort of way and wondering what his cousins would think if they told him he'd been hugged by a vampire.

"Well, that was interesting," Zira said, giving him a friendly slap on the knee.  Why did people keep touching him?  He moved a few paces back, just for self-preservation's sake.  Zira didn't seem to notice; she kept glancing towards the shadows between the buildings around them, until she left to help Abadon pack up their supplies.

It was hot, miserable work moving away from the shade of the settlement, and out into the sweltering sunlight.  Jasharn spared a sideways glance towards Abigor.  If the sun and heat were bothering him, he didn't imagine they were doing wonders for a vampire.

~~

Zira watched as Abigor morphed his hand into various shapes.  The flesh blackened and reformed itself, and he frowned.  She wondered if such things were ever painful.  Or if it was more like stretching a muscle, or clenching one's fingers.  She opened her mouth to ask, but Abadon beat her to the punch, musing on his former king and the reasons why he might still retain possession of his soul.

"What d'you think?" he asked her.

She shrugged.  "I'm not sure of much to do with your kind," she mused.  "But in my experience, every power has its limits and every man has his enemies.  Maybe someone who doesn't take much to your Lucifer is interfering?" she suggested.  "Or maybe he's not quite as strong as you think he is...?"

(hehe first paragraph after the tiem skip, it was Abadon not Abigor, lol)

Abigor released the elf, winking sarcastically as she moved back itno the building. She watched with interest as Abadon morphed seemingly seamlessly, nothing left from the next shape in the next, no imperfections. "You're like a travelling circus wrapped up in one body..." She jested, smiling over at the demon.

He looked up at Zira, " really do doubt god's got anything to do with me having my powers, somehow I doubt he even exists, the apocalypse is coming to the earth soon... And i won't be there to see it... Not unless we get off of this stinking planet."  He looked over at Abigor, "I'm sure you don't want to miss it, you seem the type to protect your planet."

Abigor shook her head, "I'd protect it to the bitter end if I were there... I finally managed to get what i wanted around 50 years ago,  my land, I have a castle, not too big, for myself, easily defended." She looked over to Zira, "I've had to kill many of your kind, they were trying to drive me out and take my land for their own, idiots..." She looked over at Abadon, "Same with your kind, they did not take too kindly to me wanting to live in peace, I had to finish them all the same."

(No worries, seems like we've both got a lot on our plates - I don't mind if you don't!)

Zira blinked at Abigor.  "Drive you out and take your land?" she asked.  "I wouldn't think a vampire would have much land for anyone to take.  Your people are normally wanderers, aren't you?"

Jasharn tuned out the sounds of conversation from beside him, and focused on the land surrounding their group.  He felt ill at ease.  Not just from... what had transpired, but also from the heat, and the strange feeling of eyes on the back of his neck.  He looked, but Abigor had her attention focused on her conversations with the dwarf and demon.  Not her, then.  Maybe it was just his own paranoia, or the lingering touch of vampiric magic.

Rocks sat, jagged and forlorn, against the desolate outline of the horizon.  They cast long shadows over the parched earth.  Like sentries, Jasharn thought, overhearing a bit of the conversation behind him.  Abadon mentioned the apocolypse.  Inwardly, he shivered, imagining the burning of trees, blackened skies, and everything being laid to waste, until his own home was not unlike the hellish planet they'd landed on.

The square case he'd picked up the day before jabbed him a little as one of his hands moved against his pocket.  Frowning - he had half forgotten that he'd even picked it up, he'd been so consumed with other things - he removed it, and looked at it again.  It was a strange ob
ject.  Seeming of human design, really.  He wasn't even sure why he hadn't just left it where he'd found it.

It was strange to think of people living in the veritable ghost town they'd left behind them.  He wondered what sort of people they had been.  No elf would make their home in a desert, but despite the hint of th ob
ject's design, he couldn't imagine many humans withstanding the heat, either.

"What are you looking at, elf?" Zira asked.  Her voice made him start, and his fingers tightened around the smooth plastic between them.  Hastily, before she could get a proper look, he tucked it away again.

"Nothing of note," he replied.  "But I have been wondering... how large do you think this world is?"