[Jacob]

*Setting: Alexies muscles tensed, his hands gripping the underside of the large, metal barrel of Ale as he slowly struggled to stand up straight. His long, sleek black hair shining in the bright light as it ran down his back. The only clothing he wore, a pair of denim shorts, fraying at the ends. His bare feet stumbled around briefly, trying to position themselves in a stance that would take all the weight of the large, heavy barrel. Resting his chin on the top of the container, he then proceeded to walk around from the side of the building, where quite a few crates and barrels were left, and to head towards the large, saloon-like, doors. As he slowly pushed the doors open, the soft music of the jukebox graced his ears and as he neared the bar, he quickly placed the barrel down on the floor, standing up straight again and rubbing the small of his back. Glancing around the tables, he noticed that a few of the regulars were wearily getting to their feet. Some stumbling over chairs and tables as they made their way to the exit, mumbling incoherently.*

Bartender: "Alexie, do us a favour will you, make sure that lot don't go and try and drive home. Take their keys off of them, we'll give them back once they've sobered up abit."

The Orkhid nodded, wandering quickly over to the nearest drunk and asking for the creatures keys. As he did this, Amelia steadily walked from the doorway that led to where she stayed, wearing a white t-shirt and denim shorts, much like Alexie's. As she headed towards the bar, the bartender turned to her, picking up a dirty glass and polishing it with a grey cloth.

Bartender: "Don't hurt him, Amelia. From the sounds of it, he's had enough heartbreak as it is, he doesn't need you messing him around."

He glanced over at Alexie, who was now trying to prise the fingers of a Saurian away from his car keys.

Amelia: "What are you going on abo..."

Bartender: "I've heard you on your mobile, and i'd bet my livelihood on who i think it is. If you're thinking of going back to him, go, just don't lead the Orkhid on."

He placed the glass down, giving Amelia a stern look. The Mudokon shrugged off his acqusations and placed a $10 bill on the bar top.

Amelia: "Get me a Scotch, barman - and leave me to live my life."

***

*Setting: The room seemed to beep steadily as the Commandor slowly opened his eyes, and sound flooded his ears. Large white curtains were drawn around his bed, the ceiling was a bright white, matching the bedspread. Moving his hands steadily to the sides of the bed, he gripped it softly and attempted to push himself into a sitting-up position. Wincing in pain as a sharp stab of agony swept across his torso. He looked down, small pads attached to wires, which were in turn attached to Heart monitoring machines, were stuck on his chest. Four in total. Iraxx let his head relax, turning his head to the right and looking at his bedside draws, on which a glass of water stood. These past months seemed to be jinxed for the Commandor. Nothing seemed to be going right, and when it did, a great deal of pain was somewhere amongst the happiness. He thought for a second, trying to think back to when his bad luck began. Adele immediatly sprang to mind, closely followed by Midian. These two were the most likely causes for his bad luck streak, Midian could have easily cursed him, whereas Adele could have got the Demons she was working for to taint him. He thought for a few seconds, pondering whether or not to fight majick with majick, to fight the supernatural with the supernatural, but as he thought more, he realised that if Council found out about this, they were sure to execute him. And he had already given Abraham enough reason to do that. As he slowly tried to lose his pain in thought, the large curtain infront of him was quickly parted, revealing a female Orkhid dressed in a completly black suit, with her white shirt undeneath, unbuttoned partway, revealing a gorgeous red ruby on the end of a silver chain. The female looked familiar, and as she parted a few strands of her blood red fringe out of her face, these being the only strands of a different colour, since the rest of her hair was black, and approached Iraxx, he remembered. She was one of the new Councillors. Her green eyes staring at him intently, her face soft and fair and her lips small and tender. Passing by the end of the bed, she reached out her right hand and grasped his medical chart, holding it up as she quickly skimmed through it. Muttering something to herself.*

Female: "Tell me, Commandor. What exactly happened back in the chambers?"

She said this without looking at him, awaiting his response as she carried on reading the chart, flicking through some of the pages.

Iraxx: "I-I don't know, exactly. I think i must've fainted."

He never mentioned the voices he heard, the last thing he needed was to be put in an insane asylum. She sat down on the bed, crossing her legs and unintentionally causing her black skirt to ride up abit, revealing some more of her thigh. She then placed the chart down and looked at him, deeply, in the eyes.

Female: "Commandor, i'm not afraid of Abraham as much as the other Councillors are. Infact, the only feeling that he invokes when i see him, is one of nausea."

She smiled vaguely, giving Iraxx the impression that she was trying to comfort him somewhat.

Female: "So, with that in mind, you are free to tell me if he...harmed you in anyway. Abraham is renowned for his short temper, Commandor. And now he is "top dog", so to speak, he will see this as an opportunity to run riot. And, as pleased as i am, that he decided to choose two women for the open Council positions, i don't exactly want him tainting the Councils reputation with his primitive barbarism."

Iraxx was getting a slight unease about the conversation, she seemed eager to oust Abraham for his misdemeanors, giving the impression she had her sights set on his position. Iraxx shifted uneasily in his bed, unable to escape her glaring eyes.

Female: "So, did he, Commandor?"

Iraxx thought for a moment, could he lie? If he did, what would happen to him? Best case scenerio is that Abraham would be ejected from the chambers and demoted back to General. Although, this was a double edged sword...as Abraham would surely find out about his lying and have him killed. But even if he didn't, his own job among the Council would be at stake, especially with the new revelation of Tobias.

Iraxx: "No, Ma'am."

He told the truth, speaking quickly so that he didn't have time to change his mind. The female looked disappointed, slowly she stood up, brushing down her suit. Nodding to him, she smiled vaguely and turned.

Iraxx: "Oh, erm, Councillor, i didn't catch your name. W-Who are you?"

He moistened his lips nervously, wondering if she would take offense to this or not, as she was already leaving quite abruptly at the fact Iraxx hadn't told her anything incriminating.

Female: "I'm Councillor Mormolia Caleen, Commandor. Nice talking with you."

She said the last few words with a hint of bitterness and without turning, and in the blink of an eye, she had gone.

***

*Setting: Janek stood infront of the mirror in his bathroom, topless, staring. His goggle-like glasses made the small room a dark, bluey colour and as he rubbed his thin chin, feeling the freshly shaved smoothness, he sighed. He had been thinking about the night of the conference, thinking about the night when they found the corpse of the Orkhid soldier and the unconcious body of the half-breed. But he was thinking before he came across the bodies, thinking about the Plasma blasts that had soared through the sky. What had those two creatures been firing at? Where they trying to get help, or where they merely shooting at Birds? Usually Janek didn't bother with pondering over what soldiers were doing, more often then not it involved killing something or taking something prisoner. Objectives such as these hardly involved alot of Brain power and thus Janek saw the army side of the regime as pointless and barbaric. But there was something strange about the events that those beings were put through, something perculiar. Something rang out to him, seemed to taunt him, wanting him to obsess forever about the situation he and the Commandor stumbled across. Bending low over the sink the Consultant splashed his face with cold water and looked back up into the mirror again, watching as each drop of water fell from his chin and nose. Commandor Iraxx seemed to know both of those creatures, but more importantly wanted the crossbreed dead. This intrigued Janek. Had the Commandor sent out a patrol to hunt and kill them? Did they know something compromising about him? Who had been able to hold the Orkhid soldier down on the fire long enough to kill him, but not long enough to get burned themselves. He snarled, these questions were becoming more conspiracy-like by the second. Grabbing a white towel which hung over the bath, Janek then began drying his face, thinking about how he could find out. And in a couple of seconds a way had formed in his mind, it was simple enough and would quickly cure his curiosity. His desire to learn about the events those beings participated in spurred him on into solidifying his plan now. And even if he couldn't find the answer from that, he could always persuade the wardens at the asylum to let him speak to the crossbreed. But why shouldn't he find the answer, Orkhid satellites always record everything they're positioned over, and, as luck would have it, he knew someone who owed him a favour, someone who had access to those recordings...*

(OOC: Comments? I know it's abit crappy, so apologies!)