Lyra panted softly as she ran quickly through the forest, smacking tree branches out of her way, ignoring the small bits of blood that ran down her cheeks from shallow cuts left in the branches wakes. How long had she been running from these people? Had she lost them yet? Well that wasn't a very good time to ask that. Crying out, Lyra fall down a slope, groaning a bit when she made it to the end. Slowly sitting up, she cried out in pain before she held her wrist, looking at her hand as it went limp. Well now she has a broken wrist and is stuck in the woods. Looking around, Lyra slowly stood up, her bare body shaking in the cold breeze, only protected by a fleece blanket a traveler had given her. Maybe she should set up camp, yeah, that was a good plan. Well, it wasn't much of a camp, she just crawled into a bush and curled up to escape the wind. Sniffling softly, she shook before she shut her eyes tightly, soon falling asleep to the sound of the wind.

A shadowy shape had followed her on the wing, though that was just a figure of speech since there were no wings visible. His black robes were tailed though and it created a nice illusion as he swooped down silently to where the girl lay.

Amadeas was not usually someone to ruin someone else's fun, but it did not seem like she'd survive out in the woods, and he liked collecting exotic things. He waved a hand in the direction of the slave-hunting party, changing the landscape of the forest subtly to lead them away from the slopes.

The sorcerer then stepped silently into the bushes, the twigs parting gently to reveal their hidden charge. He clicked his tongue softly. So fragile looking, he might lose this one all too quickly. So he sat down and waited, letting himself decide when she woke would not be a bad idea.

Lyra groaned softly in her sleep, whimpering as she jerked her hurt wrist. The elf girl's frail body shivered in the cold, goosebumps covering her soft skin. Slowly, she turned her head and felt her forehead bump into something. It took a moment, but her eyes opened and her vision took a few seconds to clear. Looking at the man above her, Lyra tensed up before she tried to push herself up, only to cry out in pain and collapse as she held her broke wrist. "W-who are you?"

(Just to be clear, Amadeas took over Verge's body later on, so he looks 15-16. He's never a Master till then, he's a butler XD)

Amadeas stared for a moment longer as she stirred, then fell over within a minute of waking. "I'm not sure about the wisdom of asking a man who travels in darkness, who he is. However I welcome the originality of the notion that I might tell you."

He rose then and swept her into his arms as he did. She seemed surprisingly light, and for his current stature, Amadeas was quite strong. He rested a hand above her wrist as he gathered her up, warmth could be felt.

Suddenly, he lifted back into the air, there was no melodramatic flapping or any sign he should have been able to fly, but he did so anyway. "Your wrist should be fine in a while, but I recommend you hold it straight unless you want it to fuse crooked."

"Your name?" Amadeas seemed quite unabashed about asking it when he didn't give his own.

(Kay :3)

Listening to the man curiously, Lyra narrowed her eyes before she moved back away from him. "That didn't answer my question- SIR!" Lyra yelped as she was picked up before struggling against him. Pushing at him with her good hand, she whimpered softly and looked up at him fearfully before holding her wrist in place. Hearing him, she shuddered before looking down. "Lyra..."

Amadeas ignored the struggling completely, it wasn't dealing him any harm and he could fly through a gale, so the weak shoving of a small girl in his arms didn't matter much at all.

"Lyra," he mulled over the name a little, saying it repeatedly. "Well, it's as good a name as any. Though I prefer ones that mean something to me. I am Amadeas, and by the rules of the wild... Finders keepers."

He descended slowly as they neared his estate. Well, it used to belong to the body he now possessed, but little details were never that important. "Who were those people chasing you?"

Lyra growled up at the man holding her, her good hand clenchging before she tensed up hearing him. "Finder's keepers!? You have to be kidding me! I'm not some toy you find on the playground as a kid and keep for your own!" She screamed, kicking against him as tears ran down her face. How DARE he say that! He couldn't keep a living person... Could he... Well, legally no... The tears continued to roll down the young elf's face as she heard him before she took her good hand and slapped him across the cheek. "I don't need to answer any of your damned questions you creep! Now let me go or else!"

Amadeas held on grimly as she struggled, but the slap had done it. He didn't really like to be hit, especially not by something he was certain was not of his prowess in sorcery. Though his curiosity held back most of the anger and he merely complied with her next demand.

He let her go.

They were still some feet above the roof of his estate, and he watched the elf fall. He knew that the short distance made it safe but awkward. Even those capable of flight did not have enough time to react to save a very sore landing.

He hovered over her and made a displeased sound. "Would you rather I drop you back where you were?"

Lyra continued to struggle in Amadeas' arms before biting his arm. Her teeth not really doing much damage to him. It caused more like a small bug bite than anything else. When she was let go, her eyes widened. He let he go when they were in the air!? Falling down, she shut her eyes tightly, expecting to hit the ground, not the roof. When her back met with the rooftop, the wind was knocked out of the young elf and she curled up. Opening her eyes barely, she glared up at him before she bit the tip of her finger. "Stay the Hell... Away from me..." Her words came out in choked breaths as she tried to fill her lungs. Glaring at the man, she tossed her hand at him and her blood formed tiny needles, but dropped down on the rooftop and splashed into tiny puddles as the collar around her neck injected her with more tranquilizers. Causing her to go limp on the roof and stare off into the distance.

"I see," Amadeas landed gently beside her and put a finger under the collar. A small pinprick shot out and pierced his skin. He shrugged and pulled his hand away. A small bead of blood dripped away from the wound, as if something was being squeezed out of his system.

He patted Lyra's cheek a couple of times before slicing through the collar with one finger. There was barely a glow to indicate he had used magic. This was an easy trick after all.

Then he waited. The only exit to the roof lay in the small door behind him, going into the stairwell. And if she was a blood user, that gave him a sort of advantage. Coincidence really, considering he had only just taken over Verge's body.

Lyra's eyes slowly turned up to Amadeas. Watching him carefully, she shut her eyes tightly as he brought his hand close to her. When he pulled back, she opened her eyes before glancing up at him once more. Was he trying to get the collar off? Letting out a weak groan as he pat her cheek, she glared up at him before she felt the collar fall from her delicate neck. It took her only a few minutes, but the drugs slowly wore off and she sat up, rubbing her head. "Why did you take it off? You could have just left it on for all you care..."

"What's the fun of talking to a walking corpse?" Amadeas waved a hand dismissively after that and said no more about it. "Now, if you want to stay up here and be frozen that's your business, but I'd rather take you inside. Please don't test my patience in the matter, I assure you there's not much of it."

He smiled, a youthful expression finally creeping over his teenage face. "Well? What's it to be?"

Listening to Amadeas, her gaze slowly softened. Sitting up, she felt her wrist and found it had been repaired. Glancing back up, she looked up at him in the eyes. A deep blush covering her face when their gazes met. "I guess being here... Is better than being out in the open..." Standing up, she groaned before she forced herself to sit back down. Still weak from the medicine.

Wordlessly, Amadeas took her into his arms again. It wasn't all that hard. He was stronger by default, and she was tired, even if she struggled it wouldn't have done much good. He went down the stairs, miraculously managing not to bump her head or toes against the narrow corridor.

A blast of warm air hit them as they entered the estate properly. It was dark though, and Amadeas let her down to light the candles with a rather more complicated gesture with both hands. "The servants have left," he said, but did not explain further.

He took a candle from one of the stands nearby. "Follow me."

Watching him come over, Lyra moved back before she yelped as she was picked up. She was thinking of telling him to put her down, but she didn't want him to drop her again. A soft sigh passed her lips before she looked around the inside of the house, relaxing as the warm air hit them. A real relief on her cold skin. When she was set down, Lyra dusted herself off before she nodded and followed after him. "Why exactly did you take me? I'm not that interesting am I?"

Amadeas turned slightly in the dark corridor, but did not face her fully. "Oh... it gets a little lonely living in this house. There's really no one to talk to except... myself, I guess." He paused for a moment in front of a large mirror, and for a split second it seemed like his reflection was trying to get out, and was screaming something at him.

Then the moment was gone and he looked normal, if a bit spooky. "Well, shall we find you somewhere to sleep?"

Looking up at Amadeas, she hesitantly nodded before she clasped her hands over her chest. Her body shivered at the ominous feeling she was getting about this whole place. Looking to the mirror, she caught a slight glimpse of the reflection moving. Had she just seen what she thought she saw? If that made any sense at all. Moving over to the mirror, she touched the mirror with her finger tips before looking up at him and nodding. "Alright."

The candle-light flickered fitfully as they traversed the long corridors. Portraits hung from richly decorated wood panels, many of them featuring Amadeas and a girl who looked about his age. They were both dressed in Victorian looking clothes and often surrounded by books and expensive looking hounds.

"Here we are," Amadeas opened a door with a faint click and led the way inside. The darkness shrank away as the candle gave life to other lamps and scented tallow in the chamber. It was opulent, and most definitely belonged to a girl, but it looked as if it had not been used in a long time.

"This belonged to my sister," Amadeas explained, his expression slightly ironic. "Feel free to use the bed and the clothes, something will be along shortly to bring supper."

He waited, but did not offer more for the time being. There were silent questions hanging in the air, but he wanted to see her reaction first.

Glancing up, Lyra caught the faint glimpses of the portraits, making out one of the faces to be Amadeas... But who was the girl? And why were they dressed that way? Stopping when the door was opened, she looked around before her eyes widened a bit when the rest of the lamps turned on by themselves. Slowly nodding, she looked to the bed before she glanced back at him. Something? What was that something? Looking around the room once more, her body slowly relaxed. "It's nice..."

A clock downstairs struck the hour, and following its ancient chimes came the wail of something strange. Then a shape shuffled through the door, dragging chain and rags behind it. It was misshapen to be certain, but what was most odd about it was the way it was dressed. Metal and leather glistened, and the combination looked painful.

It carried a tray on its back and set it down with extreme care on a table near them before crawling back away. It might have once looked human. Amadeas smiled.

"Yes, and the food is too." He turned and offered the tray with another smile.