The epitome of adaptation these days it had seemed that Aegir had found a niche for adjusting himself in correspondence to what he had learned. With the guiding influences of the minds he had absorbed to both assist and hinder him Aegir found that he was an amalgamation of the being that he once was. This, however, had not daunted him and while it had disturbed him initially he had simply rolled with the matter. See, change brought with it a certain satisfaction to him. It entailed new experiences, new possibilities and new undertakings. Life, especially an extraordinarily long life such as his, would have been quite boring if not for these small entertainments that he was able to partake in.

His lot had not been a creative one for the thoughts and motivations of his kind were quite alien than those of "rational" human beings. They would not make any sense because their whole fiber of being did not make sense. Aegir had fallen from their tiring routines long ago when he turned his attention to these fascinating beings. Humans intrigued him, and while he may have been tainted by his research of them primarily through the minds he had dined upon in years past Aegir could honestly say that he took the first step towards evolution something that had seemed to have become stagnant over the millenia amongst his people. And it was this approach that had made him better than them, this approach, tainted or not, that would escalate him into a realm beyond even their understanding though he was probably as alien to them now as humans once were to him.

But he still had much to learn about these fascinating creatures even if he may never live long enough to solve all the intricate mysteries that their kind held. They were forever evolving, changing, adapting. Clearly they were still at their evolutionary growth not yet acquiring their potential making them ideal for study.

What had interested Aegir in recent days had been one of his latest hunts. Had he let the matter influence him too much? Should he have shrugged off his thoughts in such a nonchalant manner as so many other beings would? Had those absorbed minds begun to wreak havoic with him in more ways than he could even comprehend? Quite a few questions swept through his mind in the days since he had manipulated Lucrecia. Through guile he had lured her away from safety, through trickery he had invoked an illusion complete with a rather innocent and unthreatening personae. It was in this rouse that Aegir had established a rapport with his prey. Dialogue was scarce these days for there were so few that would willingly interact with one of his kind. Scientists perhaps, at least those that could overcome their initial fears though in such a capacity he would be the one being scrutinized, being observed and tested upon. He'd pass on that whole ordeal for Aegir had been uninterested in what others could learn from him. He was more interested in unlocking what he did not understand, in mastering it.

While undertaking that ruse with Lucrecia Aegir had wondered if he could actually be accepted as what he was, to be drawn into the embrace of a lover rather than having to endure the constant schemes of snaring victims in one fashion or another. Aegir had not thought that this was possible under normal circumstances. Revulsion, fear, xenophobia, panic, these and other emotions were such a nuisance in overcoming at times. This time around though Aegir had something else in mind. For this he would need to draw upon the labs.

For weeks he had familiarized himself with the layout of the buildings, even managed to observe portions of experiments via recordings or setting a node or two up in ideal spots which allowed the diminitive beings to broadcast what they saw directly to Aegir in much the same way that radio waves transmitted sound from a station to various transceivers. Once he got a tentacle upon how things were run here Aegir had mulled over the steps entailed in achieving something that had been otherwise elusive. While it had detracted from his normal research Aegir ensured that this newfound quest would not hinder his primary goals. First and foremost he had impossed a short run on the duration of his work so that it would not interfere with what he had in mind. No more than half a dozen trials none of which would run longer than a season though more aptly a month. No first years, for while it was sweet getting his tentacles upon a new arrival Aegir found that they often drew upon the very qualities that he had sought to avoid.

No, for this experiment he would need someone seasoned. Someone that had been around for some time. Someone that had gathered up enough experiences either consciously or subconsciously where fear and revulsion weren't going to be huge factors in matters. It took him some doing and more than a few forrays into the campus under an illusionary guise to get ahold of campus records. What he looked for initially were those that had extensive time in the medical wings, those that had suffered from black outs or had obtained treatment for unexplained injuries, nightmares and the like. He searched for those canidates that were likely to have run across the greatest numbers of his peers then began to grow selective there. Weeding out those that weren't strong enough willed to endure their hardships on the island, looking towards those that seemed to adjust the best from their ordeals. Who got stronger? Who adjusted quickest? Who, when the smoke cleared, had still been standing.

Eventually Aegir had decimated the numbers down to a handful, then from there he had his crème de la crème. His sweet six. Ok so in the following weeks he found that four of them simply could not seem to cope with his illusions. It took a certain finesse to delve into minds when they were at rest. He had not tried his hand upon it before and this had been new territory for him. Thus he had needed a few er guinea pigs to perfect his technique. He did marvel in his failures as much as his successes though. Why he learned more about his boundries, his limits and through pushing himself he even learned more about himself and what he was capable of. So he had better luck with his fifth canidate. Though the results were more entertaining than the previous four Aegir found them almost too comical to draw any conclusions from. He supposed he was beginning to acquaint himself with human humor after all, for this one had seen the realm of such invoked dreams as a roller coaster ride. Something to adhere to with such passion as to be utterly unrealistic for it was quite obvious that his subject had thought of the matter as little more than a wild dream. Initially that was what the experience was to entail, being a dream-like state that would slowly give way to real experiences, to see if he could actually get someone to reciprocate desire upon him when it had not been thrust upon them. When the truth was known, however, his subject reverted to the primal fight or flight mechanism ...

So there was one last subject to trial before he would set aside his test only to get back to his real purpose for being here. Reviewing his thoughts Aegir drew upon his eidetic memory conjuring up what he could recount of subject number six. Cassie Marie Smith ...

Now getting her to the lab was more of a challenge than the actual invoking of what he wished to do. That was not to say that this time around matters wouldn't be any different only that summoning up the proper state of being within her mind would be easier for him not to mention safer for her. So with this experience being amongst several firsts for Aegir he had no problem in donning a casual disguise for this endeavor.

Taking on the role a campus nurse Aegir assumed for himself the identity of a Miss Wendy Rochelle a petite graying haired woman in her early 40's. His objective was simple and had already been set into motion as a messenger was well on her way to Cassie's dorm room. She would be informed to check in at the infirmy for this season's flu vaccination before the hour was through. It was only natural that through the powers of suggestion and a little mental influence that the active nurse had quietly fallen into a slumber only to be tucked away into the closet of the nurse's office. When she came too she would recall being the butt of a campus joke only having a vague recollection of being locked in this chamber where she must have simply dozed off when no one came to unlock the door, which of course would be unlocked for her.

Having prepared his serum in advance Aegir planned on injecting Cassie with anhydrotetrodotoxin 4-epitetrodotoxin more commonly known as tetraodontidae a neurotoxin that could be found in pufferfish. The stuff had been quite potent being 1,200 more times as deadly than cyanide. In fact, that same poison could be found in the most venomous of creatures in the oceans of earth, the blue-ringed octopus. Aegir's own poison worked in the same fashion as the later. He had harvested the puffer venom because it could be harnessed in minute doses to cause paralysis rather than death. Paralysis would allow Aegir to move her from point A to point B without too much fuss. An illusion could be invoked to shroud her body while he carried her straight out the door. Sure, he could have used mental dominance to command her to go where he wanted her to but that was certainly no fun and not much of a challenge. So he was making things a little more complicated than they had to be yet that was half the fun that he got to have. Now all he had need to do was wait to see if Cassie would keep her appointment or not. Naturally Aegir had a back up plan should she not arrive in a timely fashion, he always did plan for the worse after all. He only hoped that there wouldn't be any other students popping in here looking for asprin for runny noses or needing treatment for a sprained ankle while he waited ...

With that cute lil bell the computer let me know mail wuz awaiting me. Would I finally learn the fate of me roomy an wife? The missing half of me that no longer graced the lonely bed we had once shared. With me gingers tingling in anticipation I clicked.

From: School Admin
Subject” Influenza Vaccinations

Cassie Marie Smith,

You will receive your influenza vaccination at 10:30 tomorrow Monday 7 July 2008. Proceed to the Dorm nurses office in proper attire at least 5 minutes before the allotted time so as not to impact other students and their shot times

Shokushu School Admin

“Teaching young women the skills they will need for tomorrow.”
Like a balloon I could feel me self deflate, shoulders growing heavy, me fingers suddenly swollen an puffy. Scootchin the chair back I looked once more round the seeing the familiar objects that made me recall a happier time, a time of love an joy. Once more me eyes lingered upon the picture on me desk, the two of us, heads together, her white wedding dress, my black one. I swear I could still feel the lingering of that first wedded kiss upon me lips, me finger softly caressing the red puffy curve.

Damn……I shouldn’t cuss, as it were the lord had enough trouble with me I reckoned, but it is how I felt. Still there were classes, an the flu shot. Opening the drawer I ‘gain to get dressed, the white terry cloth robe smoothly slipping from me body to pool ‘bouts to me feet. White boring cotton, but it kept yah out of trouble an away from detention. Still me fingers lingered o’er the Black lace. Lace me love had given me on our first months anniversary. Scandalously sexy an sum thing I really shouldn’t wear….but…who wuz to know.

I felt far more alive with the soft caress of the silk an lace upon me body. It wuz sexy an all. The way the thin strap of the panties disappeared ‘tween the rounded curves of me bum. The bra held the curve of me bosom an a cradle that provided a wonderful expanse of cleavage. The rose of me nipple an golden rings faintly visible ‘neath the expanse of lace along the top of the bra. Strange how I wuz already a bouncing like a kid in a candy store: how clothes could make you feel better even when yah didn’t really want to. Perhaps it wuz her ghost guiding me hands this morning. Telling me she would have wanted me to feel this way.

White blouse, all regulation, but tight ‘bout me chest went on. Still the powers that be had decreed it the proper size. An frankly there were girls far more endowed than I and all their shirts where a tight expanse of cotton round there chest as well. Nope, not at all like I wuz being singled out. The blue vest an the scarf, complete the assembly. .

I slipped on the short blue skirt, tucking in the blouse an zipping the side up. When I’d first come here I had hated ‘um with a passion. But o’er time it had kinda grown on me. Hanajis enjoyment of me shapely length of me legs strutting about from under it had helped in that transition. An for me own reasons I had taken the worst of them. The one I kept in the bottom of the stack in a way of avoiding it. Hanaji Had liked this one…but I only wore it for her in the room. Today I would venture forth with it on, an if I wuz careful an lady like it would be ok. Though there wuz always the chance of being up-skirted, an given the near lack of material tween me legs it wuz a risk. Yet even that risk made me feel alive.

At 10:25 breathless from the quick run at the end of class I knocked upon the nurses door.

“Ma’am, Cassie Marie Smith is here for her shot…I ummm got this notice in me email to come here like.” A fiery main of hair bouncing ‘bout me shoulders. Alive, so good to be alive, handing her the glossy school ID with me picture on it so at least me records would be all updates na the like. No sense getting more than yur far share of shots. An like the good girl I wuz I sat when told to sit, filled out the proper forms, even the consent one an half listened to her prattle about coming back if their were any side effect.

Stick…..normal pain that. Might make it to the concert hall for a bit of piana practice….me fingers an toes tingling….Strange that.

“Ummm, I….I don’t feel soooo llloooofff,” Me tongue heavy an suripy in me mouth. Every nerve tingling….then nothing but me body starting to topple….the floor….oh lord help me…the …I stopped…I felt nothing. Not a blessed thing, all that wuz going through me head wuz what did she say ‘bout side effects. Oh dear lord if I get through this I promise to pay more attention to the nurses spiel.

The world swung an I bounced. Not that I felt a bit of it…only….only she had me o’er her shoulder an her legs were kicking away down below me head. Mama has said to wear clean knickers cause yah never knew what wuz gonna happen. All I could think bout was that short skirt an black G-string panties in me being o’er the shoulder of the nurse exposing me bum to everyone we ran by on the way to the hospital….

Course there wuz no hospital….wuz there?

Acclaim had to be bestowed upon that inventive student that he had used as his messenger. Blessed with telepathy out to a modest range and capable of manufacture nodes that served both in the capacity of scouts as much as signal boosters allowing him to project his own abilities outward through them Aegir had never worried or really contemplated modern technology. He would not have considered using a venue as quick and easy as the internet or email. He had learned of these things though most of the minds he had absorbed came from an era when such inventions had yet to make their mark upon the world (if they even existed as mere ideas at that stage). This only showed to him that he still had much to both learn and consider when it came to the resourcefulness of humans.

Not one to complain when things were going his way Aegir had quite enjoyed the fact that everything had fallen into place so smoothly. The shot had been delievered without any fuss and while those effects set upon Cassie almost at once there had been no time for her to react to the poison that had coursed through her veins. As deadly as the toxin could be Aegir had first hand experience with it himself and thus had a degree of expertise upon it. The first thing he had ensured after Cassie had been incapacitated was that the dosage he used had not been too severe. Despite the precautions that he had taken Aegir had no intention of risking her death.

Here he had been reliant upon his own mental faculties given the nature of the neurotoxin at hand. Pufferfish venom had been the primary ingredient used by Haitian witch doctors in concocting potions that would seemingly kill individuals. The witch doctor would revive them from the dead days later upon unearthing their coffins and thus force the individual to work as a field hand upon their plantation as an indentured servant for the gift of renewed life. Of course what had really happened was that the poison took hold upon the victim to the point that life was virtually undetectable even under the most strignent of examinations. By try explaining that to the superstitious ... still, the secret of the poison, how it was concocted and how these witch doctors revived people as zombies had been a closely guarded secret for a great number of years.

Once content that he had not killed her or that she had been in no danger of perishing as a result of the poison he had imbued into her system he hefted her off of the floor that she had fallen to, veiled her form amongst his own creating another illusion that cloaked him as an unseemingly student. Thus he received next to no attention knowing full well that the reverse would have been true had he tried walking through these halls with Cassie slung over his shoulder as she was.

He did have to resort to being a little more stealthy upon the grounds of the campus least he be tagged as a wayward student that was attempting to slip off campus. Nothing that he could not deal with through an implanted suggestion to ignore what had been seen or to forget about it altogether but Aegir preferred not to deal with added complications unless they were of the utmost need. So onward he trekked unhindered thankfully.

His gait had been slow though Aegir had been patient knowing that the venom could last a great deal of time. Those Haitian witch doctors had concocted a paralytic venom that ran the course of three days. Three days, aware though unable to act ... being buried alive, then rescued at the darkest hour of life ... Aegir, if he had calculated matters correctly had used roughly a sixth of that potency. Half a day was well more than enough time for him to transport her to the labs. Sure enough a few hours later he had arrived there. It had not been long before he allowed the veil of deception to melt away from their bodies given that he had no need for such trickery out in the wilderness. He did keep himself alert though, his senses reaching outward to draw in his surroundings for one could never be too keen on when another monster could strike, one that had its eye upon his prey.

Yes, Aegir could share as well as the next creature, though truth be told he was anxious in getting his research underway. He did not maintain a stance one way or the other as to the apparent success of his task at hand. Opinions would only marr his works causing him to yearn for one result over the other. There were results that he had been hoping to obtain of course though if he had reached them or not had not been half as thrilling or exciting as the work he had placed into mattters.

So it was well before their arrival at the labs that Aegir had acquainted himself with his prize. His compound mind had allowed him to concentrated upon numerous tasks simultaneously and though he had drawn his focus in to scan the terrain he slithered through he did divest a little of his own energy outward into her. In this way he could do several things at once. First and foremost was fact finding. Double checking the information his nodes passed along to him, referencing what he had stumbled across in files, Aegir weeded out fact from fiction. He pressed into some of her memories in an effort to determine what made her tick. What she had endured thus far would provide him with a decent outline in how to proceed. He could also communicate with her and did so through his telepathy. There were no taunts, nor torments issued, just simple small talk though he had avoided discussing his plans through shifting topics or outright not answering her questions. She would remember none of it by the time they were ready to begin.

Once he had her secured (a needless precaution but he was a cautious being after all) he would move to drug her inducing her mind into sleep. Once in that state his real efforts could get underway though before all that he would place a simple block upon her memories to ensure that she had not recalled her abduction nor anything after setting out for that fateful doctor's appointment. Later she would recall tidbits, most likely in dreams at first then in her waking memory. Then fragments would be strung together, images would become clearer and in time it stood a reasonable chance that his short term solution in overwhelming the neurons in her brain that allowed her mind to form long term memories would give way restoring enough of the incident where she would be uncertain of matters. Had this happened or was it some fanciful dream? That was the question he would leave her with at least as far as her abduction went. For the remainder of his experiment he had something else entirely in mind.

Laying her out upon a cold metallic table Aegir patiently strapped her down. Least the poison and the drugs erode to nothingness there would be little worry about Cassie injuring herself in an attempt to brake free. Double cheeking her restraints he ensured that she was fastened in though still had circulation flowing through her limbs. Now for a little explaination before he would lull her off into a realm of his creation, a realm that he may not have been intimately familiar with but one that touched upon the subconscious of the mind in a way that could not be denied as belonging to those realms of influence that Aegir so readily commanded.

I would like to explain what it is that I intend on doing to you but that would defeat the nature of this project. Know that while you have been rendered powerless for the time being you are in no danger. My aim is not to maim you or kill you. How much you take away from this experience of course is entirely up to you as is how much you will recall. You have been selected for your qualities ... what you have witnessed here upon the island for starters amongst what you have endured thus far. While some would brake beneath the pressures these experiences showered upon them a rare few, yourself included, have risen above all this growing even stronger from this ordeal. My tenure upon the island has not been as extensive as others though you will find that I am a most curious being.

You are the last in a limited run, the final experiment to see if my theories hold any weight. Thus far of five previous canidates the results have been rather disappointing. It is my hope that I am met with different results this time around but as you humans are quite fond of saying only time will tell.

His mouth tentacles whipped about his mouth as he spoke in what a human may have mistaken as glee or perhaps even anxiousness. His pupil less white eyes regarded her rigid body sweeping down from the crown of her red head to the soles of her feet then back up again. It only seemed right that he explain what little of his aims here and now, not that she would remember of course. Maybe upon a subconscious level she would exhibit some recall of this moment, though how much even Aegir had been uncertain of. Humans were as variable as snowflakes and quite versatile to boot. Though while he observed her he had considered his past mistakes, those failings nagged upon him for a moment, words hammering into the fore of his brain telling him to forego the drugs. Hypnosis, mental hypnosis could lure her into the realm of sleep that he was hoping to usher her into to the same effect though with greater control upon his part. He had been surprised that he had not considered the matter before this, and though Cassie was his last in this experiment it stood to reason that his prior failures had lacked something in their make up that would have warranted him with some token of success. Why not try something a little different, a little new? He reasoned he had nothing to loose from it and thus set his mind to doing just that.

We travel, an through it all I cannot move. Though me heart beats an me lungs fill with air. So I reckon I live. Live as long as god wills that I do. An so I pray. Small furtive prayers for I do not wish to die. Yet nothing answers me, only the labored breath of the women that carries me.

More an more I feel the panic inside me grow as the nurse remains silent. ‘Please lord, let me live…let me be all right’, I try an force back the rising tide of angst that threatens to take away me very sanity. Everything I can perceive seems to happen in slow motion. I am, but just. A being unable to influence the world round her, only able to receive through me five senses. Perhaps I fear that most. Fear that this will not pass an someone will caste me asunder even as I desperately try an communicate. Me voice failing me even as the lid of the coffin closes like in one of them scary movies.

Hours seem days when all you can do is fret an worry o’er every little thing, unable to do nothing ‘bout it. Strange how the mind will seize upon the craziest notions an run with them. For a moment me panic had been that me fellow students would see me undies an perhaps a lil more as I wuz carried. Now laying upon the cold metal as the lights go by an the wheels turn I have to wonder who’s job it is to change all those lights…hundreds of fluorescent tubes….lights, at a time like this …whodda thought. I almost have to laugh at the sheer silliness brought on by me fears an panic.

Bright lights…bright lights. I try an close me eyes to no avail. Rings of fire burn in to me retina an force the brilliant white glow that blocks out all I can see. The nurse…she wuz the one pushing the cart, the only one I could see, must’a pushed me into an examining room. I could only hope for a blind fold, anything to turn off the light I try so desperately to close me eyes against.

Instead I feel the tightness about me ankles…then wrists….then torso. A tightness of restraints sum thing I am all to familiar with. The giggle goes nowhere as the thoughts of HanajI rise once more into the center of me head. What would she do to see me restrained? The skirt up too high, a part of it flipped backward as the breeze from the moving air wafts across me inner thighs. Oh she would laugh, even as I want to smooth the skirt down, all lady like. A modesty the staff seems not to worry ‘bout, I reckon the emergency of the moment being more important. I suppose I should be glad me clothes are still on an not some silly backless hospital gown.

As I lay upon the gurney at deaths door, a halo of light as if from heaven itself all I can see, god speaks to me. I can hear his voice echo in me head. A voice that carries the weight of eons, a commanding an yet compassionate voice. Unlike the nurse prattling on ‘bout side effects I listen in earnest to me lord an master.

‘Project?’ the more the voice talks the more confused I get. God is not interested in projects or theories nor are the demons of hell itself. The words spin inward on me in some great whirlpool. Less an less make sense to me. Not god then…an yet who else. Is me hearing so messed up I think the nurse speaks to me in me cotton picking head. Though the fear that had almost consumed me, it is forgotten in the working of this puzzle.

I can feel me rising vanity an pride. Selected for me qualities? I have had to work hard in school. Me scores some of the best even when I have to put in hours of study each night to jus try an catch up like. NO, I had not broken, an I would say I had gotten stronger. Ohhhh, I would prevail. I would succeed if only I knew what it wuz I had to do.

An then I crashed like a debutante at the ball with too long a dress. I hit the floor, panic an fear seizing me for moment in their ice cold grips. How….How could I do anything unable to move? A sudden shocking thought that this might have been planned….that the school might do this to me? No….NO….What wuz going on? I would have ripped the restraints from me limbs if I could have moved an demanded the answers.

The only answer I did receive wuz the prick of another needle into me shoulder. An then an small stab of pain in me forearm. I could feel the world go fuzzy. The sounds muted an slowing. The light fading…fading.

I sat alone upon the grass, me bare feet dangling in the cool bubbling waters of the small brook. The sun warmed me back as it stood high in the sky. A gentle breeze blew across the glade softening the sun’s warmth an a making me hair dance about me head. The fragrance of wild flowers filled the air in an exquisite bouquet of natures finest. Lilac, wild rose, daisies all combining in a symphony of scent.

As the sun got warmer the cool waters of the brook could very well become me salvation. I kicked, a spray of water droplets sparkling in the sun like so many jewels. Words an notes bubbled up inside me. A silly song from me youth, ‘ bout a tomato an a cucumber. I sang…joining the chorus of birds and the rustle of the leaves. A single voice against the backdrop of nature.

(sorry, hadn't gotten the notification that there had been a post)

Imagine darkness. The absence of light that brought with it a void of blackness that stretched over one's eyes as far as one could see. Your touch unable to feel any objects in your immediate vicinity you are left with numerous questions. How far did this darkness spread? Were you in an enclosure? Outdoors beneath a dreadfully dark sky? Now imagine that same darkness engulfing you for not a few mere moments but for an entire day. Stumbling about the darkness you learn about your environment the hard way. Many bumps and bruises tell you that four steps to your left is an obstacle. Touch reveals to you that the waist high object must be a fence or barrier of some sort. You know not what color it is, your senses contained by the darkness that eats at them but you can feel the very texture of that barrier. Is it wood? Is it hard and unyielding like stone? Cold and tough like metal? Now take this same scenario and stretch it on for years only this time imagine that you were stationary throughout that time. You were free to observe your surroundings but there simply was nothing to observe thanks to the darkness. Free to listen, yet there is no sound to be heard. Aegir's life was a great deal like this pitch black void. Experience after experience had been engulfed by this darkness, becoming a part of his life and yet during this expanse of time there is nothing new to add to one's life.

It all became rather bleak and bland. That was what boredom felt like to Aegir. Yet in his tenure there came sparks of illumination upon the horizon. Something so different that it stood out casting a radiance throughout the void for miles. Even a single match when struck in the darkest of places dispelled the thickest of shadows, at least for a time until it burnt itself out. This project had been just what he had needed to reignite himself. To grab hold of something new, something unusual, something rare and fed off the fuel it provided.

Gleefully he looked forward to this and while he had tried to keep his excitement in check Aegir had failed in doing so. There was so much to look forward to, success would bring upon him possibilities that he had not conceived while failure would at least allow him to observe that flickering light looming upon the horizon. Even if he could not obtain it as his own he was free in acquiring it as an addition, however temporary, to his senses.

What he had to do was shake of the giddiness he had felt. The emotion was most peculiar, one that he could not recall ever having experienced before. Anticipation and desire had been nothing new for him though to feel an overwhelming joy at a future prospect was most intriging. As fond as he was about having acquired these human-like emotions Aegir would have been the first to admit that sometimes they tended to get in his way. They screwed with his judgements, made him hesitate at times while at others they impaired him in action.

With a life as full and long as his own there had been few reasons to get excited and even fewer reasons to look forward to the days ahead. Each rolled into one in such a fashion that it was hard to distinguish where one began and the other ended. It was why challenges thrilled him as much as the ever elusive new experience. Stagnation was certainly something that he had enough of for it had seemed to be a constant struggle for him to battle against the boredom that encroached upon him.

Aegir did not believe in luck as humans did. He prided himself upon his skill as much as his mind. Effort and willpower made all the difference in navigating the hurdles on life's treacherous path. There were no limits to what a determined mind could accomplish in his opinion. Preparation trumped the need for the superstitious need or desire to have luck upon his side though having seen a great many bizarre and rather freakish events in his days Aegir could not fully dismiss how folly could, from time to time, defy all odds.

The familiar memory of a lover, the sweet scent of perfume, the lingering touch of moist lips pressing firmly against their counter part. Aegir had seized hold of a tidbit only to generate it into a five course meal. Hanaji ... Aegir snatched hold of the glimpse that he had been privy too and like a voyeur he could not resist in gazing back upon more. Letting his mind snake through the rivers and valleys of her gray matter Aegir syphoned everything up greedily. Not even a sponge could have hoped in being more absorbant than he was at that very moment. He knew what he learned now could influence what was to come and though he had been quite capable of drawing out information he had needed upon the fly Aegir's preferred method of approach was to go into situations with as many armaments he could bring to bare ahead of time.

A drug to relax her, another to alleviate the tetraodontidae. Humans may not have found a cure for the venom of creatures of the likes of the blue-ringed octopus but being familiar with toxins Aegir had learned a wide variety of otherworldly treatments. Once she had been lulled off into a semi-state of consciousness he began his work once he had regulated her bodily functions up to the variety of monitors and recording devices present. He would not come to rely upon these devices however, preferring a more intuitive approach in his work.

Now that these matters had been done he drew himself near the table allowing his tentacles to fan out as he stabilized his body better. His gaze cast downward upon her Aegir went to work cutting away the bolts that welded her recent experiences into place. Braking them up he dissolved their recent conversation from her conscious mind into her subconscious. That took both little time and effort upon his part. Next he pressed his mind into her own deepening her unconsciousness, guiding her along the designated routes that he had predetermined in his quick assessment of her.

Into her mind he pressed, his own eyes closing in concentration as he drew upon her own experiences as inspiration. It would not do to get events wrong, especially now. Tuning himself into the flow of her subconscious was about as tricky as finding the correct radio station in your car after someone fiddled around with the dial. Some fine tuning was necessary to find the proper station then a little more messing around with the knobs and dial allowed you to get a clearer reception until at last you had reattuned yourself to the station in question. This was not much different. What he was doing was accessing her subconscious mind where her brain's neurons were most active. New images, thoughts and experiences were coursing through her head and though it was far too early for her to approach R.E.M sleep his presence allowed him to guide her to a state not quite unlike it and yet somewhat dissimiliar to it. At last he had been in! He got a clear picture of what she was seeing, what she was experiencing by directly tapping himself into her mind. The sensation that overrode his senses was rather interesting to say the least seeing that he had not yet been experienced in using his psionic gifting in this way. A shiver would have had run down his spine provided that the mollusk-like being had one though he did feel the tingles of warmth spearing through his rubbery body.

Much like feasting upon a delicacy like lobster for the first time Aegir had heard much about it but could not envision that succulant taste, the hot butter rippling over his taste buds accenting the rich flavor of flakey white meat simmered to perfection could not truly be experienced unless one had consumed the meal before. Only then did the memory become that much clearer. Only then did it make perfect sense.

A field. The aroma of lilacs in full blossom upon a summer's day. Aegir captured the warmth of the sun beaming down upon her from the heavens scarcely a cloud in the sky. Such a beautiful day to set one's mind at ease though he had only granted her a moment of respite before he began to weave a tapestry of his own. Slowly but surely things would come to life though there was no rush on his part.

To begin Aegir had decided to draw upon one of her interests. A lure for certain but what better way to capture her attention readily? Generating a soft waifting sound of music the notes that rang through the air while distant carried upon her ear. A familiar tune, a classical one for certain and one that he had found she would be familiar with simply by perusing her knowledge thus far. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata as played by piano ...

Had she glanced back over her shoulder she would spy a grassy hill atop which rested a single building. A background in architecture or a little knowledge in the finer arts would have relayed the building at once to the observer as a music hall for the structure was obviously designed with the intentions of generating the best accoustics possible.

"There you are! Geez, Cassie you know the mistrel is going to have your ass if your late again!" The voice belonged to a stranger who seemingly appeared out of nowhere from a blind spot. He may have always been there, he may have crept up upon her when she hadn't been paying attention or he may have been generated by the wind itself for all that anyone knew. He was young, about her age with the most striking green eyes that she possibly ever seen. They shimmered against the sunlight and as they did they revealed flecks of gold entwined against his irisis. His hair had been a brown as mahoganey, yet as wave as the sea. By no means short, yet not long either, his hair fell to the nape of his neck in those startling waves. His complexion clear, yet nearly as pale as the moon with just a smattering of color to give him a healthy skin tone rather than coming across as sickly. He simply did not seem to get much sun.

Dimples appeared upon his cheeks when he let loose with a full blown smile, those eyes sparkling, and while he was a stranger there was a familiarity in him as if she had known him for a great many years ... as if she had grown up along side him. Then it came to her as if someone flicked on a light switch. The sudden illumination bringing with it crystal clarity. A name to go along with the image ... Siri ... Siri Alessandro ...

Another sound emerged from the world carried by the soft breeze from a far. Piana….an before half a dozen notes had sounded I heard the piece in me head. I knew it. Knew the touch of the ivories beneath me fingers. Knew every nuisance of what that piece could be made to do. Me finges danced upon me legs as if I played the piece.

A wonderful sound from long ago that could still stir ones heart. There wuz a reason they were called the masters an why even today I could not find a composition with nearly the same ability to bring tears to me eyes, or a gladness to me heart. It wuz music like this that inspired me. Gave me the strength to go on when all went wrong. Made me happy an sad. Music spoke to me even more than any single person could.

Music wuz like that, a simply note could sooth me soul like no other thing in the world. An the music that now played across the glade wuz done by a master at the keys. You could hear it in the way he touched the notes with jus the right emphasis: The change in tempo, the varying weight upon the keys. As if he tickled the music from the instrument so it sang in joy.

Goosebumps rose upon me flesh without a care to the hot sun. Closing me eyes I traveled to a place of pure notes, the place of bards an minstrels. A place of happiness, home an hearth. A voice brining me back to reality. Young an male. Familiar but not. Cute as a bugs ear with those waves of brown curls that crowned his head. The blossom of youth, a boy that would command the fancy of all the girls in school.

Even mine…till….

“Siri, you shouldn’t swear oh brother of mine. Papa would be very upset with you, probably five you at least 10 lashes or so.” Probably what I deserved for starting to think about him in ways brothers an sisters did not think of one another. How had I forgotten…had the sun raddled me brain? I’d been about to remedy that with a quick dip in the brook.

Frankly I wuz glad I hadn’t. I had thought me self alone in the world. Sum how having yur brother sneaking up on you while your out in the water all…well. It jus shouldn’t be like that. The oaf would have hidden me clothes jus to make a point. He would not have stared or done nothing untoward. Pa had seen to the making of a gentleman out of him.

Still, a small practical joke on a sister’s modesty might well be within the range of action he would secretly harbor. The lout might even bring some of his friends by to ensure the proper respect an humiliation of said sister. Not that they would tarry…no, he would see them off so she could get out of the water with what remained of her dignity.

Somehow it felt good the boys might want to see me. A strange feeling that. Like even now sum one watched, wanting me to take off me clothes an jump in. Like even the two of use were not alone an another listened to our every word. Looking I spied no one, shrugging it off as some strange sensation.

“Oh lord have mercy Siri, Thank you.” I took his warm hands in mine, a small courtesy an I wuz off, the hem of the dress making it hard to run up the hill. The way even harder with the high heeled boots that made me stand taller than most. I could feel the ripple in me head then. Dreaming must have been dreaming. Had I only dreamed of putting me feet in the water. I Had to get up the hill, the master wuz calling.

I liked the dress, it made me waist look tiny as it flared off me hips into a full bell about me toes. Perhaps what wuz best wuz the way it pushed me bosom together an left a long line of jiggling flesh above the cut of the top on which hung the cross of gold.

The man I ran towards for me lessons liked it as well. A master of the craft, he had long ago put the leather collar ‘bout me thought an pierced me flesh with gold. Sum thing only he knew about. Siri wuz not even aware of it. Perhaps it wuz a good thing I had not gone for a swim. Given him a glimpse of what the music had done to me. For I loved the music, an we…it….the feelings I got as the notes sounded an sent waves of sound to caress the golden rings. The master knew what music did to me. He had been content in that knowledge, telling me it wuz ok. That god himself blessed me, an that is why he had chosen me. It had chosen me to wear the sacred gold so I could more fully play the music like it needed to be played. He said I had all the earmarks of a great mistress me self.

An so I entered the hall, fighting with the billowing dress to get me undies off so I could better feel the music as I played. It had been his idea…or wuz it mine?

Drawn into a sea of thoughts, memories and flaring emotions Aegir had watched his creation at work. In a sense he was like a voyeur in this journey, crafting the scenery, drawing upon inspiration from her or one of the several absorbed minds that had complimented his own experiences. The feeling was blissful and though he would have failed to summon the proper imagery to do it justice Aegir felt that the sensation had been equivalent to floating in the midst of the ocean. No land in sight, just water as far as the horizon could see. The feeling of weightlessness engulfing you as you bobbed up and down against the salty depths. Such a feeling could be both overwhelming as much as it was thrilling. The slight panic of slipping beneath those waves, drowning with no possible means of being rescued would weigh upon the mind initially. But once you were free, truly free of your fears you simply immersed yourself in the experience, drinking it all in. Though he had never had the need to worry about drowning Aegir could relate the sensation only with asphyxiation though such a state of being had been rare for him. Once while within a volcanic region he had endured a sensation that had been most unpleasant. His airways being constricted by the fumes cast out of the bowels of the planet, the heat that felt even his moist skin feel as if it were being incinerated. The experience of being in the wrong place at the wrong time had not been pleasant and had nearly cost him his life.

That incident was not to be dwelled upon now, even if the heat that had saturated the air with its humidity reminded him of that time. He had much preferred to think about the ocean than the raging inferno he had found himself subject to though really, seeing that he was in the middle of something far more important than reminiscing about his past Aegir had preferred to immerse himself in the unfolding events. Watching, one may have thought that he was some voyeur in this. A helpless spectator that was at another's mercy when it came to what he would see or uncover. This could not have been further from the case for he had settled into her subconscious mind hunkering down over it as if a weighted net cast out over her entire being. He was in control here and he would manipulate the events that would unfold. His control would not be absolute for it would allow his subject to act, would grant her some freedom in her decisions even if he had been responsible for nudging them in this direction or that.

The music that played had been one of those nudges. He had drawn upon the effect that it had upon her soul and while he had not initially known the reasons behind this Aegir steadily drew upon the flashes that streamed through her head. The words of her mentor, the encouragement she had drawn out from them, the gifting of her piercings that she had sought to keep from Siri's watchful eyes. Ah ... he had nearly missed another wayward thought considering how fast things were unraveling. What had that been about her brother? Mentally he probed her mind tracing a delicate path over these unpure thoughts before they had eroded from her mind completely. Dwelling upon that for a moment, Aegir felt the stirrings of even more ideas though he had to approach this in an orderly fashion. One matter at a time, there was no need to rush. Eventually he would get to cover everything that he had hoped for though whether or not she would be the one was yet to be determined.

Like a tactician Aegir allowed his minions to do his work. He called the shots, manuevered the pieces into position upon the board, sacrificed those that he needed to sacrifice and waged the battles that he needed to fight. He shifted his point of view seeing things through Siri's eyes, hearing through is ears. For a few moments he would wear this skin as an avatar of sorts while in this dream realm though it was only for a short while. Done in order to get a better perspective of what was going on Aegir had been planning on shifting his focus to that of the mistril himself.

Rushing up the hill Aegir had to hide his amazement. Never before had he moved so quickly! The freedom of the mind, this dream state that he had been wrapped in was a blessing in disguise for he had not been hindered as he would have been outside of her mind. There he would have held her back, his speed too slow to keep pace even while cloaked in an illusion. The sound of the piano's music would have grabbed his immediate attention anyway lulling him into a sluggish state, effectively seizing hold over him while its soothing melody washed over him completely assimilating him into their magic and mystique.

Before he knew it they were there at the front of the hall itself. The sound of thunderous applause echoed from within congradulating the performer for a job well done though Siri's grip only tightened upon her hand as he lured her around the side of the building towards the stage entrance where, with any luck, they could slip in without their tardiness being noticed.

"You need to chill out, sis. Ass isn't a cuss. Ass, ass, ass, ass, ass, see, no big deal," Siri grinned broadly, releasing her hand as they came to the stage door. It had been propped open and though there had been a security guard present to ensure that patrons didn't try to sneak into the hall for a free show it had appeared that the man had recognized them as he tipped his hat slightly to Cassie. For a quick moment his eyes dangled upon her clevage then, in typical male fashion, darted to her golden cross as if it had been the object of his attention all along. If they were handing out Oscars for performances then he clearly Hollywood certainly had nothing to worry about.

"Ma'am," he said as way of a hello moving to open the stage door for the pair.

Siri had paid him no heed simply continuing to prattle on. "Its in the dictionary and in the good book too ... ass ..."

Siri paused catching wind of their father on the opposite side of the door as it was opened. The color blanched from his face, his gaze swung quickly to Cassie so as to avoid the man's eyes though to his credit Siri recovered quickly. "As I was saying dad was getting anxious seeing that your on in, gosh," a quick glance to his wrist watch forced a frown against his lips, "in about two minutes!"

As usual the backstage area had been buzzing with life. Performers readying themselves for their parts, last minute instructions being given, proud parents mulling about their musical prodigies, it was chaos pure and simple. Carnage may have been a better way to describe it though thus far there had not been any fatalities in this entire ordeal. By now the applause had begun dying down as the master of ceremonies took center stage once more. It was clear by his prepared speech that he was delving into Cassie's introduction. A little humor to appease the crowd further, some background and then the introduction itself. Aegir figured that it could not hurt to instill just a little bit of dread into the ordeal by quickening the pace. She would have to move quickly if she wanted to divest herself of her panties and get on stage in time least the master of ceremonies be stuck out there in a rather awkward position when she failed to immerse from behind that curtain when introduced.

How I ran…we ran. Siri panting loudly beside me as we go. Ascending the tall hill in double quick fashion we went. For the life of me I could not believe he would cuss like that. I’d been on me way to becoming a nun when I got this scholarship. Music wuz a second love behind christ an family. How Ma an Pa had begged me to consider it…to forgo going to the convent till I had had a chance in life to see the world. An now…now we travelled. Siri, me golden angel, the one that watched out for me. The one that would one day be the husband I went home to. The home with the picket fence an our future children. But for now…for now he kept me mind focused on the task at hand.

Why wuz he cussing….not a brother, I had none…Had I dreamed that while sitting at the brook me feet dangling in the cool water. I’d been an only child. Ma an Pa….an me. An the dog. I could hear him bark. That meant they were close at hand.

“Siri, how do you expect Pa to let you marry me if yur cussing all the time. I don’t much care if the word is in the dictionary yah shouldn’t be using it like yah is.” Siri left. Not certain why but replacing him was the girl with the wavy dirty blond hair an emerald eyes. Pa probably wuz not going to be happy seeing her. Not when he found out the truth about us. Even Siri wuz not going to be happy. I had thought he wuz the one, I’d been wrong. Or wuz in Michael that had been cussing like that. She did so on occasion.

“Oh Pa….thanks for being here, this…this is me wife, Michael. She is real sweet an all, an Oh lord in heaven I’m late. I…I gotta go, explain later. The dress was tough to get under, people were milling about affording lil privacy an all. Still, I could ball um up in me hand nothing too big..not no more. School had done that to me. Perhaps Ma an Pa had best get used to their only child new ways. Things had changed, and the dream of me youth ‘bout picket fences an a husband had taken a bit of a detour. I wuzn’t sure how or why, but it seemed that god at least approved and that wuz all I really needed. If they wanted grandkids It wuzn’t like impossible to happen…I wanted me own kids as well.

So many changes, to include the grey in pa’s face an the startled expression he wore after me announcement. But there wuzn’t time an all before I would be on stage. Not even time to get into me concert dress. Why had I been dangling me feet in that brook? Dumb…dumb.. dump

Clasping hands with Michael I passed the small scrape of silk they called underwear an charged a ton of money for. Then I kissed her, long an ardent, our lips caressing one another, tongues twirling an finding each other as her arms circle me head. I had to go…go an perform. Reluctantly we broke from one another, her sweet taste still in me mouth as she waved the bit of black silk an me Pa looked ready to explode. As I walked to the concert hall the dress shifted an changed, daring, elegant an provocative just the thing for Ravels Bolero. Not normally a piana piece…but tonight…tonight I would transform it into sum thing slightly new, a composition that the maestro had guided me in. A mix of piana, electronics…an orchestra. Me piece de resistance.

The dress barely covering me thighs much like the school uniforms. Tonight Classical music would be turned on its head from the stodgy ole pieces to sum thing even else entirely…though try as I might what that would be remained mist in me head.

My name rang. The applause all I could hope for. Me love smiling from the wings, even pa had a tear in his eye. His daughter wuz home at last. Doing what we both had dreamed form the day I first took to the piana like a fish to water. Though there wuz a tingling deep inside that told me he would be surprised once more. Much like the workmen that would haul away the piana bench after the show. I had to stifle the laugh as I walked into the hot white lights.

Being a precognotive being there had been so few moments in his life where Aegir had been caught offguard or unaware. He tended to have at least a small degree of warning, whether that was from the flickering thought streaming through a mind or by prying repressed knowledge from the cranium of an individual Aegir had kept himself in the loop. When that had failed he had the espionage capabilities of his nodes and naturally his talent of peering into the future looking beyond the misty veil of time itself had never hurt him any in the past. For once though he was truly surrpised and not just in the ordinary fashion of stumbling across information that he had not previously known. This had been different, this had stirred his complete attention not that his focus hadn't been upon matters at hand as it were.

Michael. He had chanced upon her once not all that long before he began this research. Not having completely adapted to the dreamscape that he had been immersed in Aegir found himself caught up in his own thoughts. For an interim everything else seemed to shut down and while he had been aware of what had been transpiring around him his comprehension of matters had become somewhat vague as he witnessed the shifting events unfolding before his eyes. Siri had been gone by this point allowing him to take an out of body perspective on events, observing matters as if he were hovering just above all their heads looking down upon them.

His enigma, his puzzle ... Aegir had quite enjoyed the diminitive student. Her music had beckoned him, entranced him and drew him into a state of utopia that he had not experienced before hand. Yet her mind was like a Chinese puzzle box. It held secrets, it had not been designed like a normal brain and while he had deciphered some of those secrets only to speculate about others he had not completely unraveled that particular mystery. Quite fascinated with the young student Aegir caught the pull upon his thoughts managing to steer them back to the moment on hand.

He had been a bit late in doing so, not that he had been in any danger of discovery or causing this realm to collapse in upon itself for Aegir found that Cassie had enough subconscious control here to keep the imagery afloat in his absence. Rather he had become mildly confused by the events that had transpired in his brief daze. Had these been events yet to come? Events that had been played out in some fashion? All he had to do was plug into Cassie's mind to find out yet he refrained beating back his curiousity for the moment. Events were lucid, dream-like and would naturally incorporate fantasies along with reality. Then there was time later to check upon these new developments. But had he in turn been captured in his own snare? A brief lapse in his senses nearly immersed him into the fiction that was playing out before his white eyes ... no he would not get entangled in his own web!

Still he had to wonder if perhaps his presence here had influence upon what was occurring. Had Michael been drawn from his own subconscious mind, being a favorite of his ... again he had to catch himself from drifting too far in his thoughts banishing them from his mind. He nearly missed it, the exertion of her mental defenses had been so subdued that he had not readily picked them up. He had no way of knowing if she had even been conscious that she was defending herself even now.

Aegir was immune to psionic assaults though so how could she have launched an attack against him? The answer, he found, had been quite simple that it was sheer genius. She didn't. With his mind linked to her own as he sowed the seeds of creation she had been able to tap into him in much the same fashion as someone could log into a networked computer to access shared files. Consciously she was still quite unaware that anything had been going on but subconsciously at least on a very subdued level she had fought against this intrusion. He had felt that she felt as if she were being watched, and that sensation alone had to have indicated that she was some how aware that he was here, that her mind had picked up upon his presence and chose to do something about it. And since she could not ejected him from her place of sanctity she had tried to distract him, confuse him. It had worked too, at least for a small while.

Hanji, not Michael, Aegir reaffirmed to himself after a moment as if anchoring himself in the truth of the situation would assist him. He would not make that mistake again as pleasant as it was for him to make. He was not the sort to become exaspperated at his short comings and failings. Rather he basked in them as he had his truimphs for he could learn as much, if not more, from his failings as he did from his accomplishments.

Picking up upon her mental defenses Aegir knew what to expect. His attention moved from her brief encounter with her father to the stage itself. The renewed sound of applause swept outward from a sea of people all attired in their formal black suits or their evening gowns. His attention floated to the grand piano at center stage. Lights in the rafters above, unseen by the audience, drifted their white beams of light down to engulf the piano and the bench before it while a spot light fell upon the main attraction as she glided herself across the stage.

Slowly the applause trickled away being replaced by silence and the very anticipation that an event of this magnitude brought. The maestro cast a quick glance in her direction though his primary attention had seemed upon the pit where the orchestra had been arranged. An orchestra to accompany piano music? Aegir had not been sure we he had drawn upon the memory or if it were a goof in his weaving of events. A small moment had passed before he had achieved his answer ... Sydney Australia, 1987, the Sydney Operah House ... that had been where he had drawn the inspiration from. One of his absorbed memories had to have brought to surface the event where both piano and orchestra had been blended together in a harmonious mix when Elton John performed there live. Aegir supposed that there were other incidents where the unusual had been entwined together sometimes to disasterous effect though on occassion a true master piece would arise from such unions.

Aegir would allow her to get comfortable, to situate herself into her playing. He would wait until she had become one with her music becoming lost in it as artists tended to when immersing themselves into their calling. Then he would strip away that layer of security probably without her notice at first though that had depended upon her awareness and perception of her environment. That elogant dress of hers would be drawn away before the watching eyes of so many though the crowd would not react as if that were the case allowing him to sow seeds of doubt. Was the matter in her head, was she playing nude before a crowd of virtual strangers or was her nudity cast in her own mind alone? Questions that arouse doubt were his initial aim, keeping her teetering upon the tips of her toes. Things would only become stranger and stranger until seeds of truth had been sprinkled into these dream-like encounters. Slowly he would involve himself further in these events, perhaps beginning with a glimpse of himself here and there, a brief appearance, the slow injection of himself into her scenes whether in illusionary form or as his true self revealing the puppeteer to the marionette. And with each injection of truth he would rip away another layer drawing her further and further into reality, pulling her from this place back to the realm of consciousness where if his work was successful he would find whether or not he had accomplished his aims or simply failed miserably.

Some may think the audience drives the musician. For me it wuz the piana. The simple elegances of its black an white ivories an this one wuz like no other. Its touch would be enough to drive me o’er the edge. How I had fantasized making love upon its rich surface while the notes rang out from me own hand.

The Alma-Tadema beckoned me like a moth to flame. The heat of it already setting me loins to fire. Oh the music we had made…the music that we would make. All me focus went to the instrument of me dreams. Oh, I knew every inch of its lovely surface. Me finger touched its mirror smooth surface, electricity flowing along me arm to flutter in me womb. An for a moment the dream hit…an old one, familiar an warm.

An angel had come to me, Suriel, me guardian angel. For the first time in me life I’d known the love of a man or angel. Had he not given me the ring I now twisted on me finger? No…maybe, the dream hazy in its details. Suriel, me love I am sorry you have been forgotten. You taught me sex wuz not a tool of the devil. Taught me what beautiful music could be made atop this very paina. Laying naked upon its highly waxed surface we had made love. An as I looked upon the paina I swear I could see the blemish upon its surface were I had laid, one hand plunking on the keys while the angel moved within me.

I walked, me hips swaying gently, sensually with each step as I caressed the piana with me hands. The music I would play tonight bubbled within. Bubbled in joy an happiness that I would give out with each an every note. Done well Michael would be unable to resist the call…would be upon the piana as the curtain dropped…an perhaps…perhaps even the ghost of me past. The angel that had shown me the first step to being a woman would join us as well. Music was the key to me very heart. An tonight…yes tonight the world would know it.

The seat swam ‘fore me eyes, all wood an flourish an glitter. Above me upon the giant screens me image swam in reds an greens an blues. The slits along each side of the short dress made it easy to flip the back side over the bench, me bare an yes….contact with the wood confirming what I knew already, me wet middle settling onto it like I would a lovers face. For tonight the world would experience the sexual event of the century. As if I made love to the very instrument, that sensuality would be carried by the very note…the very music. A single nod…..the beat upon drum an sting…an key alike.

The fire alights inside me an the beast rumbles….climbs from the depths of me mind to fill me body. It’s claws delicate upon the ivory keys as I embrace it through the music. I am one with the instrument of me life’s work. One with the sensual rhythm…swaying gently. I can feel the golden ring respond tween me legs, open an exposed to the notes that echo from the grand ole instrument an set me body to humming. It vibrates, striking the bundle of nerves it rides against.

Closing me eyes an biting down upon me lip the notes continue to roll….I hear the Obo…pick it up on the keys with me right hand…a sweet caress upon me legs an neck. The collar hums, sending waves of pleasure into me. The dress shields me bosom. Shields the rings upon me nipples from the full effect of the musical notes.
Beneath me eyelids the colors shift as the lights change to catch the mood of the very music. I am one with it, the orchestra adding to the fire. Adding depth an harmony to a symphony of sound. The audience must have all their senses overwhelmed. Sight by lights an color…the sound of me music…the touch of the notes as they the deep base vibrates into them, the scent….soon enough…soon enough the bouquet of fragrance would be released…ah….the purity of wild flowers…then evolving…evolving to the musk of sex….

Brass hit….like the rising wind of a hurricane, the breeze buffeting me. A single thread at the him of me dress flutters…growing longer. The lights slide along from the coolness of blues an violets to warm…warm with deep reds. Wind whistles across the bare skin of me tummy then up, to caress me breasts. For the first time the notes have unfettered access to the rings upon me chest. Vibrations drive inward along nerves of fire. The beast growls in delight….the music more strident. Strings join in as the thread grows ever longer.

Lights flash, playing on the illusion or is it real. A Glint of gold…or is it jus a sequin that has stood upon that dress. The breeze caries the heavier scent of musk an lust upon its invisible wings. Me hair billows behind me, only the emerald an gold bands hold the two sides to me now bare chest. But the lights, the shadows that play upon me give depth to me nakedness, make it appear there are still cloths upon me.

The music needs me to bare all for its full effect. In order to become one an complete the transformation. For now we enter the most difficult part…to not loose ourselves in passion before the last not has sounded….to survive the urgency…the building of the song. I join the chorus….a joyous sound as I note they feel it…feed upon the music that cascades along their nerves an enters the very fibre of their being. All women….all singing in unison of there desires, their needs….their wants.

Legs an arms tremble with the strain of holding back, of letting the music run its course. I can taste the copper in me mouth from previously getting to frisky with me teeth. I sing….I play…the lights jus a pale orange flickering like flames along the forward edge of the stage, casting me in shadows…till….till the gong an bass ring out an me hands crash along the keyboard. A brilliant flash of light an thunder as the angels on high sigh audible an I cry out …standing…standing naked upon the stage in the brilliance of the light, the orgasm arching me back in its intensity, me fingers an clenched in the wood of the piana top, me toes curled, head back as I cry out into the trusses of the sky above…fore…

On wobbling knees I fall cross the top of the piana, the lights go to black….the music done…the last notes echoing along the great halls rafters…drifting. Silence…an then…then I hear the soft flutter of a moan of joy…soft an stifled….A sound that fills me with joy so profound…so utterly profound.

Me music has been heard an received.

The divine art, music had a way of tempering the soul, in igniting it with a passion that could bring inspiration to the down trodden. It could bring tears of joy or sorrow. It could unite individuals to a common cause pulling people together to experience truimph, joy, sorrow, misery, despair or any other emotion. Such elogance could be found in a sparse few notes. The plucking or strumming of strings, the depressing of keys, the beating of drums, all could work their magic in their own ways. Recounting his first experiences with this art Aegir had been taken back into time to his first arrival upon earth.

The crackling of electricity that clung in the air, shimmering against his flesh in such a way that tingles of heat flared through his body. The aroma that had clung in the air had smelled like charred flesh entwined with a sulfuric residue both of which had been the only signs to distinguish that he had indeed passed through the dimensional gate. Moving from his world to the next, crossing that barrier as he created a rift in the fabric of space and time had been one of the most challenging things that he had accomplished at that point in time. He felt sluggish as if he had been forced to remain conscious for weeks on end, his limbs feeling as if they were made from concrete rather than flesh drooped towards the earth while his senses remained disorientated. How much time eclipsed before he had come to his senses not even Aegir could know for certain though it was a steady rhythm the beat of a drum cascading against stretched leather in a timely fashion that had been the very first thing that he had become aware of after that awful scent that had clung in the air.

Ratta-tat-tat-tat-tat-BOOM! Ratta-tat-tat-tat-BOOM!

The beat continued, pulsing in his head as it played out in the humid jungle that he had found himself in. Dark clouds billowed somewhere over the lofty peeks of the gigantic trees that had surrounded him, the chorus of animals, birds and monkeys added their songs and sounds to the growing beat. Then came the falling rain in heavy sheets that drew with it a pattering sound against ferns, bark, leaves and other vegetation that echoed out their harmonious jingle all serving to come together, drawing together in unison to create something that the original artist alone could not have even fathomed as being possible. Such heavenly delights never seemed to last quite as long as they did for they had a certain flare about them, a certain magic that had allowed them to encompass the listener to the point that time itself seemed to speed up causing the very moment to slip away much too fast. But had that not always been the case with time and how it was perceived? Did it not seem to crawl when you were locked into a task you cared little about but seemed to sweep past in the blink of an eye when you were caught up in those things that you truly loved and admired?

Even now Aegir had found that this music had touched him. It reached out to him and drew him in as if it were real. And while its divine power had not the same effect upon him had he been in the waking world it became clear to Aegir that the powers instilled in those heavenly sounds could very well bring him to new heights, new plateaus that he had never quite experienced. Though before he had known it it had been over, the euphony that assailed over his senses had drew itself away though like a touch that had left ones skin its residual effects could still be felt in its absence slowly fading away into nothingness.

Cassie's thoughts had been devoured, consumed by Aegir as they flowed through her. Her senses opened to him as a flowers petals would unfurl in order to draw in more sunlight. What she was feeling, what she was experiencing had been mimiced in him as Aegir found that this connection he established had been more potent than he had even believed possible. He could have dialed down the intensity but he chose not too. Instead he had focused upon the summons, knowing that Cassie had felt the exhuberance of calling down the heavens. She was exceptant, looking towards the immediate future where the clouds would part and her angel would descend shuffling down from them to this very place.

Nothing else had seemed to matter and for that reason the cast of hundreds, if not thousands had melted away into the background. All had gone quiet save for the lingering notes that still danced within his head. But no angel would take shape before her. Aegir mingled his intentions with that of her memory swirling together different colors before applying them to the canvas he had been working upon. In this way he fashioned something different, something new.

Strong hands rubbed over her bare shoulders. Rough and calloused they were the hands of a worker though the hands themselves that had belonged to one that knew exactly how much force to apply. A scent had been lifted into the air, a scent that had an odor to it like a peach. Lips cascaded downward as a figure stooped over her allowing the barest of contact as that mouth touched against her heated flesh. A small lick as the tip of that tongue coursed out against the very pulse that seemed to beat through her jugular vein. That tongue swirled against her, that mouth dancing just as his hands brushed down from her shoulders igniting sparks all the way down the length of her arms.

"I am the answer to your summons," his voice faint and husky as it spoke, eyes of pure gold swept to her face as those strong arms twisted her about upon the bench that she sat. His skin the color of bronze, his hair cropped short with the rich color of copper the being before her had obviously been no man. Muscled like a sculpture of a Greek god the being had been similiarly attired with a simple toga and sandled feet. No soft wings of down feathers extended from his back but those of a membranous leather. Small reddish horns sprouted from his brow partially hidden by the coppery hair. Definately not a human ... definately no angel ...

"You long for me. I can smell you. Its in the very heat of your body, the very kiss of your lips ..." whomever this creature was his words were rich, almost hypnotic in the enunciation that he used. His body stepped closer letting his powerful hands settle against her hips, his head tilting to the side, those golden eyes closing as his mouth moved to engulf her own.

The piana wuz against me back as I tirled upon its wooden surface. Not a grain of dust would blemish the fine finish. The last note had fallen an already the thread of material was spinning along me body, preparing me for the gathered throng. The curtain would soon raise an I would bow….but for now I wuz content to be next to the wood finish. The feel the last faint vibrations that coursed along its frame like some long lost note. I spun along the top, enjoying the touch of me naked skin upon its surface, treating it like I would me lover, the woman who waited in the wings with me pa.

Ma an Pa, even from a young age they had protected me from all that life might do to hurt me. Snippets of conversations long lost in the back of me head surfaced. They argued, low voices on the other side of the door. Words of witchery an spells an prophecies. They were stubborn in their desire to see me not hurt…sum thing said I would bear great sorrow.

But it wuz not they that touched me. I opened me eyes to the most startling man I had ever seen…a dream of times past. An angel named Suriel. The man that had taken me virginity an promised me a ring. It had been an empty promise that only a naive young girl would believe. That girl was in part gone because of the broken trust.

His soft lips touched me again, an that familiar feeling of pleasure ran along nerves still glowing in the warmth of happiness. I knew he used it to get to me. Like he had the first time, he had used the magic of the music to take from me the one thing that should have been most sacred. An then He had left, not to return as he promised. Excuses whispered on the wind.

His hands seized me hips, his body ‘gainst mine. I could feel me own beast rise up against him, me entire body taught an eager. But when his lips engulfed me own an it would quicken me pulse much like the first time under that sensuous tongue I would not give in. Instead I harnessed the swirling red rage within an gathered it to me while a voice deep inside whispered in me head. Whispered that I could hold the red ball an build it. Adding the heat of anger, the joy of vengeance an spin it large. I gathered it up, an with a toss of me head let it loose with all me will. A ball of glowing embers. I could see it hit him. See the embers spark an ignite as the smoke billowed thick an black. I could see him step back, the surprise etched upon his face no less than what wuz upon mine.

Ma called to me on the wind….”You have the power, inherited from the joining in love of your father an I…use it wisely to protect you from all that we have not been able to stop. I paused, the tears coming to me face….oh how I missed them…I wanted them here now in my hour of need to hold me…to care for me.

“You are not the answer to me summons.” I spit the taste of him from me mouth. “ I know you demon that you are. The breaker of hearts is it? The very aspect of evil that would take from a young girl what she gave in love with yur own guile an treachery. An for what….? So that you may add yet one more notch to yur bed post.”

I turned in time to see Michael walk from the dark, Ma an Pa trailing behind. Ma with that big ole smile upon her face that I so loved an missed. Me arms opened, the gown not yet finished an as her eyes racked me body I could see the smile fall, grow tight as her forehead creased in worry.

Sweet sorrow had found me.

Questions that had begged to be answered were played out before his watchful eyes. Would Cassie give in to that caress that pooled over her? Would she submit to something that she knew was the furthest thing from her sweet angel? And yet he had his answers as the scene unfolded. It was amazing how an individual could adapt to whatever circumstances that had been thrust upon them. Inevitably some would crack under the weight of pressure, some would panic or freeze up though by and large most adapted to their environment. That had been what Cassie did, her mind swirling this demonic image into her memories, morphing it so that her angel, her Suriel had been this thing before her. She must have incorporated this entity as wearing its true form at last. The hurt and pain of being jilted coming forth like the waters in a geyser, boiling up internally until they erupted with the full fury of her anger. Not just that but she lashed out drawing upon her inner strength to unleash an attack against the hated being, an attack that it took upon the chest.

Pushed back by the sizzling wave of heat that swept over him, the scent of sizzled flesh waift into the air. Smoke collected around his serene form though as that smoke broke apart it revealed that he had been unharmed by the magical flames that had engulfed him. Yet there seemed to be a tinge of surprise gathered in his golden eyes even as his lips peeled back into a sneer. Aegir found himself intrigued by the unfolding events though he had to use enough care to stave off being sucked into the scene as a mere spectator. If he grew lost in the workings of her mind he would forget his purpose becoming a voyeur rather than a manipulator and while the former could be pleasant in its own right Aegir had not been resigned to sitting back in the shadows and simply watching Cassie's mind at work. Oh, no, he fully intended on testing her every step of the way. He was glad that she had not given in so readily. It had showed to him that she had conquerored that aspect of her past, that she had grown from the naive girl that she was. It had been part of her strengthening that lent her the willpower necessary to endure all that Shokushu had thrown at her thus far.

It had also meant that a demon from her past had been vanquished.

"You try my patience, Cassie," those words uttered in that same practiced inflection that bordered upon beguiling all on its own. His fists clenched together tightly, veins bulged upon his neck as those golden eyes of his blazed with a fiery intensity. Though now he was looking past her, looking towards her family, looking towards Michael. The sneer on his lips melted away becoming an amused smile that settled upon his comely visage.

"Has your passion for me simmered down dying like a flame without fuel? Smoothered by the passage of time as you longed for the ring I promised you." He paused, his lip curling up a bit further as he mentioned the promise that had gone unfulfilled. "Did you think that I would forget? Ah, but my love I am here to bestow you with that ring, a ring of flame!"

A quick gesture, his left arm shooting outward finger tips outstretched as a searing wave of fire burst forth from his hand. It streaked out, not to Cassie but to her family, to Michael, dancing around them, circling the trio of bodies as the floor around them sparked in an effulgence of flame. Flame that defied physics, defied logic for while it reached upward towards the ceiling of the musical hall that ring rapidly closed inward in order to incinerate those that she loved. Flashes of heat radiated off of the magical flame bombarding her skin, the brightness becoming so intense that she would have had to close her eyes to blot out the brillance.

"Earth to Cassie! Come in Cassie! Houstan, we have a problem."

As her eyes readjusted the music hall itself had been nowhere in sight though the oppressive heat remained it was clearly from the fiery sun high over head. Beneath her toes she would feel the warmth of sand while the roar of waves filled her ears. A saltiness clung to the air shifted about on a sea breeze that rolled in from the ocean itself. One minute in the music hall with Suriel, with her family and the next here upon this beach, still quite naked though a quick glimpse around indicated that she was not the only one in such a state having some how landed herself upon a nude beach. Before her was Katrina, or Kat as she was better known by.

Kat had been a few years older than her, a fellow student back at Shokushu that had been in Cassie's graduating class. Another fictious entity that had not truly existed Aegir used the shifting scene to full effect allowing him to approach her in an entirely different situation.

"You haven't heard a word that I was saying, have you girl?" Kat shook her head, blond curly locks swaying about as her good sized breasts capped with pink nipples jiggled at the motion of her body. She was an athletic girl though not very muscular. She was toned in all the right places, her skin lightly tanned which contrasted against her blond hair and startling blue eyes making her almost appear exotic.

"I said that Siri is looking mighty fiiiiine," she smiled, her blue eyes cast out towards the ocean allowing her eyes to rest on the man's rear before he disappeared beneath the ocean waves.

Aegir's consciousness had been pulled out of the dreamscape just a little. His compound mind allowed him to focus on multiple matters at once and though most of his concentration had been focused upon the unfolding dreamscape Aegir found that a portion of his mind slipped back into the lab. Oddly something had been transpiring here while he had been busy in the dream realm. For starters Cassie's attire had been different, changing from her normal school wear to the gown she had worn in her last dream sequence though even now he could see that the material was dissolving as if something were eating away at it. He had not known what to make of it, sifting through the imagery he had pulled up. Piercings ... rings ... cross ... either the effect was coming from her or something that she had upon her person. Though here, in the waking world the inhibitors would have surpressed anything that she was capable of doing limiting its effect so he could rule out that this was some internal power. Inhibitors ... he would have to keep them in mind too as he had found out that none of her powers were dampened by their presence while in the sanctity of her mind.

Not wanting to draw himself away from the dreamscape he mentally kept tabs on what was occurring in the waking world should he need to take action though delving back into her mind he focused in upon the new scenario that was drawing itself out. One that would challenge inhibitions ...

Flames, the one’s I loved…

“Shit” me toes curled into the hot sand as the intensity of the sun beat down upon me head. Already I could feel the heat behind me neck an down me back from the waves of hair that trapped the heat. I had to put me hair up, this wuz down right silly unless I first took to the water. So cool an enticing, especially after those flames….no….what….

“Umm no…sorry, I must have been dreaming. Darn the sun is hot, it must a gotten me off track an all….whew…that wuz weird.”

Kat, the bomb shell of a cutie I had met at school…an now graduated we had become inseparable. Without her for instance I knew I’d have never ventured onto this beach. No, the lack of clothing wuz not sum thing I took lightly. It had taken a long time to were the jet black two piece that had been strings an not much else at school surrounded by girls. I suppose it hadn’t been too far a move to get rid of a few strings an try sum thing new.

An new it wuz. Even now I wuzn’t sure I liked it. I suppose it helped that others did the same. Though when the boys went by an ogled us with their dicks all riding high an firm I wuzn’t sure whether to cringe or laugh. I’d turn all red as me hair an then felt the rising exhilaration in the fact that they liked me. Liked what they saw. I suppose it wuz ok so long as you didn’t get all vain ‘bout it an all.

I let me hand touch hers, an looked into those sparkling baby blues.

“Now I don’t suppose yur trying to make me all jealous now are yah….or maybe yah jus wanna share a man in our bed cause there were none on campus to seduce with those charms of yurs. Maybe…Maybe I should go get him an bring him o’er.” I brought me eyebrows up in question all innocent like. I watched her snort..an cough a bit. It took a lot to get under Kats skin. An it made me all warm in side when I could.

“So there are sum lecherous thoughts in that ole noggin of yurs.” Laughing while I slide me hand up her arm an swung me leg over hers so I straddled an faced her beautiful figure. I considered me self lucky to have hooked up with her. Beneath that body beat the heart of a saint and the mind of a scholar. I had all three, the boys on the beach only had one. I let me hands wander, down to her round heavy breasts while me lips closed with hers an I drank in the perfume of her skin. I felt her breath jus before our lips met an the familiar sparks flew tween us. Then I let me hands slide downwards, along her sides till I found the place tween her ribs. I felt her lips tense the moment before I pressed inwards an jumped back, jus a hairs breath from getting me own hips wacked by her crossing palm.

Laughing I ran towards the surf, a string of cuss words flowing from the mouth of a girl that could cuss better than a sailor. An too think she too wuz a believer. Nobody on this beach would ever think that of us…especially after that kiss. Their loss…now were in the world did Siri go, the cool water closing in on me legs as I ran into the surf…a head bobs further out, familiar an I dive after it. Salt meets me lips the blue water crashes about me onto the gently sloped fine white sand. Kat would be wandering if I would do it…knowing in her heart I would do anything to let her find out our lives together were no fluk. If you love sum thing set it free…if it comes back it is yurs. Kat came back…I came back…but boys had not been on the table at school. This would be a whole new experience, having met siri last night at the dance club. I kept me eyes up as I stroked the water, finding me target an swimming his direction. Not long after I’d started he noticed me an began paddling towards. Not a big muscle bounce oaf this man. No, he had an air of confidence that wuzn’t pure ego . An both of us had liked that. Ral down to earth, an yet cute an well, after being on the beach it wuz no wonder he had confidence. That wuzn’t a small package…not huge an gross either. No the kind you knew would be interesting but wouldn’t kill yah in the process.

“Siri…race yah back to Kat…she, well….she had sum thing to ask yah that I think you may find interesting.” That wolfish grin let me know he wuz thinking really dirty thoughts. The kind that Kat would like…an frankly I wuzn’t so sure I wouldn’t . jus so long as it wuzn’t on the beach. Sand had a way of finding its place in all the wrong cracks an crevices. I t wuz a down right rough race. I wuz fit…but those shoulders an arms of his packed a surprising amount of power…it wuz only the fact I had a head start that got me running up the sand with him breathing down me neck.

Kat had a look that could kill. It wuz tough to get ole scarlet A to blush, but this time I did. Falling to me knees upon our towel all a gasping an a sputtering I wasted no time getting me hair piled atop me head, fixing it in place with a couple of scrunches an the ever present hair needle. I felt Siri hit the towel next to me his knee against me thigh an the charm jus oozing from ever pour like he had a real goo idea of what this might be ‘bout. Men…..

Feeling like a first year med student up in the operating theater while gazing down at experienced surgeons while they performed their craft, Aegir observed the events that had been unfolding before his eyes. At times it had all seemed so surreal. Was this what dreaming really entailed? Aegir could not dream, none of his kind slept in a true fashion though they did meditate in order to rejuvenate themselves as much as taking time to reflect upon important aspects of their lives. With so much information crammed up inside his head they often had to sift through it, sort it, organize it and reanalyze it least everything become a massive jumble that they lacked the ability to recall. It would not have made much sense for their species to be capable of living so long, in learning so much if it would all be forgotten over the passage of time. Unlike humans though Aegir used near all of his brain power.

He supposed it was the reason why he had lacked creativity. Without dreams it became difficult to draw upon one's own imagination. But even Aegir could learn. He had proved that in the past through drawing upon absorbed memories, by experimenting with wayward thoughts or stealing the ideas that had swam through the heads of his subjects. Sometimes Aegir even drew upon an original thought or had been inspired by something that had occurred in his life. For all of his years he did seem like an infant at times for there was much that he still did not comprehend about emotions, about desires, about human motivation.

This experiment would change that. He would come away from this with greater insight and understanding barring what happened. Right now he had found himself caught up in the heated looks that passed between Cassie and Kat. He did not quite understand same sex relationships. Aegir knew that they were fueled by passion and love but he had not felt that he had truly experienced either emotion nor had a great handle upon either one. He knew what the words meant but knowing the definition of a word meant nothing if you could not relate to the context that they were used in. Maybe he had loved, maybe, Aegir found his thoughts steaming back to that volcanic rock that he had been upon. Images of a young woman who's smile washed over him whenever they had met.

There had been no terror in those blank eyes, sightless eyes. Elise would not cringe at the sight of him, would not recoil in fear for she had been blinded to the world in which she lived. She did not see a monster when he appeared before him but rather a lonely soul that she could open up to. Though in the end it had been the same, hadn't it? She found out what he was, found out his true nature and recoiled away from him. Rushing into the heart of the island just prior to the ground quakes starting. Soon after ash was heaved up into the heavens. Fire soon joined it, the heat becoming unbarable more intolerable than the heat in this dream.

How he searched for her throughout that chaos. Had he felt something for her or had she just been another one of his avid curiousities that he wanted to unravel? Even now many centuries removed from that incident Aegir could not determine what his true thoughts had been. Back then he had absorbed far less minds into himself. Back then he was more alien than he was no, less understanding though looking back with the wisdom of years and the experience that newfound knowledge brings Aegir had to wonder if he had indeed possessed more human-like qualities than even he had initially thought.

But such memories were better off left in a time and place best forgotten. He let them drop away as if they were little more than a curled up piece of parchment that became captured upon the wind. Drifting as it descended to the ground, caught up upon the air currents only to be lost, taken out of reach though never quite truly out of sight.

How Cassie seemed to open up so readily as if she belonged here, belonged with these people. It was as if she had known them all her life. She seemed relaxed with them, apart of them. How humans could blend in so well he would never know though in that moment Aegir had found that he was a bit envious of the ease by which things had come to her. Shunned by the very things he admired, detested by his own kind Aegir had no one in this galaxy except the nodes he created. Even they would mature with the intentions of eliminating him and so he had been truly alone. He had not really dwelled upon this state of being all that much in the past though as of late he had found himself hungering more and more for conversation. It had been that very desire that had led him to attacking Lucrecia though he had honestly enjoyed their exchange. But she had believed him to be something that he was not and he had nearly believed it himself. That had led him to this study, to this experiment to see if such things were truly possible though first he had to instill desire.

Fortunately this time around it did not appear that he needed much effort. Siri was desirable enough, as was Kat, the combination downright lethal. He could follow Cassie's thoughts as matters unfolded. The little build up of excitement that coursed through her, the way she took everything into perspective in regards to Kat, their time at Shokushu and naturally men in general.

"It's a lie!" Kat's voice interupted before there was even a chance by anyone to speak. "I don't know what she's been telling you but its not true."

"Then how can you know its not true?" Siri returned, that devilish grin still sitting upon his lips, his green eyes darted towards Cassie then back to Kat. "Don't mean to tell me you had me dragged out of the water for nothing."

His words were as playful as that grin upon his lips, Siri's eyes dangling from one to the other before he seized up a towel to dry off. "Alright ... I'll do it," Siri said, that same grin still upon his lips though what he would do was anyone's guess. He seemed to simply leap headlong into a conversation that had stalled, smile against his lips as he spoke. Given what Cassie had told him and Kat's adamant denial it was fairly easy for the man to figure out what was going on. "Two foxy ladies and Siri makes a Siri sandwich. I can handle that, just be glad there's two of you else you'd be tired out. This way you can at least get a little bit of rest."

His grin only grew indicating that he was joking as he took to pretending to be so full of himself. Yet to those that knew him they would have realized that Siri was certainly up for this challenge. It hadn't been every day that not one but two of the women you had set your eyes upon throughout the years desired to rekindle past affections and though he knew full well that the pair were an item, that this could very well just be a passing dalliance was he really going to knock that aside? Hell no. He'd roll with whatever hand fate dealt him playing those cards and accepting what they would bring.