Ranma the Patryn
Disclaimer: Read the previous chapters. It's there.
Author's rant: Well... it's been a while but I actually got to continue it... I'm sorry for the delay, but projects pop up and go, and as I searched for answers to some personal questions I left most projects unattended. Hopefully, this is the start of a brand new come back, and also hopefully, I've improved. Anyway, I hope you guys like what's coming next...
-WD
Chapter 3 - Kara'thrar By Wanderer D (wandererd@hotmail.com) ----------------------------------------------------------------------
The way to the Blood Dragon's lair was easy to find. Ranma and his group just had to follow the trail of golden-green scales left by the Pryan Dragon, and up to the cliffs where the barren land provided a great view of the Dragon's lair.
Blood Dragons were one of the two most fearsome creatures that inhabited the Labyrinth, now sharing the title with the dreaded Dragon-snakes.
They would capture their victims alive, and torture them one by one for days, healing their wounds and keeping the victim conscious until it grew bored and ate them.
No one, Patryn, Sartan, Dragon-snake or any other creature would willingly walk into a Blood Dragon's lair, unless they had a very good reason for it, had a messy, horrible, long death wish, or was extremely stupid.
Ranma's group had a very good reason to go in, although their parents would say they were stupid, and as they sneaked closer to the cave, and could hear the anguished wails of the first victim, they also started believing so.
"Hugh the Hand came out alive from a fight with a Blood Dragon..." Hugh said, trying to cheer up everyone a little.
"Hugh the Hand was immortal back then..." Rue reminded him sharply. "We have to plan this very carefully if we are going to walk out again."
Hugh gulped and nodded, crouching next to his sister.
"We cannot rush in like we do with Wolfen and Tiger-men." Aghathar stated. "We need all our power and perfect timing."
Ranma nodded. "Okay, we'll have to trap it... I just hope his lair is not protected against magic..."
"The place where he keeps the victims probably is, though." Rena added.
They thought for a moment. "We could drop the ceiling on him..." Rue suggested.
They all looked at each other, unsure. Ranma was sweating cold. This was the most dangerous mission they had undertaken, and Rescue groups with far more experience would hesitate to even attempt such a feat.
But he had given his word to the dying dragon.
"Okay, here's what we'll do, Rena and Aghathar, you both will create a spike-trap for the dragon, remember to make it as strong as possible, Hugh, you will use your power to open the cracks enough for the earth to come down on him, Rue and I will break open the prison and help everyone escape, then between all of us, we bring the entrance down so he'll take some time to escape. Understood?"
Everyone nodded and they started out.
*** Rena, Aghathar and Hugh climbed into the cave through one of the many shafts it had. Ranma and Rue took the dangerous path through the entrance.
The dragon's cave smelled of blood and humidity. As Ranma and Rue walked deeper into it, they could hear an echo of a cold, slithering voice they recognized as the dragon's, and the soft whimpering of his victim, followed by a hideous scream.
Ranma felt a sudden cold in his stomach, and Rue's knees buckled. They were unable to move for the duration of the scream. The scream subsided and there were only moans echoing in the cavern.
Shaking all over, Ranma motioned to Rue to follow him. They rounded the corner to the large cavern where the dragon was just as it muttered something and the poor woman it was torturing let out a shrill cry that suddenly died. The body slumped and the dragon approached it.
Its scales were such a dark shade of red it could almost be mistaken for black, its white, sharp claws and fangs made a horrible contrast with it... and its yellow eyes glinted as gems in a dark pool of blood.
It stared at the body nailed to the wall for a few seconds, as if amused by the forms the blood made in the naked body, then, with a feral swipe of his claws it tore the body from the wall.
He turned and leered at something behind him, and Ranma, risking a look was able to see the group of Patryn and Sartan that were prisoners in a cage surrounded by symbols of the dragon's power.
Ranma searched the ceiling with his eyes and finally saw a little movement from one of the shafts that slid into the cavern. He frowned. The ceiling was almost in perfect shape! It would be too hard to manipulate the possibilities without the dragon noticing.
He signalled Rue to turn around ahead and walk back. She didn't like it, but followed orders. She slowly made her way back to the entrance, and turned around. "What now, Ix... ar?"
He wasn't there.
***
It was time to decide the next victim. The female had been amusing. She had resisted more pain than the other two males. But now, he was going to try with one of the Sartan he had captured.
"Whom should I pick now?" he said in a playful tone. He smiled and had the pleasure of seeing them tremble before him. What could they do without their magic? Nothing...
He was about to open the gate when he felt magic energies being used. He turned and found a young Patryn boy seemingly looking lost and bewildered.
***
"What is he doing?!" Hugh asked as he, Rena and Aghathar watched Ranma walk into the dragon's cavern.
As they watched, Ranma gave them the 'thumbs up' and concentrated.
Hugh watched in surprise as a couple of cracks appeared on the ceiling.
The dragon immediately turned around, sensing Patryn magic.
***
The Blood Dragon glared at the Patryn, who shuddered under his scrutiny. "Are you eager enough to die, Patryn, that you would come into my domain?"
"Eh... no?" Ranma answered, smiling sheepishly. "I came here to get them." he said, pointing at the surprised prisoners.
The dragon lowered his head until it was mere inches from Ranma's. "Really... and how do you plan to achieve that?"
Ranma almost took a step back... something that would have gotten him killed in an instant. "No, I came here to challenge you, if I win, they go. If you win..."
The dragon smiled. "Yes?"
"Well, uh..." Ranma began.
"How about I nail you to the wall and make you drink the blood of all the others as I slowly torture and kill them one by one, until your soul is as dark as my scales and you crave for more?" the Dragon offered.
Ranma gulped and the dragon smiled. "I take that as a yes. What is this challenge you want to make?"
"I... we will hit the wall with our fists, three tries each, no magic. Whoever makes the larger hole in the wall wins." Ranma said after a slight hesitation.
The Dragon's eyes glinted. "No magic."
Ranma nodded. "I give you my word if you give me yours. A fair trade." He just wished he felt as sure as he sounded.
The dragon extracted a small -to his size- plate and put it in front of Ranma. "The word of a Blood Dragon is not given alone." He intoned, then with his claw made a small cut in his wrist, letting a drop of blood drip into the plate. "Give some of your blood as well." He ordered.
With a glance at the prisoners, and at the dragon Ranma dared not risk the chance of disobeying. The dragon could kill him at any moment. He took his knife and cut his left forearm, letting some of his blood drip in as well.
"You can heal yourself." The dragon said as he dipped the tip of one claw into the plate and muttered something.
Ranma didn't say a word as he healed his arm and watched carefully as the blood in the plate bubbled and shone slightly.
When the dragon removed his claw the blood returned to normal.
"Now, we will both take a sip of this." The dragon said, then, looking at Ranma's wary expression he added; "This is no poison... a Dragon's name is sacred and if we are to give our word... it will be with our true names. AS part of this ritual, I will never reveal your name while you live, without your permission, and the same goes for you. You will never reveal mine."
Ranma didn't miss the 'while you live' clause, but it was all surreal. Why hadn't the dragon killed him? He was as sadistic as the next Blood Dragon... "Why are you doing all of this?" Ranma asked, picking up the plate.
The dragon smiled and motioned for Ranma to drink. "Only drink half, the other is mine." He waited until the Patryn had followed orders, then lifting the plate he answered before drinking. "You have more guts than all those idiots put together." he motioned at the cowering prisoners with the tip of his tail and drank.
Kara'thrar. That was the name of the Blood Dragon. Ranma knew it at the moment the dragon drank the mixture. And he knew just as well that the Dragon knew his real name. The dragon had another name too...
"On my word, Ambereye. No magic." Ranma intoned.
The dragon smiled. "On my word, Ixar. No magic." he answered.
"Just... let me stretch before we begin." Ranma muttered as they faced the wall.
He stretched, cracked his knuckles and nodded at the dragon.
***
"I can't believe it..." Rena whispered. "He's either braver than even Haplo, or incredibly stupid."
They could see Ranma below them, negotiating a challenge with the dragon.
Hugh watched warily as the dragon and Ranma drank their blood and muttered some words in a language he didn't recognize.
"Stupid. Definitely." he said as the two below turned to face the wall. "Maybe we should-"
"Hush!" Aghathar said suddenly. "Pay attention to Ixar."
"He's stretching!" Hugh said, annoyed.
"No..." Rena said as her eyes opened wider. "It's the hand signals..."
"Be ready." Aghathar said, translating the signals. "It seems Ixar did have a plan, after all."
***
"Anyway," Ranma said, feeling oddly calm. "Your wall, you start."
Kara'thrar tapped the wall with his fist, creating a hole the size of Ranma's head with one of his knuckles.
Ranma nodded and pulled his fist back. He concentrated and pummelled the wall.
The dragon watched amazed as Ranma made a hole roughly the size of a human body. Taking the boy more seriously, he punched the wall with more force, shaking the cave slightly.
Above him one of the cracks Ranma had made with his magic cracked open, letting down a little dirt, and calling Aghathar's attention.
Ranma breathed deeply, stepping a little away from the wall, then, with a jump he twisted in the air adding the force of the momentum to his punch, creating a hole the same size of Kara'thrar's.
More cracks appeared as the cavern shook.
The Dragon's eyes glinted and Ranma almost ran away. He knew he shouldn't feel calm. The dragon might kill him in any second.
With a roar that made Ranma jump, the Dragon slammed his fist to the wall. This time, the cavern did shake in earnest, and some pieces of the ceiling crashed next to the two adversaries.
The result was a crumbling wall and an indent Ranma had no possibility to try to match. Or so the dragon thought.
"Your turn, Ixar." The dragon said with a sneer.
Ranma started concentrating yet again.
Usha had taught him to read, while he grew up, and Ranma had slowly taken an interesting in books about adventures, so he had visited the large library the Sartan had built ages ago for the Patryn.
Among the books he had found, interestingly enough, a few ancient looking training manuals, describing how to harness the power of the soul into a fighting technique.
Ranma had had to use various spells of translation through the years to understand and study those books, but he had been able to do it. And now was the time to use one of the oldest techniques... it had time to master, but he could do it.
Letting out his breath slowly, Ranma opened his eyes, searching. Then he launched forward with a shout, his index slamming against the solid stone.
The wall exploded, bathing him in pieces of stone as most of the wall crumbled into one of the tunnels behind. The cavern shook with more violence than ever before, and pieces of ceiling smashed next to the dragon.
The dragon stared as Ranma stumbled back to stare back at him.
Without a word the Dragon broke the lock to the cell. "OUT!" he roared.
The Patryn and Sartan ran, stumbling out of the cell and into the cave, running as fast as they could.
Kara'thrar glared at Ranma. "You will stay." he growled.
Ranma blinked, feeling a little faint. "But... I won."
"Yes." The dragon said icily. "You did. And they got out. Now you are my guest." He took a step forward when he felt the power of Patryn and Sartan magic.
The ceiling above him collapsed down, the debris and earth covering the dragon, and the pieces of solid rock fell like lances around him, trapping him.
Rue grabbed Ranma and half dragged him, half helped him walk out of the cave, where she gave all the prisoners and their rescue team the order to bring the entrance down.
***
Ranma felt a soft wet cloth being pressed against his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes to meet the worried eyes of his mother, Usha, as she left the cloth there.
"Ixar." She said, stroking his face. "I was so afraid..." she didn't cry. Even now, years after escaping the Labyrinth she still had the hard grip on her feelings she had used to survive.
"I'm alright." Ranma answered, smiling faintly. "What happened to the others?"
"Everyone's fine. Just a few moments after the cavern collapsed, another group that had been sent to search for you and the others picked you up." she said.
"There's something else, isn't there?" Ranma said, sensing her distress. "Where's dad?" he asked.
"He... he went to the council. Ixar, you took some very risky decisions today... and risked the life of many others. And not just anyone... Ixar... your group includes the children of three leaders... Haplo, Alfred and..."
"Ramu." Ranma finished. It was no surprise that the activist leader of the Sartan puritans would find this as prime material to cause trouble. Ranma didn't envy Aghathar one bit. "Then I think I should go..."
Usha nodded. "If you feel okay, Ixar. The leaders of the groups you saved are backing you up, obviously, but... Ramu can be very persuasive especially when it's his son the one involved."
Ranma nodded and stood up slowly, getting his bearings before walking out of his house.
*** End Chapter 3 ***
Next: Lost Worlds
C&C PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEEEEAAAASE! AAAAAAH! Okay, I'm really not that desperate, but R&R is good for the inspiration, you know? I'm interested in knowing where you think I'm taking this. heh. Anyway, if you liked this story you might, just might like my others, so, read them. It's good for ya.
Later!
Disclaimer: Read the previous chapters. It's there.
Author's rant: Well... it's been a while but I actually got to continue it... I'm sorry for the delay, but projects pop up and go, and as I searched for answers to some personal questions I left most projects unattended. Hopefully, this is the start of a brand new come back, and also hopefully, I've improved. Anyway, I hope you guys like what's coming next...
-WD
Chapter 3 - Kara'thrar By Wanderer D (wandererd@hotmail.com) ----------------------------------------------------------------------
The way to the Blood Dragon's lair was easy to find. Ranma and his group just had to follow the trail of golden-green scales left by the Pryan Dragon, and up to the cliffs where the barren land provided a great view of the Dragon's lair.
Blood Dragons were one of the two most fearsome creatures that inhabited the Labyrinth, now sharing the title with the dreaded Dragon-snakes.
They would capture their victims alive, and torture them one by one for days, healing their wounds and keeping the victim conscious until it grew bored and ate them.
No one, Patryn, Sartan, Dragon-snake or any other creature would willingly walk into a Blood Dragon's lair, unless they had a very good reason for it, had a messy, horrible, long death wish, or was extremely stupid.
Ranma's group had a very good reason to go in, although their parents would say they were stupid, and as they sneaked closer to the cave, and could hear the anguished wails of the first victim, they also started believing so.
"Hugh the Hand came out alive from a fight with a Blood Dragon..." Hugh said, trying to cheer up everyone a little.
"Hugh the Hand was immortal back then..." Rue reminded him sharply. "We have to plan this very carefully if we are going to walk out again."
Hugh gulped and nodded, crouching next to his sister.
"We cannot rush in like we do with Wolfen and Tiger-men." Aghathar stated. "We need all our power and perfect timing."
Ranma nodded. "Okay, we'll have to trap it... I just hope his lair is not protected against magic..."
"The place where he keeps the victims probably is, though." Rena added.
They thought for a moment. "We could drop the ceiling on him..." Rue suggested.
They all looked at each other, unsure. Ranma was sweating cold. This was the most dangerous mission they had undertaken, and Rescue groups with far more experience would hesitate to even attempt such a feat.
But he had given his word to the dying dragon.
"Okay, here's what we'll do, Rena and Aghathar, you both will create a spike-trap for the dragon, remember to make it as strong as possible, Hugh, you will use your power to open the cracks enough for the earth to come down on him, Rue and I will break open the prison and help everyone escape, then between all of us, we bring the entrance down so he'll take some time to escape. Understood?"
Everyone nodded and they started out.
*** Rena, Aghathar and Hugh climbed into the cave through one of the many shafts it had. Ranma and Rue took the dangerous path through the entrance.
The dragon's cave smelled of blood and humidity. As Ranma and Rue walked deeper into it, they could hear an echo of a cold, slithering voice they recognized as the dragon's, and the soft whimpering of his victim, followed by a hideous scream.
Ranma felt a sudden cold in his stomach, and Rue's knees buckled. They were unable to move for the duration of the scream. The scream subsided and there were only moans echoing in the cavern.
Shaking all over, Ranma motioned to Rue to follow him. They rounded the corner to the large cavern where the dragon was just as it muttered something and the poor woman it was torturing let out a shrill cry that suddenly died. The body slumped and the dragon approached it.
Its scales were such a dark shade of red it could almost be mistaken for black, its white, sharp claws and fangs made a horrible contrast with it... and its yellow eyes glinted as gems in a dark pool of blood.
It stared at the body nailed to the wall for a few seconds, as if amused by the forms the blood made in the naked body, then, with a feral swipe of his claws it tore the body from the wall.
He turned and leered at something behind him, and Ranma, risking a look was able to see the group of Patryn and Sartan that were prisoners in a cage surrounded by symbols of the dragon's power.
Ranma searched the ceiling with his eyes and finally saw a little movement from one of the shafts that slid into the cavern. He frowned. The ceiling was almost in perfect shape! It would be too hard to manipulate the possibilities without the dragon noticing.
He signalled Rue to turn around ahead and walk back. She didn't like it, but followed orders. She slowly made her way back to the entrance, and turned around. "What now, Ix... ar?"
He wasn't there.
***
It was time to decide the next victim. The female had been amusing. She had resisted more pain than the other two males. But now, he was going to try with one of the Sartan he had captured.
"Whom should I pick now?" he said in a playful tone. He smiled and had the pleasure of seeing them tremble before him. What could they do without their magic? Nothing...
He was about to open the gate when he felt magic energies being used. He turned and found a young Patryn boy seemingly looking lost and bewildered.
***
"What is he doing?!" Hugh asked as he, Rena and Aghathar watched Ranma walk into the dragon's cavern.
As they watched, Ranma gave them the 'thumbs up' and concentrated.
Hugh watched in surprise as a couple of cracks appeared on the ceiling.
The dragon immediately turned around, sensing Patryn magic.
***
The Blood Dragon glared at the Patryn, who shuddered under his scrutiny. "Are you eager enough to die, Patryn, that you would come into my domain?"
"Eh... no?" Ranma answered, smiling sheepishly. "I came here to get them." he said, pointing at the surprised prisoners.
The dragon lowered his head until it was mere inches from Ranma's. "Really... and how do you plan to achieve that?"
Ranma almost took a step back... something that would have gotten him killed in an instant. "No, I came here to challenge you, if I win, they go. If you win..."
The dragon smiled. "Yes?"
"Well, uh..." Ranma began.
"How about I nail you to the wall and make you drink the blood of all the others as I slowly torture and kill them one by one, until your soul is as dark as my scales and you crave for more?" the Dragon offered.
Ranma gulped and the dragon smiled. "I take that as a yes. What is this challenge you want to make?"
"I... we will hit the wall with our fists, three tries each, no magic. Whoever makes the larger hole in the wall wins." Ranma said after a slight hesitation.
The Dragon's eyes glinted. "No magic."
Ranma nodded. "I give you my word if you give me yours. A fair trade." He just wished he felt as sure as he sounded.
The dragon extracted a small -to his size- plate and put it in front of Ranma. "The word of a Blood Dragon is not given alone." He intoned, then with his claw made a small cut in his wrist, letting a drop of blood drip into the plate. "Give some of your blood as well." He ordered.
With a glance at the prisoners, and at the dragon Ranma dared not risk the chance of disobeying. The dragon could kill him at any moment. He took his knife and cut his left forearm, letting some of his blood drip in as well.
"You can heal yourself." The dragon said as he dipped the tip of one claw into the plate and muttered something.
Ranma didn't say a word as he healed his arm and watched carefully as the blood in the plate bubbled and shone slightly.
When the dragon removed his claw the blood returned to normal.
"Now, we will both take a sip of this." The dragon said, then, looking at Ranma's wary expression he added; "This is no poison... a Dragon's name is sacred and if we are to give our word... it will be with our true names. AS part of this ritual, I will never reveal your name while you live, without your permission, and the same goes for you. You will never reveal mine."
Ranma didn't miss the 'while you live' clause, but it was all surreal. Why hadn't the dragon killed him? He was as sadistic as the next Blood Dragon... "Why are you doing all of this?" Ranma asked, picking up the plate.
The dragon smiled and motioned for Ranma to drink. "Only drink half, the other is mine." He waited until the Patryn had followed orders, then lifting the plate he answered before drinking. "You have more guts than all those idiots put together." he motioned at the cowering prisoners with the tip of his tail and drank.
Kara'thrar. That was the name of the Blood Dragon. Ranma knew it at the moment the dragon drank the mixture. And he knew just as well that the Dragon knew his real name. The dragon had another name too...
"On my word, Ambereye. No magic." Ranma intoned.
The dragon smiled. "On my word, Ixar. No magic." he answered.
"Just... let me stretch before we begin." Ranma muttered as they faced the wall.
He stretched, cracked his knuckles and nodded at the dragon.
***
"I can't believe it..." Rena whispered. "He's either braver than even Haplo, or incredibly stupid."
They could see Ranma below them, negotiating a challenge with the dragon.
Hugh watched warily as the dragon and Ranma drank their blood and muttered some words in a language he didn't recognize.
"Stupid. Definitely." he said as the two below turned to face the wall. "Maybe we should-"
"Hush!" Aghathar said suddenly. "Pay attention to Ixar."
"He's stretching!" Hugh said, annoyed.
"No..." Rena said as her eyes opened wider. "It's the hand signals..."
"Be ready." Aghathar said, translating the signals. "It seems Ixar did have a plan, after all."
***
"Anyway," Ranma said, feeling oddly calm. "Your wall, you start."
Kara'thrar tapped the wall with his fist, creating a hole the size of Ranma's head with one of his knuckles.
Ranma nodded and pulled his fist back. He concentrated and pummelled the wall.
The dragon watched amazed as Ranma made a hole roughly the size of a human body. Taking the boy more seriously, he punched the wall with more force, shaking the cave slightly.
Above him one of the cracks Ranma had made with his magic cracked open, letting down a little dirt, and calling Aghathar's attention.
Ranma breathed deeply, stepping a little away from the wall, then, with a jump he twisted in the air adding the force of the momentum to his punch, creating a hole the same size of Kara'thrar's.
More cracks appeared as the cavern shook.
The Dragon's eyes glinted and Ranma almost ran away. He knew he shouldn't feel calm. The dragon might kill him in any second.
With a roar that made Ranma jump, the Dragon slammed his fist to the wall. This time, the cavern did shake in earnest, and some pieces of the ceiling crashed next to the two adversaries.
The result was a crumbling wall and an indent Ranma had no possibility to try to match. Or so the dragon thought.
"Your turn, Ixar." The dragon said with a sneer.
Ranma started concentrating yet again.
Usha had taught him to read, while he grew up, and Ranma had slowly taken an interesting in books about adventures, so he had visited the large library the Sartan had built ages ago for the Patryn.
Among the books he had found, interestingly enough, a few ancient looking training manuals, describing how to harness the power of the soul into a fighting technique.
Ranma had had to use various spells of translation through the years to understand and study those books, but he had been able to do it. And now was the time to use one of the oldest techniques... it had time to master, but he could do it.
Letting out his breath slowly, Ranma opened his eyes, searching. Then he launched forward with a shout, his index slamming against the solid stone.
The wall exploded, bathing him in pieces of stone as most of the wall crumbled into one of the tunnels behind. The cavern shook with more violence than ever before, and pieces of ceiling smashed next to the dragon.
The dragon stared as Ranma stumbled back to stare back at him.
Without a word the Dragon broke the lock to the cell. "OUT!" he roared.
The Patryn and Sartan ran, stumbling out of the cell and into the cave, running as fast as they could.
Kara'thrar glared at Ranma. "You will stay." he growled.
Ranma blinked, feeling a little faint. "But... I won."
"Yes." The dragon said icily. "You did. And they got out. Now you are my guest." He took a step forward when he felt the power of Patryn and Sartan magic.
The ceiling above him collapsed down, the debris and earth covering the dragon, and the pieces of solid rock fell like lances around him, trapping him.
Rue grabbed Ranma and half dragged him, half helped him walk out of the cave, where she gave all the prisoners and their rescue team the order to bring the entrance down.
***
Ranma felt a soft wet cloth being pressed against his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes to meet the worried eyes of his mother, Usha, as she left the cloth there.
"Ixar." She said, stroking his face. "I was so afraid..." she didn't cry. Even now, years after escaping the Labyrinth she still had the hard grip on her feelings she had used to survive.
"I'm alright." Ranma answered, smiling faintly. "What happened to the others?"
"Everyone's fine. Just a few moments after the cavern collapsed, another group that had been sent to search for you and the others picked you up." she said.
"There's something else, isn't there?" Ranma said, sensing her distress. "Where's dad?" he asked.
"He... he went to the council. Ixar, you took some very risky decisions today... and risked the life of many others. And not just anyone... Ixar... your group includes the children of three leaders... Haplo, Alfred and..."
"Ramu." Ranma finished. It was no surprise that the activist leader of the Sartan puritans would find this as prime material to cause trouble. Ranma didn't envy Aghathar one bit. "Then I think I should go..."
Usha nodded. "If you feel okay, Ixar. The leaders of the groups you saved are backing you up, obviously, but... Ramu can be very persuasive especially when it's his son the one involved."
Ranma nodded and stood up slowly, getting his bearings before walking out of his house.
*** End Chapter 3 ***
Next: Lost Worlds
C&C PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEEEEAAAASE! AAAAAAH! Okay, I'm really not that desperate, but R&R is good for the inspiration, you know? I'm interested in knowing where you think I'm taking this. heh. Anyway, if you liked this story you might, just might like my others, so, read them. It's good for ya.
Later!