Don't worry, all. We'll get through this together. If you've stayed with me this long, we can still win!

Disclaimer: (Me, backstage) Ack! They're onto me! (Draylin) Who? (Me) Sony, you fool! We're done for! (Draylin) But you don't own Everquest, and never claimed to. (My heart slows down, breathing becomes normal) Oh...right. Well, good work, then. Carry on. (Draylin rolls her eyes and gets ready for her scenes)

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Day 4, Year of the Asp, Month Firiona

"Bloody hell, not again," I muttered, as the orc Pawn ran away from us. Somehow, I was able to join a raid support group at the last minute. By midday, it seemed like half of Kelethin was invading Clan Crushbone's stomping grounds.

"You handle that one, Tain. We'll rejoin the main group at the castle. That little guy shouldn't give you much trouble," said Golron, our group's designated leader. The overall force Kelethin sent out was relatively large, so it had to be separated into smaller, manageable groups. I got into a support type group, mostly because it seemed safer than the attack groups. Besides, it was the only way my mother would let me leave the house. I was also out to prove, to more than one person, that I could handle the life of a druid. So here I was, chasing another orc Pawn. This Pawn didn't seem much different from the one I ran after the day before, but I hoped it wasn't going to end the same way.

I rounded the corner of a standalone wall, hoping to catch the orc I was after, but slammed into something I hadn't counted on: an orc Centurion. It's not the first one I've seen, but it did look like the meanest. Running into an orc Centurion at breakneck speed was bad enough, but he had two friends. One friend was another Centurion, and the other friend was the Pawn I'd been chasing. They all grinned at me, evil flashing in their eyes, and deliberate slowness in their movements while they got their weapons ready. They were sure I was going to be easy prey. I knew this would be my most difficult fight yet, but I still had something to prove, especially to myself. Using my two-handed staff as leverage, I raised myself off the ground, trying not to break eye contact with my opponents. As soon as I was standing again, I murmured a protection spell that made my flesh feel like it was as hard as the wood on a tree.

"Centurions, attack!" cried the Pawn, as the three orcs lunged at me. I barely sidestepped a blow to my head from one of the Centurions, and stepped into an attack to my arm from the other. The Pawn almost made me drop my staff by poking me in the back with his own one-handed staff. The Centurions' next attack was well synchronized, coming at me from both sides, but I ran past them so that their weapons connected with the orc Pawn behind me, knocking him out cold. Taking this chance, while the Centurions were vulnerable, I murmured an attack spell. This one created a strong gust of wind that blew the orcs into the stone wall next to them. What happened next seemed to flow in slow motion. It might have been the wind from the spell, but the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood straight up, sending a cold ripple down my spine. Someone else was there, watching.

A moment later, the creature made itself known. It flipped over the wall we were fighting against, a good 10 feet! Before it touched the ground, I knew who it was. Draylin. As graceful as anything could be, she passed over the dazed Centurions, letting the artificial wind slip off her white robe, then landed right in front of me, without making a sound. She looked very different today, and ready for a fight.

Draylin wore a shortened black tunic, exposing her tattooed midriff, and some black pants that held numerous throwing weapons around the waist. I noticed that she also wore some black slippers, each one with laces that crisscrossed all the way up her legs. "Need some help, kid?" she asked, while brandishing weapons I'd never seen before. She held a staff that seemed to be made of ice-blue crystal in one hand, and a sharp-looking, half-circle shaped blade in the other. Her dark brown hair was no longer in a braid, but now flowed freely behind her, as if it were a cape. She must have seen the confusion on my face, so she nodded in the direction of the Centurions, who were recovering quickly. "I mean with them."

I was glad to see more of her, but I was starting to resent her referring to me as a kid. It seemed like I had to prove something to her as well. "Thanks, Draylin, but I can handle them." I said, gruffly.

My words seemed to hit her harder than I wanted. She tried to look angry, but I could swear I saw sorrow in her eyes as well. "Fine," she said flatly. "Do it by yourself."

She started to walk away, but I grabbed her arm. Something inside me didn't want to let her walk out of my life just like that. "Wait," I said. "I...don't want you to leave."

She sighed, turned around, and searched my eyes. "Why?"

I saw movement behind her. "Duck!" I yelled. Draylin quickly crouched down and rolled out of the way. As she did, I swung my staff full force, hitting both of the orc Centurions across their temples before they could impale Draylin on their short spears. The staff violently vibrated in my hands on impact, nearly splintering in two, and I could swear I heard bones cracking. The Centurions immediately fell into a heap and didn't move again.

Draylin stood over the orcs, then gave me a new look, one of respect. "Well, I guess I underestimated you, kid. Looks like you can handle yourself after all. Consider me impressed."

Shaking off the shock of the moment, I let out a dry laugh. "Yeah. But drop in anytime you want, Draylin."

She surprised me again that day. She walked over to me, smiled a crooked smile, lowered her head, and kissed me lightly on the cheek. "That's for saving my life. Trust me, it doesn't happen very often. I guess this makes us even." She started to walk away again. I wanted to say something, but the words didn't come. I didn't need to say anything, though, because she stopped a few feet away.

"Oh," she said, "one more thing. You never did answer my question."

"Guess we're even again. You didn't answer mine either, and I asked first." I said, grinning at her.

She turned to face me, but I couldn't read her expression. "Very well. Let's settle up later. I believe you have a group to rejoin." As if on cue, I could hear my name being called from the direction of Crushbone Castle.