Above and Beyond (Tayva, Kalinda)

Sitting on the edge of his surprisingly comfortable hotel bed, Jack Conners let out a sigh as he smile and answered his cell phone.

Yes, pumpkin? What's going on? How was school?

It was fine Daddy, I learned a lot of stuff. I just missed you, and I wanted to call, and Bree told you I can call whenever I want. When are you coming home?

A couple more days Amanda and its Ms. Donahue. I just need to finish up a couple more things here in Elyria.

With Kali, right? The child's voice was expectant, as if expecting a different response from the previous scolding.

Yes with Kal...Ms. Michaelson.

I like her.

I do too. The second the words left his mouth, he knew he made a mistake.

I know you do daddy. It's why you took her..bye!

With that, the phone hung up and Jack rolled his eyes. The girl was encourage able. Any woman who he introduced to his daughter thought that the poor woman was auditioning for step-mother! Granted yes, Kalinda was attractive, but they were friends and nothing Kali had ever done indicated anything more. It made things like meals less awkward.

Meals.

Shit!

Jack jumped up and ran out the door, throwing his suit jacket on as he briskly walked down the two flights of stairs to the lobby. He had complete lost track of the time and was a bit late from the time they had agreed to for their trek in to the city.

Their time in Elyria had been grueling, going from precinct to precinct, teaching of the benefits of learning from the other, non-home cultures of the city they were patrolling. It was rewarding, but difficult: traveling and many questions made the days long.

I'm sorry I'm late...shall we?

The blond psychologist smiled and joined him as they walked out of the lobby and started heading out towards some of the main thoroughfares and the best food the city could offer. It was nice to share it with a friend, who knew what the night would contain?

Tayva couldn't remember a time when she had slept well. Perhaps she had never slept at all, it was hard for her to remember. Day and night seemed to slide into one single grueling day, the noises surrounding her current home, mixed with the general discomfort of sleeping outdoors in such an uncomfortable setting made it hard to get any rest. Of course, she had no home in the traditional sense, rather a small narrow alley way was what she called home, down enough so that she could maintain some level of privacy.

It wasn't an existence she had hoped for, but what more could Tayva ask for? She knew very little of this world, of its people. Outside the city limits it seemed nothing more than some desolate wasteland, devoid of any life. Just looking at the scarred lands was enough to make the girl shiver, and not just from the cold. Perhaps one of these days she could find herself some purpose, rather than live out her life rotting in some gutter. Not to mention that she had more than herself to think about.

The Celestial felt something warm and soft brush against her leg, and turning her tired gaze down to her small companion, she managed a small smile at the critter she called Cayleb. Perhaps the only connection she felt to the world, the small creature had found a way into her heart rather quickly, despite the quirks he possessed. Overhearing many conversations within the amount of time she had spent in the city, she had heard tales about beasts existing outside of the boundaries of settlements, preying upon careless individuals who ventured out alone. While she drew a connection between Cayleb and these supposed creatures, she couldn't help but become quite attached to him. So it was only fair that she keep him hidden.

"Let's see if we can go find something to eat today..." she told her small friend with a quiet voice, slowly rising to her feet. Cayleb nosed his way into a small bag that she was able to come into possession of, and carrying it along in hand she proceeded out of the alley, to merge with the local population. Sometimes if they were lucky, they could find a bakery or some small food establishment tossing out old or spoiled food. They couldn't be picky when it came to their meal, so they had to take what they could get. Passing by a bakery, the Celestial sniffed the air, smelling the welcoming scent of pastries, before ducking down an adjacent alley. Sure enough, there was a dumpster, lid still open with a fresh dump. She set the bag down beside the metal container, before peeking in, looking to see what she could find.

Preoccupied with her scavenge, a male in his late thirties entered the alley as well, and seeing the unattended bag, snatched it up and quickly took off, mistaking it for containing possessions which could be sold. The sound of hastened footsteps caused the girl to stop her rummaging, only to catch a glimpse of the man running past her. Without a word, she quickly jumped down and gave chase, though neither could run fast at all due to the lack of proper nutrition. Tayva eventually caught up with the man and tried to grab hold of his tacky jacket, though a swift elbow to her face was received, causing the girl to release him and topple forward, blood leaking from her nose. Fear of losing her only friend was the only thing keeping her going as she unsteadily got to her feet and gave chase once more, as the struggle continued into an open street.

Glanced up at the clock on the wall of the hotel. Jack was late, that wasn't like him at all. Heaving a soft sigh, Kalinda turned to admire the plant life that seemed to grow everywhere, which was to be expected from a city made of trees. It had once been a human city, though no one could remember it's name as it have been destroyed in the beginning of the war. The Others had claimed it long ago, and the seeds of it's founding trees had taken over. For more then a century now the human buildings had been overgrown with plant life that marked the Crown City.

Visitors were allowed only on the ground, the true Crown City floated far over their heads amongst the tops of the trees. The sunlight filtered down through perfectly clipped holes in the foliage above, allowing the natural light to intermix with the ethereal glow of the mana infused orbs that lit the streets. Despite the Other's annoyance with it, they had allowed the original streets to be repaved to allow for motorized vehicle usage by their non-Other visitors. Still they did it in their own way, the side walks were carved with the ancient images and pictures of the races who lived here, murals spanned the sides of the buildings, every aspect of the city was bright and beautiful and full of life. It made Kali wonder what on earth could have possessed either side of the war to continue fighting and killing each other.

So far she had seen many Elves, though she had noticed that they seemed to be what the human race might consider commoners. She suspected that the ruling class stayed above, old hatreds ran deep and it was going to take a lot of time for them to be buried and forgotten.

The sound of Jack's voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned her bright smile on the Captain. "It's perfectly alright John, it gave me some time to stop and smell the roses." She readjusted the small handbag hanging from her fingers as she joined Conners. Her light blue sundress brought out the color of her skin, and the brown decorations of flowers and vines along it's length brought out her eyes. Kalinda tended to keep her outfits simple, rarely did she wear any jewelry, or heels. She was perfectly aware that she wasn't a fighter, and when the flight or fight instincts kicked in, flats made for easier running.

Their walk through the city amazed her at the beauty and splendor of Nature. She envied the Others their gardening skills, while she wasn't untalented herself she doubted those talents would ever help her do anything this grand. She was one person, and even Aurora knew how difficult it was for one person to change the world.

She was about to turn to Jack and inquire as to how his daughter was doing when she was suddenly hit from behind. Someone in a rather large hurry hadn't been watching where he was going and ran headlong into Kalinda, her cry of surprise echoed around them as she toppled forward. She could feel Aurora within her coming forward already but now wasn't necessarily the right time for that. As she hit the ground, she didn't roll away from running man, nor did she just lay there in shock. Her dark eyes instantly followed the man who had run into her, he was close enough that she could see what he carried...and see that it was moving. Her fear that whatever he held captive in that bag could meet it's early demise at the bottom of the proverbial river launched her fear out into the air around her.

Anyone standing within ten feet of her would be overtaken by fear, before Kali could reign it in. Screams erupted around her, and she chided herself on her loss of control. Reaching out with one hand, she caught the male's pant leg and pulled, setting him off balance and causing him to join her on the ground. Well...that was all well and good...but now what was she going to do with him?

It had been a nice couple of days with Kalinda, and their dinners together were always the highlight of the evenings. In the last couple of nights, they had tried more food and saw more sights than any small family of eager-eyed tourists could ask for. Kali was very much exuberant about seeing the city. Jack would never admit it, but it was a lot like visiting the city with Amanda except he could share a good bottle of red wine at dinner with Kali.

They chatted about nothing for the most part as they walked, like most friends would do, even though they had spent literally the entire day together and the three days prior. As always, the topic of Jack's daughter would come up. Kali seemed to have some sort of kindred relationship with Amanda, then again, Amanda always tried to make that sort of connection. She would always tell her father how important was for people to be connected in a family. Amanda was grooming women for parenting and all sorts of things, absurdity!

Before the talk could even begin, Kalinda was hip-checked by some street urchin bolting through the street. Jack reached for her, but wasn't nearly fast enough to keep her from crashing to the ground.

Watch it bu...

Panic and fear hit him like a brick wall. He couldn't tell from where, but he felt sudden in danger....imminent danger. Without a second thought, Jack drew down his service pistol and scanned for threats. Men and women alike screamed in fear as the barrel quickly lazered from person to person, searching for a target. Conners hadn't even noticed that Kali had toppled the man.

Snap out of it man, you're a police officer!

His conscience screamed at him and he blinked a couple of times, forcing the fear down to his gut. Seeing Kali on the ground and the unknown runner a step or two ahead Jack caught her eye. Upon confirmation that she was alright, Jack took some cautious steps towards the man. Ever aware of the forming crowd, he saw a small hole being pushed through by someone...possibly someone in pursuit.

Police Office...do not move!

The man began to scramble up, and his back was promptly met with Jack's shoe. Gravity was reintroduced, the runner now back on the paved road.

Doesn't anyone listen anymore? Are you ok Kali?

Calling back to his friend as he half stood on the random man, gun trained on his back, Jack realized that today was going to get a little more interesting.

That bag was moving, like something was trying to get out.

After what felt like forever, Tayva soon caught up to the scene, though could not see what was going on past the forming crowd. She halted in her tracks as everyone seemed to cower from something, the first thing coming to the Celestial's mind was that they had discovered Cayleb. Her heart raced at the very thought, combined with the amount of exercise needed to catch up to the man she had been pursuing.

Worrying for her companion's safety, Tayva quickly started to try and push through the crowd, to ensure that he hadn't been found, and could be returned to her before anyone noticed. Finally pushing her way through the crowd, she came across the scene: a man standing over the felon, foot pressed against his back with some form of weapon in hand. Her eyes then turned to the bag on the ground, seeing the small shift of movement within it. The girl was quick to scoop up the bag, holding it tight in both arms to keep the Rift Beast within from making any further movements.

A few trickles of blood dropped down onto her bag, causing Tayva to stare in surprise. She had forgotten about her broken nose before, the rush of adrenaline through her system keeping her mind on the more pressing matter at hand, but now as she recovered from that rush, pain started to flow into her conscious thoughts, and the first thing she did was pinch the bridge of her nose painfully with her fingers, in some attempt to keep from bleeding out any further.

Whether it was the blood loss or the exhaustion from the chase, the crowd with its attention on her, a lack of nutrition or perhaps combination of all of the factors, Tayva started to feel quite lightheaded. Her breathing felt laboured more so now with her nose plugged with blood, crimson life force trickling down the back of her throat as she wobbled ever so slightly, slightly off balance.

Today was just not her day...

Jack knelt down at the unnamed running man, fastening his wrists together with his spare pair of handcuffs he kept on his person. He had just enough time to see a slim young woman trot on to the scene and scoop up the bag, holding it like a small child. Whilst the mass confusion was a great cover, he didn't anticipate anyone being stupid enough to steal the bag from a thief while a man with a gun stood not two feet from it. Either way, Jack would be a bad police officer if he didn't ask the question.

Miss...is that your bag?

As Jack rose and turned to face the woman, the very apparent bloodied nose on her thin face became all the more...apparent. She almost seemed surprised as blood droplets descended on to the bag, quickly taking her hand and pinching the bridge to attempt to stem the flow of fluid out of her face. Until this moment, Jack hadn't noticed her increased pallor, and was now getting concerned.

Ma'am, are you ok? My name is Jack and I'm a police officer. Is there anything I can do to help you? It seems you took a pretty bad hit.

The woman swayed, and Jack was right there to catch her. Alright, alright. I gotcha.

Assisting her to a bench on the promenade, Jack had her sit with her head between her knees. He knew that if she swallowed the blood, it would only make her throw up, and the mess would be all the more explosive for the moment. At least he had learned that from his daughter from her own bloody nose experiences in the past.

Can you tell me your name? Anyone I can reach for you?

She hadn't expected any sort of kindness from the man that had stood over her bag, not because she did not trust the police, but rather because she was unfamiliar with the police. She hadn't come into contact with many people in the few days spent in the city, and so the law enforcement officials had never made an appearance to her. The Celestial wasn't aware of their purpose in the city, to keep order and peace. Despite the intimidation of the gleaming weapon held in his hand, she had needed to secure the bag back into her possession, before she lost it once again. Everyone seemed to be in it for themselves around here, finding it hard to come across some good soul to trust.

As she was escorted by the mystery man to the bench, the crowd that had formed around the scene began to dwindle. With the excitement of the capture becoming dull, everyone was off to go back to their day, though the conversations and questions of what had occurred would surely drift through the air through the remainder of the day. Not that Tayva was keen on any sort of gossip, but it was a way that she could find somewhere to eat for free: rumours about shops and stores being closed, because of supposed sub-par conditions. If not for the gossip, she could have starved long ago. The very thought of food made her stomach knot up, the lack of a proper meal all day contributing to her rather poor-looking appearance.

"Can you tell me your name? Anyone I can reach for you?"

Tayva tried to lift up her head, which she had been hanging to try and keep the blood from sliding down the back of her throat. She lowered her hand, allowing the blood to drain freely from her nose as she replied with a small cough: "T-Tayva." The second part of his question however would have no answer, as she had no relative or friend to fall back on. She was alone in this world, unknowing of her origins and pasts. And so to respond to the second half of his question, she shook her head, coughing again. Despite her best efforts, the back of her throat had been misted by her crimson life force.

"N-No...I don't have...family." she replied, trying to keep herself from coughing again. The nausea from the pool of blood forming between her feet was not helping in the slightest, if anything making her feel worse. To make matters worse, she could feel the small form of Cayleb squirm against her in the bag once more, smelling the blood that was coming from her body.

With her senses returned to her, Kalinda sent out waves of calm and soothing emotions to try and undo the damage she'd caused. When Jack looked at her she gave him a smile, motioning that she was fine. As Jack took care of the thief, Kalinda picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off a bit, checking to make sure that her clothes were all in the proper place and covering her winged tattoos. She didn't like the way people stared at her when they saw them, that was why she almost always wore jackets with her dresses, or long sleeves.

"I'm fine Jack, just a little scraped up, I'll heal." Kalinda moved to pick up the squirming bag but she was beat to it by a tiny blonde girl. When the girl got within a few feet of Kali, her flesh began to crawl. It was a tingle she hadn't felt in awhile, but one she knew all too well. That girl was either a Fiend or a fellow Celestial. Kalinda froze a moment, staring at the girl as she tried to process what she was feeling, as well as the emotions she was feeling from Aurora inside her.

As much as she hadn't wanted Jack to know her secret yet, it seemed that she didn't have much choice. Stepping forward, Kalinda closed her eyes releasing her control of her body to Aurora. A soft golden glow would become visible beneath her clothes that would rise up through the fabric to form three pairs of golden wings sprouting from her back. As she opened her eyes again, their dark depths would have been replaced by piercing blue pools. "It's nice to meet you Tayva, I'm Aurora. If you'll hold still I can stop the bleeding and take care of some of that dizziness." She knew Jack had to be looking at her funny, on the outside she looked like Kalinda...cept for the eyes, but on the inside she was a Celestial being. It might be very difficult for him to grasp.

If Tayva let her help, Aurora would extend her hand and press it gently to Tayva's cheek. A warm golden glow would emit from her hand and sink into Tayva's flesh, centering on the girls nose as the bone reset itself. She would feel no pain, merely a warm tingling sensation that would leave as soon as Aurora pulled back her hand. "There, I took care of the worst of it, the rest will need time to heal on it's own so be careful."

Kali seemed to be alright, and Jack let a breath out in relief. Kalinda was his friend, but at the same time, he would never hear the end of the appointed unit psychologist got injured on a standard business assignment.

Seriously, how embarrassing would that be?

Jack watched her rise as he was taking care of the perpetrator, and he noticed Kali giving this poor victimized girl, Tayva, the strangest looks. It actually took Jack back a bit, it wasn't like her to scrutinize another person, especially a victim with such detail. It was like she was trying to see beyond Tayva, like something was underneath. The weird level of her actions was way off the scale...

...and then, the scale blew up.

It's nice to meet you Tayva, I'm Aurora. If you'll hold still I can stop the bleeding and take care of some of that dizziness.

Aurora? What the....!?! Jack's eyes widened in surprise.

That....that wasn't in your file.

His voice shaky, all the beleaguered Captain could do was what the rest of the square was doing at the moment: staring, mouths agape. Conners wasn't sure specifically what Kalinda/Aurora was, he just hoped there wasn't a third entity that was less friendly. The golden lights and triple set of wings that suddenly appeared were entrancing, and no one seemed to notice the squirming back or the squeaks that came from within.

Tayva could not help but watch as the woman seemed to change before her, a way that was not overly noticeable, but still was at the same time. Her back itched slightly upon seeing the multiple pairs of wings, reminding her of her own. She could not help but feel that this woman was the same race as she was. Never before had she seen one of her own kind before, and she couldn't help but feel strange, as if looking into a mirror.

Slowly the woman extended her hand, placing her fingers against her cheek. The girl blinked, unsure of her motives. She could not help but stay still however, her words almost soothing to the tired girl. A sudden warmth emanated from her cheekbone, spreading toward her nose as the bleeding soon stopped, the crimson streaks that had been flowing down slowing visibly, turning to small drips in comparison. As her nose was reset, and the woman known as Aurora removed her hand, Tayva's own reached up to her own face, gingerly pressing on her once broken nose. It no longer hurt to the touch as it once had, but seemed much better instead.

"T...Thank you..." Tayva replied, lowering her hand and offering the strange woman a smile. While the dizziness and bleeding began to subside, the girl couldn't help but feel a little worn out. The chase she had entered into was the first time in awhile she had been in strenuous activity, and with her lack of nutrition she had found herself tired out fairly quickly. She would need a little time to recover from it. In the meantime, she slipped her hand into her bag, subduing her small companion by scratching one of his ears.

Aurora was almost entirely sure that Tayva was not a Fiend, which meant that she had to be a fellow Celestial. Kalinda had met a few, though most where just like Aurora, trapped on this plain until they either served their mission or found a way back home. Aurora had failed her ultimate mission though, and she knew she could never go back home, not a failure as she was. She was exiled here as self inflicted punishment, they would never except her back now. The Enlightenment had been her's to stop, she was supposed to show the races that they didn't need to fight, but some things were inevitable. Some things could not be stopped.

She knew that Jack must be nearly having a heart attack and so once she was done healing Tayva, she turned her bright blue gaze to Jack to see just how he was coping with her secret. The face was Kalinda's but her eyes held an agelessness that was hard to explain, she knew far more then Kalinda's young years could afford. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you myself Captain, Kalinda has told me so much about you. I have asked Kalinda not to flaunt my presence, there are those who would choose to harm her simply for allowing me passage within her as she has. I wish no harm to come to her, Kalinda is very special, the world needs her." Aurora gave the Captain a brilliant smile, her golden wings of light fluttering as she was forced to keep her balance as a gust of wind blew down from the trees above.

With Tayva in such close proximity, Aurora would have no warning of the approaching evil from the alley behind them. Her skin was already crawling, and the presence of a Fiend would have no effect on her. So focused was she on Jack that she would only notice when the Fiend snuck up from behind her and wrapped his arm around her throat. Aurora gasped in shock and began to fight him, her wings aiding in her struggles to try and get him off her. His grip on her throat was cutting off Kalinda's airways however, and that just wouldn't do. With a cry of anger, Light burst forth from Aurora, tossing the Fiend across the street away from her.

The light solidified into a shield that surrounded the three of them, with Aurora at it's center. "The shield will keep him from harming us magically, he cannot come near it, but he can still throw things at us." Aurora told Jack, she had no offensive weapons, she wasn't a warrior, she was healer. The Fiend threw a fireball at them that burst against her shield and scattered across the pavement, lighting smell fires along the vines that covered nearly everything in Elyria. Panic truly began to set in as fear rippled out away from them. People began to scream and run, chaos was starting.

The winged creature that Kalinda had become was doing something for the homeless woman who called herself Tayva before she turned to face Jack. Kali's blue eyes, were they Kali's eyes or the eyes of the...other thing? Either way, they met Jack's own for a moment and they looked different. Her eyes looked like that of an older, wiser person. Kalinda never had such wisdom in her eyes, as far as he could tell.

It's a pleasure to finally meet you myself Captain, Kalinda has told me so much about you. I have asked Kalinda not to flaunt my presence, there are those who would choose to harm her simply for allowing me passage within her as she has. I wish no harm to come to her, Kalinda is very special, the world needs her.

The only thing Conners could do in response was nod, mouth still slightly open in the shock of it all. Aurora's smile seemed unusually accommodating and Jack smiled back, feeling at ease simply from seeing it.

Pleasure is all mine, Miss...?

The conversation was cut short as a man wrapped his arm around Kalinda's throat and tugged. Within a moment, Jack's pistol was back up, pointing at the unknown assailant.

Let her go or I'll shoot!

It was a bluff, there was no way Jack could get a shot off without hitting Kali in the process. A completely un-winnable situation, Jack could only posture and hope that Kali's struggles were doing something. With a loud cry and a flash of light, the assailant was tossed back and a bubble of light seemed to be surrounding the trio.

The shield will keep him from harming us magically, he cannot come near it, but he can still throw things at us.

As if to provide a real world example, the fiend tossed a fireball, which quickly dissipated against their shielding.

Can we throw things out then? If that's the case...I have some presents for our friend here.

Waiting for her reply, Jack began to track the fiend with his pistol sights. The man seemed to snarl at being rebuffed, but he was about to get something very different indeed.

Things happened fairly quickly, almost too fast for the Celestial to keep up with. The sudden appearance of the hostile fiend and the conflict that quickly arose caused the girl to quickly jump to her feet, her eyes never leaving the being once amidst the chaos. Fortunately for Aurora's quick reflexes they were spared from a fireball attack attempted by the foe, but only to light the surrounding flora with fire.

Tayva's attention turned to the burning plant life, wincing noticeably. It pained her noticeably to see the plant life dying before her, without a way to save it. A wave of anger struck at her heart, at the fiend who was responsible, and her gaze once more was set upon the attacker of the trio. She clenched her fists, which began to glow green.

The feeling was foreign to her, being a normally calm and cheerful Celestial, but it was motivation as well. With her hands glowing brighter, she dropped to one knee, pushing her palms flat against the ground under her. The energy appeared to flow from her hands into the ground under her, only to cause cracks in the earth underneath of the fiend. It would have little time to react to the dozen vines that would burst up from the earth, intent on entangling its limbs, torso, and neck with the attempt to strangle the life from it.

Aurora turned her blue eyes to Jack as he asked if they could throw things out and nodded to him. "It is only a magical shield, it cannot protect against the physical, try not to kill him if you can, the Fiend is inhabiting a mortal vessel, most likely against it's will. If you can incapacitate the vessel then I can use my light to force the Fiend out." It wasn't exactly the same as an exorcism, Aurora couldn't do that, but her light would make it extremely painful for the Fiend to remain near it and hopefully force the fiend to leave it's current vessel and seek out a new one, hopefully damaging it enough in the process to force it to lay low for awhile.

She did not move as the sound of Jack's pistol firing echoed around them, the bullet would strike the vessel in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground, only to be ensnared by vines with a mind of their own. Turning her gaze from the fiend to the small girl, Aurora took in her new friend in a new light. "Tayva...I remember you, Gardener of the Divine. you are not using a vessel, intriguing. Can you hold him down?" If the girl would nod, Aurora would turn her attention on the fiend once more.

Pulling in her light shield, Aurora strode over to the fiend. As her light got closer, he would begin to struggle harder, as if trying to escape her. As the shield touched him he would cry out in pain. "You are outmatched, leave this vessel, it does not belong to you." Focusing her light to her right hand, she would lean down and press her hand to his forehead. He would scream out in pain and agony before a slight shock wave would throw Aurora back. Her wings would catch her, keeping her suspended in the air for a moment before she came back down. "The fiend is gone, and with as weak as he is he will need to search for a new vessel weak enough to allow him to take over without a fight."

She knelt down next to the Elf who had been the Fiend's vessel. Looking up to Jack she made sure he was paying attention to her next words. "I am going to heal him, I will most likely tire myself out and Kalinda will take over once more. She will be weak and rather sick. She will need care." She didn't truly leave Jack any options to disagree with her as she set her hands on either side of the Elf's face and channeled her energy into him. The bullet wound in his leg would heal, the bullet clinking out onto the pavement. As she pulled her hands away, the light of Aurora would wink out, her wings settling back into her clothes. She would fall sideways, to lay on the pavement if no one caught her.

Jack looked over to Kali...Aurora....whoever, and the other person nodded. Without any other notification, Jack took a knee and took aim.

...try not to kill him if you can, the Fiend is inhabiting a mortal vessel, most likely against it's will. If you can incapacitate...

The sights down the black barrel of his standard issue Glock pistol shifted down, from the fiend's chest to his pelvis area. It was easier to hit a larger target like the chest or pelvis, as they were center's of mass on the body. A soft bit of pressure on the trigger brought fire , noise and force in to the world as the bullet exploded out of the chamber. His hand softly bucking due to recoil, Jack moved and safed his weapon as the fiend fell to the ground.

Normally, I would worry about paperwork...being a good Samaritan has its perks.

Once his weapon was safely in its holster, Jack watched as Aurora, apparently that was another name for Kalinda, called out a fiend and let the magical shield of light strike the man. He cried out before collapsing completely, his ailment apparently dissipated. She turned to Jack with a look that didn't convey an ability to disobey.

I am going to heal him, I will most likely tire myself out and Kalinda will take over once more. She will be weak and rather sick. She will need care.

Take over, what the....what kind of care?

Winged Kali didn't respond as the elf Jack had just shot was healed, the bullet clattering to the ground. Jack's eyes widened in shock. He had been around crazy shit before...hell, he was the Chief of the Meta-Human Division...but this was well beyond what even Jack had experienced. This would require a lot of research as the world suddenly grew before his eyes.

Stepping up a little closer to Kali as her wigs fell away, Conners quickly realized that the time for thinking would be later. Kali swished briefly before falling. Quickly stepping in to her fall, Jack attempted to catch her. Wrapping his arms around the falling woman, Jack felt his foot slip from under him. Falling underneath Kali, Conners hit the ground moments before she fell on him.

Kali...KALI! Talk to me. Are you ok?

Gardener of the Divine... it sounded like a strange, yet somewhat familiar title. It caused her to turn her focus onto Aurora as she was addressed, as if the seeming title was her own name. The Celestial asked Tayva to see if she could restrain the fiend with the vines, the request causing her to looked down at her still-clenched hands, which continued to glow as she spoke. It seemed as if the life that she had summoned was under her control, to some extent. The girl nodded in momentary silence, eyes seeming to flash as she suddenly smiled with a new confidence. "I'll do what I can." she replied, with a seemingly confident sound to her voice. Noting the strength of which the vines were applying to the 'vessel', or whatever she had called it, Tayva relaxed her fists, the greenery in term loosening their powerful grip. Rather than focus on the vital parts of the possessed elf, she commanded them to instead bind the man's limbs behind him, to prevent another such attack while Aurora moved forward to perform her magic on him.

She began to wonder if perhaps Aurora could better fill her in on who she was, for right now she seemed to be the only one capable of offering her any sort of insight to what she had once been. One thing was certain though, which was that her capabilities in this world were apparently a reflection on what she had been before coming here. Apparently she seemed also capable of controlling her own body, as Aurora had mentioned her not requiring a vessel. Perhaps others of her kind were not as fortunate, and had to share a physical form with another mortal?

As quickly as it had began, the entire encounter came to a seeming end, as the evil that had once inhabited the mortal fled from his body, the Celestial taking the time to heal him before her essence seemed to fade. At that moment Tayva was glad that she possessed her own form, for she could not fathom being unable to exist in the way that Aurora seemed capable of. Jack soon ran to her aid as her angelic features faded from view. Remembering that she still held the body of the elf, she lowered the vines, allowing them to turn to dust, filling the cracks they had once inhabited. And as they faded, the rush that had been associated soon wore off, and a wave of fatigue hit the girl that had been controlling them. She dropped down onto one knee, hands to the ground as she caught her breath, with beads of sweat trickling from her forehead. It felt as if she had just ran a marathon, though without the associated aches in her limbs that would have come with it.

Slowly she got back onto her feet, before slowly making her way over to Jack and Kalinda (at least she thought it was Kalinda), to see if she could offer her assistance. "Are you two okay?" she questioned, her hand outstretched to offer Jack help with getting up and to help the unconscious girl up as well.

Kalinda would have heard and seen everything her body did while Aurora was in control, but she wouldn't have been able to hear Aurora's thoughts, only what she said to the others. They were entirely two separate entities sharing one body, she held none of Aurora's memories. The two of them had contrived a unique way to talk seeing as they couldn't speak in the conventional sense. Aurora could only take over when Kalinda let go of her control, or if she was knocked unconscious or asleep. The same happened when Aurora was in control, Kali couldn't take over unless Aurora allowed it, or if Aurora chose to sleep or fell unconscious. The usage of her powers in such a condensed form left Aurora too exhausted to remain in control, as soon as she'd healed the poor Elf's wound, she passed out, which meant Kali could then take the reigns once more.

It took a moment for the shift to complete, and when she woke she opened her dark eyes to stare down into Jack's as she lay on top of him. Her eyes widened in absolute shock and she instantly moved to scramble off of him, spinning to the side so she was sitting on the pavement. "Jack! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, and then the pain hit her and she pressed both her hands to her forehead, her beautiful face contorting with the pressure that clamped down on her head. Bruises spread along her arms and down her legs, it would look as if she'd gotten beat up by an unseen force in a matter of moments. Healing wasn't as cut and dried as everyone made it out to be. It required taking the negative miasma into yourself, which caused any number of issues from physical manifestations, to blindness, hallucinations even death. While it had been Aurora doing the healing, Kalinda's body paid the price.

She found back the urge nausea that threatened to overwhelm her, another side effect, Aurora hadn't taken her time in healing the Elf, which would have let the miasma settle slowly, lessening the instant effects. Kali managed to keep from sicking up all over but she groaned loudly. She barely noticed Tayva's voice, and it would take her a moment before her dark eyes would peek out from beneath the cascade of her golden hair. "Are you alright Tayva? Everything is still a blur. Jack, I don't feel well, I think you should take me back to the hotel." she stated, closing her eyes again as she tried to push past the pain.

It didn't take too long for Kali to awake and scramble off of Jack, the rouge of her cheek growing a bit as she apologized and found her own spot to sit. The other woman was there too...Jack thought that Aurora had called her Tayva...she was offering help up. Taking her hand, Jack got up and turned his attention to Aurora, who looked near to retching.

Are you alright Tayva? Everything is still a blur. Jack, I don't feel well, I think you should take me back to the hotel.

Letting Tayva answer, Jack looked over Kali. She looked like she was about to lose her lunch, but at the same time, pain marred her face. It was the strangest phenomenon.

Wasn't she just healing a bullet wound on some poor unfortunate elf? How is she suddenly so hurt? Did that...thing...do something to her?

Kalinda, I think you need to go to a hospital. I'm worried about you...what the hell was that?

Before Kali could answer, reinforcements finally began to arrive. Police cars for the Elyria Police, as few as there were in the Elven city, began to arrive with their flashing lights and screaming sirens. Grimacing to himself about all the noise and commotion. Two officer came scrambling up, their defensive batons at the ready. The Elyrian police had an...odd sense of defense in the post-war world. At the same time, Jack was happy to see some familiar faces from his seminars with Kali earlier in the day.

Guys, its ok. Some guy stole this woman's bag, he motioned towards Tayva, He's linked up over there. My associate had a rough night, real sensitive stomach.

Conners figured Kali didn't want her secret thrown about the world without her consideration. Therefore, Jack told an abridged version of the truth. He only hoped that it would suffice for the patrolmen.

Tayva watched carefully as Jack took to taking care of his companion, when she realized that the short-lived fight had deterred the crowd that had formed during the original confrontation, when her bag had been stolen originally. After all the scene had become rather dangerous, deterring anyone from sticking around too long who wasn't directly involved in the situation. After helping up the male human, the girl quickly grabbed her bag, holding it carefully as if cradling the contents inside of it. Her attention was caught by Kalinda's voice, asking if she would be okay.

"I'll be okay... but right now you need to rest." the Celestial replied, offering the two of them a warm smile. Had it not been for their work, things would have gotten ugly rather quickly, and the unfortunate soul who had his body stolen from him would have continued to wander the streets. She took a moment to glance over, the elf that had been 'possessed' still remaining unconscious, though no longer retaining any of the injuries he had possessed during the battle. And with Kalinda's sudden response, it seemed as if she had somehow taken in his injuries during the healing, or at least to some extent their negative effects on the body. Interesting.

The momentary silence that followed the end of the fight was soon shattered as the ear-splitting sound of sirens filled the air, becoming louder as the source approached. Tayva stiffened and glanced down the street, where the police cars quickly sped into view, only to stop meters away, as armed and uniformed figures approached the three, wielding weapons of some kind. Though they did not necessarily mean harm, the Celestial did take a step back, as if worried about another conflict. Before she could respond further however, Jack began to explain the situation to them, as if he knew who they were. Perhaps he was one of them too, just not dressed in the same fashion.

The girl remained silent through his explanation, having already figured that it would be best to keep the existence of Aurora a secret. He had shown quite a bit of shock with her appearance, and it seemed that her 'sharing of bodies' was not a well-known fact. Better to leave things that didn't need to be mentioned unexplained. One of the uniformed men made his way over to the cuffed suspect, while the other walked past to deter new arrivals, who had been drawn to the sound of the sirens to see what had happened. Meanwhile Tayva shuffled over to Jack and Kalinda, still obviously concerned about the woman's health.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" she questioned.

Kali instantly shook her head, reaching out her hand to grasp Jack's arm, her dark eyes rimmed at the edges with red from the effects of healing making her look ill. "No! I don't need a hospital Jack, promise me. I just need to rest, I'll be ok." She glanced around her as the cavalry began to swarm in and fell silent, now was not the time to talk about it. She needed to get out of here and lay down, that was the best thing for her right now until Aurora regained her strength and could help Kali heal.

She motioned for Jack to help her up, leaning on him as she used his strength to reclaim her footing. As Tayva asked Jack about her well being, Kali shot her a not nice look. "I'll be fine." She stated, with a edge of coldness not normally associated with the kind hearted woman. Leaning down slightly, she scooped her purse off the sidewalk where it had fallen and dug around inside it. She came out with her business card for her private practice back in Bastion and held it out to Tayva. {color=violet]"I know that I don't have the answers you seek, but she does. If you want those answers, this will help you find me."[/color] She specifically didn't mention names due to the present company that buzzed around them.

She slid her purse up to her shoulder, while leaning on Jack with her other arm, using him to steady herself. "Look me up when you come to Bastion, maybe she can help you understand what you are." She then turned her attention to Jack. "Take me back to the hotel please." While it wasn't normally her style to simply let someone like Tayva who obviously needed help just go on their way without at least offering, she knew she was in no condition to help anyone right now.

She knew Jack would have questions, and she knew she didn't have a choice but to answer them. It wasn't like she kept it a complete secret, hell, most of the collective knew what she was and most of them revered her for it. She was one of their Divine walking amongst them, even a failure as she was.

Seeing Kali reach out, Jack was quick to offer her support, but he caught her eyes as she insisted on only being allowed to rest. There was something in her voice that was distinctly not Kalinda Michaelson. It was far more authoritative and wasn't up for discussion.

No! I don't need a hospital Jack, promise me. I just need to rest, I'll be ok.

Grumbling to himself, Jack assisted Kali up and softly let her lean on him. Based on how much she was supporting herself with him, he figured he was taking about seventy percent of her weight off of her...totally the kind of frailty that would warrant a doctor look at you...but no.

Why do women have to be so stubborn? Then again, if there were any more of of them, they would be encouraging me to work harder at supporting Kali. I should just be appreciative of that, I guess.

As people began to swarm the scene from various emergency response agencies, Jack casually waited while the two women talked about seeing Kali in Bastion about something or other...it wasn't Jack's business, so he didn't pay any attention.

Look me up when you come to Bastion, maybe she can help you understand what you are. Jack raised an eyebrow, 'she' must've been Aurora. Afterwords Jack had her attention. Take me back to the hotel please.

As they walked and limped together back towards the hotel, Jack waved off a duo of paramedics that attempted to help the man assisting the tired woman. The walk, which normally had taken a good ten minutes previously, took the better part of a half hour. Once at Kali's room, Jack helped her get situated.

We...you...talk. Ok, so whatever happened out there...I will need answers when you are better. Also, way to be way more than meets the eye.

No sooner than the pair leave did Tayva make herself scarce as well. As she was not visibly injured or shaken, she found herself less bothered by the emergency response, which had instead focused more upon the exhausted Kalinda than the stranger. She could feel her small companion growing restless in her bag as well, all the more reason not to stick around for much longer. The Celestial took another glance at the card that she had been handed, stuffing it into her pocket before quickly making her way down the alley that she had entered from, making herself scarce on the scene.

The girl seemed rather different so suddenly, which made her wonder just how conscious 'Aurora' really was when her host was in control. The whole experience left her with far too many questions though, and a much heavier conscience than she had hoped. Perhaps it would be a welcome change than focusing on how empty her stomach was, or how uncomfortable the ground she slept on was. But perhaps if she saw the woman again, she could get herself some real help. Maybe even find a more appropriate home than the alleys that she visited.

As she broke away into the next street, she found that things were back to normal, the few odd people glancing down the alley she had come from to catch a brief glimpse of the support personnel on the adjacent street. However most of the activity there had settled down, with the victims and suspects now gone. Tayva refused to look behind her as she continued cutting through alleys, eventually finding one with a dead end. Sinking onto the dirtied ground of the shaded alleyway, she set her bag down and undid the flap, her small rift beast companion spilling out. He had been chewing and clawing on the strap that had kept the bag shut, wanting out ever since having been stolen away not long ago.

The Celestial brought her knees to her chest, watching her furry friend push his way into her lap, and making himself comfortable. Tayva smiled, before glancing up at the sky. Perhaps she was not the only one of her kind in this city after all...