Another small eruption spouts nearby in the smoking, desolate-seeming area. "Why did I come here, again?" A dark figure mutters to himself, making sure to keep a wide berth from the area of the explosion. He'd been walking for some time, now, trudging along through fields of smoking rock, both solid and molten. It was hot enough that it was getting to even HIM! His black silk shirt clung to him with his perspiration. How easy it would be to fly on these thermals, though....but he fought the urge to stretch his wings and soar, remembering that it would be just as easy to miss anything on the ground, through this thick, roiling smoke and ash.

He'd come to this classical rendition of a fire-and-brimstone Hell because he'd sensed something that had made him curious whilst drifting about through the systems. Just a flash, a sort of tweak to his nose, one might say. When he'd looked down, there'd been a spot on the red and black world he'd felt it from that had glowed intensely...well, more intensely than the rest, in any case. He'd drifted down through the thick soot and ash clouds, and as soon as he'd touched down, he'd released the spell that allowed him to travel through the voids without fear of freezing on a molecular level....and had almost immediately regretted the decision, as the heat instantly assaulted him, turning his armor into an oven.

Even now, with his armor dispelled, using his sickle as a walking stick, the heat was still bothering him a bit. "Whatever that was..." he growls, wicking sweat from his forehead irritably, "It had better be worth it." He sighs, expending just a touch of his power...enough that the heat would still be heavy on him, but not quite so oppressive. The pale wanderer continues his journey, his jet-black, mid-back length hair having to be pushed out of glowing violet eyes every so often as he scans the surrounding area. "I KNOW it was around here somewhere...blast, why can't I find it now? Something that gets my attention from THAT far away should be EASY to spot when I'm on the same surface as it..." He sighs again, continuing his weary march under a dark orange sky. Hard to tell if it's night or not: the thick smoke and ever-glowing surface of the world seem to ALWAYS light the planet's surface. Skirting a fair distance around another area spewing molten rock, he continues his search.

Having had a successful run against the ADD, the Phoenix had landed on the desolate planet for a short respite before heading back to base. Addressing her crew over the intercom she said"Get this damage fixed and then take a rest. We're heading out first thing tomorrow." Turning to her second in command she said "Make sure everything gets done. I'm going to scout the area."

Yes, Captain!

Quickly crossing the expanse of her ship to the landing ramp, she released the hatch which left her feathers bristling as a gust of air flooded into the ship. As she stepped onto the dusty expanse of the planet, rays of the nearest sun broke through the cloud of ash shining brightly off the metal of the ship's hull. Quickly stepping across the barren landscape, not wanting to fly so she could make sure that she wouldn't miss anything skulking across the ground.

"Nothing...nothing...nothing...and more NOTHING!" He mutters angrily to himself. "It's a bloody WASTELAND!" In a fit of anger, his sickle swings in a long arc, a dark flash seeming to follow the shape of the swing, only further out, as though his shadow had swung at the same time...and carved through the small mound of rock that immediately started to spew and bubble with magma. He growls, his wings giving a soft beat, helping him to leap clear of the miniature molten geyser he's created.

Landing on slightly higher ground, he continues to scout about...his eyes catching a gleam off in the distance. A ship? He grins viciously. "Perfect. Someone to take my irritation out on. Maybe they know where that flash came from." He laughs, striding towards the ship with a graceful slinking motion, almost as though he were slithering. He slips between odd rock formations, drifting through low-floating ash as he would through shadows, were there any on this thrice-damned rock. "I wonder who my new friends are...ADD, perhaps? I love their hospitality...they always send such TASTY morsels....or maybe more of those slaver types?! Don't care for the slavers themselves, but their cargo...."

His eyes flash, that odd, glowing violet hue suddenly gaining a new life, every bit as sinister and intent as the person belonging to that gaze, as he makes his way towards the ship.

Moving further away from her ship Tessa noticed a geyser of magma spewing some distance in front of her. Shifting her path away from it, onto a slightly higher area she continued her scouting of the area only stopping long enough to seal off the geyser with a fireball.

"Nothing here. Maybe this trip will be hassle free." Leaning against a rock wall, she began going through this trips captures in her mind. "Some guns, some spare parts, and a shield generator. Oh and not to forget that agent's possessions. If their HQ doesn't start sending more ships out here I will have to go to them, and I doubt they want that."

He continues to stalk forward towards his destination...and freezes, standing dead-still and silent. He's well within range of where they should be patrolling now...and yet there are no patrols. He crouches low, slinging his great scythe across his back, and continues noiselessly forward, drawing a wicked curved dagger from his belt.

The geyser he'd started suddenly flares bright, heat melting the rock and sealing the flow in an instand. He rolls around out of sight of the apparent direction from which the projectile that had done the deed had come from. Had he been spotted? Staying low, he slips over the ground easily, keeping an eye out for whatever might have burned down his impromptu little fountain. He hadn't seen any ship's cannons pointed that way...and that wasn't exactly a plasma blast anyway, was it? He curses his limited knowledge of ships and their weapons systems. Still, it seemed unlikely that that had been intended for him. They hadn't fired anymore since then, and he didn't feel as though he were being watched...

He pauses again. Was that movement he'd seen, further up there? It had looked like someone....yes! Someone leaning against one of the rocky walls..."What's she made of, steel?" He wonders quietly to himself, for the figure is definitely female, though he can't make much out through the ash and soot. He slithers closer for a better look, but can't help letting his smile return. A woman on a planet like this? Luck must be on his side!

Moving away from the wall Tessa was about to head back towards her ship until she saw a dark shadow flitting through the ash. A fireball forming in her grasp she yelled "Come out now unless you want to get hurt!" Thinking quickly as she searched the ash for the hidden figure she thought Did the ADD manage to track me down out here? No... the trail was covered pretty well but maybe they have got better?....Na, I'm probably just overthinking the whole thing."

A thrill rushes through him at the sound of the voice calling out to him. He grins, waiting a moment, peering out from behind his hiding place, and seeing someone holding what appeared to be a globe of fire. Had she been the one to seal off the magma fountain? Probably not ADD, then. The ship didn't look like an ADD vessel anyway...not that that meant anything, given how ragtag a fleet they had.

Chuckling softly, he ducks back behind his rock, kneeling to the hot ground. "Well now...." he mutters to himself. "Something tells me you're in the mood to hurt anyway..." He laughs, softly, the sound tinged with madness. Experimentally, he toys with his powers, creating a sillhouette roughly his size, out of the shadowy, powdery ash. With an effort of will, he makes his new puppet flit towards what would have been his next hiding place, mostly to see if whoever it was would spot it...and what they'd do, seeing it continue what would have been a stealthy advance.

He watches intently as the shade seems to glide towards the next outcrop of rock, paying intense attention to the area as well as the conjuration itself, curious to see if she had, indeed, spotted him, or had simply gotten a case of the jitters.

Looking into the clouds of ash carefully Tessa spotted a shadow darker then the ash moving to another hiding place. Her arm snapping forward, releasing the fireball to go speeding towards the shadow she yelled, "Oh no you don't!" Unable to tell if the shot had connected through the clouds she remained on edge, searching the rocks around the area to check if there were any other beings around. That was too easy...I bet there's another one around here somewhere.

Summoning another fireball in her grasp she yelled "I know you're still out there. Hiding will only make things worse for you."

He gives a low whistle, eyes widening at the sheer amount of destructive force employed to annihilate the simple sillhouette he'd created. "Talk about overkill...you could have blown on it and it would've dispersed..." He mumbles to himself as he comes up with some half-cocked idea one could only loosely identify as a plan. Focusing on areas behind the rocks nearby, hidden from his assailant's view, he creates another five shadows, all similar to the first.

"Better hold it there..." The shadows don't take much energy to manifest, nor to control, but even lifting a five pound weight all day, repeatedly, will tire someone out. Expending just a touch more energy, he sends all the shades scattering out in various directions, this way and that, one even leaping up into the air in the general direction from which the fireball had come. As they do, he slides around the rock, waiting for the fireworks to start and scanning the area to see where they come from through the ash-choked air, ready to move at the slightest urging.

Seeing another dark shadow leap towards her she quickly threw the fireball, creating a larger one between both of her hands and throwing it in the direction it had came from. It landed on the ground but instead of exploding like one would think it would, the large fireball began spewing small fireballs at the shadows moving out of her range of vision.

The minor distractions were doing nothing but getting on her nerves as she yelled "That won't work anymore! Come out you coward!"

He laughs as his shadows are defeated so quickly, nevermind the fact that they've no fighting potential whatsoever. Whoever she was, she took no chances, dispatching any possible threats immediately and without question. That odd fireball she'd thrown had left no window of opportunity for him to dart forward: He'd expected her to deal with them one at a time, not all at once. To waste time tracking each shot as she brought them down.

He applauds as he steps fully out of hiding, grinning broadly. Continuing the game from THAT angle would do nothing but get old, fast. He tilts his head at her, still unable to make her out clearly...though there was something odd about her. Other than her pyrokinetic capabilities, of course. "Well played! Well played indeed." He reaches behind him, unslinging the great scythe from his back and leaning upon it.

"So...you're obviously not ADD, like I thought originally...who are you? And what are you doing here?" He was well aware of how blunt and direct his questions were, but that was usually the best way to get a straight answer: ask before they can think of a lie.

Her eyes darted to the shadowy figure as he stepped out from behind a rock applauding as he moved towards her, grinning broadly. Looking over him as he moved into her range of vision she thought What is this thing? Sure is dressed dark enough.

"Why should I tell you who I am? All you've done is skulk around, and I bet those shadow things were your doing too. You should be thinking of a reason why I shouldn't burn you to a crisp right now.

Solais laughs at her question, the sound tinged ever so lightly with insanity. "To the first, because I asked nicely, to the second, why would you think I had ANYTHING to do with that? Maybe I was just hiding from them! and to the last, because that wouldn't be nice." He grins, looking around the desolate landscape. "Then again, most nice girls find nicer places to hang around...and it's so hot here....you're going to melt!"

He tilts his head to the other side, maintaining that wide-eyed grin of his. "Why would you tell me who you are? Pretty please?" His tone is mocking and playful. "You give me yours, and I'll give you mine, and we can move on from there to bigger and better things, I promise." He spreads his arms wide, seeming to forget about the large weapon he carries. "Come on now..do I LOOK that dangerous?" He winks in what he feels is a disarming fashion before locking his glowing eyes onto hers.

"Heh, Quick with the anwsers aren't you? Maybe I won't torch you just yet." Watching as he looked over the landscape she laughed as he said "Then again, most nice girls find nicer places to hang around...and it's so hot here....you're going to melt!"

"Ha, You think this planet is hot? Not even close."

"But fine, If you tell me who you are I suppose I can tell you who I am. My name is Tessa, you might have heard of me. But no you don't look that dangerous but looks can be decieving."

He sighs dramatically at her response. "Of course...hot girls, hot places...why one must ALWAYS be in the other is beyond me..." He shrugs helplessly, bowing low. "I'm EVER so pleased that you've decided not to send me to a molten demise. That wasn't on the schedule today...I've a few things left to do in this realm before I retire. Solais is my name. Solais Saoris, at your service."

He smirks, nodding at her. "It's so interesting to meet someone pretty AND wise...so then, I don't suppose I could weedle information as to what you..." He nods towards the ship, "And THAT, are doing way out here on the heated rock of nowhere? Though I bet I can guess. Why don't you go ahead and tell me anyway?"

Of course, Solais couldn't care less what the fireball-slinging beauty was up to way out here. He simply thinks of his conversation as sleight of hand...something for her to focus on while he concentrates a little more fully on her ship, curiousity as to what's inside outweighing anything she might have to say...lest she tell him just that, which somehow, he doubts she will. He looks it over for any sort of entry point, for any way to get himself inside or to perhaps raise a shadow familiar to be his eyes inside the ship. He never looks directly at the vessel, seeming to stare at the...creature, whatever she is, since she's definitely not human....as he takes in details with his periferal vision.

Of course, he thinks to himself quietly, failing that, I could always just take her and have her give me a tour of the ship... Caution would be a plus, however. She certainly had some ability when it came to a fight, that much was obvious. Better to try subterfuge for now and safe the rough foreplay for later.