` p h o b i a ;;

"Give me another fucking beer, I said I want a beer and damn it I want a damned beer."

Half the bar quieted down just a tad to a low simmer, before raising once more after the shock of a woman such as herself demanding something. Of course, Suyis never did like the Aeon uniforms she was given and rarely did she wear her ID where someone could see it. People knew her by her hair and eye colour and knew she wasn't one to say no to. Most people that did ended up so badly mangled the only remaining means of identification was either their ID (should Suyis feel nice enough to leave it in tact) or any numbers of their barcode remaining.

Perhaps that was the good thing about being an Aeon agent, working directly beneath someone like Ellaine. Suyis just happened to be an unregistered citizen; so she didn't have a barcode and neither did she have an actual registrar ID either. Just a little piece of plastic with her name on it and a metallic strip that allowed access to almost every room in both the Aeon building, the Federation building and the Federation ships.

The sound of glass sliding across the bar diverted Suyis' fiery eyes, and she caught the glass of beer in her dark hand, quickly downing much of it before smacking it back on the bar. Days like these, Suyis really wished she had some of that old Venusian vodka or something; since the destruction of that solar system, Venusian vodka had only been available to those of the Federation and man; Suyis had seen their stockpile and it almost made her cream.

And naturally, the FRS wasn't really an organization that liked to share...

Groaning loudly, Suyis let her head fall onto the bar, vision swimming in the slight ecstasy that was being buzzed. She still remembered her first taste of alcohol; it'd been wine, made of fermented wheat and a bunch of other crap she couldn't identify, but that'd been back in good ol' Ancient Egypt. Where everything tasted funny but you ate it anyway because it was all that was there.

'What a lovely day,' she thought to herself, sighing heavily and sending napkins and the like fluttering down the bar. Naturally of course, Suyis didn't care, and merely groaned again, burying her head in her arms. These days, Aeon was so quick to arrest anyone and everyone that so much as squeaked in their presence, it was getting more than a little annoying. Just earlier today she'd been sent to help 'quell another rebellion'. Fuck, the man just didn't have the drink the guy was asking for.

She'd smacked a soldier or two for that one, it was just stupid.

"Refill."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

All Colour But the B L A C K ;;

Yes, warning label. All over this thing. Don't expect any heartwarming stories cause you'll be disappointed.
----

Luck was just not on this Shade's side; of all the weather to be dealing with during a raid, he was handling something like this thunderstorm. Lightning streaked angrily across the sky, dulling the light of his already dimmed laser bullets. To say the least, he was soaking wet from head to toe, watching the GC crewmen handle a shuttle launch. "Maybe we should postpone until the rain lets up," one man said, almost screaming over the sound of the rain falling in torrents upon the earth. "No," another answered, "it won't let up until tomorrow evening and this cargo needs to leave the ground tonight." Suyis shook his head, red eyes darting around for signs of danger, shaking his boots a little in an attempt to free some of the water the fur coverings held fast.

Grimacing, the Shade wondered for a moment why on Earth he'd even decided fur was a good decoration for his boring boots. Sure, his attire was cool, but oh so impractical for a mercenary.

Slowly but surely, this war was starting. Originally, Suyis was going to do what he always did and stay on the sidelines, but the idea of a rebel alliance drew him in. There was nothing funner than a good fight, especially against something like GC. They didn't really have the manpower but they had the tactic and the resources; enough resources that maybe one of them could end Suyis' existence. And somehow, that wasn't such a bad thought. It was enough of a chance to make this exciting and draw him right in.

Though perhaps it would have been better for him to choose a different side; in fact he was sure that there were plenty of creatures out there that would have easily expected him to ride forces with the corporation. Suyis had seen it all; war, famine, disease ridden degenerates, death and destruction. And hidden between all that there was love, perseverance, courage and compassion. Enough to make him want to fight for the humans. If they were willing to fight against each other to survive, he was willing to help.

Besides, GC had somehow managed to lower his paycheck without his knowledge, and not having beer money was not an option.

He was just sitting there, hidden between a few boxes under the cover of darkness, the rain falling and soaking his brown hair. She almost wondered why he didn't move. What was he after? Why was he spying on his own company? Certainly it wasn't his, though she knew as well as anyone that he worked for them. He was the one that had caught her, and she had let him. Her golden eyes remained trained on him, searching for signs, a hint as to what he was doing. Her mother always did tell her that her curiosity would get her killed one day.

The crewmen cleared out, going farther away in order to get the shuttle off the ground. That was why she was here; in that shuttle was her sister, waiting for takeoff to Titan. Where it was safe. The only place left in this universe that wouldn't be touched by the impending war, because no one cared about Titan. To the rest of the universe, the planet simply didn't exist. Sure, Melani was never her real sister, but Rena had grown up around her. Her parents had died during a battle with GC, and none of the other elves wanted Rena. She was too weird for them, saying such strange things. Some considered her capable of prophetic dreams, determining the fate of others simply by slumbering in a tree. And for some reason, that scared the entirety of the Elvish Empire senseless.

But her mind was not on Melani and the shuttle, it was on Suyis. Shades were extremely dangerous creatures; no elfling at her age needed to be told such a thing, for it was obvious. The way they sat, how their eyes glazed right through you, straight to your soul. Beings possessed by spirits, though they were few and far between these days. They'd all died fighting one another for the rights to ruin the world. That was just how Sylanna worked, Rena presumed. If Suyis wasn't the last Shade alive, he was at least one of the last ones. And that made him extremely entrancing for her; she'd never been interested in normal Elvish things anyway, like watching the pyreflies on their ascent to the Otherworld, nor watching the Draiads courting one another during mating season. She was more interested in the darker things, like Shades, Dragons and Demons.

One moment she was gazing at him, and the next he had his hand wrapped around her neck, pinning her to the wall behind them. The look of fear that crossed her face caused him to loosen his grip slightly, gazing at her with perhaps the same questions she wanted so badly to ask him. Her breath came in small gasps, waiting for him to go ahead and please Urgash, the Dragon of Chaos, with her death. But he never did; he just stared.

"You..." she started, and he covered her mouth, tugging her behind a stack of crates. At first she struggled (though it was useless, he was at least eight times stronger than her), but she heard the guards' voices, cracking perverted jokes between one another on their early morning rounds. "You just... saved me a load of trouble," she breathed once the guards had gone. He merely grunted in response, letting her go. "Why? I thought -" her words were cut off, as he snagged her arm and pulled her so close she could smell the scent of Shade on him.

"You thought what? Shades aren't supposed to be kind are they? You my dear elfling child, are not any of my concern; that said, I certainly am not the type to be throwing fourteen year old elf girls at the feet of Giannun Wallace himself to do as he pleases. You should return home now that they have released you. I want you to live to see some of the things I have. For some of it is dark, much of it is treacherous and horrid, but so much is beautiful beyond imagination." She almost fell over as he finally released her arm again, jerking back as though he did not like to be touched, and perhaps that was true.

"Go. Before they find you. I will never forgive you if they catch you again, Rowenna Sidhion."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

see you on the o t h e r side ;

All he could do was grin.

It was kind of amusing in that sad way; everyone on this rock that had a thing against Aeon was getting their panties in a bundle attempting to figure out how to take them down. But Suyis knew. Perhaps more than others, he knew. The elves, even the dark ones, were no match against Aeon. At least not alone.

At one time he would have suggested the elves and the dark elves team up to take them down but he couldn't see that happening. Both sides were all stuck up and worried about the consequences of Sylanna and Malassa for them working together but it was just a bunch of bullshit if you asked Suyis. They were, in essence, still the same damned race. The only real difference between them was the dark elves were made for darkness and their colouring. Perhaps their disposition would be at a disadvantage to either side, if not both, but they loved to kill anyway right? So why not aim that desire to kill at a common enemy?

Well, he could see the wisdom in that but that didn't mean they could. Sighing, he stood, raising an arm before the crown Priestess got defensive. "I just need a smoke that's all. I'll be back later. Maybe." She simply glared at him before he turned to leave. Honestly, he didn't give a rats ass what the chick thought. He was eight times her age and personally thought she was letting it all get to her head. He'd been friends with the ruling family here for a long time, his loyalty didn't lie with her but instead with her ancestors. That was the only reason he stopped by anymore at all.

Shaking his head, he scrambled into the back of a tunnel, pulling out a smoke and a lighter. It was nice here really; there were plenty of tunnels to hide in, and the kid loved to play in them. Thank god the kid was smart, otherwise Suyis would have his hands full in trying to prevent his assassination along with the kid's. There were plenty of people that'd love to bring down the son of Ailazanin Zaivideon, and plenty of people that would have a fiesta if they managed to snag him for testing purposes. For some reason, everyone still assumed the Keeper of the Heart of Byzantine was some goddess or something, because naturally no one would be able to handle being around that rock for very long but they were mistaken twelve times over; Ai was just an elf. A special elf, to be sure, but still just an elf.

Besides, she'd died over fifty years ago.

Had it really been that long? Somehow he found himself missing her. Movement quickly distracted him, and his maroon eyes shifted gear from his cigarette to the person nearby. The guy seemed familiar, if his senses weren't screwed by the damn rock they kept in the center of this city. "What? If you got somethin' to say, come on out and say it."