Kingdom of the Sky {People needed!!!!}

[Rohrchi]

Once again, Ark completely ignored the man and watched the nurse. She circled the man. There was a bit of surprise on her face, but she'd met people who could heal themselves before. The nurse only wondered why he hadn't done it before. When she was satisfied, the nurse turned to Ark and shrugged, "He's clear to go."

Ark turned to the guards and signaled them with her hands to keep him. As they tightened their grips, Ark stepped out into the hall and called her ghosts. As they flocked around her, she told them what she needed. The nice lady that lived in the cellars who had been around for over 200 years offered to help. As did the man on the fifth floor who had been around for about 400 years.

Being the oldest ghosts, they had the most power in the physical world. She trusted them to be able to hold him indefinitely without getting bored. They had good focus and enjoyed helping her. They also wouldn't mind following her around all day. She nodded and walked back into the room with them.

They stayed invisible to regular human eyes, but Ark watched them move to the man, solidifying as they went. The 400-year-old ghost took hold of the man's arms and the woman took the guards' arms off. The guards both looked at Ark, she gave a nod and they left the room.  

[Specter of Life]

The man noticied the ghosts and sneered.
"I guess theses two shall be my hosts for this evening."
His cocky demeanour vanished and he look down with a grim look on his face.
"Um. About that guard I killed; did he have a family?"
He looked back up at Adkin with sorrow in his eyes.  

[Rohrchi]

{Wow. I completely missed that the first time around.}

Ark's expression didn't change a wink. It was as though she was completely shut down. Just like earlier in the dungeon, she didn't respond to the death at all. Being around ghosts for so long had desensitized her to death. Her ghosts, however, tightened their grip and re-checked their solidification.

Looking at the man, she simply shrugged, "His family was another guard and they both knew the risks of their jobs. His family will be taken care of." She could already sense the guard's ghost and it didn't seem to upset about its death.  

[Specter of Life]

"Oh. I see. So it's okay for someone to die? I know I was the one who killed him. But I felt regret for what I did, but you? I did not see a hint of compasion."
The man watched Adkin's face, checking for any hint of emotion.  

[Rohrchi]

Ark shrugged, "It's hard to feel bad about death when you know that it isn't the end of someone's life. In fact, there are far more benefits to being dead than alive." She held out a hand to tick off the advantages, "Ghosts don't age, they can love and be with loved ones, most can move about freely, they can interact with the living and the dead, and they can move on whenever they want without being judged. There's more, but that's a start."

Without waiting for a response, she moved to the door. She stopped in the doorway and looked back over her shoulder to see if he was following.  

[Specter of Life]

The man followed Adkin cautiously and constantly checking for any tricks.
"I guess that is true. But there must be a downside to dying, especialy to people related to someone who died..."

(Sorry, I cannot think up much to add to my posts at the moment.)  

[Rohrchi]

{That's cool. I'm not length obsessed.}

"Maybe outside this city, but with me here they can interact without any real difference. Not only that, but the palace takes care of any monetary problems," Ark set off down the hall at a fast clip. Now that he was following, she didn't bother to look back over her shoulder to monitor him; that was her ghosts' job. "Our city's income is high enough that we don't struggle taking care of our people."

The two ghosts grunted at Ark's dismissal of death and the challenges of the afterlife. They understood her sentiments, but their disgust with her attitude was obvious. Hearing their disapproval, Ark turned to look at them and the man, "You can value life as much as she want, but there's more than one type of life."  

[Specter of Life]

The man just looked at Adkin. Questioning himself why she was so at ease with death.
"So. Death's a natural thing in this city? Even if you can still see your loved ones. I don't think it would be right, families would not be able to share the same experinces with the dead as they could if they were alive. But I guess someone who works in the palace is oblivious to such things..."

The man was tempted to curse, but due to the situation he is in, he decided against it.  

[Rohrchi]

Ark stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned back look at the man. "You don't even have the manners or good grace to give your name. You certainly don't know me or anything about me," she took a step towards him in a slightly menacing manner. Her hand twitched as though she wanted to slap him. "And yet you dare make assumptions about."

Keeping her temper, if only barely, she turned and continued walking as if nothing had happened, "I often visit the country side and find pupils with the same power as me. They are scattered throughout our rather large country and they make their abilities know in order to help people." She rounded and corner and stepped through a doorway and down some stairs, "We, the people of the city, protect and provide for these people. We help them."  

[Specter of Life]

The man clenched his fist. Trying not to lash at Adkin. He began to shake, but quickly calmed down. He slumpped over slightly, almost like a bow.
"It's Al."  

[Rohrchi]

Ark felt an icy wall come up between the emotional and logical parts of her brain. She staunchly ignored the ghosts and their angry chatter and missed Al's bow. No one liked being under-appreciated. To silence them, she snapped her fingers and called up another two ghosts. Using her will for once, she showed them the shield she wanted with her mind, not trusting her voice.

The ghosts let him go, but formed a floating circle around him that was visible as a wiggle in the corner of the onlooker's eye. It moved with him and took far more concentration for the ghosts, but offered more freedom for Al. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Ark looked around at the barrels with a shudder. She was so tired of this job right now. So tired of here...  

[Specter of Life]

Al looked at the odd bubble around him.
"Well, this is abit comfy."
He takes a step foward, noting the bubble moving with him, after a few more steps that may look like a slight jig to the eye. He then looked at the ghosts, slighty straining at the effort of keeping the shield active.
"Um. Are you sure they're going to be okay?"  

[Rohrchi]

"Hm?" Ark turned to look, already having forgotten what he could be talking about, "Oh, yes. It isn't exactly a strain for them. It simply takes focus, which is something most ghosts don't have. The more a ghosts' mind wanders, the more likely it is to become involved in the mortal world."

She began moving through the rows of barrels, checking the label of each one she passed, making her progress slow. "Distracting them is a good thing and I do it as often as possible, but they are rarely pleased." By now, she'd gone through three rows without finding what she needed, although she had written a note in the notebook she found herself constantly carrying.  

[Specter of Life]

Al paced in the row of barrels next to Adkin, arms behind his hed, looking at each barrel with a interested but bored look on his face. He stopped next to one and tapped it.
"So. What's in these then? Wine?"  

[Rohrchi]

"And mead and cider... and anything else we need. There's a few with water. We have to be careful with those," she shrugged and continued moving through the rows. This was going to be a long search if she didn't come to what she needed on this row.

If it wasn't on this row, it was misplaced and she was going to have to check the whole cellar. And she wasn't sure she liked the idea of being down here alone with him for as long as it would take to check the whole cellar. Especially since she'd just remembered that she hadn't told anyone where she was going.