Two's Company, Three's A Crowd, Four's A Gathering...

With the typical whim of Aeon, the Veiled Shrine seemed quite large this particular visit, much larger inside than the outside might have suggested. Around the central, circular pool of pristine water the chamber that formed the Shrine stretched a good twenty-five feet tall and at least that much in any given direction.

Which, really, only made sense given the foursome that awaited Dominic, Kea, and Sugar Cookie: a glimmering cloud that was an unformed Familiar, a winged feline, an equally winged serpent, and towering over them all a Roc with mist dripping from her wings to coil around her and the creatures around her.

Welcome, Dominic, she greeted with the tone of someone who knew the one they addressed far more than they should for a first meeting. It is good to finally meet you at last. I have long wanted to take you under my wing. The winged serpent somewhat timidly raised itself from its coil by the Roc's side, wings flaring though in more of a happy display rather than a threat.

I have been told that you and I will understand one another. Perhaps….now I won't feel quite so alone?

I knew you'd come! the Astrum bounded forward, wings flapping with each hop. I knew you'd come to the Shrine! I was just off by a little bit; I saw this last week

The last, the shimmering lights, waited until all of the others had said their peace before making a move. It drifted forward - now looking like a wolf, then a strange bird-feline-goat creature, then a squid, then back to the shimmering lights - before it abruptly raced at the zombie and through Dominic's chest at heart level. Perhaps startling but not painful by any stretch of imagination, and then a canine strolled around Dominic's side, brushing up against his new Bonded and other half.

Night follows day, left is paired with right, and I am now with you. Everything is in order in the world.

Bond! Don't you Dare Slander that which is Mine? Female Mist Roc, A Sheathed Fang Male Krait Winged Serpent, Just Trust Me Female Event Horizon Astrum, and Remember, Life is a Balance Male Meridian Familiar, Adalwyn to Dominic!

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Don't you Dare Slander that which is Mine? Female Mist Roc

Mindspeech: Italics #562c63

Mist Rocs are known to be mysterious, quiet watchers. They have their secrets, their objectives, and their whims. They have excellent memories and simmering anger.

What has Don't you Dare been watching? Dominic. Why? Because first the zombie intrigued her, then though she wasn't immediately aware of it claimed her heart with his equally quiet and to her eyes gentle manner. She found herself using her not-insubstantial whispers to make things easier for him in secret. Perhaps a shopkeep suddenly cut him a discount after a few days of patronage, or someone who was wary of him stopped avoiding him when he walked down the street. But then she saw those who were truly cruel. Those who mocked, or made things harder on him due to his being a zombie. Those who couldn't look past his 'undead' state to the gentle, kind heart beneath.

And her heart burned with rage.

Perhaps it might have been better for her targets had she been a more direct creature, such as a Phoenix or Gryphon. But being a Mist Roc Don't you Dare had a more…subtle method to punishing the wrongdoers. Perhaps Dominic might wonder why certain people lost faced some kind of personal trial, such as lost of reputation, income, or some other gain they thought was a sure thing. Thankfully she has a good sense of just how far to push her retribution to prevent the wrongdoers' utter ruin; that would be something she believes Dominic wouldn't like. It's just enough, and coming so close to their misdemeanor, that they come to realize that slandering him or in any way mistreating him results in 'bad luck' and dark secrets getting to the wrong people. Retraining, as it were.

After about six months of doing this from afar Don't you Dare is tired of working so much from afar, however. She's lived away from the object of her affections long enough. So she's come to the Shrine with all her love, protectiveness, and quiet nature to meet with the approaching zombie whether or not Aeon thinks she should be there. A Mist Roc can't be coerced, after all, not even by a 'god.'

Don't you Dare is a graceful Mist Roc. Standing about ten feet tall and perhaps not the largest of her species she seems taller than that due to her long, dark legs and flexible neck. Her form is that of a Great Blue Heron, with a few adjustments for her species. Her feathers are gray-white with blue lines on her head and blue primary flight feathers. Two mist blue-gray patches top her wing bones where her mundane counterparts have orange-red. Her narrow beak is reddish close to her head fading to yellow at the point, and contrary to her mundane avian counterparts her eyes are a vibrant violet that can either look at one with intense fondness or straight through you like you're a bug. (Thankfully Dominic never has to worry about the latter!)Mist tends to drip from her wings and tail when she it still for too long, and like her rank she can travel from one source of water to another at will as well as control mist and fog.

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A Sheathed Fang Male Krait Winged Serpent

Mindspeech: Color #0007ff

Just because one has the sharpest blade in the city doesn't always mean it should be unsheathed, especially by a warrior who doesn't like to use it. That sentence quite well sum up A Sheathed Fang. He is well aware that his venom is potent, one of the most potent of his species. He uses it well to hunt. But only to hunt. He actually shuns violence, finds it abhorrent and downright terrifying truth be told. He much prefers to flee from it, find a place to hide and wait until the danger has passed. Only when pressed to the utmost final point of no return will he strike to protect himself. Even when he hunts he shudders at the moment of the kill and in their last moments the animals he must slay to survive always hears "I am so sorry, but I must do this. Please forgive me." In Dominic he sees someone who understands his view, finally, someone who won't look at him curiously or ask him why he acts the way he does. Dominic knows why, and that's enough for him.

Sheathed Fang is a rather handsome Krait, having the blue back, white body, black bands, and golden face markings of a Blue Lipped Sea Krait. Likewise the feathers of his wings are primarily blue but edged with black and with gold shafts, making them quite pretty when he spreads them. His eyes are black though in the right light show a gleam of emerald.

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Just Trust Me Female Event Horizon Astrum

Mindspeech: Bold #85ad96

It is common knowledge that Event Horizon Astrum have glimpses of the future. Though they are sometimes expressed not-so-clearly they are typically right. It just takes a little talent to figure out what they're saying.
But for Just Trust Me, that wasn't the only problem. You see she's always been a rather prolific prognosticator. Her prophecies are quite vivid in her eyes. The problem is that she gets mixed up with her words and in what she sees when. She sometimes has prophecies on top of prophecies and that can lead to her giving warnings that would otherwise be right at a different point in time. Her forecasts of rain might come days later, or a rhyme about a bad decision may only come after the decision has already been made. Those that know Just Trust Me thus tend to dismiss her words at face value. They know she's speaking the truth, but when you can't tell when something will happen knowing about it is stressful and tiring. It's better in that case, many think, to not know at all. It's rather disheartening yet she still tries to warn those her visions concern. She's a sweetheart you see, and feels it's her duty to try and aid those she can, by Aeon! If anyone will just trust her, she knows she can.

Physically her body type greatly resembles a Cormmish rex with their thin frames, long legs, ropy tail, large ears, and large eyes. Like all Event Horizons her short, wavy yet soft fur is solid black with a single blue-white stripe that flashes along her shoulder to her flank, and her feathered wings are also solid black. Her purple glow is quite pretty when it accents her form and when it highlights her star-yellow eyes.

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Remember, Life is a Balance Male Meridian Familiar, Adalwyn

Mindspeech: Italics Bold #8d076b

For many years Dominic has kept his head down, avoided drawing attention and just tried to live his life day by day. And it's sad, really. He's clever, and compassionate, and has traits that make him a very good person by the standards of those who have breeched his defenses, few though they have been.

That is a situation that Adalwyn hopes to change.

It is a fact that most humanoids are social creatures to some extent. Even antisocial people will take companionship on their own terms. It's healthy, natural. Despite Dominic being an undead Adalwyn is determined to see that his life has the balance that it requires for his mental and spiritual well-being, with a gentle touch. Kindly and soft-spoken, Adalwyn knows the zombie's boundaries as only a Familiar can. He will coax his other half into gatherings that he knows the other can handle, but at the same time know when Dominic has had enough and needs to leave, or when to interpose himself between Dominic and others as a living barrier, a request for space. He's also good at reading others with regard to Dominic and how they will behave around the zombie. Granted people might surprise Adalwyn but that's what his teeth are for, no? Push Dominic too far and you'll find out what the balance of 'peaceful is.

In physical form Adalwyn is much akin to a German shepherd dog, though his coloration definitely falls into the Meridian Familiar territory. His lower jaw, throat, underside, and all four paws are gray while everything else is just slightly off-white, making his silver eyes almost blend in to his face.