hihihi!! here's the next chapter! with Johanna's help, I've put in a lot of revisions into the last three chapters, but nothing that really changes anything integral to the storyline. So I'd like to say thank you to Johanna! And I still haven't decided where Kali'll go yet, but I think I'd like to do a side story type thing where she goes to Terre D'Ange with Cassilines and everything ^^ but then again, I might not do it cause I'm not sure if I could properly write about D'Angeline personality and culture ^^;; and I'm really sorry that this chapter has taken so long for me to post up, but you might be happy (or saddened) to know that I'm working on a harry potter fanfic now and it should be up soon. I'd also like to add that this is the first time I've tried writing something like this and that this chapter is probably my least favorite out of the ones I've written so far ^^;;

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*~Chapter 4~*

*~Familiar Faces~*

"Ah," Kali winced and looked down at the rose; one of its thorns embedded in her thumb. She pulled the rose part from her thumb gingerly, watching as a bead of blood swelled into existence and dropped down into the dirt. Making a movement to wipe the blood away, she cursed at the rose's irritating external defense. But before she could do anything, a hand caught her wrist and an arm wrapped around her from behind.

"Hello, Kali," a soft voice murmured in her ear.

Kali stiffened, making her captor chuckle appreciatively as he released her. The laughter sounded oddly familiar to Kali's ears, could it be…?

"It's just me! Chill. I didn't think you'd freak out so easily."

Kali spun around to face the speaker, "Who are you?"

The spiky haired boy standing in front of Kali looked hurt, "I was only kidding, did I piss you off that much? It's me, Lakin."

Of course it was Lakin, what was she thinking? "No, no… I'm sorry, I must be seeing things. It's really you then, Lakin?"

"Yup, in the flesh," he grinned impishly.

"Tharsis said that you weren't coming…" Kali bit her lip, unsure of what to think.

Lakin took two steps forward and placed his finger under Kali's chin, tilting her head up. "But I'm here now," he whispered, kissing Kali gently and running his tongue along her bottom lip briefly before letting her go.

"Who… Just who are you, really?" Kali choked, pressing her hand to her mouth as she stumbled backwards.

"Come on, Kali. It's just me, Lakin." He moved forward, stretching out his hand to her. Kali continued to back away, faltering and finally tripping. "Stop being silly or you'll hurt yourself," Lakin scolded.

Kali groped for anything she might be able to use for defense, but only found a small shard of the old stone floor. She jumped up as he came near again, slashing the rock at him and making a shallow cut down the right side of his face. Kali backed up again and made a quick study of Lakin. His eyes were still shut from when he had blinked in surprise during Kali's attack. The lids opened and Kali gasped.

His right eye, which had been a normal clear blue, was now a fierce yellow with a slit pupil in the center, resembling a snake's eye more than a human's. Yet his left eye remained the same color as it had been previously, and before she could think on it further, the mismatched eyes had become duplicates once again.

***

"Looks like he got to her first, Rave. Poor thing, I almost feel sorry for her."

"Help?"

"Yes, I think it's about time we intervene."

***

"Steel," Rave walked out from the shadows.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hela demanded, appearing at Rave's side.

"Just having a little fun," Lakin replied as he pulled his hand away from the cut at his face, fingers sticky with blood. The cut glowed white briefly and slowly closed itself up. He grinned, "I suppose it's time for proper introductions." Closing his eyes, Lakin's blonde hair melted into metallic silver strands that fell about his eyes and cheeks, and he seemed to grow taller, but his form was still lithe and wiry. When he opened his eyes, his right was the same yellow with the slit pupil she had seen before, and his left was almost normal except for the fact that it was extremely pale blue in color.

"My name is Steel," he said, bowing with a flourish and tucking a strand of hair behind a pointed ear. "It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Kali looked around warily, finally asking Rave and Hela, "What… exactly is going on?"

"Meet Steel, master of this quarter and shape shifter extraordinaire," Hela said dryly. "Ironically, he's also a conceited, egotistical little boy who needs to grow up."

Steel pouted exaggeratedly, "I am not…"

"Explanation," Rave interrupted, looking at Kali pointedly.

"Ah, right. Well, I'm a shape shifter." Steel turned his attention back to Hela.

"More."

"Rave's so boring… Always have to be so damn considerate and gentlemanly. Fine then. In short, by touching someone, I can see people involved in their lives and I can change my shape to that of anybody the person has stored in their memories," Steel frowned. "That was a little confusing, wasn't it? Let's put it this way. When I touched you, I could see into your memories and the people within them. I happened to pick one of the more recent people active in your life—Lakin—and shape shifted into him. But when I'm surprised or panicked and have trouble keeping my shape, my right eye changes back to its original color. I think that's about it." Steel cocked his head, "And it seems like that's all we'll have time for. It looks like he's found you."

"Found… me?" Kali asked, still stunned.

"Reinforce defenses. He might bring the whole place down, he's pretty mad." Steel murmured, looking off into the distance.

Rave and Hela both got down to one knee and placed a palm down into the dirt. They began to chant simultaneously, repeating the same phrase, "Actun favlis nachta." With each verse, a brilliant white half dome would expand from the point where their hands touched the ground until the two domes melted into one and surpassed the ceiling, seeping into the cracks and fortifying the room.

The moment Hela and Rave finished, the room began to rumble and the floor shook beneath their feet. "Here he comes. Tharsis is usually pretty mellow, but he can get kind of scary sometimes. I wish he wouldn't try to decimate the place," Steel sighed and ducked, lazily avoiding a fiery white ball of energy that was aimed at him as if he had expected it. Kali turned to look in the direction the attack had come from.

Tharsis stood by a tree, face impassive. "Dear brother, what do you think you're doing?" he asked, voice deceptively sweet.

"Brother?" Kali asked.

Tharsis turned to Kali, "Near brother," he explained. Then turning to face Steel again, "I demand an explanation."

Steel grinned apologetically, "I was only having a little fun. And besides, I was curious. It's not very often one of the First is brought into our world."

Tharsis sighed, and his anger seemed to dissipate around him, "You know I can never stay mad for long, especially when I'm around you. I seem to have a weak constitution for it. I'll let it go, but try to behave. Not everyone's as nice to you as I am."

"Got it," Steel replied, almost respectfully.

"Good. Have you decided yet, Kali?"

Kali started, she hadn't realized that Tharsis had begun talking to her, "What?"

"Have you decided if you wanted to take up our proposition yet?" Tharsis elaborated patiently.

Kali glanced at Steel, Hela, Rave, then at Tharsis. It'd be interesting to meet more people like the ones she'd encountered in the last 24 hours. "I'll go."

"Then it's time to depart. Your things," Tharsis retrieved Kali's backpack and katana from seemingly nowhere and handed them to her. Holding her hand, she felt the familiar pulse and closed her eyes.

"Kali," Steel called out, interrupting her reverie, "I have a feeling that we'll meet again." He grinned wolfishly and winked, "You're a great kisser by the way."

Before Kali could reply, the room faded away, and she was once again shrouded in white, Tharsis by her side. Though this time, he was looking at her with a bemused expression on his face.

"What exactly happened between you and Steel?"

"I'll tell you later. It's a long story."

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Yayy!! 4th chapter done! Woooooo….. ok, now I just have to finish the first chapter of my harry potter fic and live through SOLs ;_; too much work! But I'm just happy that thesis paper is over! Well anyway, keep reviewing! It gives me incentive to write ^^ and if you're feeling particularly generous, I wouldn't mind if you advertised for my story the next time you post a chapter up in one of your fanfics ^^;; Anyway, when you review this time I want to know who your favorite character and who your least favorite character is and why…..and I still don't know where Kali's gonna go yet…. Hehe ^^;;