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And the sad thing is, I can't think of another topic. I'm too tired...

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Eh... To lazy to edit, but my father decides that it is time for me to go to bed.

Stupid jerk.

((Oh, goodness, you two are quite the chatty ones ^_^  Well, someone in my last thread found their map piece in a pet store.  One of the kitties was laying on it~  I used the almost exact same posts from last time, so I'm breezing through.  For now.))

"I'm afraid this is only one part of the map, however."  Heidi continued, ignoring Zara's akward glances.  "The others...  Hmm....  Well, I have no idea where they could have gotten to.  But somehow, they will find their way to the heroes, I'm quite sure of it.  You may have this one if you'd like, I have no use for it."  And with that, she handed the map fragment to the girl and she grinned, taking a quick glare at her watch, which shimmered a silver tone.  "Closing time, or just about anyway.  Now where's your father, he should have clocked in by now..."  She trailed off, peering in either direction.

In a rushed manner, a rather tall and slender man appeared, smiling with a hope for forgiveness.  "I'm late, sorry.  Hehe...."  Zara observed her father's movements.  He was always so bubbly and fun, not much like herself.  She wished she were like him, and she often tried to mimmick his carefree personality.  No avail, however, for if she was Yin he was surely Yang.  She sighed, her smile displaying a somber note.  Her father seemed to notice her at this moment, his smile showing in a more friendly fashion.

After a quick catch up on their day, Zara's father decided he should get back to his duties, and Zara decided to enjoy the evening atmosphere.  She slowly paced her way to the exit of the museum, watching as the sun was making its escape beyond the horizon.  She sighed, though it was a sigh that hadn't reason.  She was prone to sighing, for whatever reason.  Perhaps this was a trait she'd picked up from her mother, whom she never did get to know well.

The sounds of the city were quite lively tonight, between the honking horns of impatient people returning home from work and the beautiful melody that sounded from the acordian that a man played outside a rather fancy looking Italian eatery. Lights shone from neon signs advertising the names of multiple bars and shops, as well as from the headlights of the cars that clustered the streets.  The city never did sleep, did it?

With an unusual burst of energy, Zara began to make her way down the sidewalk, just wishing to walk tonight.  The breeze was suttle, and yet so refreshing.  It was nights like this that made her worries fade, and overall allowed her to relax.  She passed many stores and buildings, including The Cab- Inn, The Mamma Mia Pizzeria, and a little pet store titled 'Happy Pets'.  She gazed into the window at the large selection animals in various sized cages, each of them wanting the same thing.  A home.  She knew she couldn't have a pet though, and decided to continue on her merry way.

((Shadow will come in later, I just have no ideas for him currently D;))

Isedon leaned against the door frame outside her friend's house. In her ears were white buds that blasted music from an iPod in her hand. The music's level was as high as it could go and anybody within a three block radius [Jeez that's a strong iPod...] would probably hear the loud, screamy lyrics of the head-banging song. Her head actually bobbed in beat with the beat of the song she was listening to. And her hands were moving like she was playing an air guitar as she mouthed the words of the song. Her russet eyes were closed as she did all this.

A tap on the shoulder cause her to open one eye and glance at the person who interrupted her. Orange eyes caught her attention. She opened her other eye and gave the male a big smile as she removed the ear-buds from her ears before looping the cord loosely around her neck. "Did I distract you, Lizard?" she asked, her big smile turning wicked. She did it intentionally so she could get her friend out of his house.

The boy stiffened and narrowed his light orange eyes before he nodded once. The motion itself was fast enough to look almost bird-like. But he soon relaxed as if finally seeing Isedon's intentions just to get him outside the house. "Nice of you to blast your music, Isedon. I could hear it all the way from the basement. And my parents made it sound proof for a reason," he said, crossing his arms slightly as he gave her a knowing look.

Isedon's narrowed, russet eyes twinkled as she took his meaning before she bowed dramatically. "I do what I can Zakeru," she said, using the boy's first name instead of the translated version of his last.

Zakeru rolled his orange orbs as he shook his head at his friend's dramatics. "So what do you want, Isedon?"

"Come with me to the zoo," she prompted.

He blinked in surprise. "The zoo?" he asked, incase he misheard. "Why the zoo?"

Isedon playfully punch Zakeru's shoulder. "Yes the zoo, you noob. We need to be outside on a day like this and the basement is too dark of a place."

Zakeru raised a brow at that. She was speaking nonsense, but it was a nice day out. He stared at her as he thought about his answer. And it was long enough for the music on Isedon's iPod to change to a ballad and back. Sighing, he slumped his shoulders and shook his head. "Fine," he growled.

Isedon punched the air triumphantly before she snatched Zakeru's wrist and basically dragged him down the blocks to the zoo. Which was extremely far away.

As the two entered the zoo, Isedon hauled him off towards the wolf exhibited. She was chattering on about it for she liked wolves. He tuned her out after a while because her voice was starting to get annoying. All he saw was her moving mouth with no words coming out. He liked that. Isedon then stopped talking and leaned against the railing as she watched the wolves in the enclosuer.

Zakeru took a few steps back and walked off to a different location in the zoo. Though, he wasn't really watching where he was going. He just wanted to get away from Isedon for a little while. But he stopped when something flashed right in front of him. It was a blur of black that turned out to be a raven holding something crumbled in its beak.

The raven glanced at Zakeru before tilting its avian head from one side to the other before opening its beak to drop the crumbled ob
ject. Then it let out a loud croak before walking a few steps away.

The boy raised one brow at this. The raven brought him something? But what? Crouching down, he picked up the crumbled ob
ject. It was soft. Like it had been wrinkled up way too many times. Or like an old peice of parchment. Gently opening the soft paper ob
ject, Zakeru flipped it over since the side he was looking at was blank. On the other side were runes. Zakeru blinked and looked closer. Now it looked like it was written in some kind of fancey english.

"Raven Brooch?" he asked himself before glancing at the raven who was watching him with way too much interest. "What does it mean?"

The raven cawed and unfurled its black wings before beating them slightly against the still air. "Chosen to hold, chosen to wear, chosen to save," it croaked in a voice that echoed with the voices of thousands others. "Six will fight the darkness. Six will save the world. Six with the jewelry of animals. Can you find the other five?"

Zakeru was stunned. This raven talked. Talked! Animals don't do that. He opened his mouth to say more, but the raven suddenly took off. As if it had something better to do. The boy closed is mouth and slowly stood up as he folded the paper while slipping it into one of his jeans' back pockets. This was weird.

He moved off to join Isedon again.

And he had a distinct feeling that he would see that raven again.

Isedon barely noticed when Zakeru took off. She was too busy watching the wolves in their man-made environment. Leaning past the bar, she watched as one of the wolves moved towards her. And it looked like something was in its mouth cause of the slight opening of its muzzle. Tilting her head, she watched as the wolf set the ob
ject down before nosing it ouside the pen. The ob
ject rolled slightly and stopped in her reach.

Confusion was clear in her russet eyes as she leaned and reached over the bar to grab it up. It was slightly wet from the canine's saliva, but other than that, it was extremely soft. She made the comparison to a pup's fur. And really old parchment. Opening it took a few minutes, since she didn't want it to rip. But what she saw confused her even more. Runes marked one side of the page and when she blinked, they were english letters. Not archaic runes.

"Wolf Ring," she said with dash of confusion. What? She glanced at the wolf. The canine had since sat down on its haunches and was know shrugging one of its shoulders before something that sounded human came out of its throat.

"The wolf. Packless and alone. Find the other five, and darkness will tremble. Chosen with skills akin to the wolf. Find those akin with Raven, Alligator, Snake, Tiger, and Swan," it said in a whimper. Though many voices echoed in the words it spoke. Then, the wolf stood and trotted back to its packmembers.

Isedon cocked her head as she folded the paper. Slipping it into one of the many pockets on her pants, she turned to find Zakeru. Now realizing that he wasn't there.

The albino girl felt different on this very evening.  Perhaps it was just something in the atmosphere.  Yup, that was totally it.  Or, maybe that wasn't quite it.  But close enough.  Still, the girl felt troubled for whatever reason, as if she had more important affairs to attend, which she did in fact.

Curiously, she pulled the map which she had stashed away out of her knapsack.  She began to read the runes, which her mind seemed to translate for her.  Not much info here, just a dotted line and several words about the Swan Tiara.  None of this would fulfil her destiny though.  She sighed.  Was this just a fake map?  Maybe a replica?

"Urrmmm....."  Zara hazily began to waver.  'Dizziness....'  It began to settle out.  It felt as though a presence was trying to overtake her body.  'Here it comes again.'  She stumbled forward, though the cars rushing on the road didn't seem to even spare a glance, and the shopkeepers looked the other way, as if they couldn't give a moment to help her.  Her grip loosened, the map fragment releasing into the mercy of the breeze.  It was carried a distance as the girl's red eyes seemed to give up, shutting with weak effort.  She crashed over onto the sidewalk, though not a single bruise was present.

She appeared to have awoken in a far- off dimension, a dreary gray cloak of shadows surrounding her.  "Where am I?!  Is this a dream?"

Just then, a shimmering white figure pixelated in front of her, resembling that of a bird.  "Don't fret my dear.  I'm afraid this is the only way I could communicate with you, as swans don't really have any business in the city.  And no, this isn't a dream.  Quite similar though.  Your soul has been transfered here." 

"I'll go back, right?"  Zara seemed rather fearful, on the verge of tears.

"Oh, yes.  If you couldn't go back, how could you stop the evil?  You see, you are destined to fight alongside five others, proudly wearing the Swan Tiara.  You must trace the footsteps of myself, dear."  The swan seemed to recall something, wearing a thoughtful grin.  "Yes, I wore the Swan Tiara once.  When my time came, I was reincarnated into a swan so I could guide the future heroes.  But my time has passed, and now you must shine!"  The bird proudly spread her wings, showing great pride.  "Now onward!  Go find the others and stop the spread of evil, my heir!"

"Wait, I have so many questions!"  The albino urged, lifting a hand for emphasis.

"I'm afraid there's no time.  You must retrieve your map, as you seem to have dropped it on your way here.  Good luck.  Perhaps we will meet again in the future."  With a warm smile of dismissal, the swan made a rapid gesture with her wings.  "Goodbye.......!"  Her voice faded away as Zara was banished into darkness.

In a confused daze, the albino lifted her head.  She was back.  Laying on the sidewalk.  She felt heavy, as though her soul hadn't all returned yet.  She layed for several more moments, growing more and more aware of this world.

With restored energy she finally leapt to her feet, showing a determined stare.  She dashed down the sidewalk with haste, following no set path.  "It couldn't have gotten far, right?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Meanwhile, a mysterious character drifted about, doing a bit of investigating.  "If I want to rule the world, I must prevent the heroes from finding those artifacts."  He smirked to himself.  Many found it such a shame that this boy, once rather kind and caring, had gone completely rotten.  Could he ever have another change of heart?  Maybe if he met the right person.  Maybe.  He adjusted his gloves, his jet black locks blowing in the moderate breeze.  But that wasn't the only thing carried by the breeze.  He noticed the unmistakable writing of a long- fogotten map, his smirk growing more sinister.

"How perfect."  He was overjoyed at how things were playing out.  "One map piece gone, and the whole thing is useless."  He stated the fact, though there was no one around to hear it.  Except himself, of course.  Calmly, he followed the map piece, patiently waiting for it to come closer to the ground so he could snatch it, and perhaps tear it to pieces.

It wasn't longer before the wind died down, the fragment flowing to the earth like a parachute would.  Shadow chuckled.  "It's just too easy."  He shook his head, as if he'd have prefered a challenge.

But the map apparently had other plans, for when the evil boy's grasp clutched it, he recieved a jolt.  He tumbled backwards in surprise, at the same time releasing his grip on the parchment.

"Hmph."  He quickly recovered, persuing the paper once more.  But even he didn't have the speed for that, and the paper rode the next breeze to safety, drifiting even farther from the albino and the evil boy, who were both unaware that there was another working towards the same goal.  But each for different purpose, of course. 

Shadow then decided to call it quits, not wanting to appear too obvious.  He drifted into the shadows, as his name would suggest. 

Zara kept on her way, steadily slowing down.  She didn't have the energy for this.  Her hope was begining to fade, especially when she realized just how large the city was.  Perhaps she wasn't meant to be a hero after all.  The one oppertunity in her entire life to have a purpose, and it'd been snagged from her.  Feeling a sense of defeat, a lone tear streamed down her face.

It was then that, in a filmy and almost holographic presence, the swan appeared, revealing herself in a dim white glow.  "My dear...."  Her long narrow neck bowed with sympathy, her slim head shaking.  "You mustn't give up, what you seek is nearer than you think."

Before Zara could even muster a word, the swan gave an ecouraging flash and a wink, disappearing in the moment.  With a recovering of hope, the albino pushed herself, her slow walk transforming into a sprint.  She had to find it quick, before it was gone forever.  She felt as though the fate of the world, no, the universe, had been placed entirely in her hands.

Every alley was cleanly searched, not a single crevice left unchecked.  She'd surveyed the entire north half of the city, now approaching the library.  She would have passed her share of the map, had it not been for her enhanced observational skills.

She came to a dead halt in front of a boy who had not only hers, but another map fragment in his hands.  There could be at least two explanations for this.  One:  He had a fragment of his own, and by chance got hold of hers.  Two:  He was attempting to collect all the fragments and stop the heroes.

She hesitated briefly, not being a fan of talking to strangers.  She was trying to think of how to order her words.

"Ummm...."  Zara shyly uttered.  "I think that belongs to me."  She pointed her finger to her side of the map, which was easily recognized, for it was the top- right corner.  She only hoped he understood, and perhaps would return the fragment to its rightful owner.

((Nessie, are you still here?)) 

((I'll try that ^_^  Hopefully she'll return.))

Zara seemed to consider this as she reclaimed her map.  He definetly wasn't the evil spoken of by the Swan.

"Its definetly not a coincedence that we met up like this."  She finally mustered, positioning her piece next to that of the other boy, her crimson eyes reflecting directly into his, which shone of a more welcoming emerald tone.  Why did she have to have the creepy eyes?  Red.  Really?  But there were more important things right now.

Hesitantly, the albino continued.  "My dad, he works at a museum."  She started, feeling a little odd about freely giving out such personal information.  "And one of the archaeologists there, she found this map.  She really knows alot about it.  And there are more than these two.  When aligned, they trace a path to the artifacts, which are divided between two locations.  Only the heroes can read the maps."  She took a much needed breath, proud of how much she'd remembered.

Her eyes shifted, as if she was pondering her next question.  "You've seen your animal, right?"  She questioned, curious as to which artifact was his.  She couldn't read his map fragment, so she couldn't find out by doing so.  "Your animal seems to take the form of the animal of your artifact.  Mine's a Swan, as in the Swan Tiara."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Meanwhile, across town, Shadow was submerged in a dark alleyway.  With a simple hand gesture and a flip of his pocket- watch, his body contorted, shrinking down and taking the form of a young child.  With a miniscule smirk, he began to frolick towards the local zoo.  It was as if he sensed to presence of some heroes- to- be.  

When he arrived, he first began to wonder why the zoo was open this late.  The sun had longa ago set, leaving only the light of the street lamps and the lights that lit the zoo exhibits.  He shrugged this off, taking a glance around the surrounding area.  He noticed a girl next to the wolf exhibit, who'd just stashed a suspicious paper in her pocket.  She then turned, as if looking for something.

The seemingly young boy simply grinned, as if he was just here to see the animals.  But to his and only his knowledge, he was watching her every movement, as if for a confirmation that she was a hero.  You could never be too sure. 

Isedon faultered in her steps as she felt that she was being watched by something... Or someone. Without breaking her stride again, she glanced over her shoulder and her russet eyes landed on a young boy wearing a green jacket. The boy couldn't be the source of this. And she decided that it must have been a trick of the mind. She shook her head slightly before running into Zakeru.

"Lizard!" Isedon hissed as she stumbled backwards. Her russet eyes narrowed further as she pinned her friend with a glare.

Zakeru smirked and slid his hands into his pants pockets as she adjusted his stance to a more causual one. "We should leave. This place closes in a few minutes," he said.

Isedon nodded in agreement. Yea. Leave the zoo. And that your-being-watched feeling behind. She didn't really want to be paranoid for the rest of the night.

Zakeru took the lead as they walked to the front gates of the zoo. The walk there was quite. As if they had something else at the for-front of their minds. They did, in fact. Isedon was wondered what the Wolf Ring was and how it fit her while Zakeru seemed to be conrentrating on the Raven Brooch, wanting to conjure it up out of thin air. But since he was only human and had no other-worldly powers, he gave up; although, he still wanted to know what it was since the raven that gave him the parchment paper said nothing on the matter.

When they were a good three blocks away from the zoo, Isedon piped up; "Hey Zakeru, race you to the mall?"

Zakeru perked up. Ooo! A challange. Finally something worth being interested in. He turned around so he could face Isedon; who stopped twoo feet away. His orange eyes glimmering in the faint light as he said; "Your on!"

Then he turned and bolted up the road with Isedon following close behind. They were both smiling like a couple of idiots as they raced for fun. But they didn't know that they path they were going to take lead to the library before taking off in a new directin.

Zara's hand was outstretched to meet his, but not before a period of hesitation, of course.  She didn't offer your typical handshake, though.  She simply touched her palm to his, not holding this long before retracting her grip.  "I'm Zara."

She repeated her name in her mind several times.  'Zara.  Zara....'  His name sounded much more natural than her own.  When she thought about it, she merely assumed that with unusual appearance came an unusual name.

Snapping back into the conversation, the albino regained her focus.  "That book.  You must get it tomorrow."  She didn't want to sound like she was forcing this on him, but it would be beneficial if they had a novel written solely on this legend.

In the near distance, she could pick up the barely audible sound of running.  She only assumed it was young children having fun, and shrugged it away, turning to more important matters.

"Meet me here tomorrow, eight in the morning."  There she was with that unintentional demanding tone again.  Nevertheless, she didn't speak another word, simply pivotting in the other direction and taking her seperate path down the now barren sidewalk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Shadow, by this time, had managed to plant himself just where he needed to be.  He was comfortably hidden beside the west wall of the library, nestled between two healthy shrubs.  Not daring to make even the tiniest noise, he tuned his ears into the conversation of those he knew for a fact had been chosen.

'That book?  So much info....  Can't risk them getting that now, can I'  He smirked to himself