I am on a search (OPEN)

[annabelle]

The old woman hobbled slightly as she walked through the small town in the Twilight kingdom. She wore her purple hood over her head and stared intently at the people she passed.

It had been a few years...she'd heard Hala Loque was dead and that was a real shame.

At the same time, she was not in the least bit surprised. Hala was not strong enough to fight. In a way, Annabelle regretted stealing that young girl's memories the way she had, perhaps things would have been different...

But now she was becoming distracted. There was no point in worrying of Hala now. Through all of the heated talk of the Loque family, only one thing piqued Annabelle's interest--the Loque girl. She was part of the war with Trucido, travelling with the heroes. If she was part of the war, she had to have powers...

Annabelle was curious; she hadn't seen her granddaughter in nearly twelve years.


She suddenly whipped her staff out to stop someone ahead of her.

"You there!" she snapped, "I need to find someone--Jasmine Loque--you know her?"

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke had decided to have a bit of a break from Don as he head travelled out from the Twilight castle to explore the sights and sounds of the common people. Though he enjoyed his partner's company most of the time, he knew deep inside that the man's pessimism grated on him after a while. He had been looking through the small trinkets and items being sold by the town's merchants and had decided he would buy a souvenir of the place; a small hand made charm to be worn around one's neck. The finely crafted metal had been weaved into an intricate pattern reminiscent of Celtic loops, with two tiny beads that straddled the conencting points of the lines on either end.

As Zeke began to make his way back to the castle, he looked aimlessly around him, relaxing in the sounds of mingling townsfolk when a woman in the crowd thrust her staff out at him and knocked him out of his good spirits. The name she mentioned sounded familiar to him, yet he had to think hard before it clicked. She had been one of the many people he had met only in passing as the Heroes had assembled near the portal to Earth. He looked the aged woman over, wondering about her motives and why she needed to know where the girl was.

In the end, Zeke decided revealing a little couldn't hurt. After all, despite the randomly biting tone in the woman's voice, he saw no reason to distrust her. "Oh yeah, I met her once not too long ago actually. She was right here in this kingdom actually. My name's Zeke by the way. Who might I ask are you?" Zeke flashed a quick and enthusiastic smile towards the woman as he spoke.

[annabelle]

Annabelle was silent for a long moment as she studied the man in front of her. She stepped forward, taking in his height and facial features--she was going to remember him. Zeke, he said. Black hair. No arms. At long last, a wide grin appeared on her face and she shot her other hand out to grab his shirt.

"WELL, aren't you just the sweetest young man I've met in awhile," she beamed up at Zeke, "helping out a little old lady like you are, and what a nice smile you have, too. The kids today aren't nearly as polite as you are, those rotten little...a good whippin' is what they need, I tell you..."

She was fully aware of her rambling. She couldn't help it, when the mood struck her she seemed to get a little carried away. Annabelle let go of Zeke and rested both of her hands on her staff.

"I am a sage. I am also a medium," she grinned, "but you may call me Miss Fraus."

For an older lady, she was rather quick to move, gliding to Zeke's side and throwing her arm around his waist.

"Now, you say you saw Miss Loque in the kingdom? When was this and where was she headed, my dear Zeke?"

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke was caught of guard when the woman grabbed him, and actually yelped as he thought she might be trying to attack. However the sudden 180 she pulled in her attitude left him confused, but at least no longer worried. There was a bizarre charm to the woman, like an aged grandmother, who despite her bitter ranting seemed so full of energy you didn't really mind.

It was probably for that exact reason that Zeke didn't mind talking to the woman. "Well ma'am, you're probably not going to believe this, but she's not really here anymore. Or rather, I should say that she isn't on this planet anymore. I wish I could help you out, but even I don't know where she is at the moment." He paused for a brief moment as the information sunk into Miss Fraus.

"So, how do you know Jasmine anyway?"

[annabelle]

"I see," Annabelle answered slowly and she let out a deep sigh, "I don't suppose you heard of how long she was to be gone, why she left, or know of any strange...powers she may have?"

Jasmine wasn't on the planet? This especially wasn't good. She hoped that the girl made an appearance again rather soon, though, before it was too late...

"Miss Loque is my granddaughter, young man. I've waited so long to see her again, and it is of the utmost importance that I see her as soon as humanly possible," she lost her serious tone for a moment as she examined Zeke again carefully and grinned, "you know, you look rather young yourself. My daughter raised her to be a good housekeep, and she is more than able with her magical abilities. I'm sure we could arrange something between you two--I'll even look past your lack of arms if you can put some children in her and do it well."

Because as it were, Jasmine was short a mother and up one useless father, which meant someone had to find an appropriate husband for the girl. Apparently.

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke could only stare, occasionally blinking as he felt his throat gulp heavily at Miss Fraus' unusual offer. Words escaped him as the thought played out in his mind. He hadn't really thought about it, but Jasmine was a pretty cute girl. She seemed nice, and he had always wanted to have kids someday.

Realizing he'd been silent way too long Zeke sputtered. "Oh, umm jee... it's not that its a bad offer or anything ma'am. It's just that, well, I don't really belong here. That world that I mentioned she went to; that's kinda my home. I've been sent here to actually help protect your world, but thing got a bit out of hand and I can't really do anything right now." Zeke looked a bit sullen as he spoke.

"Oh but sorry, I don't really know anything else about her. I don't even know about when the Heroes are suppose to be coming back. It could be weeks or months even, depending on how this planet and mine deals with time." Zeke thought back fondly to an old show where teenagers had explored another planet for months and been gone mere minutes. It suddenly struck him as possible that it could go either way here. He could be gone for minutes in his own world, or maybe years now. The thought was exhilarating, and frightening all the same.

Again he realized the awkward silence he had created and shook his head, as if brushing off the lamenting thoughts from his mind. He looked up at Annabelle, trying to imagine what the old woman could do. She said she was a sage, which meant she probably knew some powerful magic. "Hey Miss Fraus, if you wanted to find Jasmine, why don't you join the Heroes? We need people to fight against Trucido, which is this really bad guy who wants to destroy the world, and if you're a powerful sage we could totally use someone like you. Plus that way you could look after Jasmine too." His expression brimmed with optimism as he spoke more and more.

[annabelle]

"Pah!!" Annabelle spat and shook her head at Zeke, "it doesn't matter where you supposedly 'belong', it's all in what you want!"

Her rage died away just as quickly as it built up and she smiled at Zeke as she said not only a moment later, "I digress. You naive boy, I am aware of Damnedblood and his damn scheme. I also hear my granddaughter has been seen with members of a group of people who call themselves 'Heroes'...would that be you, my dear little Zeke? Surely if you would not mind accompanying a little old lady like myself, I could make an exception and offer my magical services..."

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke took a quick step away from the woman, startled by her quick change in tone. He supposed that she had been really hoping he'd say yes to it. Feeling a bit wary of her, Zeke called out the brush beside him as it hung softly in the air.

"Yeah, I'm one of the Heroes actually. Unfortunately I can't really go back to my planet until we deal with this Trucido guy, so I kind of got stuck here until they come back. Actually I'm suppose to be helping the queen out with something big, though she's been super secretive about what. I guess if it's okay with her you could follow me back to the castle. It's really nice and cozy, and they've got the best food there. If you want you could probably stay there until Jasmine comes back even."

[annabelle]

Annabelle was indeed a little old, but not at all blind. She jabbed her staff into the ground beside her and gave Zeke a stern look.

"I suppose I could follow along, if it means I will be closer to my granddaughter soon enough. But you will tell me what that toy is of yours and why it is hovering," she narrowed her eyes, "and don't you be lying to me, boy. This old heart doesn't do well with liars."

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke looked a little flustered. He didn't really want to get into his whole origin story, so he decided it was best for him to skim the details. "Well, to put it simply this is my weapon. I guess you could say that I gained it, at a price. It's the only thing that's let me survive this long, though I admit I'm still not very good with it."

"All the same, that's not important. I'm actually heading back to the castle now, if you wanted to come along. Oh, I should warn you. I've got a buddy that I travel with. He's umm, well as long as your polite to him he's easy to get along with. Trust me it'll make the whole thing a lot easier to deal with." As they continued walking Zeke talked all about the exploits he and Don had had while making their way to the Twilight Kingdom, mostly because he wasn't really sure what to talk to the old woman about.

[annabelle]

"Ahhh, I see," Annabelle answered Zeke slowly as she continued to stare up at the brush. How interesting of a weapon it was, unlike anything she had ever seen. She hoped at some point soon she could see how he managed to use such a weapon in order to survive--it certainly made up for him having no arms, that was for sure.

Annabelle shook her head as they walked on, her voice incredibly stern as she said, "Your friend shall receive the same respect he gives to others, I promise you that." There were things that Annabelle would accept in the world and things that she would not; incompetence in her eyes and disrespect were at the top of the list of things she had next to zero tolerance for. Many times someone had been unfortunate enough to find that the woman, older and a little more frail as she was, was not one to be pushed around or patronized in any way.

She'd listened to Zeke all the way down the road, noting the potential he and his partner apparently had. They were unique, and in a war as unstable as this one it was good to have a pair of individuals to throw the enemies a loophole.

[Zeke Omoihake]

Zeke finished his story and turned to see that the old sage was listening intently. Zeke was surprised that she had, considering the amount of rambling and side tracking he often did when he told a story.

"But anyways, enough about me. What are you doing looking for your granddaughter? Are you going to train her? Are you two close?" Zeke decided it was his turn to be the quiet one and learn a bit more about the mysterious woman. "Actually now that I think about it I don't even know your first name, Miss Fraus."

[annabelle]

"You ask too many questions," Annabelle sighed. It wasn't like it was a bad thing, it was good for someone so young to be so curious.

"I need to find her because the last time I saw her she was only but a wee little girl. I've heard recently she's been part of the hero group that's seeking out Trucido Damnedblood, and I hear with the recent death of her mother Jasmine has been developing a bit of a strange power. Yes, Zeke, I may have to step in and train her, then..." she was silent for another long moment, feeling like it would be alright to share this information with him. He didn't appear strong, even if he turned out to be evil anyway.

"....My name is Annabelle, but I do prefer if you'd call me Miss Fraus in front of others."