Another.

[Loviti Obe't']

Loviti’s eyes narrowed inquisitively and without aggression. She watched Galacia take a seat on the road, amongst the scattering of bruised and aged apples. The questions Galacia posed were good ones all. If Galacia was not Baie, why had he let her live? The question burned in her mind; a smoke-fire that signaled warning.

"If you know half of what Baie is, you needn’t ask who...or what I am. You would also know that knowing of me means your death. So, perhaps it is you that needs tell a story, Galacia Tarin Talus..."

Loviti slowly sat down, across from the dream witch, watching her carefully. Constantly keeping herself in check, ever ready for a turn.

[Galacia Tarin]

"Then you are what I imagined you are. Shame, that. I do know now that you will indeed see to my death, when you have what you need from me. "

Galacia did not seem overly upset by the idea, more disappointed. Perhaps she had hoped that this woman was indeed Baie. Though one who knew Baie, would be hard pressed to understand such a hope.

Drawing a deep breath, the Dream Witch settled back to tell her tale.

"Some years ago, in a place called Prodigia, there was a kingdom, called Delium. It was one of three, which comprised a nation. It is a long, and rather dull story, as to how I got there, but it was there that I first encountered, him."

"It was after a long and tiring unsettled time, with a former lover, Sin'Vraal, that I happened upon him. Though one might ask if it was he who found me. "

"The details of how we met are fuzzy, even in my mind, I think it is an after effect of the process in which he stole my essence. What I do remember is what happened after I awoke in his room. We came to an understanding, Baie and I, that in such a place where creatures such as we are not only rare, but greatly feared, we could form an alliance. That is exactly what we did."

A pause. Perhaps to consider the telling of her tale to this woman. Perhaps only to remember that which seemed to flee her mind, even as she spoke.

"I doubt the details of that alliance would be of interest to you, for it seems you are one of those he told me would come for him. You seek to do what I have already done. You seek to kill him."

Had she spoken the words? Yes, indeed she had. She had killed the Baie, and here she sat before the woman, very much alive.

"Perhaps...I should offer you my assistance in your task, for it is one most daunting. You know he will not allow you to find him. If he knows that you are here, you will never find him. On the other hand, I know what becomes of those who cross him...and I do not believe you have anything to offer me that would make me feel the need to risk that again."

And with that, it was finished. She had little more to say, unless the other had something worth her time. Depthless ebon eyes turned from the smaller woman, seemingly interested in the fallen fruit once more.

[Loviti Obe't']

Loviti was unable to hide her shock when Galacia said that she had killed Baie. Her head canted and she studied Galacia with uncertainty.

"You say that you killed Baie? And yet...you say I won’t be able to find him? How is tha-...."

She stopped. She had to think for a moment. She started over.

"You are a shifter. I have seen you. You say that you are not Baie and that you have killed Baie. Are you the one who killed the Tolmers? Are you the one who killed the DiVonners, Tatsina Coo’yun, Master Harbormason, the entire Hidig Dyer Guild, and thousands of others? Are you the one who has been risked the Cause by what you have learned from Baie?"

She seemed to stir a bit...as if she was thinking of standing again...but she didn’t...yet.

"Is it all you?"

Loviti watched Galacia closely. Ready.

[Galacia Tarin]

A broad range of expressions crept over the demoness' face. What began as confusion blossomed into curiosity, which then became outright amusement, as she allowed the other woman's words to sink in.

"Me? Oh, my dear woman, no. I have far better uses for my time than to slink about causing undo havok. Despite the fact that these murders have the entire area in a great snit, I really would have no reason to commit such atrosities. You see, I gain far more from the living than I ever could from the dead. And with the Baie's current course of action, I do benefit greatly, from those left behind. "

"I really can not say what he is doing here, for I have yet to encounter him. But I know when last I left him, I truly thought I would never see a sign of him again."

It was interesting that she continued to attribute the masculine form to Baie, which was not how she had last seen him, but how she had best known him.

"And yes..." She shifted the subject once more. "...I did kill him, one cold night in the heart of the Black Mountains. But do not think I did it for some greater good of the people. No...I killed him for his own good. The truth be told, I did not even mean to cause the damage that I did. But he will never believe that. You see, in killing him, in front of a group who wished to destroy him, I had hoped to save him from them. To bring him back, to help him escape...but it all went horribly wrong. And for that mistake I have paid greatly."

The look in the deep ebon eyes was one of great remorse, coupled with something far deeper, something the dream witch did not touch upon verbally.

"Believe what you like, Loviti, but Baie was my friend, my companion. I regret that I killed him, and I am not sorry he lives again. Even if it may mean my destruction."

For a moment, the last meeting with she and Baie crossed her mind, a small smile on her lips. She allowed the other woman to digest her words, and awaited her reply.

[Loviti Obe't']

Loviti listened intently to Galacia. Finally she was starting to get some insight into the psyche of Baie! This woman knew him...and knew him well. Galacia had much to offer. How fortunate that this woman came to her! But...that was a question as well...how did Galacia come to find her?

Loviti licked her lips and tilted her head. "So Baie is here for you. To kill you."

[Galacia Tarin]

"I would not doubt that such is part of his purpose here. Though, it seems rather illogical for him to kill these people just to get to me. He does, afterall, share my skills. If he really had come here for me...I would have died in my sleep the moment he found me."

Perhaps the words would not make sense to Loviti, not really aware of Galacia's nature. Truly, Galacia herself had not come to this realization until the words were forming in her throat. If he wanted her dead, she would be. Just as if she had wished him harm, it would have been done. Such was the nature of their...bond.

"No, Loviti, on second thought, I do not believe he has come for me. I wonder then...what his true purpose here might be?"

[The Baie]

Baie’s mind swam. He hated moments like these, when the walls threatened to buckle like a door under a battering ram. The voices refused to be ignored sometimes. So many of them had been recaged...shut away...returned to where they could no longer torment him with his inability to withstand their taking over.

He clenched his eyes shut for a moment as he walked down the dirt road. He had to get away from Myrkentown for the day. He had so many ideas...so many goals...and they were coming together so well. It almost made him giddy. He would have chuckled if the voices would have stilled, if only for a moment.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, continuing his path toward the site of the Tolmer’s former residence. It would be quiet there. He needed to take his mind off of the voices; ignore them. Surely then their pleas, attempts to coup, and efforts to take over, as they had before, would cease.

Suddenly the voices stopped. Silence. It was shocking...jarring. It made him halt in the road. He searched the ground in front of him, as if it would give some indication as to what had convinced the cries to still. His gaze raised and through the trees he saw two women sitting in the road, talking.

Baie's eyes shifted...the lenses thickening and quickly dropping back from the corneas. The vitreous body lengthened, taking on a more hourglass shape, rather than spherical. He stared at the women. The first was Galacia. He knew her well, but what was she doing here? The other woman immediately concerned him more, however. Her name was Rosemary Cullin and she was from East Hutton, Gerul. She was Gathered by G’iun Vintinon on 3 April, 229 EP. But, that was a long, long time ago. Which meant that this woman was not the Rosemary Cullin; this was someone with the ability to look like her, just like Baie could. She was Yz; he could tell. But was she a Gatherer or a Sentinel?

Why was she here?!

Was she here for him?

She must be.

She must die.

[Loviti Obe't']

Loviti shook her head. "Well, he certainly is making a mess."

Loviti silently wondered what good Galacia was. It was clear that the she and Baie had been close at one time, but their relationship had been dysfunctional at best. Did she still care for him or him for her? It was possible...and it made things dangerous. The question is, could Galacia be trusted enough for her to be useful in drawing Baie out of hiding?

"You obviously sought me out because you felt that I might know something of Baie and his whereabouts, if I wasn’t Baie himself. So...I ask you this...now that you know I’m not Baie...what are you going to do?"

[Galacia Tarin]

Galacia rose from the road, the mud much worse than it had been when they had begun. She turned her back on the woman, looking back toward the direction of Myrkentown.

"To be truthfully, Loviti, I did not know that the Baie was anywhere near, when I decided to come here. I was at first afraid. He is, truly, the one thing I have ever had reason to fear."

"I do not fear him now, for the memory has finally become clear. You see, he let me go. We were even when last we met, and we parted. THe damage I had done had begun to heal. He was becoming whole once more. I thought that he would move on, return to his original purpose. I should have known...he let me live. He would not have done that if he were going to return to the true purpose of your people."

"He is still, in some respect, the man I knew. Why he has come here, I could not say, but I know it is not to kill me. "

She turned back toward the other woman, canting her head curiously, ebon curls dripping water from what seemed never ending rain.

"As for what I will do...nothing. I will do what I have done until this point. I have no reason to help you, Loviti. I have no reason to oppose him. "

[Loviti Obe't']

Loviti rose from the ground with Galacia. Loviti watched Galacia as she spoke.

I have no reason to help you, Loviti. I have no reason to oppose him.

Loviti suppressed a sigh. Galacia had information. She could be helpful. Could have been helpful. It was a shame.

Loviti reached out, offering her hand to Galacia.

"I understand. I thank you for your time."

[The Baie]

Baie allowed his body to shift. He squatted down and put his hands to the dirt. His hands and feet began to shrink and harden; the flesh absorbing to give way to bone and hoof. His skin quickly sprouted a soft layer of brown hair. Horns quickly began to sprout from his brow, forking time and again. His legs and arms lengthened, becoming more sinewy and tendonous. His skull and body shifted, hardened and reshaped.

In a matter of moments where the man had stood, there was a bull elk. He lifted his nose into the air and snorted once. He looked toward Loviti and Galacia again. He slowly began to walk toward them, steady and easy...acting very natural, as if unconcerned by or unfocused upon their presence.

[Galacia Tarin]

In a moment, frozen in time, a tingling walked her spine. She sent a tendril of mind outward and quickly found that which she sought. He had come. Baie had come. A slow smile curled her lips, as one ebon taloned hand reached out toward the other woman's. It was a foolish move, but Galacia was no fool.

"And I thank you for yours, Loviti. It has been...informative."

The dream witch knew, that the moment their hands joined, Loviti would begin her attempt to kill her. At least that was her honest assessment of the situation. Baie would have done so. Under normal circumstances, the other woman might well have succeeded. Galacia, however, had an advantage. At least she hoped it was an advantage. Her dark eyes never leaving the smaller woman's form, the smile remained, as fingers curled around the outstretched hand.

[Loviti Obe't']

As soon as the two women’s hands connected, Loviti’s cells bombarded those of Galacia’s. Their hands fused together in an instant, making them seem as if they were conjoined twins, attached at the wrist. Loviti opened her mouth and curled her tongue, exposing the glands beneath. From the glands a venomous liquid spat forth, aiming for Galacia’s face.

[The Baie]

Baie was still unsure of Galacia and Loviti’s relationship as he moved beyond the tree line, not far from the women. But, when Baie saw the women’s hands connect, he knew what would happen. Loviti was done with Galacia. What Loviti performed was a basic seize hold...taught to primary ranked Gatherers for the quick incapacitation and execution of people who somehow managed to find out too much. It was a basic maneuver, certainly...but it was also very effective. The only escape from it was to hack through one of their arms, because there was little chance that Loviti would release Galacia now that Loviti was starting to devour and absorb the dreamwitch.

He had no time to waste. Baie took to a full gallop, charging Loviti, tucking his chin so that antlers would meet body.

[Galacia Tarin]

Moments passed in slow succession. As Loviti grasped her hand, it became apparent what was happening. A flash in her mind, a memory, long hidden and blurred. Before she could react, the joining had begun.

The liquid secreted by the other woman was vile, a slight breath taken as it began. Quickly her eyes closed, her mouth. Breathing was stopped, she hoped it would be enough.

Even as her thoughts tried to process fully what was happening to her, she heard the thunder approaching. Even with her eyes clenched shut, she knew the sound of hoofbeats meant either a much quicker death, or her salvation.

Baie came, and she could feel, through the connected limb, Loviti had heard him too.