(Sounds good! Sorry for my late posts, I've been drawing/coloring. XD)

To say the least, once they had gotten upon the horses, everything had been rather uneventful. One of the horses, sadly, had to be left behind. It'd been injured in the fight, and was soon lame. A real pity and shame, but the horse would find its way home on its own, thankfully enough. Mishani knew this. As promised, they reached the castle city by mid afternoon. They were greeted by a bustling town, merchants hawking their wares, and farmers selling produce. Smithies were building armor and weaponry, and there were jewelcrafteres and leatherworkers. To say the least, it was quite the town.

The air here was cold and thinner than below, due to a higher elevation. It was here that they soon passed under massive gateways to least to the large castle. The gates were wide open, allowing all to enter and come in. Mishani seemed to grow tired and old upon entering, though, knowing that her father would be just as upset as she was by the news. The King was an older man, easily in his sixties in earth terms. His hair was mostly grey, though it still had streaks of brown in it.

He happily embraced Mishani, held her tighter when she told him the dreaded news. His granddaughter had been lost....

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(Same here, only it's driving me crazy. xD I can't get this one detail right...)
Adlaide stood silently at James shoulder, looking on at the sad reunion with some sense of understanding. It was hard to loose someone, especially close family. The city was amazing, and Adlaide was glad to be there, but the wary glances made her feel exposed.
Standing here in the greatness of the castle she felt like a mere ant, it's glory and size was unbelievable. The sunlight streamed in from some stained glass windows, spattering the floor with the colors and picture that was in the glass. The hall was beautiful, she couldn't help but look around with a sense of awe. Sure the ship was massive, but it didn't hold this sort of beauty.
Her eyes slid back down to the graying king and Mishani. She felt badly for the both of them. Her hands were half clenched into fists, trying to contain the emotions which were tugging heavily at her senses.

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(No! Evil details! I've been taking crash course lessons on how to draw canines, specifically wolves. :) )

James jsut took her hand with his free one, giving it a gentle squeeze. This reminded him far to much of their parents, when they'd gotten the news they'd never be coming home... They knew what it felt like to lose someone of great value close to them. That was where any faith he'd once held had stopped...

The aging King, however, soon turned his attention to the pair, a warm smile upon his face. "You know," he stated, his accent thick and sharp, tone full of strength and power still. "It's been a long time since I've seen anyone from Earth. Tell me...how is that old man doing? Did he make it home?" No, they hadn't wanted him to go back and reveal they were here, but it seemed like no one had believed him anyway. These were the only two who had come to visit! Well, if one could call it that.

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(Canines are so fun. I remember when I first started drawing them their paws always looked like cat paws. Wolves are great to draw, I've been *trying* to do more realistic wolves.)
"He came home to a world that was not his own. He did not live long after returning. I'm ashamed to say he was ridiculed and considered a crazy fool by our people." Her pale silvery colored eyes were shaded with sadness. Partly because of the way that people could treat each other, partly because her heart ached for her lost parents.
She had to pause and close her eyes, take a breath, and let it out before she could even begin to think about continuing. But even after trying to summon some courage all she could do was drop her eyes and stare at the stone floor. Her lips began to tremble, she felt her eyes sliding shut in an effort to try and hold in her building emotions. She squeezed James hand unable to do much more than that.

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(It's pretty fun. My wolves aren't realistic, so I'm not worried about realism... XD lol)

James, at this point, pulled his sister into a hug. They knew the cost of war, the price to pay, all to well... It wasn't hard to tell that they'd lost someone as well. Frowning a bit, the king ordered for some food and drink, as well as warmer clothing than what they obviously had. They had to be cold up here in the mountains. "Follow my daughter and her husband. They'll take you to the dining area, and show you the rooms you may stay in. We'll send for a healer as well."

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(I worry about realism for some stupid reason. o.O Why do I even worry about it? xD Realism and me? Psh... I should know better.)

She was glad for the hug, and was careful when she hugged her brother back. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. She gave a slight nod in recognition that she had heard. She opened her eyes took in a sharp breath then forced her memories back to the shadows were they lurked.
Food, her stomach and brain heard the word at the same time and it practically roared. She'd never been so hungry in all her life, she'd only snacked at the outpost knowing she might get sick on horseback. She withdrew from the hug smiled up at James then looked towards Mishani.

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(Lol, yeah I hear ya. I doubt I'll get into realism, but I like my style thus far... :) So I'm pleased with it.)

Mishani, at this time, was holding the elvish man's hand. Yes, they were married. They jsut never showed it on the battle field. One could not show weakness...not out in the world. "Come with us," she then stated, sounding far more tired than what she looked. She seemed so much older, too... Compared to her partner, she looked ten times her age. It was best that they all get food and rest, and try to get some sleep. They'd lost their youngest daughter, yes...and their eldest son. They had but one child left, and could have no more. So they'd do everything they could to protect her.

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Adlaide might have been surprised, but then remembered the tender way the elf man had talked about all of Mishani's troubles. She followed them slowly, her steps dragging slightly as she partly limped after them. All that horse riding was really having an effect on her poor self.
Just then a thought flashed through her mind and Adlaide found herself drawing to a sudden stop. Chances were she would have to grow used to this hard way of life. She'd have to learn how to fight, ride horses, and maybe even a trade. They were stuck here for the rest of their lives, and that meant she had better get used to the troubles of this land. Her mouth felt dry as cotton at this sudden realization, there would not be any more easy ways of living. That was in the past now.
Her eyes flickered faintly at the thought and she stepped forwards once more, following them at a faster clip.

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James was a little slower, nursing a sore arm and bruised hip... He sighed when their paces had all but picked up, and he shook his head. "Yeah... I'll catch up..." he muttered softly to himself. He was pretty good at following, but at this point, he was just a slow person.

Though, their hardships were definitely far from over... Who knew what was awaiting them out in the world. It was a harsh life here, one they would have to get used to, yes. James and Adlaide were what these folks called 'soft'. Spoiled, as they were, by their old home world. They'd had technology, no need for want of anything. Food had been plenty, and times good, even in the end times of Earth's last days. It was a lifeless planet, now, though. Sad as that was, it was true. Here, they would have to fight for survival on almost a daily basis. Both siblings had a lot to learn from this world, and would have to see what it had to offer them as well.

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Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all, maybe she'd find a hidden streak within herself that longed for adventure. She almost doubted it, but then her mind streaked back to the first day of horseback riding. Adlaide had loved it and now that she thought about it, that was surprising.
She was so deep in her own thoughts she hardly heard James mutter about catching up. It was then she wondered if James had yet realized that they were stuck there. Perhaps he had, he just didn't play his emotions on his sleeve like she did.
The mouthwatering smell of different types of food pulled her from her thoughts. She didn't recognize any of the dishes as she saw them, but they smelled better than most anything she had smelled here before. The food might not be as flavorful as it smelled, but that was alright. Right about then she felt like she could eat nearly anything put before her. Well, maybe not bugs or anything gross like that, but she would be happy to eat nearly anything.

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No, they didn't eat bugs. That wasn't their custom here in this Kingdom. Other Kingdoms, sure, they did, but not this one. They were far more civilized. Mishani and her husband had a stricter diet of vegetation only, mostly because he was an elf. Fruits and veggies were all that they consumed. She had given up her love of meats for her lover, and he'd truly appreciated it when she had done so.

"I do believe your brother is still further down the hall..." the elf stated softly, sighing. "I'll send our daughter to fetch him. You, sit and eat, please. Rest, relax. We'll have wine and water, as you need it."

(Speaking of, wanna play the daughter?? I'm thinking that the two guardian werewolves that have been watching them are good friends with Mishani and her husband. Well, the daughter is actually a werewolf that is watching them, if we get to it... XD You wanna?)

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(Ooh, that'd be fun! What should her name be though?)

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(Not sure... o.o You can make it elvish if you want? She'd be half elf, half...uh...whatever Mishani is... XD)

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(I'll call her Ngea (sounds kind of like Gia) it means Shadow in Thai, I think? Not exactly elvish, but it works.)

Adlaide sat down. Sure she worried for James and his slow pace, but her hunger was really beginning to get to her. Her hands were beginning to quake a little and she had a hard time holding focus. Yes, it was time to eat. She took a little bit of every thing eating it fairly quickly while trying to use good manners.

Ngea heard her parents voices and slipped silently down the hall, a mere shadow as she slipped towards the stranger from Earth. She paused and stepped from the shadows near the injured human being. Strangely enough she barely seemed to take after either of her parents, looking only slightly elfin but with strangely wolfish features. Her eyes for one, they were golden like a wolves, heavily shadowed with secrets and mystery. Her hair was darkly colored a nearly grizzled blackish brown with warm tawny colored ends, it was cut short dropping just below her jawline. Even then it was braided in a rather fanciful way to keep it from her face. Her facial expression as she looked at the human was not quite cold, but rather a mysterious knowing such as a wolf first greeting another. "My parents sent me to fetch you. The food is growing cold." Her voice was cold cut, so sharply accented it was nearly hard to understand what she was saying.
Dressed in dark fur and leather head to toe she looked more like something that belonged in the dark corners of the wood rather than the glorious halls of the castle. As Ngea walked she walked silently, the padded soles of her boots were oddly shaped but kept her steps silent on the hard stone floor.

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(Sounds elvish! XD)

"I... Um, okay..." Not that he could move to fast. James just blinked as he watched her go, soon shaking himself from his stupor. She had a wild beauty about her... Did these people always look like this? It was hard to really tell for him. They were new here. Granted, Mishani and her husband kept a secret from most other folks. Only the King new what had happened to Ngea. She was their sole surviving child in an attack several years ago, one of few to survive an actual wolf bite.

Her friend had taken her in, taught her all she knew now about being a wolf. It didn't mean losing her humanity, but finding something more in the wilds. Still, though, James found her beauty rather alluring. How could something so seemingly untamed be so ... Well, then. And here he'd always sworn to his sister he'd never find a woman... Most women on earth were just so...rude.

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