A Taste of Freedom

[Leski Hanako]

This is a continuation of The World Beyond the Walls (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=21329)
A side note to Jack and Ausra: the order in which the first posts are made on here is the order that we will post in. IE: Jack posts next, then Ausra would mean posting order is myself, Jack, then Ausra. The same applies if the posting order is vice versa. Just prevents any problems arising (:

Leski awoke to the fast, heavy pelting of rain on a small window. It woke her with a start, causing her to sit bolt upright in the rickety iron bed, her right hand hastily reaching to the hilt of the steel dagger held securely against her stockings, which could be accessed through the split in her plain, yet well-tailored, dress. Her eyes darted furiously around the room, before she remembered where she was and relaxed a little, releasing her grip on the dagger's hilt. She looked over towards the window in the wall opposite her bed and sighed as she found the source of her panic. It was just the rain. She felt so stupid for being so jumpy. She never had been, but she didn't even feel like she had gotten a good sleep: she was still tired, sore all over, and, most importantly, very hungry. Wondering what time it was, she eased herself off the bed, fixing her dress and pushing her silver locks out of her face. She ambled to the window and leaned of the window sill, looking over the park where Jack had brought them to the previous night. So much had happened in the past day that it still felt like a dream.

She had ran away from her prison of a home and had bumped in to Jack - quite literally - who offered her the chance of freedom, which she took. They ended up in a completely different city, which gave Leski the chance to start a new life completely. Then Jack had explained his unusual situation about himself and an entity known as "Winter" and how they seemed to battle against each other in his mind.

Then there was Ausra, the shopkeeper with her sudden and random hospitality towards two complete strangers who had flown into the park by her shop via an umbrella. She had offered them a place to stay as long as they earned their keep in her shop, which Leski was more than happy to do. To her, this seemed like a nice place to settle down and start her own life away from her parents: Earn her keep by day, and study by night. Sure, it would be a hard life but it would surely be much more fun than the one she was accustomed to. She was happy to settle down here, but then she thought of Jack. She wanted to help him, and if that meant going wherever he needed to go to help him then so be it. She owed him for taking her away from her prison, and she would make sure that she did whatever she could to help.

There was a faint meow from her canvas messenger bag that made her jump out of her skin a little. From inside crawled a little black kitten with dainty angel wings. It yawned and stretched out it's front paws, arching it's back and stretching the wings out wide, before returning to it's original position and staring at Leski. It was Angelo; her familiar. She had had him for as long as she could remember and he had never aged. At first she thought that Angelo was a figment of her imagination, like an imaginary friend, but when one of her maids spotted him and ran from the room one day she realised that he was actually real. Smiling, Leski paced over to him and sat cross-legged on the floor in front, stroking his sleek fur from head to tail. She was glad that he was here. She had thought that she had left him behind, and the thought had saddened her, and in the flurry of everything that had happened yesterday she didn't have much time to dwell on it.
-"Don't tell me you forgot about me. Did you really think that I wouldn't realise what you were going to do and get inside your bag. You know I find it comfy in there"- A soft voice echoed through Leski's head. It was Angelo. They communicated to each other through a telepathic link that only existed between those two. They had tried to link Angelo's ability to another person, but it just hadn't worked.
-"Now come on, I'm hungry and so are you."- Angelo continued, purring before stretching his small wings and hovering up to her head and settling down on there, his paws resting on the top of her forehead. Leski giggled a little and stood up, being careful to not knock the little kitty off her head.

She ventured into the hallway and stopped, wondering where she should go. She couldn't remember anything about the layout of the building.

[Jack Frost]

Jack and Jolly slept sprawled out on the floor. Jolly had endured a long night. In order to slow down Winter Jolly had put Jack in a slight Coma. He had stayed up hours until he was sure Jack had temporarily slowed down Winter. This involved a huge fight between Winter and Jack in a dream. Jack had sealed him away in a huge icy vault. Jack Frost sat up and yawned. His silver hair stood in slight spikes like ice crystals.

He rubbed the sleep from his icy teal eyes. He had not used the blanket his host had left out. Why would he? He was always cold, so a blanket would do nothing to warm him. He stood up and looked over himself. After a quick replay of the other days events he realized Leski still had his Jacket.

The only thing covering his slightly muscular torso was his tight black brown undershirt that stretched elastically over his body. His trousers were black and rather tight to his legs. He stood up, carefully avoiding Jolly. He would not want to wake Jolly. A frown appeared on his pale lips.

Leski was free, but Jack needed an anchor to keep him from being taken over by Winter. He needed something that would make him resolute in staying alive. He looked around, and then began to think.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Wet... Warm... A little rough... Smelt like the bottom of a budgies cage... What was it? It was slapping her pale cheek demandingly, her groggy mind attempted to form mangled images. As the images slowly came together she groaned. “Oh for pity’s sake Sam you disgusting hound.” She mumbled tiredly. The large brown dog shifted itself in the bed so it had its front paws resting on her chest applying all of its weight which near crushed the girl. It pressed it’s cold nose to her slightly twisted one. She shoved its head back. “Let me sleep dammit.” She grumbled and turned over. Sam positioned himself along the length of her back... and rolled... She landed with a thump on the floorboards and sat up immediately. She fixed the dog with an angry glare. “You’re really pushing it you are.” She threatened. His big, dark eyes looked at her, pleading her, she caved to his obvious demands for food.

Before she could feed him though she would have to get dressed, she clothed her slim body in a pair of tan shorts, green round-neck vest and slid on a pair of white ankle socks. She opened her linen curtains to reveal a miserable day, the rain pounded on her window and she frowned slightly. “Ah well, such is life.” She said and smiled slightly, “We don’t need the sun do we Sam? Not when we have new friends!” The dog barked loudly in reply and as she laughed she walked over to him and ruffled his brown fur. He jumped off the bed and pawed at the bedroom door begging to be let out. She wiped his drool off her face with the shirt she had worn the previous night and dumped it in her washing pile before opening the door and allowing him to rush out.

She followed him as he darted to the living room door and opened it himself by head butting it. As he rushed in she remembered her visitors and hoped they were awake, if Jack wasn’t then he soon would be. All was well when she walked in though and Sam was harassing Jack as if the poor boy would know where his food was. She laughed and called him over to the cupboards out of which she drew a small bowl and filled it with food for him. “Sorry about that Jack.” She apologised “He’s always eager for food in the morning. Are you hungry?”

[Jack Frost]

Jack had given the dog a quick flick on the nose as it neared Jolly. The penguin was still asleep, and Jack intended it to stay that way. He picked the sleeping penguin and nestled it in his arms as one would hold a young child. "Morning" he muttered looking around. He soon found a suitable place to set the bird down.

"I am slightly hungry and will eat once Leski wakes." He said politely. He shot the penguin a found look. "Do you have any fish?" he asked smiling. "Jolly loves fish" he said absentmindedly. He tried recalling what had happened in his dream he had. The details about the fight were clear. But how he had done it all eluded him.

He turned his attention to Aušra and studied her. She was about average height, and average weight. Her hair was attractive, but Leski's luminous locks had her beat easily. Her gray eyes seemed to match her pale skin and pale lips. A light blush hung at her cheeks, which was the only source of color in her skin. Her nose was slightly twisted. He assumed a broken nose was the cause.

It seemed the gods loved Jack, they had dropped two very attractive girls into his lap. Both of which he met within twenty-fours hours. He was lucky indeed. He stretched and sighed, listening to the rain beat softly on the window. "Terrible flying weather." he commented with a smile. "Now then I beleive I need to discuss the matter in which I shall pay my way." he paused. "Do you have anything in mind?" he asked smiling.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra patted Sam on the head as he began to eat and turned to the cupboards again to pull out some fresh fish, she bought all of her food fresh from local traders, she placed a decent sized mackerel on a plate for Jolly and layed it on the counter for when he woke up. She sat herself in one of the worn, red chairs and felt herself sink into it slightly, it was comfortable but she knew that they would have to be replaced soon, she was loathed to get rid of the chairs as she would prefer to spend her money on good food and oils. She invited Jack to sit too while they waited for Leski to join them.

“Your jobs won’t be too bad, I’ve managed them by myself for the past couple of years.” She stated with a smile, “You can split them between yourself and Leski in any way that you two decide is acceptable. The shop floor will need sweeping every evening, the store will need to be kept while I work in the supply room, I will need to send either of you out to fetch ingredients and also I would like you specifically to help the carters load up orders that I have prepared for home delivery. I feel that perhaps Leski is a little too petite to do this with heavier orders.” She could see that he left a little to be desired in muscle but his slender body was tall enough to reach the higher shelves of her storeroom. His angular face was strangely attractive but his cold eyes worried her deeply. She made friends with people quite easily, this was what had motivated her to allow them to stay in her home, however she would quickly establish strong opinions. Jack confused her though, perhaps this was due to this Winter character who seemed to interfere with his behaviour.

She shrugged her suspicion of Jack’s character off and smiled again. She would not allow anything to tarnish her sunny disposition and she leant back in her chair wondering when Leski would emerge. She wondered whether she had enough food for all three of them. A quick glance to her overflowing cupboards full of herbs, spices and fresh meats assured her that they were quite alright for food. Sam finished eating and lay in front of her feet grumbling with content after a good meal.

[Leski Hanako]

Catching a glimpse of Ausra's blonde hair through a door before it closed to obscure the sight before her thoughts could be confirmed, Leski decided to have a quick look to see if that was where the others were. Pacing off to the left in the direction of the door, Leski rapped gently on the door. There was no answer. Leski heard Angelo's voice in her head
-"Knock harder. No one would hear that pathetic knock!"- Angelo was such a cheeky character in the way he said things, almost comical often. Sometimes she could be heard giggling quietly to herself because of something this flying cat had sent to her, but she couldn't tell anyone: what would they of done if she had said that her cat had said something funny to her? She could imagine the weird looks that she'd get of anyone who heard of that, and it most certianly was not a pleasant thought.

Pressing her ear to the door first, she listened carefully: she heard Jack's voice, followed by Ausra's. She was definetly in the right place. This time she rapped three times on the door before turning the door knob and peering around the edge of the doorframe to make sure that her hearing hadn't deceived her. It hadn't, because there they both were, sat in worn red chair that were clearly ready to be replaced, with Jolly the penguin asleep in the middle of the floor. Angelo's tail whipped the back of her hair as an indication of her to hurry up and stop tilting her head so that he wouldn't fall off.
"Hi" She said meekly, her shyness clearly returning for the morning now that her head wasn't stuck in a flurry of all things new and she'd had a chance to let her thoughts settle. She shuffled around the door and straightened her head, and stood there looking around, as if she wasn't sure what to do.

Suddenly, she remembered that she was still wearing Jack's jacket from the previous night's flying trip. Shrugging it off, she held it over her right arm, allowing the cold to be able to reach her skin again. She missed the warmth, but she would get used to it.
"I forgot to give you it back last night. Sorry."

[Jack Frost]

Jack smiled as Leski walked in and returned his jacket. "Actual I typically wear this for only two reasons. A, It looks cool. B, it has a nice inner pocket for Jolly." he said taking it gently and putting it back on. He heard Jolly mutter something in his sleep, and turned to look at the penguin with a warm gaze.

"Last night was weird, Jolly had me go into a coma to fight Winter. I won but at a cost. Winter tormented me with nightmares the rest of the night until Jolly woke me up. He had stood there over me all night making sure I was okay." He smiled and stared at the slumbering bird.

"Anyways" he said turning back to face the other two, clearly changing the topic. "Whats the plan today?" he asked energy slowly seeping into his voice. He was now awake, and the weather outside was miserable. Jack had three phases of the day. Wake up, full throttle, sleepy. Needless to say Jack was in full throttle.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra smiled at Leski “Morning sleepy!” she chirped cheerfully, “Hungry?” She asked and hurried to get some fresh bacon out of the cupboard. She fired up the stove and whipped out a frying pan, even if her guests were not hungry she certainly was. As the sweet smell of cooking bacon wafted through the room Sam whined at her feet. She tapped his nose away from the frying pan and turned back to Leski quickly. “Anything for the cat?” She asked, “Oh and Jack you and Leski will have to help me open shop after we’ve eaten.”

She frowned as she cooked while Jack explained about Winter, although he said Winter had been defeated she couldn’t see it being that easy. “But to the important stuff... This Winter fellow. He’s gone? Can he come back? This is all a bit confusing.” She said buttering some bread and serving the bacon up onto three plates creating bacon sandwiches for each of them. She looked at them hungrily and handed one to each of her new friends. She sat back down and took a bite, her teeth sinking through the soft, white bread to the juicy bacon inside. She relaxed and enjoyed her all-time favourite food, savouring each bite.

[Leski Hanako]

Reaching up to scratch her familiar behind his ears upon Ausra mentioning him as just a cat and not being a little bit worried about the fact that this cat had wings, but noted that he had cleverly tucked them away so only someone stood behind would notice them. He was a very clever cat indeed.

The smell of the bacon frying in the pan caused Leski to start salivating and her stomach to begin grumbling. She hadn't eaten for a while, so her body was well ready for any food she could possibly shovel inside of her. Okay, so she was used to full 3-course meals and expensive dining cutlery, but bacon was always a big favourite of hers whenever it was served as part of her evening meals. But she had never had it on bread before, so she watched curiously at this strange combination.

Her face suddenly gained a blank expression for a few moments, as if someone had taken over her, but in reality she was talking to her kitty on her head. As the expression returned to her face, she shuffled uncomfortably and said:
"Angelo said that he wouldn't mind some bacon. I've told him that it's a bit too much to expect for a cat, but he just told me to shush and tell you." She blushed and looked away, knowing that people would think she was a bit weird for her statement, but if she was going to be around both Ausra and Jack for a long time then they would find out eventually.

She accepted the plate gratefully from Ausra, looked dubiously at the sandwich for a moment, before sinking her teeth into it. The juices from the bacon were enthralling to her taste buds, and the combination of the soft bread just seemed to work perfectly with the meat. It was quite possibly the best thing that she had ever tried, and struggled to contain her love for this new food to her.
"Oh my goodness, this is amazing!" Before she stuffed her face with another bite.

For such a small girl she sure could eat!

[Jack Frost]

Jack ate slowly. His face was pale, or paler than normal. He needed an anchor to seal Father Winter, his past life, away for good. The meal was good, Jack recalled eating something similar at the Elvish reservation made of venison. He yawned and listened. He heard a slight wheezy yawn as Jolly sat up.

The penguin hopped over to the counter and ate the fish Aušra had left out for him. The silence got under Jack's skin. So he did a mental exercise Jolly had taught him. He focused and let his eyes narrow. He could see every molecule of water in this mentality. It was a useful trick when there was little water to turn into ice.

Jack raised a hand and beckoned for some of the droplets to form at his hand. Soon he had a nice ball of water sitting gently in his hand. He quickly froze it, and tossed it to Jolly who had finished eating. Jolly caught it using his ice magic, and tossed it back with his magic.

Jack caught it while still eating. His strain evident on his face. He swallowed a bite and sent the ball back. Jolly caught it and sent it back. The idea behind the exercise was simply to control the ball of ice. Jack took three weeks to be able to see the water. Another three weeks to control the water itself. One he had the ball he could freeze it. Moving the ball was a completely different matter entirely. The initial throw was easy, catching it and returning the throw without touching the ball was hard.

He finished the sandwich and continued the exercise with Jolly. The icy ball went back and forth for several passes.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra frowned, she obviously was not going to get an answer to her question from Jack. The penguin had only just woken and she did not wish to make it feel intimidated. She sighed, resigned to not knowing for the time being, and placed her plate on the side, she would was it later. As she got up to cook a bit of bacon for the cat she did not notice that it had grabbed Sam’s attention. The large dog was now staring at the cat on Leski’s shoulder, he wasn’t growling but instead he panted, stretched out his front paws and lowered his head ready to play. Aušra would have instantly realised that he was about to pounce playfully at the cat, the guests however would not have this knowledge.

As Jack and Jolly tossed ice to each other she looked at them curiously, how odd, she had begun to re-evaluate her opinion of what was “normal” since meeting Jack and Leski, somehow she found the Jack throwing ice to the penguin relatively unsurprising. Had she not been preparing bacon she would have probably wanted to join in. She ducked under the path of the ice and grabbed a small bowl for the cat, into which she dispensed the warm bacon. It wasn’t until she turned around to hand this to Leski that she realised what Sam was about to do...

By then she was too late and as her face formed into a look of horror as the dog leapt for the cat, her grey eyes widened and she clenched her teeth as if readying for the impact of the heavy lump herself. She was going to kill him. She’d not known these people a day and he was going to crush a cat that belonged to one of them. He was too heavy... Oh god no.

[Leski Hanako]

All Leski saw was a huge blur diving towards her. She shrieked and acted instinctively, ducking down, rolling down onto her knees and covering her head. Of course, what good that would do about a huge dog running and jumping at you, she had no idea, but it was better than just standing there and letting Sam bowl into her, possibly causing more injuries than if she was prepared and wasn't going to go flying across the room. Unfortunately, she didn't manage to grab Angelo, who somehow eluded her grasp and she ducked down. Normally, she would hide him underneath her but she just had to wait and hope that the dog didn't get him.

Of course, Sam would never get Angelo: he had taken to hovering above everyone in the room, his dainty little angel wings flapping furiously. Clearly, this was going to raise some questions...

[Jack Frost]

The leaping dog threw Jack's concentration off as he 'tossed' the ice ball. The ice ball flew at high speed and slammed into Jolly. Jolly gawked and spat the recently swallowed fish at the dog. It bounced off the dog, hit Angelo, and hit Jack in the back of his head.

Jack squawked and tossed the Fish back at Jolly. Jolly smiled and swallowed it again. "That was better the second time down." he said wiping his beak. Jack gagged. "Jolly that's disgusting!" he said lying on the floor.

He rolled into his back and leaped to his feet. He raced across the room and grabbed his umbrella. "Have at you" he said brandishing it like a sword. Jolly back flipped and grabbed his cane. He too brandished his object like a sword. They exchanged a mock series of blows before they both stopped and laughed.

The Jolly stopped and noticed how Jack was holding the umbrella. "How did you learn to hold that umbrella like that." he asked. Jack stopped, "I think I picked it up last night, why?" he returned. Jolly shrugged, "Just wondering."

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra breathed a sigh of relief as Sam jumped clear of Leski and... hit the living room door with a resounding thud. There was the faint sound of the wood splintering slightly and the hairy, brown mass slowly slid down to the floor whining slowly. Aušra shooked her head with disbelief at the dumb animal as he pawed his muzzle then stood up, shook all over and barked cheerfully as if to say “Can we do that again?” For all the chaos that had gone on in that one moment the room had stayed surprisingly intact expect for the slight dent in the door.

However, there was now a couple of questions that Aušra was very intent on being answered, the one she intended for Jack as to what he meant by picking the technique up the previous night could wait, there were more pressing matters. “Okay now this is getting ridiculous, I still don’t think everyone’s being completely honest with me.” she stated as she fixed Leski with a stern look, “Why is that cat not on the ground?”

[Jack Frost]

My bad, forgot it was my turn to post.
Jack motioned to the ceiling where Angelo floated. "Well the cat obviously has wings." he said pointing out the obvious. Then he thought about it for a little bit. "Don't tell me that caught you off guard after meeting a talking penguin." He laughed. Her distress was slightly amusing. Then he stopped realizing he might have been rude in doing so.

"I know I told you everything about me that was important." Jack said honestly. "Jolly did you tell her everything?" He asked the talking bird. "Of course it would be rude to keep secrets from our host." Jolly said lying coolly. Of course when your a bird not many people can tell if you're lying.

Jack smiled. "Perhaps you should instruct me on how to open shop." he asked Aušra. He shot both girls one of his radiant smile. "We can all talk about things as we do so." he added. Plus he was itching for something to do. The events of the nights before bugged him. His dreams to be more precise. Today he was going to pick an anchor.

That anchor was going to be one of the girls. He would make a choice and bind himself to it. How he planned to discern which one was right for him had yet to be determined.

[Leski Hanako]

It's fine. I'm in work a lot over the weekend so I may be able to get 1 or 2 posts in =/

Leski sighed at the fact that Ausra thought that there was something unusual about her, but there wasn't; apart from the fact that she had a flying telepathic cat, of course. She shuffled awkwardly on her feet, twisting the plate around in her hands that had the bacon sandwich on previously. She was glad when Jack saved her explanation about Angelo for a little bit later. It bought her some time to choose how to explain carefully. She had no clue how to tell everyone about this one. Angelo was just a telepathic cat with wings and she couldn't remember a time when he wasn't there.

"Yes. Ausra, how do we open the shop? Since we'll be here for a little bit then we might as well learn it all." She smiled. Her freedom began officially today: she was free from her parents, she was in a place she didn't know anything about, and she was earning her own keep for the first time. It felt exhilarating to her, yet very scary indeed. Things would be even scarier whilst thinking that Ausra thought she was keeping secrets from her. She decided to get the facts straight before they even started work.
"That," pointing towards the ceiling where Angelo hovered, "Is my cat. My flying cat, to be precise. His name is Angelo, and he speaks to me telepathically. Only works between me and him. I've had him for as long as I can remember. He has never told me where he came from, so I've just accepted him. He's a lovely companion to have, especially in a life with no friends." Her voice trailed off at the end, clearly holding back the sadness in her voice at the last part. No friends... thanks to her parents. Every time she had thought about her parents, she gained more and more of a loathing towards them, especially her father, about what they had put her through for nineteen years. She shrugged off these thoughts, dismissing them until a later date.
"So where do we start?" Leski asked, eager to start her first real day of work, Angelo meowing and landing in Leski's arms, shooting fearful glances at Sam.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra narrowed her eyes at Jack “Well I never.” She said sarcastically, she had to admit though that she probably shouldn’t find the cat too surprising after the umbrella stunt. “I suppose you have a point there though.” She laughed. She shook her head, smiling at the strange pair who’d turned her previously rather quiet life into a circus. She supposed she should probably be honest with them about the glamour magic if she demanded honesty of them. She could explain that while she opened shop though.

She waved for them to follow her and headed downstairs, leaving Sam up in the living room where he wouldn’t get in the way. She got to the bottom of the stairs and turned to them “Right, Leski, here’s a broom, the floor needs sweeping. Jack? I need you to get these products out of the store cupboard and put them in the right places.” She walked over the till and produced a list of products from the drawer underneath it, she handed it to Jack and said “The name is wrote on the packaging, just put it where the respective signs are in the shop. I won’t be a moment, I’ve got to prepare myself for the day.” With a smile she covered her face for a moment to concentrate and as she pulled them back her skin had taken on a fresher complexion, her hair glistened healthily in the light and she gave a confident smile. She was ready.

[Jack Frost]

Due to lack of info on how Aušra plans for her store I'm going to create my own version and edit if needed.
Jack looked at the list and got to work. The store cupboard was a fragrant smelling room. The smell was almost strong enough to make Jack gag. He quickly became bored with his work , and searched for ways to amuse himself. One of the items he had to stock in bulk were simple balls of fragrant soap kept in golden netting. He smiled and began to juggle them nimbly. First he started with just two, then rose to three, and added a forth. Then he slowly moved from the cupboard to the stack they were kept in. Upon arrival he held the cycle and then tossed them into the air one by one, landing softly in a pyramid.

When he was done he stood back and looked at his handiwork. Shelves began about ten feet from the front door, and went to the right (entering from the door) about twenty feet. There were five rows. Four feet separated each shelf. On the shelves there were several scented bath lotions, bubble bath, perfumes, ect. Had Jack been metro-sexual he would have like the smell. Unfortunately he was not, and constantly contorted his face as if he was being assaulted by skunk spray.

Several display tables stood at the end of each row with impressive stacks of soaps and make-up bottles. Jack had spent an amazingly short amount of time doing these, as it seemed he was rather skilled at stacking.

He turned to his employer/landlord, then stopped dead. "Is it me or did you get more attractive?" he asked bluntly. Score! he thought to himself quickly. His face did not portray his excitement. Jolly smiled as he began to formulate an ice ball silently. Then he threw it straight at one of the pyramids of soap. The glittering ice caught Jack's attention. Then he realized what was happening. "No!" he shouted in dismay. He reached an arm out, and caught the ball twenty feet from his hand.

The ball simply floated there as Jack held it under his gaze. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jolly smile. Jack growled and sent the ball flying at the penguin, who squawked and rolled out of the way.

[Leski Hanako]

Whoopsie!!! I did a Jack here :P forgot it was my turn xD Sorry, only gonna be a small post: absolutely shattered and gonna go to bed in a minute...

Leski took the broom and began to sweep the floors. It was an old and battered broom that had clearly been repaired many time from all the duct tape that surrounded the base of where the shaft met the actual head of the broom in all different colours, ranging from red, to blue, to green.

As she made her way around the shop, she took care to note where Jack was so that she didn't get in his way or accidentally trip him over: now that would be a disaster indeed, especially if he was carrying some products at the same time.

It took her a while to master how to use the broom, but she soon got the hang of it and was soon done. Resting the broom against a wall, she relaxed until she heard Jack's words. He was right: Ausra clearly had just suddenly become much prettier. It was very weird, and Leski felt a little bit of jealousy inside of her for the woman's looks.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Gah, sorry I took so long, apparently trying to sort out dyslexia support for university and post to this at the same time does not work, you'd think they'd make the forms a little easier to understand with them being aimed at, well, dyslexics. Jack your idea of my shop is fine as it doesn’t interfere at all with my idea of it which I shall describe... Now!


Aušra mocked Jack a little, smiling coyly from behind the sea of warm golden hair that had fallen across side of her face. The morning light, from the small window by the till next to which she was sitting, highlighted individual strands making them shimmer as if they were somehow made of fine lengths of diamond. She then laughed, unable to keep up the persona of a sexual goddess and returned to her usual laid-back self, she pulled the hair away from her face and looped it behind her ear. She did not particularly want to explain her unusual talent to the others, but it seemed only fair that she disclose at least a little information about herself in return for their honesty. If she could keep the information she gave as simple and unrevealing as possible then it was all the better for her, she couldn’t stand explaining her families politics, nor did she want to entertain the paranoia that still dwelled in the back of her mind. It already wanted to believe that these two new faces were somehow related to her mother’s death, especially Leski, from the way she had spoken she seemed to have been born into the higher echelons of society. Aušra batted away these paranoid thoughts and composed herself a little, smoothing her top as she stood, “It was a little talent I learnt from my mother.” She said and left it at that, hopefully her guests would not dig a little deeper into her story.

She nodded at Jack’s work and felt so much better knowing that if they did decide to stay then maybe she would not have to work so hard to keep the shop running. She pulled another list from the drawer in the cedar wood desk the till sat on and walked to the corner of the store, the dark wooden floor creaking slightly beneath her feet from age, picking up a piece of chalk she began to walk around the shop, adjusting prices on the chalkboard signs according to the list which she had compiled the previous day. Prices of some of her ingredients had gone up while others had become much cheaper, she enjoyed giving a good deal to her customers, it seemed to encourage them to buy more and in the end she made more money giving them a little more of the goods for their coin than she did when she kept the prices slightly inflated. As she wrote a decreased price on the sign for the Violet Leaf hand cream that sat on one of the display tables, she could smell the oil in the product and she felt herself relax a little, the herby scent had an almost playful floral scent that lingered in the nostrils.

Unfortunately for Aušra relaxing had been a bad move, she dropped the chalkboard sign and it smashed on the floor, she groaned and looked to the point where the board had been nailed to one of the dark-stained support beams that stood behind the display table, the nail had bent. Her shoulders dropped moodily and she stomped to the supply room on the far side of the shop from the till. In here she made all her products, but also kept a store of nails and tools. She grabbed a hammer and a new nail from the dark and moist, heavily scented room, the smell in the supply room was sometimes even a little too much for herself and in her spoiled mood it hurt her head a little. Storming back over to the thick, sturdy support beam she ripped the old nail with the claw end of the hammer, and hammered in the new nail. She mumbled angrily to herself, she had forgotten to get a new board, it was in the storeroom anyway not the supply room. She slunk into this small, crowded room, swinging open the heavy door which stood by the stairs to her living quarters. It was stuffed with the orders that had been prepared for some of her wealthier customers who didn’t want to carry their purchases home, these were the orders she expected Jack to aid her in bringing to the carters. She swiped a chalkboard from a shelf, there had been a hole placed in the top of the board ready for it to be hung from a nail, she sat on the floor, quickly wrote the product name and price in her best hand-writing and returned to the shop floor. Placing the new board on the nail she breathed deeply, calming herself down. Little annoyances were the ones that really got to her.

[Jack Frost]

Sorry for the short reply. I'm tired and my mind doesn't want to be creative today.
Jack stopped, stunned by the sudden shift. Unfortunately he had been in the middle of taking a step. He tripped and fell on the floor. "Dammit" he swore under his breath. For some reason his pulse had kicked up, and his breath was slightly ragged. That woman's skill was going to drive him up the wall, possibly in both ways. He stood up and smiled, a warm radiant smile.

"Now what do we do?" he asked turning his head to one side, as if he was a curious chihuahua. For a moment Jack let his mind wander back homewards. his adopted father and mother were probably worried sick. His mind drifted to the orphans and mother Holly. Who would help them out?

All of these thoughts weakened his resolve. But Leski had asked for his help, Aušra had opened her door for him, it felt like the gods were handing him adventure on a silver platter. Better yet it was adventure with two attractive women.

Jack sighed through his teeth, still wearing a smile. "Whatever it is we should get started on it."

[Leski Hanako]

Leski took a step back as Jack fell to the floor, slightly alarmed at his sudden stumble as she wasn't expecting this of Jack. She went to aid him as he landed rather close to where the chalkboard had smashed on the floor, and there were still the sharp fragments all over the floor and Leski didn't want Jack to be hurt. One thing that she couldn't stand was injury in another person who she cared about. Really, she shouldn't of let that interfere with the way she treated her patients, but if she had a choice between helping someone that she cared about or a complete stranger with worse injuries than the one she cared for, it would be hard for her to treat the stranger first: this was one part of her training that she had not yet mastered.

Seeing that Jack was unharmed by the fragments of the board as he got himself up before she could reach him, she sighed with relief at the realisation that he was alright, and grabbed the broom that was leaning on the wall in the corner, and began sweeping up the smashed board into a pile in the corner of the floor. Using her initiative, she spotted a piece of old cardboard folded up in the corner, clearly used to store something but was no longer any use, and, crouching down, she swept the pieces onto the cardboard - which was more difficult than she had anticipated due to the size of the broom's handle making it hard to control at the lower point of the shaft she was using it at - and then emptied the cardboard piece into the bin. Double checking the polished floor for any more parts that could harm anyone, whether it be friend or a customer, she smiled slightly to show she was pleased with her work, the low, early morning, bright sunlight glinting through the window close to her and onto her hair, causing it to glitter and sparkle. Her skin looked more pearl-like now that the morning sun shone on her, and she looked refreshed. It was clear that the strain of being trapped inside her parent's house was beginning to wear off.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra noted the strange radiance in Jack’s once icy smile and the glowing warmth this gave to his cool complexion, she narrowed her eyes slightly trying to make out why his manner had changed to such a warm disposition. She didn’t mind all too much though, after all, a warm friendly smile was better than a cold sarcastic one surely? Unsure of how to react to Jack’s mood changes she decided to let it go. After all, her pleasant demeanour could also change at the drop of a hat just as much as his could. She had, of course, giggled at his clumsiness which had dissipated any annoyance she had held before. The gritty red frustration she felt at the pit of her stomach, due to smashing the chalkboard, had been replaced with a light, glowing feeling. Perhaps it was the joy of new friends, perhaps something else. She shook the possibility of anything other than friendship away, she was fiercely independent, refusing to be seen as relying on any person. She did not mind them working in the shop as she had proved for years she could do this by herself, but that is how she intended for her relationship with Leski and Jack to stay, friendly but distanced.

“Thanks for that Leski.” She said and smiled somewhat shakily, she occasionally doubted how she felt about people, doubting herself made her nervous. “I apologise for the way I acted just then, the silliest of things annoy me.” She smiled meekly, feeling a little ashamed of her actions. She looked around the shop, all the prices had been adjusted and the floor was clean now that Leski had swept up the fragments of chalkboard. She checked that Jack had stacked all of the items in the correct places and smiled, they’d both done a good job. The floor gleamed, she had washed the polished wood the night before and Leski had swept away all of Sam’s paw prints from the floor. The smell of the products was now uninterrupted by the dusty smell that had lingered before. A sharp rapping at the glass pane of the shop door snapped her out of her moment of appreciation. She sighed slightly, seeing Mrs Aldren at the door, she had been a faithful customer since Aušra had first opened her shop, but she could talk for hours and usually about the most boring of subjects.

“Next... We let the customers in...” Aušra said to Jack and Leski, it felt as if a large stone of dread had settled in her gut, “Prepare yourself to be bored to death by this one.” She walked towards the door, forced a smile at Mrs Aldren and unlocked the door for her, bracing herself for the oncoming wave of tedia which was sure to follow. As she had predicted Mrs Aldren immediately began talking to her about how her husband enjoyed tea, she lectured her on end about how there could only be so much milk or the entire drink would be ruined and you would have to start all over again. She got so far into talking to Aušra before she realised there were two other people stood in the room. She looked from Leski to Jack and back again. “I want hair like hers...” She whispered enchanted. Aušra smiled, Leski was excellent for business.

“These are my two new assistants!” She introduced proudly, her chest swelling with satisfaction, she seemed to stand a little taller as she smiled to herself. To her, assistants now showed others that she had reached a stage in her business in which she could afford employees, even if they were only working to live under her room. Mrs Aldren tottered over to Leski and reached out her old, wrinkled hand to touch her hair. The skin on her hand was dry and crisp like parchment, her creased face cracked into a smile as she watched the rainbows refracting off Leski’s hair. Aušra caught her hand just before she touched it and gently lead the silver haired lady over to a shampoo which she swore would give her hair a healthy sheen, she knew it would never match Leski’s shimmering locks, but Mrs Aldren was too enchanted to care. Aušra placed three glass bottles of the hair product into a bag for the aged lady and reminded her that if she brought the bottles back she would receive a discount of her next order. Mrs Aldren wasn’t paying attention though, she was staring curiously at Leski still. This worried Aušra intensely, she had known that the old woman wasn’t all together in the head, she hoped that nothing would happen if she became jealous of the new girl.

Aušra flashed Jack with a look of cautious warning, she hoped he would know how to handle someone like Mrs Aldren, she sure as hell didn’t. The elderly woman was now so close to Leski that Aušra knew the girl would be able to smell her usual rose perfume and the slight scent of talcum powder that came from the old woman’s skin. She bit her lip and her eyes widened... She was almost too nervous to watch.

[Jack Frost]

Jack's smile lost some warmth when a cold, cruel laugh sounded in the back of his mind. Winter! Jack thought irritably. His past life was a cold man who cared nothing for the new life Jack had created on his own. At this point in time both minds were fighting for control. Jack was currently winning, but that could easily change. Relax, that seal you placed on me last night is strong. I can do little at this moment but harass you in your dreams. Jack let his eye twitch in annoyance. Then he regained his composure. All he needed to rid himself of Frost was an anchor, something so valuable to him he would do anything to keep. Jolly, Frost's ex servant, had told him this. The penguin had done little to betray Jack's trust. But that would soon be rectified.

A sharp rapping on the door forced Jack to bring his focus from his introversion. Standing at the door was something that would have been called a cougar eons ago. Her leathery skin was old and wrinkled with age. He hair was a slight silver. Her topics about tea made him sigh, I bet that bitch is older than me Winter mused. Jack couldn't help but crack a smile. If we had met on other circumstances we could have been friends. Jack replied. Winter sighed, which sounded like he had been standing right behind Jack. Possibly. He replied.

Leski had caught his attention. The light had caught her silver hair, and rainbows poured from her hair. She was a goddess of beauty, and seemed to fit in in the shop. Jack however stuck out like a sore thumb. It was nowhere near winter, yet he was dressed to go climb a mountain. His cold gaze seemed to ruin the inner beauty of the shop. His cold aura would pose a problem to customers. He had a feeling he would soon be kicked out of the shop itself during hours, for fear that he might scare away customers. Although, his natural looks were what most would call handsome, but he was never really in the mood to devote himself to a relationship. Until now that is.

He almost missed the woman's ignorance to Leski and his prescience. Something about the Crone's infatuation with Leski's hair concerned him. he was even more concerned about Aušra's smile. A thought struck him. He looked around the room, wrinkling his nose at the flowery stench that assaulted his nose. "Not a single product for men....." he mused rubbing his chin. Not that he had any stubble. Which was why he rubbed his chin. It was to compensate, as if rubbing his chin would make hair grow there. His teal eyes flicked from one part of the room to another. Scanning for something suitable to make a brand new product.

He would need something that smelled strong, but not flowery. Something manly. Something bold. That something eluded him. Perhaps he could keep an eye out for something to make his idea come to life. He planned on making manly perfume, for men. Perhaps he would just call it body spray.

He looked back to the enchantress and the crone. The hair on the back of his neck rose. He was on edge, like a hound serving its master. The crone was getting waaaaay to close for comfort. Jack chose to put his pride on the line and strode forward, purposefully catching his foot on the corner of a display table. He went down, exaggerating every last detail of the fall. He flailed his limbs dramatically, and let a few choice swears fly. Then slammed to the ground with crash, sending several bars of soap flying to the floor. The thud would have been impossible to ignore, even the deaf would have felt the vibrations on the floor.

He winced, he had jammed his left shoulder funny, and tried to lift himself. His shoulder screamed in protest. He winced and rolled on to his back. He sat up and used his right arm to lift himself up to his feet, cradling his left arm. He hissed in pain and flipped the table back onto all fours. He reached out and re-stacked the soap and retreated from view. Jolly had waddled over to him and cast a worried glance at his shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked. Jack shot the penguin a 'shut the fuck up and let me cope' glance. Jolly frowned. Apparently Jack could communicate sentences through facial expressions. He decided he could learn something new about Jack every day.

[Leski Hanako]

Sorry, I'm living with my bf for the next few days so the posts from me are going to be short until Thursday night :( :( :(

Leski saw that the elderly woman was coming towards her glittering locks that rolled past her shoulders elegantly, framing her dainty yet striking features. It made her look very beautiful, regardless of the fact that she was as pale but the son gave her skin the same glow as white hot metal. She began to back away slightly when the woman crept towards her, and was thankful of the distraction that Jack had provided by purposly falling over. She had seen everything: Ausra shooting a worried smile towards Jack, and Jack noticing what was happening and looking for a distraction. For this, she was thankful.

Taking the opportunity to escape from the customer, she hurridly made an excuse to leave the shopfloor.
"I...err...errm...I need to..." She seemed at a loss for a moment, panicking slightly at the fact that she couldn't think of something. Spotting Angelo hiding in the corner of the shop she exclaimed "I need to feed me cat!" Scooping Angelo up into her arms from the corner, she quickly made her way upstairs and closed the door of the spare room behind her.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Sorry for the delay, been at my Dads and couldn’t get on the internet.

Leski running upstairs and the sudden thud of Jack falling over seemed to snap Mrs Aldren out of her trance, she looked around startled, her wrinkled eyes becoming wide as she realised what she had been doing. “Oh... Oh my dear I’m sorry. I’ve been feeling rather under the weather of late.” She said, shocked at her own behaviour. She tottered over to the large counter where the till sat and left the money on the side, too embarrassed to simply hand it to Aušra. As she exited the shop, as fast as her enfeebled legs could carry her, Aušra sighed with relief that the old woman could cause no more trouble than she already had. The heavy door swung shut behind Mrs Aldren and Aušra decided that now would be a good time to attend to her friends.

Her cheeks had blushed slightly red from embarrassment as she crossed the store to see that Jack was okay, she smiled slightly seeing that he had shrank out of sight. Whether he was shy from his clumsy moment or indeed hiding to cope by himself she didn’t know, either way though she didn’t want him straining any injury he may have obtained. As she faced him, the tension from her body dropped and her smile softened, she held an elegant hand out to check his injured arm. It looked as if he had given it a slight sprain but she couldn’t be sure until she checked. “I won’t hurt it, I promise.” She spoke softly, reassuring him of her good intentions. She had a store of bandages should they be needed and she had sufficient ability to care for a small injury. Her large grey eyes met his and although they usually commanded obedience and respect, now they seemed to be quietly asking for permission to help him. Anyone who had known the girl for any length of time would have been shocked to see her so delicately aiding someone, rather than demanding them to sit still while she haphazardly threw on bandages.

In the back of her mind hoped the old woman had not spooked Leski too much, she also worried that the girl had taken her cat upstairs... Sam was probably lying in wait, ready to ambush anyone who passed through the door and attack them with his great slobbering tongue. This could be a problem and she expected to hear the breaking of glass at any given moment as the large hound chased the tiny cat through the upper level of the building. However, she mentally shrugged these fretful thoughts off and focussed her attention towards the beautiful face of the boy in front of her. Regardless of the fact his expression was one of pain, he still retained the strange beauty that had secretly charmed her when they met only the night before. She bit her pale lip slightly to hold herself back from expressing these thoughts, she hoped that her face was not the open book she was so used to it being.

[Jack Frost]

Its all good.
Jack frowned as Aušra approached him. He opened his mouth to tell her to bug off, but her eyes stopped him. Her beautiful gray eyes seemed to be asking him permission. It was like a little girl approaching a hurt stray puppy. In a strange moment of un-jackness, he let her check his arm. Perhaps Leski would be more suited to it, but she was busy.

He felt her soft gaze meet his in what he would have described as a warm moment. For a moment he thought he felt a sense of heat spread across his body. Then it was gone. Squashed by the permafrost that was his soul.

A sudden look crossed her face, then she bit her lip. Where had he seen that look? He thought hard, his face turning from that of pain to deep thought. He raised his bad arm unknowingly to stroke his chin like he normally did. He winced and used his good arm instead.

He spent several moments thinking before he realised it was a look of..... affection? He paused and let a slight chuckle escape his lips in a small cloud of fog. "Thanks." he muttered letting his gaze focus on the rest of the shop. The old crone had left, leaving her money on the till. If this was how it would be all day Jack was screwed. "I hope I don't have to fall for every customer..."

[Aušra Žiburis]

Posting because Leski's busy :)

She heard his quiet chuckle and cringed internally, he’d noticed her affectionate expression and obviously found it amusing. She frowned at his laughter and threw the bandages on quickly before she could further embarrass herself. Her body tensed as she contained her annoyance and she turned from him, storming across the room to the till where the old ladies money sat. She looked down at the money on the desk, using a soft curtain of golden hair to cover her reddened face, a face which lit up slightly when she realised the woman had left more coins than she had needed to on the side. “Well, at least the old woman paid us for your fall... That might cover the bandage.” She said, her sunny tone revealing that she had cheered up much quicker than any other person would have. “But no, most of my customers aren’t quite so crazy... It’s just unfortunate that you happen to have got to meet the crazy lady first. Sad thing is that she’s probably my best customer, I need some new ideas, to get some more people in the shop.” She sighed, frowning at the prospect of future misery due to her limited customer base.

She attempted to open the till and grumbled to herself as the draw stuck, she wedged her long fingers into the gap between the draw and the rusted machine and wriggled it free. It loosened slowly, rubbing on the delicate skin of her fingertips, until suddenly it burst open, hitting her in the stomach. She gasped as it hit her but shrugged it off and regained her composure, her clumsiness only adding to her previous embarrassment. She quickly inserted the money into the till and closed it hoping Jack hadn’t noticed, although she knew he would have to be blind not to. She slumped onto the rickety chair behind the desk and sulked a little, taking sly looks at the silver-haired boy and giving him occasional daggers. She knew he didn’t deserve them but she couldn’t help but blame him for his own attractiveness.

[Jack Frost]

Jack frowned as she stormed off. Stupid move moron! Remember women don't think like you or me! Winter scolded inside his head. Jack frowned, I thought you were shutting up. Jack replied angrily. Jack I'm you from another life... Winter began. Jack blocked him out. He felt the corners of his mouth droop into a frown. Had he made the wrong move? He wondered to himself.

He cursed silently and pretended to look at a bottle of perfume and smiled. Then he heard a crash and glanced in her direction. She had hit herself with the till. How odd. He stared at the bandaging she had done for him. Am I an asshole? he asked himself. Yes, replied Winter smugly. Jack palmed his face in annoyance. "Set myself up for that one" he muttered. He turned to Aušra. She had cared for him, yet he had been a total ass.

He sighed and looked at the floor in discomfort. He thought hard and dug deep into his mind. He recalled the warmth he had felt, and seized it with a vice-like grip. His brow furrowed in concentration as he hauled the warmth up to the surface. Jack...that's your libido Winter stated calmly. Jack stopped and blushed slightly as he let the warmth sink. I thought that was the warm side of me that always hid! he replied angrily. No, that's you hot blooded side Jack. Winter said. Jack could swear he saw Winter sitting there laughing his ass off.

Then where's the warm side of me? Where's the non-asshole side? he asked. Winter metaphorically shrugged. Beats me. he replied. Jack turned his gaze to the girl who then shot him daggers. He sighed a huge cloud of fog and crossed the gap between the two, avoiding her gaze. He then drooped to eye level. "I'm sorry." he said making eye contact. His face was no more than 5 inches away from the tip of her nose. "I can be an asshole and I know it, but I have redeeming qualities buried under all my baggage. Or so I'm told. If you see one will you point it out?" he said smiling.

Bravo. Winter commented sarcastically. Jack ignored the alter ego and continued to look into Aušra's gray eyes. He could feel himself begin to drift off. Getting lost.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra blinked in disbelief, he’d laughed at her before and here was the same boy apologising to her. His face was so close to hers she could see every detail of his flawless features, she could smell the scent of his skin even through the heavy, floral scent of the shop. She took a moment to register what he had said, it seemed so strange that his attitude to her could flip from cold and distanced to warm and gentle so easily. As her mind caught up with what had just happened she began to feel her mood elevate again, today was obviously going to be an emotional rollercoaster and it had only just started. She smiled teasingly “Well, you’ve got balls enough to apologise.” She laughed, he had stunned her out of her sulky mood and her jovial nature had returned, she also tended to joke about when she felt nervous. Right now she felt very nervous indeed.

A strand of golden hair dropped from behind her ear, tickling her cheek. She felt the colour rising to her pale skin as she sat, absorbing the bright teal of Jack’s eyes, they were hypnotising. Her ability to joke about seemed to become drained from her as she lost ability to speak. Her lips twitched as she tried to come up with something that she could tell him, but she couldn’t think of anything, her mind had gone fuzzy. She felt foolish, completely silly. Part of her mind told her to snap out of it and stop being so ridiculous, another part was telling it to shut up and let her get on with it... The final part of her mind was laughing loudly at how stupid she was. She hadn’t ever been at a loss for words before, always leaping to comment on events. Out of her comfort zone as she was now, she felt uncomfortable, she sat awkwardly, unknowing about what to do.

[Jack Frost]

Jack smiled at her comment, "Noted" he replied letting his smile gain a slight sense of heat. It felt weird. Almost, blissful? He saw the lock of hair fall from behind her ear. His mind rushed as he felt every part of him heat up. The feeling was so calming, until it began to burn. A fire lit inside his body, it was too hot! He needed a way to vent it away. Winter saw where the situations was heading. Jack? Don't do it Jack! Are you listening?!?! Jack brushed his alter ego aside, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to Aušras.

DAMNIT JACK! Winter roared, sounding more like an angry father than anything. Jack again ignored his past life and brushed the lock of hair back behind Aušras ear. He felt his temperature start to drop, unsure if it was mental or physical. He felt the bliss of heat seep from his lips. Now the kiss was that of passion, not impulse. So many thoughts bubbled like a boiling cauldron. His thoughts kept flying by. It was chaos.

In the Chaos Jack heard Winter clearly. Jack? Are you okay? he asked. It took Jack a few moments to remember how to reply. Why? he asked. You just want to take over my life why do you care! he began, roaring in his mind. Winter cut him off. Did Jolly tell you that? No that's not why I'm here. I'm here to help you control your powers! Something hit Jack like a ton of bricks. Jolly had told him Winter wanted his old life back hadn't he? So who was lying? Himself or Jolly? He pulled away from his stunned hostess to contemplate this.

A slight blush rose on his lips. "Uh..." he mumbled. To be honest this was an awkward situation, he knew that. He had also never kissed a girl. so he had no clue how well he had done. He straightened up and turned around. It appeared he had regained his senses, and he was unsure how to handle the situation.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra flinched slightly as his lips touched hers. So strange, she thought, that his lips be so warm when the rest of his body was icily cold. Her mind stopped spinning as it had done before and slowed to enjoy the gentle kiss. It seemed every sense heightened at his touch, she could hear his breath and without knowing it she slowed her breath to keep time with his, she could feel his cool fingers trace her cheek as he pushed the stray lock of hair from her face. Each nerve his hand triggered sent a tiny signal to her brain, resulting in an effect like tiny fireworks going off in her mind. Most of all her sense of smell increased, and she drank in his scent, it wasn’t like the warm comforting smell of most humans, instead it was crisp and fresh, similar to the smell of a winters morning when you’ve woken up to a new blanket of snow outside. Strangely she enjoyed it more than she thought she would, she’d kissed before of course, but only ever out of curiosity, never because she had felt anything for the person. This was completely different to that. Right now she could let all her previous worries drop, she had no concern for where she was or who could see through the small window by the till. She was focussed utterly and completely on what she wanted. Jack.

As suddenly as it had started it ended, Jack had pulled away as if she had shocked him somehow. She knew this wasn’t possible, but something about the way his face changed made her hope that she hadn’t done something terribly, awfully wrong. How could she have? He had kissed her after all. Her eyes filled with concern, she stood and reached to take his hand, to reassure him. She wasn’t even sure that it was to reassure him rather than herself. Either way she felt vulnerable, exposed, she had let her guard down and now she wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to get it back up. The more she evaluated his facial expression, checking for signs that his retreat was her fault, the more she was convinced something more important was working behind the sharp teal eyes that graced his face. He looked truly confused, almost upset. “Um... Are... Are you okay?” She whispered tentatively, he looked as she would have had someone said that everything she had believed to be true was a lie since birth. She didn’t understand what was wrong, but she wasn’t going to sit there and let him worry alone, whether she be considered a mere friend or more.

[Jack Frost]

Jack turned back to the concerned girl. Suddenly he stopped caring about what Winter had said. "I'm fine..." he said pausing. "I just felt that I had maybe crossed a line or something." he said rubbing the back of his head. He felt the warmth in his body again, a sudden desire to be with her. Without realizing it he focused on her every feature. Her gray eyes, he pale skin and lips. Her somewhat rosy cheeks. He took every last one of her features and memorized them. He focused and began to make her all he ever wanted. It worked. Winter tried to protest. Jack Stop! but it was to late. He had created an anchor, and Winter was forced from his mind.

It felt as if someone had driven a spike through his skull. His eyes widened in shock, then the pain receded quickly. He took her hand gingerly and smiled. "Sorry about that." he said returning to her level, once again meeting her eyes. but it wasn't the same. Something gnawed on the back of Jack's mind. A certain emptiness. His eyes widened again as he realized what it was. Winter was gone. For a moment he was relieved, then he remembered what Winter had said previously.

It was a trick..... he thought to himself. He then shoved all thoughts of Winter away and focused more on Aušra. He no longer minded the smell of the shop, nor their total lack of privacy. "This may sound weird, but I think I love you." he whispered in her ear.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra internally breathed a sigh of relief, he doubted himself not her. She smiled as he rubbed the back of his head, she had noticed he did this when he thought, either the back of his head or his chin, it was one of the quirks she picked up on in people. However, he still seemed to be acting strangely, he seemed to be in pain for a moment but this seemed to pass quickly, how very odd. She didn’t mind though, for after this she seemed to have his complete, undivided attention. She hadn’t realised until then that he had always been distracted, somehow not entirely there, as if some part of him had been tied up somewhere else unable to pull itself back to the real world. His coldness seemed to have vanished slightly, and the cool touch of his skin seemed to be perfect, soft but cold enough to remind you it was still separate from you, no matter how intimate the moment.

His whispering in her ear caught her by surprise momentarily and sent a shiver of ecstasy down her spine, however his attention seemed to have flicked a switch in her brain turning on her playful side. She smiled coyly at him and raised a single eyebrow at him, she raised her well-shaped lips to his ear and simply teased “You know this after a day do you?” She pulled back from him to examine his reaction, she didn’t doubt his words, but she did so enjoy seeing how people reacted to her taunting. If he did love her he would have to learn to deal with her tendency to become playful and forget the seriousness of a situation with her. She gently took both of his hands stroked the back of one of them with her thumb, analysing the bone-structure that was apparent through his somewhat pale skin. She placed his hands at her waist and she stood, her body close to his, with her arms circling his. She raised her head to meet his eyes and smiled with content.

[Jack Frost]

Jack smiled at her jest. "Well I tend to learn things fast." he replied. He heard faint footsteps, and the door clicked open and then shut. From the sound of it Jolly was stepping out for a bit of fresh air. He was right in one respect. Jolly was stepping out. He was leaving for good. He felt the warmth of her skin on his, how he desired to feel it forever. It was blissful. He felt his nerves tingle as she stroked the back of his hands.

Then she stood up and pressed herself against him. It was amazing how intimate the moment had turned. Her warmth seeped through his thick clothes and penetrated every fiber of his being. Before he knew what he was doing he had pulled her closer, pressing his lips to hers again. This time his mind focused on every last detail. Later that night he would recall the shivers of pure bliss he felt tingle across his spine. The warmth of lips and breath. The way her body felt pressed against his.

He craved the warmth her body gave off, and pulled her into a tighter embrace. His breath streamed out of his nose in a fog. This time he would wait for her to stop the kiss. He couldn't bear to pull himself away from her. She was perhaps the only thing in the world to him at the moment. He hardly noticed the gust of wind the roared outside. Nor did he hear the door open. What he did recognize was the same cold voice he was so used to in his head. "We have to talk" Winter said tapping his foot impatiently.

[Aušra Žiburis]

She returned his smile with a beaming grin, bright as sunshine. Ignoring the door she allowed him to pull her closer, had it been a customer they would have knocked to grab her attention. The coolness of his skin enveloped her as their bodies touched, she accepted his kiss and there they would have stayed for much longer had they not been interrupted. The cold voice was piercing and the temperature dropped, she shivered noticeably and turned to stare at the intruder. Her head flicked back to Jack, he was talking to him, she could see the recognition in his teal eyes. Tension hung in the air and the girl was unsure whether to expect trouble or not, she awaited Jack’s response, for now she did not know entirely how to react.

She wished for her Sam to be beside her, he always made her feel safe but right now he was upstairs with Leski, possibly a good thing as the poor thing seemed to have very little ability to defend herself, unlike Aušra she couldn’t change minor details in her appearance either so hiding for the girl would always be more difficult. The dog was where he was most needed in case of genuine danger. Hostility prickled at the hairs of Aušra’s neck and her eyes narrowed, while she usually feared being rude the newcomer had been rude himself as he had not introduced himself. “Who on earth are you?” She growled, her arms tightened around Jack protectively. Her grey eyes became hard, her glare shot daggers at this strange man. What right did he have to waltz into her home and demand to talk to her guest?

[Jack Frost]

Jack turned to the man and frowned, still holding Aušra. He was old, his skin was wrinkled and baggy. His eyes were the same cold teal as Jack's. his face was framed by long, shoulder length silver hair. His attire was a silver Tunic with white trousers. His breath hung in the air in a pure fog. In his right hand he held a black cane with an ivory curved grip. He stared coldly at the blond holding Jack tightly. "I am Father Winter." he stated simply.

"Your friend Jack just made a terrible mistake we need to rectify. He chose an anchor, you, and cut me off from him." He said glancing around the shop. His face crinkled up in a nasty looking snarl. "Perfume." he said grumpily. The fact of the matter was Winter had loved the scent of perfume as a young man. It reminded him off his wife, but she was long dead. Now the scent made him scowl.

"By doing so we fell into a trap made by a very, VERY, cunning penguin. I have sacrificed most of my powers to recreate a new form." he said sighing. He then lifted up his cane and pointed it at Jack. "Now you have to stop Jolly from taking Winter island over."

Jack paused and rubbed Aušra's shoulder. "What if I don't want to?" he said in a slightly arrogant tone. This was the wrong thing to say. Winter nearly popped a blood vessel. His whole face turned crimson. "Arrogant boy you have to! It is your destiny to stop that stupid penguin!" He bellowed, spittle flying from his mouth. Jack sidestepped, taking Aušra with him, to avoid a projectile.

Jack scowled. "I liked you better when you were in my head." he said chuckling. Winter frowned. "Boy the fate of all of Althanas depends on you keeping the seasonal balance. Jolly is unaware of the balance, he will blanket the world in a perpetual arctic storm!" This caused Jack to frown. He could not feel Aušra's body heat in perpetual winter.

"How?" Jack asked, finally buying into what was being said. "I will teach you all I know." Winter replied.

[Leski Hanako]

Leski was sat on the floor upstairs, stroking her winged familiar gently, trying to recover from her fright from her encounter with the customer. It had worried her very much, and made her doubt about whether she should actually work to earn her keep somewhere, or whether she should just take off and hide somewhere: It was all because of her hair. That woman had been amazed by it, and she had caught Ausra's jealous glances towards her locks many-a-time, and even Jack seemed to enjoy them. Her hair was more of a curse than it was anything else. Sighing to herself, she contemplated her possibilities but couldn't come to a decision. She had three options: leave and find a way she can be free and not have to worry about weird people becoming mesmerised by her hair, go back home to her parents and become a prisoner again, or take the dagger in her leather sheath on her leg to her glistening locks and be done with it. Each decision had many pros and cons, and whilst she was dithering over what she should choose, Angelo alerted Leski to something that had changed.
-"Leski, there's someone downstairs... someone unusual."- He sent to her, jumping up from where he had snuggled up into a ball on her lap. She forced her contemplation to the back of her mind for the time being, and lifted herself off the worn wooden floorboards in the room. Bundling Angelo into her arms where she could keep him safe from the heavy steps that she could hear from Sam wandering around nearby, not wanting a repeat of earlier that morning, she stealthily made her way down the stairs. She hadn't liked the tone of Angelo's voice in her head, and didn't want to risk anything.

Reaching the door, she pressed her ear against the door. There were three voices, which was to be expected from her three friends - Jack, Jolly and Ausra - but one of the voices were different. It was a much colder voice than she was used to hearing. The other two voices were definitely Ausra and Jack, so where was Jolly? Worried about the little talking penguin who she was rather fond of, she pushed the door open to see the three people stood in the shop by the till. The unknown voice belonged to an older man who didn't seem to be here to buy perfumes or soaps, so she was very suspicious of who he could be, especially after seeing the cold glare coming from Ausra towards him, and Jack didn't seem to comfortable around him, either.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra’s head spun as she tried to absorb all the information she had discovered from the strange man in front of her, it surely couldn’t be real, but his expression seemed so angered and serious that to think he was joking would have been idiotic. Jack’s serious tone also indicated the urgency of the problem, the entire world rested on his shoulders, she’d be damned if it was a burden he would carry alone. All of this for a kiss, how very irritating, more irritating was the penguin’s actions. He had lied all along the scheming little creature, lying was something that Aušra took very personally indeed and her frown increased as she thought of his betrayal.

Although Jack seemed to have found belief in the tale spun by the old man it was much harder for Aušra to trust him, though the resemblance between Winter and Jack was remarkable. The aged being before her merely looked like the boy who stood by her, except much older, much more experienced, much colder. It was as though he was a wrinkly doppelganger of her new lover, it seemed almost perverse. She heard the slight creak of the door that lead to her living quarters and gave a slight nod to Leski to assure her that the pair seemed safe, the similarities to Jack convinced her that Winter probably did speak the truth. She could find no gain in him lying now that he had his own body. However, with doubt in her mind she mouthed to Leski to bring Sam down, hoping Winter didn’t notice, the dog might be a complete muppet but at least he’d try to defend the girl.

[Jack Frost]

While Aušra was mouthing to Leski, whom Jack had heard peek her head in, Jack was deadly serious. Both he and Winter had engaged in a heated staring contest. Both of their pale teal eyes were locked in on the others. It was strange that two ice elementals could generate so much heat in one cold piercing stare. It was a match of will. Who would win? Jack? Or Winter?

Just when it seemed you could cut the tension with a knife Jack announced, "I win." Which was odd, because neither had blinked yet. Winter blinked in confusion, and then realized what his opponent had done. Soon all of the red in his face was gone, and he laughed jovially. "I just lost a staring contest with myself!" he barked. It appeared all of the seriousness had gone away for the moment.

The old man caught wind of Leski and smiled. "It appears Jack is quite the ladies man, living with two women at once?" he said laughing. Jack scowled, and Winter laughed a weezy sort of laugh. "I'm kidding, I spent enough time in your head recently to know your intentions." Jack almost smirked at the quirky old man. "So lets go ahead and run this through again for Leski's sake." Jack said calmly. "Jolly tricked me into cutting myself away from you so you would sacrifice your power for a new form. He does this to gain control of Winter island, which I had very little intention of taking control of?" He said confused. "Correct." Winter mouthed and then he realized something. "I forgot to introduce myself to you!" he said turning to Leski. "Call me Grampa Winter." He said in a fatherly sort of tone.

Jack opened his mouth to comment, but stopped.
New posting order acknowledged. We still need a cut off point, where we will put that?

[Leski Hanako]

Maybe when it is decided that we're gonna go off to find Jolly? Anyone else have any suggestions?

Also, I have permission from Ausra to control Sam for this post.

There was something about Winter that Leski didn't like. It was kind of like a feeling of being misled, but she had a feeling that only Jack would know for sure whether Winter could be trusted. He was part of Jack, after all, and the resemblance was uncanny. They may as well of been father and son as Leski noted many of the same features, but there were also many subtle differences that were noticeable if you studied both of the men hard enough, but not many people would stand there and scrutinise every single last detail... unless you were a young and shy girl who had never talked to a stranger in her life, especially under such weird circumstances.

Ausra had asked her to go and get Sam, but even though she hadn't left the doorway, she was already on to the task. Angelo was out dog-hunting, and was being a very brave cat indeed, especially after almost being turned into a pancake in the early hours of that morning. Slyly sneaking through a gap in Ausra's bedroom's door, Angelo spotted Sam lounging lethargically on the end of her bed, but he soon snapped out of his relaxing rest when he laid his eyes on the flying cat. Wagging his tail frantically, he leapt off the bed and began chasing Angelo all the way down from the living quarters and into the shop, where Angelo jumped onto Leski's back and allowed Sam to carry on, bowling into the door and throwing it wide open, stopping just in time to prevent him from ending up underneath a pile of lavender-fragranced soaps. All he did was pant happily, as if waiting to be rewarded for something he never did.

[Aušra Žiburis]

Aušra stared at her useless lump of a dog, it was not exactly the defensive entrance she had hoped for, but at least he was there. She felt more confident for some reason, as if her stupid mutt gave her a layer of protection from Winter. But his laughter seemed to break her tension towards him, filling her with her own usual joking persona. “Ah be quite old man,” She muttered, risking a joke, “You know you’re only jealous.” She gave him a quirky smile, lopsided due to her nerves. She pulled herself away from Jack to compose herself as she prepared to return to a more serious topic.

She breathed deeply, taking the time to organise what she said next, it felt as though a stone was sat in the pit of her stomach as she tried to ignore the jittering feeling of nervousness. “Well... I suppose there’s nothing we can really do but trust you.” She stated slowly and thoughtfully, “If you are telling the truth and we ignore you, well, that’s Althanas gone for good.” She was sure this was the only option, it was risk the world or risk just the three of them, she’d rather try to save her home. If Winter was right her home would be doomed anyway unless they took action. She looked into Jack’s sharp eyes, searching for agreement which she hoped to find there. She looked back to Winter and Leski, “We could take a week to prepare, gather resources before we set out.” She said, gradually regaining her authoritative attitude. She looked at the three of them, looking for contributions, criticisms, anything. She spread her hands out on the desk, leaning forward, her grey eyes glinting with the excitement of adventure that lay ahead.

[Jack Frost]

Winter let out a slight chuckle, "Trust me, back in my day I too was quite the ladies man." He watched her split from Jack, he had almost believed that they had become conjoined. Jack was tempted to follow her, like a child following his mother. The warmth from contact was pleasing, and he found it's absence upsetting.

Jack nodded to Aušra confidently. "We could use the money from your till to buy a wagon or two, take your wares with us and sell them as we go." He suggested. Winter nodded. "That plan sounds good for me, we travel and listen for rumors of that penguin. It has probably been many a year since he has been to Winter island, and he has probably lost track of its course."

Jack smiled, it seemed Winter was slightly more pleasant in person. He was unsure on how Leski would react to this change. He was also unsure on how she would react if she found out he and Aušra were together. "We could turn out quest into a business venture!" Jack added smiling. "We could gather money, sell to foreign markets, find Jolly, save the world, and come back with new exotic ingredients!"

Jack, in all of his excitement left the shop in a hurry to scout out prices. Winter sighed and followed suit, "Wait up boy!" he said, his cane clicking in time with the footsteps of his right foot.

My closing post with Jack, who promptly left with winter to scout out prices. So I would like to go ahead and request my spoils.
NPC gained: Father "Grampa" Winter. Familiar jolly the penguin lost.
Skills:
Protective: Jack finds himself poised like a gaurd dog whenever he smells danger. his freinship foe Leski provides him with a .5 stat boost to all stats when he defends her. His love for Aušra provides him with plus one to all stats when defending her. These buffs last for the length of one post and must wait three posts before he can use them again. I.E if he defends Aušra he gets a buff for one post then has to wait three posts before using the buff for either person.

Recurring Insight: Jack remembers things he did when fighting Winter in a dream. While he has no clue how to use these skills yet they linger on the edge, ready for him to chance across them.

[Leski Hanako]

Leski just watched the almost identical pair leave together out of the shop, in search of the supplies they needed. She had not even had a chance to adjust to her new life of freedom and she was being moved on again suddenly... well, not as sudden as her previous leap towards freedom, which happened in the spare of the moment, but it was still rather fast. It was exciting and new to her. This way, she would get to see the world before she settled down with a job and ended up tied down again, as free as she was back at home.

Basically, Leski didn't know how to feel about this movement again, and was very confused by it all. She contemplated asking Ausra if she wanted her to run the shop whilst she was away, but a weird feeling that they would need her along the way kept the words away from the tip of the tongue. Sighing, she turned to head back upstairs into the living quarters.
"It seems like they have got it all under control. I'll be in my room if you need me." With this, she ambled up the stairs and back to her room.

[Aušra Žiburis]

The left corner of Aušra’s mouth rose to a devilish smile, as fun as owning the shop was she was ready for a taste of adventure and although she knew that ultimately she would have to help Jack to be rid of Jolly, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of excitement at the prospect of finding exotic new ingredients. Her friends were more trouble than she could have possibly imagined when they first arrived, but she didn’t mind trouble so much, trouble was usually quite fun as far as she was concerned. She looked from Father Winter to Jack and decided which one she trusted most with her hard earned money, she opened the till, tossed a few coins into a small purse and threw it to Winter. “No offence Jack, but age is meant to bring experience.” She said with a playful smile, “Take the money just in case you find an offer you can’t refuse.”

As the two men left her shop she turned to Leski and ran a hand through her golden locks. She breathed out, casting her eyes around her shop, “Well, I’d best get this stuff packed then.” It would be no easy feat, Jack may have managed to stock a few of her depleting stocks fast enough, but depending on how long they would be gone they might as well take as much as possible. She nodded to Leski as the girl headed upstairs and crossed the shop floor to go into the store room and grab a wooden crate to place some of her products in, she decided to pack the most valuable and highly demanded first after all, they were most important to take with them.

As she dragged the crate into the main shop she glanced across the wooden floors and painted walls, she’d miss the place dearly though she’d never admit it. Sam looked at her with a sadness in his big dark eyes, he whined as if knowing what was going on and fearing being left alone. “Don’t be stupid you great mutt,” Aušra whispered gently, kneeling down to stroke his head, “I wouldn’t leave you alone, what would I do without you? I’d be useless, I would.” The dog licked her face happily, understanding her words. She smiled, stood up and turned the sign on the window of the shop door to say ‘Closed’.

[Tainted Bushido]

Mood - Meh
Music - Gluttony Fang - Blazblue: Continuum Shift OST (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0r2T3Kvqc8)

Overall - Hi, I know for most of you guys this will be your first judgment from me. As I usually don't deal in judgments it may seem odd to see me doing such things, but don't worry, I don't bite hard. Old jokes aside, I will warn you I am seen as overly critical and highly harsh at times during judgment. I assure you, talking to me will show you in two comments that I'm generally an easy going guy, I just tend to focus on the bad, because that's where you need the most work. Do not be discouraged by what I say folks, take it to heart.

ONTO THE JUDGING!

Story - 11/30

Continuity - 4 - I know this is the sequel to another thread, but I shouldn't need to read that thread to get the gist of what happened. All I really know was, Leski was feeling trapped, Jack freed her from her evil parents some how, and they flew to Aušra's shop before they stayed the night. Jack apparently had something happen where his penguin put him in a coma to fight evil jack, and won. Other than this, I get absolutely nothing for what happened previously. Maybe that is all that happened, but its mentioned so vaguely that I don't understand the importance of these events. As far as the thread itself, the continuity was solid, as far as that goes. Nothing was really double backed on and other than the occasional glossing over past actions you didn't fall prey to making me read the same thing three times. Aušra gave me the best feeling of this being a slightly off day and the guests were what made it so.

Setting - 4 - The setting was set, then mostly forgotten. This works at times, but you can't expect me to give you high marks when its featured as a backdrop only. Keep in mind how people react to the characters is as much setting, as anything else. A few things also jumped out at me as off, like the mentioning of duct tape on the broom amongst other things. Althanas may be steam punk, but duct tape is a modern construct of today's world. I doubt Althanas has tape at all, and any thread I would catch such futuristic gadgets would be punished.

Pacing - 3 - The pacing was very choppy, short posts contributed to the problem as it created an artificially hasty pace, which then suffered form the perspective change every time you guys did another string of short posts. There are times however, the thread flowed well, the breakfast and the first big kiss came to mind. At those points, the thread was in a natural feel and flow, that helped you tell the story. The rest seemed tacked on and artificially enforced. Some events (such as getting Leski upstairs) seemed to be in the category of "we need to get this over with" or "we need this to happen, lets come up with an excuse". I'm not asking for a ten page term paper every time you post, there is something to be said for brevity, but brevity for brevity's sake is not helpful either.

Character - 14/30

Persona - 5 - Jack felt rather flat to me, I had no sense of character from him and all I got was dialogue and action out of him. I had nothing to base any character quirks upon. Aušra gave me the feeling of the most "complete" character in the group, but because of that her mood swings made her seem rather bi-polar. Leski I had nothing more than she seems extremely shy, and perhaps that's what you were going for. Figure out what your character is and build a post around conveying that each time you go to take your turn in the order.

Dialogue - 4 - You gave me a lot of verbal dialogue, but little in terms of body language. I'm sorry to say in the few times you used it, you clobbered me over the head with it, either by having it so blatantly obvious or by thinking it wasn't obvious enough and repeating it almost verbatim by having the character say what they are conveying. Sometimes you need to let actions speak louder than the words. Let those words convey themselves.

Action - 5 - Average because of the lack of feeling I got for the characters. I had no baseline to judge, especially with Aušra. You get an average score, but nothing else due to this either. Working on your persona will bring all of these up appropriately. Also deciding on character quirks and ticks also will help with this, especially if you focus on ensuring the react appropriately every time.

Writing Style - 11/30

Mechanics - 4 - Awful mistakes littered the thread. These ranged from minor spelling, to major grammatical. One such example is Jack forgetting to capitalize the beginning of every sentence. These are writing basics and they brought the thread down a notch. Don't be afraid to call someone on their poor writing. I know people have told me I suck and need to redo posts because I frankly wasn't thinking and did something so horrendously bad that it threw the entire thread off. Also helping each other by spotting errors helps to create a bit more unity in posts, and generally makes things smoother.

Technique - 4 - Comparisons made made me scratch my head, such as when Jack compared himself to a "confused chihuahua". Forgive me for saying this, but that just was so awkwardly compared I felt you did us all a disservice with that. Awkward phrasings all around, as well as the occasional tense change. Stick to past, present, or future tense, and ride it through to the end. Read your posts aloud and see if you trip over how something is worded, while grammatically or spelling it may be gold, and in your mind it may work, speaking it is another thing entirely. I can tell you several ideas seemed good in my head, only to totally flop on paper due to bad forethought.

Clarity - 3 - Took a huge hit due to the awkward phrasings and the misspellings or grammatical errors. Since your posts were shorter, there was less t judge, and I had to think HARDER on how things were supposed to fit together. Add in the plot dropping in to say high towards the later half of the thread and I was just one confused man. When you hit submit thread you are saying "My work is designed to stand on its own. Please tell me why it won't."

Wildcard - 5/10

Wild Card - 5 - This wasn't the worst thread, but it certainly wasn't one of the best. That is not to say you guys suck, you don't. I felt you guys put forth a modest effort and that's why your score is the way it is. Threads I truly loathe usually end up in the 20-35 category. I'm more concerned with the fast pace of Jack's story. This whole thread took place over the course of 24 hours. The relationship seemed rushed, Jack establishing his anchor seemed doubly so, and even now I have no clue what being his "anchor" means. You give it some mechanical meaning for you character (that is to say your character from a profile standpoint seems to enjoy some benefit for it) without explaining what being an Anchor means to both you and the person you anchor to.

I should not need to read your profiles for anything other than to check for power gaming.

Overall - 41!

Aušra Žiburis gains 493 EXP and 200 GP!

Jack Frost gains 493 EXP and 200 GP!

Leski Hanako gains 388 EXP and 200 GP! (Difference due to having less posts than your team mates.)

All EXP is based on the EXP equation and the gold is based on my discretion as a judge. Any comments can be PM'ed to me on any of my accounts, or contact me on AIM via SethDahlios. (I will warn you as I'm moving somewhere with no internet soon the PM is the better way of contacting me.)

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added.