South Pole - Dementor's Way

[G. Novella]

Harrigan sighed. He wouldn't be able to settle with Rhiannon, and Jeo hated him. He'd stay with Acid and Lucinda. The two phoenixes would be friendlier.

"Excuse me, I'm going to set up camp," said Harrigan to Kei with a smile.

---

Kampfa looked around the icy, barren land. It was white, like paper. Soon he'd color it with the spilled blood of humanity. The idea made him grin eerily. He moved to build himself a home. Soon, war would start.

[Nahara46]

Rhea nodded, smiling a bit as she raised a hand to stroke Lucinda's back again. The barrier helped quite a bit with the cold, but there was still the Dementor's influence. In the back of the mind she could feel the memory trying to resurface, the one she wanted to forget. Disgusting. Defiled. Let it die! Her fingers shook a bit as she tried to get the memory back to where she could forget it.

Trying to distract herself, Rhea glanced around and said, "I've always wanted to live in a winter wonderland. I might have to rethink that wish."

[Miss Wings]

Acid was wiped after that flash, he'd made the mistake of of taking one too many people and now he'd need to rest for a whilem hopefully the battle wouldn't start before they were ready.

[kumainpink]

Lucinda trilled nervously. "Yes, well I'd rather live somewhere warm. There's nothing like a nice, warm summer home." She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing just on Rhea's voice. It made her feel pleasant. Was this what having friends outside of another phoenix was like?

---

Noxra and Arcix arrived on the scene, and found that their chill wasn't a match for the warmth of the barrier. "Good day to you," Arcix said with an air of pride. He decided he would extend an air of friendship for now. Later on, they would be food, but for now, they would be allies. "Welcome to our lands, fellow creatures. I am Arcix, leader of the dementors here. And this is my mate, Noxra."

"Hello." she replied distantly, as though she weren't fully with him. Arcix ignored it. If his mate wanted to be like that, fine. He wouldn't let it bother him.

[Nahara46]

"I'll have to think on that one," Rhea replied, "A nice house on the water front at a warm beach. I've always liked the ocean, very peaceful, even if I'm not the best swimmer."

Rhea looked up when she heard voices. There were two dementors, and she felt herself shiver. Not from cold, but because the closer the were, the louder the memory was. Disgusting! Defiled! Let it die! She didn't reply to the creatures, to focused on trying to not focus on the words.

[kumainpink]

Lucinda flew protectively in front of Rhea, seeing her distress. She didn't know if it would help, but she offered warmth. "The two of you do not belong here." she said coolly. "We had a deal."

"My sincerest apologies, Lucinda." he replied, not sounding sorry at all. "But we felt your arrival and wanted to greet you. We are allies, after all."

[Nahara46]

The warmth from Lucinda definitely helped, the memory faded around the edges and became fuzzy. Easier to deal with, Rhea managed to give a smile to the pair and nod her head toward them. "I-It's nice to meet you." Not really... "Thank you for allowing us to come."

[kumainpink]

Arcix's attention suddenly went to the human girl. At least, she felt human... Mmmm... so delicious! Well, Lucinda did say that the humans were their's to eat... Without a second thought, he lunged after her and grabbed her neck. "How lovely! An offering!" He started to sap at her, searching for dark memories for her to dwell on. Though nowhere as tasty as a dark soul, she would do for now.

"NO!" Lucinda screeched. She sang viciously, and suddenly, he felt his skin rip and tear. "She is not food! She's a werewolf! Now get off her!"

Arcix tried to ignore the sensation, but after a solid minute of attacks, he had no choice but to back off. "I'm sorry, I lost myself for a moment." he pretended to be ashamed, but really, he was angry. That was the closest he'd gotten to a soul in a long time, and she dared deny him?

"It would be best if you left." Lucinda warned, her voice laced with venom. "If you try to attack her again, I will kill you, vow be damned."

[Nahara46]

Rhea didn't have time to react. Had the memory not been clouding the back of her thoughts, she probably would have been able to jump away. However, she didn't have that time. Letting out a loud, surprised yelp, she found herself in the Dementor's arm as it tried to devour her soul.

Then, her struggling diminished quite a bit and she couldn't hear Lucinda. Her memory had taken over. (I'll post this in ramblings, it's pretty long.)

Even once Acrix dropped her, and she felt down to the ground, her memory stayed in control, she was locked in it until it ended.

[kumainpink]

Arcix glared at the phoenix, but realized the folly of his errors. He had gone against his own plan and acted too soon. "I apologize." he said, bowing. "I let the thought of a human soul overcome my better judgement." Perhaps he could salvage this.

"Leave. Now." Lucinda replied dangerously. "Or we'll head back and leave you to rot!"

"Very well." Arcix said coolly. "Come Noxra."

"Alright." came her short, soft reply.

---

The very second the dementors left, Lucinda was at Rhea's side, singing words of comfort and offering as much warmth as possible. "Shh...it's going to be alright, Rhea. Nobody will hurt you here."

[Nahara46]

Rhea couldn't really hear Lucinda. Instead, she was cringing at the memory. A Monster- A Bloody Monster! It took several minutes before Rhea could escape. She opened her eyes and took in a shuddering breath. "L-Lucinda?" She said in an almost confused voice as she realized where she was. She wasn't there.

[kumainpink]

"Yes, it's me." she crooned softly. "I'm here for you, Rhea." she offered more warmth, and nuzzled Rhea affectionately.

[Nahara46]

"T-Thanks." Rhea put her hand on Lucinda's back again, rubbing it gently as she tried to calm herself. What if he came for her? Finished the job? She shivered at the thought before she moved to sit up, legs underneath her. "W-what happened?"

[kumainpink]

"The leader of the dementors, Arcix, got a little too excited, since you're mostly human, and tried to drain your soul. I warned him that I'd kill him, vow or no vow, if he tried that again."

[Nahara46]

Rhea nodded. "Oh.. That makes sense." It explained why her memory had resurfaced so completely. "Thanks... I guess I shouldn't have had drawn attention to myself."

[kumainpink]

"Don't blame yourself." she insisted, trilling out little notes of song for her. "That dementor went back on his word. He's to blame."

[Nahara46]

"A-alright." Rhea put one hand on her head, trying to make it go away. Filthy monster! Just let him finish her off!

[kumainpink]

Lucinda wasn't sure how she felt about being petted, it brought back memories that she herself didn't like. But Rhea needed her. And by Athena, she would be there. "Rhea, as you offered to me, you may talk to me if you need something. We're friends, after all, that's what we're for."

[Nahara46]

Rhea hesitated. She wanted to talk to Lucinda and tell her of the memory, but she couldn't. She didn't want to talk about it- if she talked, it would haunt her. Maybe he would hear and find her again. No. That was ridiculous.. He couldn't hear her, and she'd never have to see him again. "It's not a big deal really... J-Just the night I became a werewolf."

That was all she could bring herself to say, and she shivered just thinking about it. Her nightmares had stopped being nightly by the time she entered Hogwarts, the school had managed to put her mind on other things, but that didn't mean it went away. Every so often, it would crop again, and she would be paralyzed with fear that he'd come searching for her again.

[kumainpink]

Lucinda could hear the hesitation in her voice, and understood not to push. After all, hadn't their roles been reversed last night? "That is a big deal, Rhea." she whispered, putting a few soothing notes into her voice. "But, you don't have to talk about it. I'm only saying that you can if you need to." She gave her a one-winged hug, feeling an incredible sadness in her heart. Oh Rhea... Lucinda wasn't good at dealing with fear herself, so she just resigned herself to just being there. Surely, she could do that?

[Nahara46]

Rhea knew it was a big deal, and for her, it was. However, she also knew that Lucinda had plenty to worry about already- she didn't knew Rhea's unreasonable fears to add to the list. She didn't bother arguing though, it wouldn't make a difference to the bird. So, instead, Rhea decided that she'd forget about him, Lucinda would never have to worry about Rhea because of him again. Now, she just had to get Lucinda's mind off of it.

"I-I'll remember that." She forced herself to give the phoenix a small, timid, smile. "T-That beach home is looking like a better idea every minute."

[kumainpink]

Lucinda trilled a small, tired chuckle. "Tell me about it. What I wouldn't give for a day in the beach, surrounded by nice, warm sand and shimmering blue waters. Fawkes would be there too, of course, and probably wearing sunglasses!"

[Nahara46]

Closing her eyes and forcing herself to focus on images of the beach, Rhea tried to calm herself. However, the wolf's face flashed in her mind. It took a lot to refrain from flinching, or screaming, mostly the latter. The idea of Fawkes wearing sunglasses helped, she managed a slightly forced chuckle. "That'd be him alright."

[kumainpink]

"And he would still insist that he's the sane one." she continued warmly, keeping the song in her voice. "I may be silly, and you may be crazy, but he's mad, alright. And after a quick Bubble Charm, we could go underwater. Have you ever been before?"

[Nahara46]

Rhea tilted her head in curiosity, focusing on that prospect. "Never underwater so that I could see. Swam in the lake once, but that was my last time because someone told me straight after a scary story about the squid. Never swam in it again, though I seriously doubt it ate someone like they said."

[kumainpink]

"Oh, but it is so beautiful, Rhea! The ocean is full of greens and blues, and it shimmers like glass on the surface. There are creatures far and wide - both magical and non - and schools of colorful fish that swim together." She felt herself slipping into a state of bliss at the memory. "And just wait until I introduce you to sea cows! Oh, and dolphins, too! They're so much fun to swim with!"

[Nahara46]

It was a beautiful image, and Rhea loved it. "Sea cows?" She questioned, "Black and white fish that go Moo?" The werewolf managed a real giggle because of that. Actual cows Rhea didn't particularly like, they smelled and were pretty stupid, but their image on a fish was hilarious.

[kumainpink]

Lucinda trilled in laughter at the mental image of the sea cow Rhea described. "No, silly! They're actually manatees, but people call them sea cows for some reason. Though, if anyone could see one like you described, it would be Fawkes...maybe we should take him too?"

[Nahara46]

"He'd love it, probably make up all the weird facts about them, with a few real ones thrown in. I wonder if he's ever gone..." The idea of Fawkes in the sea was a bit weird, but Rhea could definitely image him there- pretending to be a fish and making a fishy face,

[kumainpink]

Lucinda shook her head. "Nope. He told me he's never been. Though he could tell you stories about muggle land animals. He apparently spent his travels visiting them."