Mau stopped and floated a few feet in the air above Namiko.

"You're the fiend here, friend" she said with a low growl, "Get away from Namiko. I am her protector here."

Mau glared down at the creature. His features were strange. She couldn't recall seeing a creature in the Cauldron before. Though his features were reminiscent of stories of other worlds, speaking of human like creatures with features of wild animals.

"You do not appear to be from within the Cauldron. Tell me who you are or I will be forced to banish you from here!"

Mau hoped the Guardian was ok, worry was rising that this creature had perhaps attacked her. If she was ok, she hoped the Guardian would make an apperance soon. The palace was no place for such violence.

You shoot me in the back and call me out?" was his first reaction. She called herself the protector of the young girl, who was named Namiko. The same Namiko who was running before meeting him. But why was she running away from her supposed protector? And how did that energy blast came into all of this?

She then asked him to explain himself. No, she threatened him to tell her or she would banish him. She referred to this place as the Cauldron, which sounded quite bad to him. Damn the sailors and all their sorceries!

Looking up at her, he wished he had a weighed net on him, too bad he was not a hunter now. It was going to be a pain to drive her off if push came to shove, unless he found an advantage. For that, he needed time, and what better way to pass it than talking?

Fortunately, he had quite a story to tell.

"Huh. You sailors are all the same." he shook his head. "My name is Kathros Ashenclaw, warrior of the Darkwind clan. My people, the gnolls rule the Blasted Lands, south of the Glittering Spires, on the western shores of the Sea of Perils."
Kathros' keen nose picked up the faint scent of smoke...

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Namiko groaned a little as she came to. The first thing she realized was that her head hurt a lot. Enough to make her whimper a little as she raised her hand up, touching her crescent mark. The second was that someone was saying her name. Was she back home? Was all the scares and strange people she had seen a dream? Maybe she had walked into the glass of the ice cream parlor before they were open and had hit her head. That seemed a likely explanation. “Mommy..?” she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes.


Nope. It wasn't a dream, she realized. Because right over her was that strange animal man. And he was opening his mouth, though it took a split second before she realized he was talking. But the mere fact he was in close proximity and opening his mouth uncomfortably wide for her tastes was enough. The little long haired girl let out a truly heroic shriek as she scrambled up. She caught a glimpse of Sailor Mau from the corner of her eye, and she latched onto that more familiar face. “Mau!!!” she hollered, scrambling quickly toward the older, winged woman. “Monster, Monster!!!! Help me, monster, it's going to EAT MEEEEE!!! I wanna go hoooomeee!!!” she wailed, a bit more loudly than it required to make the adults ears ring as she latched onto Mau, fairly clinging to her and hiding behind her as she sobbed in fear of the strange man.

Mau winced from Namiko's loud shrieks and cries. She was nearly pulled down from the weight of the child. She lowered herself and knelt by the child, ignoring what this "Kathros" had said.

"Shh, be quiet child. It will be all right." Mau talked in a quiet soothing voice, calmly stroking the childs hair.

"I am here to protect you and won't let anything happen. The Guardian would be quite upset if her guests would get hurt before we could have tea. So promise you will stop with the crying? We might be able to make friends with the monster. For all we know, he's a friendly monster!" She tried to sound cheerful, hoping to calm the child. Namiko's cries certainly would not help with the situation. Mau hoped that maybe they could reason with the creature. She really hoped, by the way the creature talked, that it may have been a misunderstanding.

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It was a sudden turn of events, and hurtful to his ears, but what it meant was plain and simple, obvious even without true sight. But more than that, he saw no sorcery at work here, further confirming that Mau really was who she told herself to be. "Hmm, you speak the truth, sailor... Mau? Is that how they call you?" It was a great relief to Kathros, though he didn't want to show it early. Instead, he focused on the dwarf girl.

"Don't worry, little Namiko. We gnolls don't prey on dwarves, much less their children, so no, I'm not going to eat you." He said, bowing deep before her. "What I want to do, is to help you." he spoke each word slowly and softly, not to agitate her any further.

He turned back to Mau. "I suggest we get moving. Any ideas? This place is far too good for an ambush."

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Namiko continued to cling onto Mau when she crouched down, staring fearfully at Kathros with wide, teary eyes. She obeyed Mau, limiting herself to sniffles and quiet choked sobs, though the stroking of her hair was doing wonders for her fear. It reminded her of her mother, and how she would soothe Namiko whenever she got scared. When Mau began talking, Namiko slowly tore her eyes away from the scary man and looked up at her now. The reminder of the tea party was enough to bring a tremulous smile to her face. Though her eyes widened when Mau suggested the monster could be friendly. Was it even possible for friendly monsters to exist? But it was hard to deny Mau's confidence, and after a few moments, she accepted it as surely as when Chibiusa had told her monsters ate annoying crybabies.

“I promise I’ll stop crying...” she whispered softly to the senshi. She took a deep, brave little breath before she slowly turned toward the friendly monster man. Now she realized he was looking at her, and she reflexively gave a squeak and ducked behind Mau when he bowed. She peeked around Mau's shoulder at him, eyes a little wide and still a little fearful. Though the confirmation he wouldn't eat her helped a lot. After a few moments of staring, she mumbled a little shyly at him, “What's a drawer-ef and a ganol?”

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She was still afraid of him, but he couldn't blame her. If he was still a kid, and met his present self... Kathros wasn't sure he'd stop running 'till the reached the cloudy swamplands. He was a bit taken aback by her question. Didn't all dwarves learn of the three intelligent races of the world? Well, she had to start somewhere.
"Dwarves are small folk, just like you. Theirs is the Lakeside Kingdom to the north of my homeland, which they built alongside the orcs, the boar-people of the forests. Gnolls are people who look like me. Once, we were harsh, tribal and warlike, but those times are of the past. Our lands are the dry canyons of the Blasted Lands, and recently the eastern shores of the Sea of Perils. Our closest animal relatives are the majestic snow wolves of the Glittering Spires. We are like two sides of the same coin, similar, yet different in more ways than I can count... I was lucky to be blessed with the companionship of one. It's quite a tale however, and I don't want to tarry here much longer. Say Namiko, why have you come here? This doesn't look like the place for children."
Thinking this through, Kathros remembered the staircase, and noted that he would investigate it, once the opportunity arose.

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Mau smiled at the girl. She was glad that there wouldn't be a fight, though as Kathros spoke of his origins, she had no idea what he was talking about and why he called the child a dwarf. She was quite clearly a child of the Moon Kingdom. She had heard stories of it and of the mark that those of the White Moon carry on their foreheads.

Mau cleared her throat.

"Um, it seems we all hail from other planets and possibly dimensions? I have never seen your kind before in my life and in my time here in the Cauldron. The Cauldron is, at time,s a strange place, but it is where the star seeds of Sailor Soldiers and other folk come to rest. I have often heard others call it "heaven". What is strange is that you two are alive while I am not. I exist within the cauldron, however the Cauldron Guardian has blessed me with the ability to take this form."

She paused for a moment.

"I'd like to apologize...Mr... Kathros, correct? I really did believe you were attack little Namiko her." She bowed apologetically at Kathros, "I should have observed the situation better before attacking. Anyway, do you like tea?"

Namiko stared at Kathros a little blankly as he explained about himself and his world. After he had finished, she turned her baffled gaze up at Mau, whom she still hid behind, but not quite as much as before. “Am I a drawer-ef?” she asked of the senshi, having no one else she could ask. Though something percolated in her brain before it registered. She looked at the man again, piping up once more. “I transformed once...I turned into Sailor Ser...Serenitatis. Mommy says it means Sea of Serenity, and that it's on the moon. Are you from the moon too?”



Then she remembered the question and burst into her explanation before she could receive her answer. “I was walking into the ice cream parlor for my favorite sea salt caramel ice cream and I poofed here! I don't know why I’m here.” now she looked vaguely upset about not knowing. Why would she be here? After a moment, she returned her gaze to Mau. “Mommy said my other mommy is dead. Would she be here?”

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"You're... not alive? How?" Kathros stared with wide eyes at the sailor. She showed prowess, and felt just too real to be dead. She looked alive, she had no wounds, she moved and even smelled alive, so how could she be dead? Was it another sorcery of the sailor soldiers? But Namiko was, and unless the mysterious Guardian she spoke of could and would grant her true life, it was his duty to help her.

"I... don't know what tea, planets, or dimensions are, but I'm... not surprised you haven't seen us gnolls before. I'm the first of my kind to cross the portal left by Sailor Pluto, back in the darkest part of our history when our tribes joined the army of the Dark Kingdom and the great beasts from the Sea of Storms to assault the ancient dwarven kingdom amongst the mountains. Many of us still bear the marks of that cursed campaign." Kathros choked up, taking a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm himself, and clenched his claw into a tight fist. He was treading too close to his tribe's curse, and he wasn't sure he could keep his bearings if he mentioned it now.

A single drop of blood fell on the floor. "The tales tell of Pluto escaping the fallen dwarven kingdom and living by herself and the gateway she guarded in a hidden valley, before vanishing from the face of the world altogether, leaving only ruins and the moaning wind to tell the world the ballad of her story."

"It is that portal, that brought me there, through the veil that leads to beyond, where the Faerie Queen of the Moon was supposed to live, and that leads to my quest, which is to retrieve the sword given to the soldier named after 'the brightest star of the night'."

"I don't know what it looks like, or how far I am from the object I seek, though I think if the Guardian could grant you life, she can tell me a thing or two."

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Namiko stared vaguely blank as Kathros spoke. Though a few things she was able to understand, and two filled her with delight. She had only known of one queen of the moon who could be termed fairy. She moved forward now, unable to show fear in her delight and excitement.

“Do you mean Grandma Serenity? Grandma Serenity had fairy wings! I’ve seen pictures of her! And Mama pretends to have her fairy wings too! But I don't have them. But Grandma Serenity doesn't have a sword. Auntie Minako has one hanging in her room though. The Ginzuishou Sword! Auntie Minako said she used it to stop evil,evil Queen Beryl from being so mean and nasty! It's really pretty and Mama said it's made from Silver Crystal! I got to touch it once, and it felt tingly like the Silver Crystal.” she beamed, both to know what was being talked about and to talk about things she knew.

Then she grew a little solemn as she half whispered now, as if telling the gnoll a secret. “I don't like touching the Silver Crystal. It made me transform into a senshi, and I don't wanna fight scary monsters. If you're a senshi, you HAVE to fight scary monsters!”

"Made you a senshi? You?" Kathros couldn't help, but sneer. "So your kind conscripts the young? What's next? The elderly, perhaps the crippled too?" his voice raised at every question, his outrage at such unjust practice burned him on the inside. He wasn't looking at Namiko, yet the questions were aimed as much as her as Mau or the empty air. He unclenched his balled claw, now stained with blood, and continued, while staring at it, with his speech lowered to a whisper: "Of all the things... I can't think of a worse fate for a child."

"Of... of all the things for someone so young to endure..." His eyes lost focus, and he stared blankly at the ceiling, as if looking for something. His mind wandered back, to before his journey. "Tell me, little Namiko, have you ever fought in a war? Seen friends die? Have you looked into your fallen enemies' eyes before you dealt the killing blow?"

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Namiko looked at him confused and hurt as she saw the sneer on his face. She took a little step back, the tears beginning to well in her eyes again. Being able to turn into a senshi had always been a good thing, despite her fear of fighting monsters and inability to fight. She could still remember how proud her mama and papa had been of her, for being able to be powerful. And she had been scared, but excited. Why wouldn't this man be proud of her too? She could protect people, if she had to! Maybe...but still. It maybe wouldn't have been quite so bad, until she heard him whispering what a horrible fate being a senshi was. This caused the tears to begin rolling down her cheeks.

Then he spoke again, and his questions seemed to freeze her in place, aside from the tears that continued to roll freely. Her eyes widened, and she slowly gained a horrified look. She wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about, but she could understand about death and loss. “B-but...Mama...Mama's crystal....keeps everyone okay....it protects everyone...n-no one...gets s-sick...and Mama and Chibiusa stopped the war....” the beginnings of sobs were starting to choke her throat, and she couldn't speak anymore. She couldn't stand the haunted look in Kathros face, or his words that tugged and threatened to hurl her young mind into a dark abyss of depression. She turned around and hugged Mau around the waist tightly, burying her face into her skirt as her shoulders shook, the fabric of the short skirt barely muffling the little sobs that came from her now.

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The comments from Kathros stung a bit at Mau and it obviously upset little Namiko too. It seems the Sailors of his world were viewed with hatred, at least from his eyes. He regarded her at times condescendingly and what did he mean by "your kind". Soldiers were born all over the universe. There was no controlling that. Mau soothingly placed a hand on Namikos head.

"Er...Kathros... I am really not sure about your world and how the Sailor Soldiers of your planet were or the wars you endured, but I do believe this little one is to young to fight. In fact, if she is from the world that I've heard many stories from, then she is quite correct about her "Mama Serenity's" crystal," she looked at Kathros in the eye, "While it is true, we Sailor Soldiers do have to fight in wars. We never want or force that upon our children. However, one is chosen to be a Soldier and it is one's destiny if you are that chosen one. You cannot escape that. Only those with true Sailor Crystal star seeds become Soldiers. We fight to protect those that we love. I know of this as much as any other Sailor. I fought hard to protect the ones that I loved. My planet."

Her voice grew soft, even though she lived peacefully in the Cauldron, the memories of her planet, Mau, and the destruction caused by the Shadow Galactica and the Sailor Wars, never faded. They were always there as vivid as they were the day they happened. Mau took a deep breath calming herself a little. She felt herself shaking.

"Come, we shouldn't discuss such matters around a child. We are in a place of peace with no war. Shall we have a tour as we look for the Guardian? I believe we all could use some tea right now. Right Namiko?" Mau smiled down at the little girl.

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"Damn right she is! To live knowing that one is forced into a such a role..." His rage abated somewhat while he paused, seeking the words to continue. The glowing runes faded away into nothingness, his fur and skin on his arms was unmarred again, the red glow left his eyes. "Nonetheless, even if it's your foretold future, you won't have to fear the clash of arms today little Namiko. This 'monster' that stands before you will see to that."

He felt empty. Never before had anyone talked about a sailor being a victim of her own fate. To grow up like that, knowing that eventually one will be forced to kill... he couldn't fault Namiko for not liking it. Even if the crystal, which sounded like it was the Moon Crystal, kept peace and life good, even if her mother and Chibiusa stopped 'the war', the fact that soldiers were chosen instead of being volunteers worried him to no end.

Of course, it had been more or less that way in his life. A gnoll was expected to fight, if nothing else, then to scare away the desert beasts that occasionally wandered into their dens. But it wasn't mandatory, and those who stayed at their homes didn't have to fight in wars. There was a well trained millitia for that, and they recruited from the country folk only in the direst times, given that the port cities had enough young gnolls aching for adventure already, and after a thousand years, peace was on the horizon with the other two intelligent races, and he himself had even managed to earn the trust of an ice dragon.

Picking up his spear, he wondered if Namiko would have to wield such instruments of death, the, after the long moment of consideration, he turned to Mau. "A tour? Yes... it will do. And while we are touring, could you tell me what 'tea' is?"

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Namiko continued to hold onto Mau, barely even hearing what they were talking about. She was too lost in her emotions, which twisted this way and that like her stomach after too many sweets. She found herself longing to be back home, to be hugged by her mama and to watch her brush out her long, long hair. To sit with Chibiusa and listen to her tales of romance and heroism by the wonderful Sailor Moon. Or sometimes, the whispered confessions about her sneaking to see Helios and their naughty stolen kisses, which always made her giggle profusely and blush.

She broke out of her memories when she heard Kathros cursing, and cringed at it, clinging tighter to Mau for protection. Even when he spoke to her, she refused to remove her face from Mau's skirt. It was only now she noticed she could feel Mau trembling. Was she scared, like she was? It made her feel slightly better to know she wasn't the only one. Then she was reminded of the tea party and slowly withdrew her face, looking tearfully up at Mau. She hesitantly nodded and quickly took the older womans hand, though she averted her face, still unable to look at Kathros from the anguish he had caused her.

Watching Namiko go through such emotions made him feel awful on the inside, yet he was still convinced that it was better for her to know that. She was no soldier, and by all that's right shouldn't be one, but she wasn't given a choice.

A new thought entered his mind, to take her away and shatter the portal, to sever her from such cosmic horrors that preyed upon them. They tempted him with images of her happiness amongst dwarf ladies, the expression on the Icelord would wear on sighting her, and other prospects of normal, yet hard life.

He put those thoughts away, but as he was still worried, he noted to himself to ask Mau if there was anyone who could take Namiko home.

She shouldn't be alone.

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Mau looked around in the room they were in. She wasn't the most familiar with the palace. Perhaps just walking around randomly and having chit chat would benefit all three parties. Perhaps the guardian will find them and they could have tea.

Mau was wondering if she would ever have the tea. Mau squeezed Namiko's hand gently. She began walking down a random corridor.

"Well, Mr. Kathros...I recall you asking for an explanation of tea, hm?" Mau paused, closing her eyes with a small smile thinking about it. She could really go for a cup now. "Tea is a very relaxing and delightful warm drink. Made from dried leaves and a variety of herbs. It can be medicinal or just enjoyed for pleasure. It is delightful with cream and little tea cakes."

Mau made a sound much like the purr of a cat as she thought of cream. Her tail swished back and forth. Mauians had a tendency to regress to certain cat like tendencies when feelings various emotions. Tea with cream gave Sailor Mau one of those emotions.

"A drink for healing made from leaves and roots..." Kathros inwardly winced, but tried to keep his voice steady. "My people make them against common diseases, but they all taste bitter. I heard that honey makes it bearable, but how many of us can find them in the wilds?" he suppressed a bitter laugh, he had only tasted honey a handful of times in his life, and it wasn't easy to come by. "Now dry fruits, on the other hand, are the honey of the common folk! Brew a handful of them into your 'tea', or just brew them together, and you've got a royal treat for your family's evening after a hard day's work, a release from the pains of toiling and disease, and a restful, refreshing night to look forward to..."

He stretched out, taking in the sights of tall, elegant arches meeting far above him, the windy corridors and rows upon rows of pillars they were held up on. If what they said was true, that he had indeed stumbled into a world of peace...

he drew a heavy breath. "... Strange. I had almost forgotten what peace feels like." he smiled to Mau, which, being a hyena's smile, could be seen as quite disturbing. "Thanks... Mau, for reminding me."

He lowered his spear. "I believe it's best to head for the guardian. If she's as powerful as I am inclined to believe, then the only safety we can get is with her. Maybe she can sort Namiko out as well."

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“Perhaps I can do that, instead of bothering the Guardian” a voice spoke out. It belonged to a tall woman with very long hair, a brighter blue than Namiko's, but with similar sea like eyes. She smiled softly, looking at the child who stared at the woman in return. “Namiko...Sailor Moon chose a good name for you. Tell her I said thank you...for raising you so wonderfully. My daughter.”

Namiko's eyes widened a little as she took a hesitant step forward, her pigtails trailing behind her on the floor. She searched the womans face, frowning quietly before she spoke the name she had only heard of from others. “Aluminum...Siren...?” The older woman nodded. Namiko stood there a moment before she broke into a run, to be swept up into the tall womans arms. “Mommy! I never thought I would meet you! Mama said you had died a long time ago!” Siren held onto the girl, fingering her hair, feeling the curve of her face, placing kisses on her forehead. “Oh Namiko...I did. That was why you're here. I heard the Guardian was having a tea party, and I wanted to meet you. So I drew you here, into the Cauldron. You're so big...and your hair!” she looked appraisingly at the hair, which probably measured at least 6 feet unbound, and Namiko was a child of four foot. She smiled and hugged Namiko tightly, delighted to at last meet her daughter.

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Kathros was taken by surprise. He didn't smell or hear her approach, and true sight had faded already. As such, he was more surprised than usual. "Her mother? Dead too? This place... is haunted then. Wait... what is this... smoke?"

It was billowing out from his pocket, and he noticed it none too soon! The dragon's tooth burned through it's woven fabric, and fell to the floor with eerie clatter. It was glowing in a light shade of orange, but once it was on the floor, it changed it's color to a light shade of blue, and instead of emanating heat, it drew in the moisture in the air, creating an icy patch on the marble(?) floor.

The gnoll warrior knelt down to the artifact, and whispered: "The Icelord's tooth! I wonder what this means..." were all he could say, before an arc of lightning shot out from it towards Kathros's head, who was stunned in the moment it began. "NO!"

Overpowering the shock, and the maelstrom of images and sounds that raged in his mind, he moved to retrieve the item of power, to hide it, to shield it... no! to shield them from it's raging fury. For though it was the vessel of the most kind and noble wisp of the dragon's soul, it couldn't change the ages old hatred that the Icelord and his ancestors harbored against the sailors, and the wisp felt threatened. "leave.. them.. be"

More arcs joined the first, some futilely reaching out for the sailors and Namiko (who were too far away), others scorching Kathros's head and body, stunning him again. The assault on his mind was more intensive than before, the images more vivid, the cacophony of voices head-shattering.

The gnoll howled out in pain and frustration, as blackness gathered at the edges of his vision, and he felt his strength fade away.

At last, the gnoll, who charred his hands in sympathy of his sickened brethren, who ventured through a whole continent, who sailed the sea of perils, and fought in the last naval war against Triene's orcs, fell. The arcs, the gnoll, and the tooth disappeared, and the Ashenclaw fell through emptiness as black as the starless night, knowing nothing of it. Only his heartbeat and breathing kept him company, as he had lost his items and clothing, apparently. He was worried for the others, and he could only hope that they would keep their distance, or summon someone powerful enough to weather the dragon's fury.

The void changed. Sometimes it embraced him in vibrantly colored clouds, other times, he could almost hear voices of his long lost friends, his family. Yet when he turned towards where he heard them from, he found nothing.

At last, he felt a familiar sight enter his eye: Through a cloud he fell, he saw the mountain where Ithral made his lair. He despaired at the thought, for surely, he couldn't survive such a fall. Then, as if on cue, he heard the flapping of wings, and in the next moment, he was caught in massive, blue-gray claws, as a dragon let itself fall beside him

"Hold fast, young warrior! Your days aren't over yet" the dragon roared over the winds, and with great effort, slowed their fall. They flew through valleys, above peaks, around empty keeps garrisoned with warriors made from animated chunks of ice.

Kathros arrived home.

OOC and I'm quite pissed: