Ai returns from Helantri Deru in a huff, and sets down the Yggdrasil on a pedestal in her garden. She waits for Dewei, trying her best not to destroy something.

Dewei is right behind, of course. Looks at the Yggdrasil a moment as she sets it up, and then looks to Ai. "So...may I ask what happened?"

"Tell me the truth, Dewei," Ai tearfully demands of him, spinning to face him with a surprising neutrality to her expression. "If our parents started fighting again, what... what would become of us?"

Dewei's...extremely taken aback. He bites his lip. Thinks. "I...don't know, Ai. I guess I've tried to not think about it. If, gods forbid, that happened..." he thinks. Considers very carefully, and closes his eyes moment, before looking back to the goddess. "She would try to keep me out of it. Ting and I both. But, if it became necessary...I'd have to back my mom. Not against you, but...if you stayed loyal to your dad..." he lets that trail off. "I could never harm you, though, for anything."

The former Mi'ehna closes her eyes. Damn. Damn!

"I'm sorry for this Dewei. I am. But I... need you. I need you, but I could never be anything but loyal to him." She looks to the tree, eyes squeezing shut. "Run away with me, Dewei. Let's leave this place together... and join our families forever. Then," she turns back to him, reaching desperately for his hands. "Then there will be no fighting!"

Dewei's taken aback a moment. It's not that part of him doesn't want to say "yes", but...this is a guy who's never given a second thought to much of anything but life outside his family. He's only haltingly considered leaving for any reason, and always dismissed it quickly just for overwhelming attachment to then. "Ai...would that really stop the fighting? Or would it drive a wedge, your dad blaming my mom for it and vice versa?" This is more or less a legitimate concern, in his mind.

"I know my dad would never blame your mom for it. He knows that your mother would never let you marry me. Or at least, wouldn't like it." Ai senses his hesitation, and it breaks her heart, even though she understands it. "Just the same... my father doesn't want me to be your wife. He forbid it, he said it was for my own good."

Dewei's ears press back a touch at this. Damn. One thing working against Ai right now is the fact that Dewei, like everyone else who's ever come into contact with him, has a healthy degree of fear of Radivishe Moorn. "Well...do you think we'd be able to change his mind in time? Why did he forbid it?"

"He is afraid that he and Felina would fight again, and he might..." she looks down. "Have to hurt you. He knows you would side with her. He likes you, Dewei, and if you were my husband he would cherish you. But if you sided with her, he would..." she covers her face with both hands. She cannot finish the sentence, the very thought of it makes her wish things she would never voice.

"Ai..." Okay, so he's quite literally feeling ill at the sheer magnitude about all this. But right at this moment, the thing foremost in his mind is seeing his treasured half-deity so upset. It just isn't okay. He takes her forearm gently. "Ai...I've known that almost since I met you. Didn't admit it, maybe, to either of us, but...on some level, I've known. I'm still here."

She looks at him curiously, eyes ringed in red.  "I can't live without you in my life. I... knew that almost since I met you. I cannot let anything push us apart." She thinks about this for a second, but cannot come up with a solution that satisfies everyone. "If I turned against my father, we could... but I don't know how he would react to that."

Dewei is quick to shake his head. "No...that wouldn't work at all. Whatever else you think of him at this exact moment, we both know you love your father with all your heart. That's important."

Ai nods. He's right, she could never hurt her dad. "At least let me set up a home for us with this tree. If nothing else, let's have a place to run. Even if we never need it."

"Well...that sounds like a plan." Dewei pauses. "Ai?"

The goddess looks at him sadly. "Hm?"

Dewei hesitates. "I know this thing is really complicated. But, it's kind of understandable, in a way. I mean, your dad just got back from hell, courtesy of my mother...for her part, mom's last memories of him involve him all but killing her and making her life a living hell." Trails off a moment. "My point in that is...of course they don't like or trust one another, and may never, but...to them, this is all pretty recent, in a way. I think if we give them enough time, they'll become more tolerant of each other. And of us. Ai, I love you..." hesitates. He's never said that before, but then nods... "love you, more than enough to wait however long it takes so that we can be together without tearing anyone's family apart. I can promise you that." His face is absolutely sincere, even doe-eyed...even for Dewei.

His words uplift her, even as they tear her apart inside. She shakes her head, nods, tries not to misinterpret anything. At last she smiles a dust-ground smile.

"I know you could wait. I just want you now, yesterday even."

Dewei laughs a little, even as he's the littlest bit hurt at the same time. "Believe me," he assures her, "I know the feeling." Smiles.

She brightens a little bit. She knew, but... well. Men are more transparent than women, anyway. "So... I suppose I ought to talk to your mom and Yue about this tree. Unless you want to come with me...?"

"I think I'd rather just wander and think a bit...unless you'd rather I come, Ai?" It's a genuine question.

She shakes her head. "No, not if you'd rather not." She takes up the tree with a bitter smile. "I... will see you in a century or so, Dewei."

Dewei blinks. Okay, so he's slow. "Ai...you mean you're going to plant it? I'm sorry...that's not what I meant. I thought you were just going to talk to them."

"Well... I'm sorry. I wasn't clear." She looks at him, holding the plant against her hip almost like a mother holds a baby. "I wanted to go straight there after talking to them. Dewei, I've lived for fifteen hundred years. Another hundred is a small thing for me, but not for you. You it would change forever. Me... it'd be like being here, alone, again. Tolerable."

"But not good. Ai...that's still a long time. How many times have you told me how much you'r afraid of ever being left alone again?" He's practically pleading with her to reconsider.

She knows it. But she's torn, and not her rational self, either. "Many," she answers. "I... suppose we could leave the tree and come for it some other time."

Dewei nods, pondering this. "Yeah...that could work, it's not a half bad idea." His favorite so far, certainly. He's resigned by now to not being able to just slowly watch it grow up here, more's the pity. It's not what Ai wants, which is important. "Or, we could think about it some more when you're not so upset about a recent fight?" He manages a smile, trying to be reassuring. "Your dad does love you, you know. A lot."

"I know. I know." She puts the tree down. "I need sleep. Something, Dewei, to give me the time I need to cool down. Do you mind...?"

"Of course not." He shakes his head. "Whatever you need, Ai. Is there anything I can do?"

She shakes her head. "No. Just let me be alone for a little while. I'm sorry I brought you here just to hurt you, Dewei."

Dewei is quick to shake his head. "No...it was important, Ai, of course it was. I just hope that you'll be okay?"

"I will. Now go, before I decide that I need comforted in ways that neither of us are ready for." She half-smiles, trying to make him feel a bit better.

Dewei smiles a little, and squeezes her hand. "Right. I'll...ehm...be around, if you need me." And he vanished for Helantri Deru.

Ai gazes at the tree after he leaves. She sits down on a flower chair that rises up to meet her, lets its petals grow up and around her so that she's enveloped by a closing bloom. It is perfectly safe for her, and she likes the 'tent' feeling when she needs to think. Soon enough she is asleep.

---

A while later, a more than frustrated Radivishe Moorn returns to his daughter's planet.

"Blasted filth angel. As if social situations were not complicated enough without hysterics." 

He strides up to Ai's door and reaches the calling bell, muttering angrily to himself.

"GO AWAY!"

The sorcerer lays his fingers against his temples, rubbing at the ache Ai's mental scream brought on.

"Ai, this is helping nothing. Open this door and talk to me."

"I won't warn you three times, father. GO!"

"You do not want me to insist, Ai."

No response.

"Ai?"

Before he can ask again Radivishe Moorn finds himself surrounded in a pillar of swirling, rising flames. The earth beneath him vanishes for hundreds of feet, the oxygen within the funnel of fire burns away, and the moisture all around freezes in the same instant.

Moorn shakes his head. "Like a teenager."

---

When Mara and Dewei arrive at Niven Ai, Radivishe Moorn is sitting by Ai's favorite tray. His hair is smoking and his coat lies next to him, still smoldering. A thoughtful expression is set on his devilish face.

"Oh! Honey sugar what happened?" Mara hops over to him, more amused than concerned. She just wants to hear him say it.

Moorn glances at them. "Ai teleported me to a moon and detonated it. Nothing important."

"Ah...so 'she's still mad' is the understatement of the hour," Dewei observes, something between sheepish, 'don't kill me,' and 'she wouldn't detonate right here, would she?'

The sorcerer glances at Felina's current youngest. "Quite. Dewei, I do hope you understand that the issue I share with Ai right now is not against you. Under other circumstances, I..."

Mara blinks. "You'd marry him?"

He glares at Mara, who covers her mouth with both hands.

Dewei half glances to his aunt for a moment, eyes faintly amused, before looking back to Moorn. "I know. Ai and I have actually talked about it, verbatim...what would happen if you and mother reopened your conflicts."

"And I will bet that you were the voice of reason. As I was saying before some loudmouthed kitten interrupted..."

Mara sticks out her tongue. And gives him the finger, why not.

"... if things were different, I would want Ai to spend her life with you. Or someone like you. But you saw how that angel reacted to me... there are many others who would. You and Ting have no idea the kind of hell your mother and I put one another through. Literally in my case. The two of you may well despise me like the transgender does, when you learn the full spectrum of it. Not that I care. But Ai would."

"Ai's always known that you did some awful things. One of the first things she said to my mother when they met was that you had done terrible things, but you were still her father and she loved you." Dewei gathers his thoughts a moment. Closes his eyes just a second, as is a habit thinking hard.

"Details may be hard on her, but I don't know that they'd change her mind." He looks back up to Moorn. "If you and mom were to reopen conflict, things would be more than complicated for Ai and I. She's sure that she would support you, and I'm sure that I would support my mother and family, and that you could very well end up killing me if I interfered at the wrong time." This is a strange thing to have to say to your master, but Moorn's had a year to work on Dewei's personality by now, and he doesn't dance around the subject. "But it may never come to that. Neither you nor mother wants it to. And a century or a millenium down the road, if it hasn't...then it's just something wonderful missed on fear alone."

Mara is fidgeting during that whole speech. "Dewei, that was great! Way to stand up to him!"

Moorn glances at her, at which point she covers her mouth again.

"Then you're willing to risk all of that for Ai?" The sorcerer rises. "I know she will for you. She told me as much."

"Yes." There isn't a second's hesitation. This is actually a lot like a mouse standing up and trying to convince a tiger he's worthwhile.

"Fine then. Tell her she has my blessing, and -!!"

Mara squeals and tackles him, sits on him, and then seems to remember herself. "Oh. I bet you had more to say dinnit ya?"

Moorn gazes up, his expression both pained and pleasant. He knows that she was trying to break his intimidation factor for Dewei. Mara is smart that way. 

Mara knows she just wanted to pounce him.

Dewei's...taken aback, and a bit stunned. All told, he hadn't expected Moorn to agree...and is half surprised he's in one piece. He's very quick to remember himself, and bows low in the utmost gratitude, eyes downturned so that it still works since Moorn is...ehm...flat. "Thank you. It means the world to both of us and...she'll be thrilled." It never could have worked without his blessing. It would tear Ai up inside, and they both knew it.

Moorn nods a bit to the respect, not really caring, but appreciative in a sort of 'glad I didn't have to kick him for not doing it' sort of way.

"Well then. So you know, if you hurt her, your life is over. I..."

Mara kisses him quite suddenly, waving Dewei towards the door while she's got him quiet.

Hurry up, go! Getcher Ai! Before he gets creepy.

Dewei thinks he knows the rest, anyway, and it doesn't bother him. He could never hurt Ai. He grins just the littlest bit, one corner of his heart singing when it starts to comprehend what just happened.

He tries to take a step. Fails, and realizes just how close he'd really been to passing out. Whoo. Gathers himself with warm mental gratitude to his aunt, and slips inside. "Ai?"

A wormhole opens in the air at his voice. Through it, Ai can be seen sitting in the center of a gigantic fly-trap, a box of tissues next to her along with several dozen bottles of Mara-vintage booze.  She beckons to him, swaying a bit.

Dewei blinks. Oh, good. So, it won't be the dramatic moment he hoped for. He does smile at her a bit, though concerned, and approaches. "Hey...I brought you some dinner."

"That's... sweet of you, Dewei.  I..." She tilts her head. "Oh... the look. No, Dewei, these bottles are closed. I could not bring myself to get roaring drunk." Her eyes are red, of course. Her smile, however, shines like all the stars in the heavens on a clear night.

"Ahh...I'm relieved, Ai. I was afraid I got to be poison control, for all of these." He smiles brightly, and holds the plate out to her, unsealing it. "I have news, too."

"News?" She sits up straight, setting the plate aside where it levitates on its own. "Tell me, Dewei."

Dewei is positively bubbling with excitement, almost Ting like, and grins at her. "Your father said to tell you that whatever you decide to do, you have his blessing. And something about murdering me if I ever hurt you." He snickers. He's pretty sure his mom will make the same threat of whoever marries Ting.

The plate falls. Ai is shaking, but reaches for him, his hands, his arms, whatever she can get hold of. She needs held, but her voice fails her and all she can do is stare, and hope he understands.

Dewei's smile softens...he steps forward, and just hugs her tightly. Doesn't say anything else at first, just...holds her. "You know," he observes quietly... "your dad really loves you."

"I know. I do. I was just so angry at him. I love you. That one could be set against another... but now it is better." She keeps her end of the embrace brief this time, so as not to put him off, but her gratitude is more than evident in her smile. "Does this mean we can plant the tree together...?"

Dewei smiles at her, and nods. After what just happened, he's ready for this. "Yeah. Whenever you want to, Ai. Ansendul won't let us do it in the maze, for the simple detail that we hadn't thought about how to get it back out," he coughs. "But, he will age the tree for us by creating a slip outside of the maze."

Ai cannot believe what she's hearing. The fortune of it is pure ecstasy!

"That is fantastic! I cannot wait, Dewei, let's go right now!" She tugs on his arm, eyes sparkling prettily.

Dewei grins, swept away for a moment in her smile. She's just...amazingly beautiful, she really is. And to think that she's his. He shakes his head just a moment, then smiles. "Absolutely. We need to find Yue, though, to facilitate the aging, and...oh, right...about that, Yue has a favor to ask with the tree, too." Here he goes on to explain the "fallen angel, kill him for his wings back" thing.




Ai looks appalled, to be honest. "No, Dewei! We... killing him? I don't even want to think about anything like that. No, just... ugh."

"I'm uncomfortable with the idea, too," Dewei admits. "And I think my mother is. But she's tentatively letting it be, and Ansendul is behind it, which is a very good sign. And there really isn't a practical way to stop her if she wants it. All that we can do is facilitate it cleanly."

"But how does she... he... intend for us to do it?" Ai gets close to him again, drawing on his strength. "None of us could bear to kill a friend of Felina's just like that."

"I'm not sure. I couldn't do it, and I'll make sure you're not even considered for the job, although I doubt that was the case anyway." He nods reassuringly, and kisses her hair on instinct. It's funny for him to be a touch protective of her, comparative fledgling that he is, but she's Ai. "I think that if she can't talk him out of it...my mother might, knowing her. We'd have to ask, though."

His lips against her hair make her feel much better about things in general. "I think I've changed my mind, Dewei." Subtly, the jaws of the toothless fly trap begin to close. "Stay with me for a while. I want to show you something." Her eyes glitter. "I think you will like it."

Dewei's still Dewei, and doesn't notice the flytrap closing. He smiles. "I'd love to see it, Ai."

"I know." She pushes him back a little bit as the jaws of the plant come together, enveloping them in a plant-tent with still plenty of space. Poor Dewei is so clueless, but she adores that trait in him. "You have no idea how much, though." She reaches up, fingers playing at a button on the front of her cloak.

Dewei's back is against the wall of the flytrap, right where she'd put him. His eyes widen the tiniest bit. "Unless I'm way, way off the mark here," he ventures softly, wanting and yet not wanting to push, "I think I have an idea..." a faint smile plays at the edges of his lips.

The goddess smiles at him, so enthralled with his nature, his innocence. The button slips loose, one of enough that it is just a teasing sign at this point. "Do you?" She plays with the next button, twisting it gently back and forth, watching, a hawk circling a spooked rabbit. "I want this. But I want you to choose when... right now, or afterward?" Her quivering voice is nothing but nervousness... which strikes her as odd, considering the age gap.

Dewei is...so torn. He's been attractived to Ai since the moment they met, and that's only grown every day since then. Oh, god he wants to, but...he swallows hard. "Ai, are you...sure?" he manages to...squeak.

The goddess's fingers twist, and the button pops off. Even so, she's chosen the right garment with which to tease him. In sheer number of clasps, buttons, and ties her cloak resembles the entire wardrobe of an office complex.

"I am. But I can see that you have reservations, so," she takes his hand, sets the button in his palm, and closes his fingers slowly over the silvery circle. "We can wait. Besides, Father probably would not be pleased to hear that, immediately upon receiving his blessing, you came in here and celebrated like that."

"That is...probably a sound point, Ai." Dewei smiles, and leans forward. Kisses her gently, and brushes back her hair. "I love you."

Ai's skin warms under his courtly touch and earnest profession. Her fingertips trace his supercute ears around the outermost edges, heading inward to cup his cheek. "And I you. You aren't disappointed, are you?"

"With you?" Dewei smiles, half-grins. "I'm naive and gullible, but for that, I'd have to hit the 'imbecile' mark."

"You faced down my father, Dewei. I think you hit it clean." Ai pets his face for a bit, squeezes his nose affectionately. "Want to get out of here? Give your mother the news?"

Dewei smiles and nods...then his expression brightens from soft affection to something more chipper. "Oh! She shared some interesting news with the company in general today, too. I know it's okay to tell you, since you were invited," he laughs.

The fly trap's muted jaws part like the rind of a coconut broken down the center. Ai slides her hands along Dewei's sides, holding onto him, and listens. "What sort of news?"

Dewei's expression keeps its vigor...now that he doesn't have to be worried for Ai, he can be excited. "The good sort, and the sort your dad will no doubt poke fun at at least twice in the near future," he laughs, and smiles. "Within a year, I'll be the middle child."

"Is that so? My... how things sneak up!" Unlike the rest, who seemed to react with shock, Ai carries her response more or less as if she's surprised it hadn't happened sooner. "Do you know gender? If you have a baby sister to protect, good sir knight?"

"No idea. She won't tell me...I have a nagging suspicion that it will be a brother, though. I'm not sure if that's psychic or common sense, though since you lady dumen-bloods are so distinctly special." He smiles brightly, though. "It is exciting, though, in any case!"

"Very much so! Come, Dewei, I want to talk to your mother." Ai slides her hands down his back and, quite suddenly, gives him a firm slap. "Unless you reconsidered."

A startled eep! no doubt completes the desired response. Dewei laughs, and takes her hands before he takes any more punishment. "Let's go talk to her before you change my mind," he laughs. "There's lots of plenty of time to choose from now that I don't think I'll die immediately afterward." He grins. Okay, so yes. Moorn is the single most effective "girlfriend's father" in history.

Ai knows it, too. "Alright. I will go on ahead, then." Her lips find his cheek just as she vanishes from sight, headed for Helantri Deru.

Dewei just smiles a moment after...folds his hands behind his neck and looks up at the ceiling, sighs. Yep. It's a pretty fugging awesome day. And he follows her.

---

Ai appears with Dewei right next to the Yggdrasil. She knows what she wants and... suddenly this tree stands between her and it. "This will be our universe," she reminds him. "Yours and mine."

"Just so long as you're involved, it sounds wonderful to me," Dewei observes. He smiles brightly. "Besides...this is going to be profoundly interesting."

"Such a scholar," the goddess chuckles. "So, I suppose this time rift will just appear?"

It sort of does, leading to Yggdrasil Minor.

"Does that answer your question? Yue and Ansendul are right on top of it, it seems." Dewei smiles at Ai...and then steps through the rift first, just in case it turns out to be dangerous.

Ai follows without fear... it it was dangerous, and Dewei fell to it, she wouldn't have much of a reason to keep going anyway.

---

When Dewei and Ai appear outside the palace at Niven Ai, his first priority is, of course, to heal the cuts on her hand, which he does immediately. "There we go." He smiles at Ai. "Thanks, Ai...that was great of you to help like that."

Ai flexes her fingers a bit, getting the circulation back into them. "Hey. Yue is family, too. Right? It would not have been right to let her suffer any more than she already has." She lifts the strange shard, examining it critically for just a moment. "But what a strange thing to happen, for demons to come seeking a demon."

"Well...Yue hasn't been a demon for long. Ting's angel friend Ale mentioned something about an induction-esque reshaping of Yue's mind."

"Right, Ale." Ai laughs softly, musically. "That is Ting's guy from the bar. She has such immaculate choice in men... I suppose it is lucky that you are her brother, or else she might have come for you, too."

Dewei has to smile at the sweetness. "All that I can say is..." he smiles at Ai. "I'm glad she's straight. But, yes, he's..."

"Hiii!" Ting poofs right between them, just as her brother had stepped closer. "Eew. Don't kiss me! Perv." She turns to Ai. "We kinda need the shard back so the scary demon goddess lady doesn't come and attack you because she thinks you're Yue?" Goodness knows why she phrases it as a question.

"Oh." Ai holds up the thing, gazing at it. "However could I be mistaken for Yue? Dewei would have noticed if I'd had -"

Crash! Ai's sentence cuts off abruptly. "What was that?" Again, the same shattering sound comes from just outside the palace. A thick swelling of infernal energy surrounds the entire edifice so quickly that the goddes barely has time to acknowledge it.

Ting smiles. "Just like that!" And she does the first thing she thinks of...snatches the shard out of Ai's hand and, speed spells ridiculously abounding, zips out of Niven Ai and straight past whatever is right outside. And now with the running like hell!

Dewei's eyes snap open, but as much as he's the quicker thinker, she's just faster than him. "Ting! Wait! Ai, you should get to Istan Aiga." This last bit is telepathic, as he's already off like a shot after his sister.

"Goddammit fuck you! Don't you leave me behind again...!" Ai starts to run after them, but they are just too fast. She closes her eyes, tries to teleport... can't. Tries again.

Through the window of her room Ai can see nothing, only blackness. Whatever it is, though, is still out there, and it feels closer, as if it were right there. The goddess trembles for reasons she cannot quite explain.

Until the eye of the demon fills up her window. The monster from the rift, or another like it, smashes its room-sized maw into the wall, sending a spray of stone and dust inside. Its hissing breath stinks of sulfur and oil, badly enough that the spry goddess can barely breathe this close to it. She holds out her hands and begins to cast, but her runes fail to produce even a spark of light.

That field...? It can't be strong enough to dampen my sorcery, can it?

Another blow of the creature's slathering, fanged maw shatters the wall of her bedroom.

Ai's pale face loses what color it has. "Dewei...?"

Crap crap crap! Predictably, Dewei is front of her in about two seconds, sword drawn. Be careful, Ting.

Ting's eyes widen at the creature attacking Ai's bedroom. Bites her lip, and then weaves a magnification spell intensifying the shard's visible field. Also, she throws a rock at the thing's head. "Hey! Stupid! Wrong one!"

The beast turns to glare at Ting for just a moment, but looks back to Ai and Dewei, swinging its gigantic, ovular head to pound against the ceiling of the palace. It is not a dragon, exactly, though its shape favors the four legged long-necked variety with the exception of the long neck itself.  It is a wingless, ebony monster, and its eyes blaze with all the fires of hell.

Ai looks around gamely for something to fight with. When was the last time she had a physical fight? The zombies. Right. Her staff is broken, though, and has been for some time. "Dewei, we have to run. We need help, something about this creature is nullifying my sorcery."

IN the meantime, the barbed end of the beast's tail snaps towards Ting at a lightning stroke.

"Sounds like a plan to me..." Dewei observes. Looks between the doors. "You lead, you know this place well enough to not corner ourselves. Get far enough away to regain sorcery and then teleport, I assume?"

Ting squeaks, and a magic-reflecting shield appears around her.

"Right. What about Ting?" Ai looks through the hole, just past the snapping maw. "... go save her, Dewei. Go. I'm sorry-"

Chunks of ceiling rain down under a final blow from the monster's thick snout. Ai shoves Dewei with all her natural strength, pushing through the hallway door and following shortly after. "Run!" She sprints, awkwardly so but not bothering to explain why, towards the garden of the building. The plants there should protect them for a while, anyway.

The tail glances off of Ting's shield with all the force of a an enhanced-strength Mara-kuru jump kick. Infuriated that Ai and Dewei have escaped the demon rises on its back feet and rams a paw into the bedroom, searching for them, and apparently forgetting Ting.

Ting grumbles. How to get a giant monster demon's attention? Oh, yeah. Remotely create and detonate a concussive, explosive ice spell. In its butt. That should work.

And this is exactly what she does.

The monster's eyelids slam shut and open again. It quivers a moment, and lets loose with a rumbling, cacophonous roar of pain and indignity. The wail is so booming that the walls of Niven Ai groan and tremble.

"Agh!" Ai's hands press to her ears inside the castle, trying to shut out the horrible noise. Her head is pounding, and the monster's breath clings thickly to her lungs. Her feet feel lost, looking to put one in front of the other. She can only imagine how badly this noise is hurting Dewei.

Meanwhile, the beast's head, once it has finished roaring, whips towards Ting. It growls and drops to all fours, still standing high enough to look into the third story windows. Its head lowers menacingly, tail flipping from side to side.

Ting uncovers her ears after a moment, though they're still ringing and reaaally hurty. She holds out the shard, and sticks out her tongue. "Dude. This is what you came looking for, right?"

The creature's head moves from side to side, analyzing Ting. Its eyes center on her, flashing with intelligence. Its maw opens again, to reveal thousands of shark-like rows of translucent yellow teeth.

And it roars, again, the sonic force of it enough to rip chunks of grass and earth from the ground.

Ting shudders, and her flight falters a bit at the sheer force of it, although she'd heard it breathing in and covered her ears this time. Fumbles a minutes, and pops in her concert earplugs. "Whew. That done, loudmouth..." she manifests a large, razor-sharp, enforced icicle that's maybe a beestinger to the creature, and flings at it at its face with all her force. "Catch!" And then she zips off in the other direction.

The monster's head snaps sideways, allowing its tail to whip around and smack the icicle sidelong, out of the way. It bellows again, but doesn't immediately follow Ting. It looks to the palace again, almost thoughtfully, and then after her.

Ai leans against a wall inside, breathing hard, and trying to ignore the trickle of blood flowing from her left ear. "Dewei, where are you...?"

"Give me a sec..." he's trying to free his arm from between a wall and some debris, and also hide pain from his voice.

Ting tries to think. Oh, good. So, giant hell monster she blew off way way too much energy trying to repulse the first time is now chasing her, she's not sure what spells she can use--thank god she can fly, but that's psionic and a different category entirely--and even if she does have enough energy she's finding herself unable to teleport away for some reason.

Goood.

She just wishes she knew Ai's world better, and just tries equally to not lose the beast and not get caught. She snags a rock and hucks it back at its head, and zips forward again. "Your mother fucks angels!"

The rock connects solidly, to a confused growr of irritation. The palace is instantly forgotten as its massive paws carry it towards Ting with bad, bad intentions.

Ai's world, outside of the palace, is incredibly small, no larger than a sizable park or arboreum. There are flatlands for a half mile or so around the palace, giving way to thick stands of evergreen trees everywhere else.

Ai turns back, reaching out for him. "Let me help," she whispers, though there isn't much she can do without her sorcery. "Are you injured Dewei...?" Please just be caught...

"I don't think so. If it's broken, it's hairline and workable." He smiles weakly. Doesn't want to say how much danger he senses of his twin. "We have to get out of here. Ting won't leave until we do."

Ai tugs on the debris, frustration setting in. "I can't move it... hey... Dewei, the field. It's moving away."

Along with the monster, as it turns out, who is chasing Ting at top speed about now.

Ai pulls herself close to him. "I'm going to try. I..." as she speaks her teleportation spell weaves out and around them, taking them back outside deru.

The demon draws in its breath and bellows again, trying to slow Ting down.

Actually...it works better than anticipated. It startles the by now thoroughly winded halfbreed, beginning to get a little delirious from exhaustion and being sleepy from energy loss, to jerking and looking back...and running solidly into a fast-approaching rock spire she hadn't seen coming. She tumbles down through a waterfall, managing to stop herself about halfway down, trying to shake back her senses. Ow...

Earth and stone rains down from the top of the falls, just past Ting's position, as the creature skids to a halt. Where could she have gone? It lowers its head, sniffing for her with the strange, pulsating sensory bubbles inside its maw.

Ting sniffles from behind/under the waterfall. Dewei and Ai are gone...? She thinks so. Takes a deep breath, readies her feet to push off the wall fast although she's still dazed, and tries to teleport away.

... ineffectually. The field is now obviously surrounding the creature itself, as opposed to any particular area. It cannot sense the energy rise, though, and continues snuffling the crest of the falls.

Then, on impulse, it lifts its right front paw and slams it against the top of the falls, sending a slide of rocks tumbling down the falls.

A little ways away, a certain redhead's energy signature sparks onto the spectrum. Mara looks at Niven Ai, fearing the worst, and feels around for whoever might still be okay.

Ting jerks out from under the waterfall, miscalculates just how strong it is, and eeks and shields simultaneously for a rock slide to come down on her head, dragging her down the thirty feet to the deep, cool pool below. She senses her aunt somewhere, and tries to cry out telepathically for help...but god knows if it will reach so far.

If it doesn't..."Aunt!" Dewei calls, sword drawn and flying rapidly towards her. "Ting's still here somewhere!"

Mara kicks off the ground, heading that way. "I heard her! This way, Dewei!" She rockets off that way, her voice lost in a feral snarl. The monster is easy to find, and she can only assume that Ting is nearby. "Find Ting, Dewei! I am going to kill this motherfucker so dead his zombie will keel over!" Since Mara and Felina's attacks are almost entirely psionic, the Serinian has no trouble launching a force sphere the size and density of a semi truck at the horror leaning over the edge of the falls.

Dewei nods...scans...Ting! Where are you?! A faint, confused affirmation later, he plunges into the water after her.

The monster squeals at the unexpected shot, shoved over the edge of the falls. It flails, but twists enough to land on its feet like a gigantic, black devil cat. Mara follows it, screaming, and is in the middle of launching another projectile when the beast's paw flips out and swats her away like a troublesome fly. She smacks into the water a dozen yards from the twins, but bursts back out a moment later.

Dewei, take Ting and run. Leave this place! Mara will handle this!

A wordless, psychic affirmation replies. Dewei's busily, telepathically throwing things off of his sister, finally snagging her. She catches his wrists, and helps drag herself out, gasping. Dewei grabs her and they both start off away from the beast, fast trying to get to where they can teleport. Actually, Dewei's all but carrying his sister.

Mara can feel them going, but knows that the monster's field is preventing their leaving. She breaths deeply, steeling herself, and surrounds herself in a thick wall of force shields.

"If I don't come back," she says to no one particular, "I hope people speak of my bravery and not my promiscuity." She shoots towards the beast's bellowing mouth, feeding light-based energy into her shields. The monster swings its head at her to deflect her, but the shields Mara-kuru has employed are so potent that only the shattering of demon bone answers the retort. A howl of agony escapes the beasts lipless muzzle. A rift opens behind it, and it staggers backward.

Go! Go! Dewei, please go!

Ting's eyes snap open. "Aunt...!"

Dewei's stunned a moment, then grits his teeth, and quiet physically shoves Ting forward until they're clear a few seconds later, and then drags both of them back to Helantri Deru.

"Auntie!" hangs in the air.

The kids are gone... no more holding back. The creature takes another swing at Mara, only barely misses smashing into her again. Mara's hands clap together, turn, as she mutters at indecipherable speed the words to an attack she'd learned from her beloved Korliss ages ago. A flash of light blinds the beast for a moment, just long enough for four basketball sized globules of white to seep through Mara's fingertips and speed towards it. Mara gasps for breath as the last goes on its course, and vanishes for alfheim.

The beast's eyes clear just as the spheres reach it. It growls and dives for the rift, just as an entire third of Niven Ai erupts in white, divine light. Trees are blown aside, the waterfall crushed into sloped river. What is left of the palace shudders and shakes as it collapses. When all clears, the beast, and the rift are gone.