<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> I saw that coming!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> He was a stubborn cuss! And he is changing into a dragon? I love how poor Coe deals with him. He is so patient.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> Chris<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> The Lurking Fox<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> mkguild-bounces@lists.integral.org [mailto:mkguild-bounces@lists.integral.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Jack Moore<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, December 03, 2014 2:49 PM<br><b>To:</b> mkguild@lists.integral.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [Mkguild] Birth IV<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>AN: I'd like to entitle this section Gratitude.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>March 17th, 707<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Is he awake?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I think so."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I could hear voices. I scrunched my eyes closed as hard as I could. 'Wait, how <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>can I feel this?' I had been in a room with a ragman, now I felt like I was waking up.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Yep awake. Let's say hello."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You'll scare him. Let him wake up naturally." Two voices and I recognize <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>neither. My sleepy brain filled in the blanks for me. Obviously, I'd been kidnapped and <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>was being held hostage by two people for reasons I did not know.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Now when you think you've been kidnapped, there is an easy way to tell. If for <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>example, you are laying in a soft bed with your head wound treated, you've probably not <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>been kidnapped.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Statements like this are what qualify me to control a city.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I could still feel my arms, but not move them. The two voices were talking but I <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>felt a barrier between us.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>If you think you're qualified and your kidnappers are torturing you by putting you <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>in a warm soft bed, you have several options. You can scream for help, that's always a <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>popular one. You can try to escape. Or you can stealthily throw your arm around <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>looking for something to hit them with.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"What is he doing?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I think he's looking for something to hit you with."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Why me?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You're a three hundred pound green monster Cope."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"He doesn't know that! His eyes are closed anyway." I think I felt something. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Nope, just the side of the bed. "Maybe we should wake him up."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Eh let him have a few more minutes." My hand hit a wooden nightstand. I felt <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>along the top for anything I could throw, to catch the two kidnappers off guard. "It's a <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>good thing I didn't leave a glass of water, that would make a mess."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I felt the urge to open my eyes but tried to suppress it. Hot breath rolled across <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>my face, I scrunched my nose. The urge to see what overwhelming. 'Can't keep the <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>world out anymore.' I opened my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Hi." A massive green scaled thing stared back at me. Okay, no need to panic <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>James. Just react the most calm and rational way you can.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Die!" I threw up my arms and reigned blows upon him. I put all of my energy <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>into every punch, making sure he felt my pain. "Feel the agony!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>The green lizard man looked at the other figure and shrugged. "Why won't you <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>die?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"A few reasons." I pounded away at the invincible lizard man. "You can stop <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>now."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Never! I will escape this kidnapping!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"We're not kidnapping you." The lizard said.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Lies!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Why would we want to?" The raccoon man asked. I tired pounding the lizard's <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>face now. My problems included having no energy to fight, no plan of attack, no <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>experience in fighting and no hope in general. "Cope knock him back down, he's going <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>to hurt himself."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Alright." The lizard placed one finger between my eyes and pushed me down. I <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>struggled valiantly under that finger. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Do not touch me!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"He's a grateful patient." The second speaker came closer, this one a raccoon <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>man. 'Maybe I can beat him to death.'<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Why am I so weak?" I asked. "Did you two poison me?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"If we had poisoned you, you would be dead." The raccoon said. "You were <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>initially. You took a bad blow to the head and must have been laying in the woods for <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>close to an hour before anyone found you."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"This was the closest place you could be healed." The lizard said. "You're not <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>kidnapped, you've just been resting."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>When someone has done something nice for you like say, healed your nearly fatal <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>head wound, there are several ways to react. The right way is to show gratitude. The <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>wrong way is to follow my example.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I'm done resting and this place smells like a barnyard." Because you usually see <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>lizards and raccoons around barns moron. "I want to leave and I want to leave now. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Where is this place?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"This is Metamor Keep, you—<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I do not want to hear anything else!" I snapped. "This is the cursed place!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Well yes and—<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You will escort me out now." I said. "I won't hear another word!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You're going to have too." The raccoon said. "My name is—<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Don't care." Now they both were looking annoyed. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You may call me Coe." The raccoon mumbled something else under his breath. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I'm a raccoon morph as you can tell, kind of a—<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>/"Don't care!" Coe grit his teeth.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Your party will be coming for you soon thankfully. It's rather fortunate you <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>woke up." I think that's how things went…<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Are they here now? Why didn't they wait for me?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"This place is cursed." The lizard said. "They didn't want to be. So they left you <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>and will be returning. Probably not today but in a few days. They didn't forget you if <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>you're worried."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"They also refused to tell us why they were here." Coe said. "What is the Lord of <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Isenport doing not in Isenport?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I do not have to speak to you." I said. Yep James, just keep working those <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>people skills. That'll endear you to many a reader. "I want to leave and you will escort <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>me out immediately."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Okay your family will be coming here." The lizard said. I think that's what he said. "You just have to wait. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>My name is Copernicus, yours is James correct?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"James of House Dorothea, oldest child, servant of the empire and future lord of Isenport." <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I said. Copernicus smiled. He was actually there for a reason, but we'll get to that later. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You will not address me; I do not wish to speak to you." I forced the covers off my <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>body and gave a shriek. "What am I wearing!?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"A tunic and pants." Coe said. I gripped the bed to avoid passing out. The <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>feeling of this rough, ugly and dull cloth made my skin crawl. "What?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Where is my clothing?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"They were covered in mud and blood. We didn't think you'd want to wear them <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>after that."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"This is terrible!" I said. "The stitching on these pants are wretched, I could do a <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>better job than this. I have done a better job than this! And why will you not explore <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>colors outside of the beige spectrum?" <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You had to be dressed in something." Cope said.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"And I'd have rather gone nude." I said, showing that gratitude I've become so <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>known for. "I couldn't have been that bloody anyway."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"We thought you were dead!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I'd rather have been than in this place." I said. They both visibly tensed up. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>This would not be the last time I'd utter those words, but I'll get to that later. "I'm <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>getting out of this bed now."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You've been unconscious for two weeks." Coe said. "You will do no such—" I <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>flipped my legs over the side of the bed. "Stop! You are going to hurt yourself. You <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>will not be able to stand up."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Watch me!" By sheer force of will, I forced myself to stand up. I almost <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>toppled over again.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>'Their eyes are on you James. Show them you are strong.'<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I forced one foot forward. Then another. One two, one two over to a chair <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>against the wall. Finally I collapsed, panting hard. "Ha!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Was he supposed to be able to do that?" Copernicus asked.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Not as far as I know."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I'm strong willed." I said. "I want out of this disgusting room. I want to be <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>doing something!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You know, if you want to get out of here" Coe said, "Cope sometimes gives <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>tours of this place." Cope shot the raccoon a death glare.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Why would I want to spend more time in this place with either of you?" I asked. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Ugh, it'll get me out of this room, I accept." That's so kind of you moron boy.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Well I used to do tours." Copernicus said, "Uh not had the time anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Besides, aren't you too weak to be standing up?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Are you trying to avoid me?" I asked. "I just said I'd allow you to show me <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>around this backwater stain." Was I really this obnoxious?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Can't imagine where you got that I idea." The lizard said. "Do you really think <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>you're strong enough?" <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I know it!"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Alright I can show you around." Cope, being far nice than I would have been, <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>helped me too my feet and lead me out. He started talking I believe but I immediately <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>blocked him out.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I moved through sheer force of will. Every step was labored and my muscles <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>were virtually frozen. 'Can't let them see me look weak.'<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I pushed on while focusing my gaze on my own feet. I willed the muscles too <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>unclench.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>'Nope, still stiff.' No matter how much will power you have, you can't unhurt your <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>body through sheer force. Not that I wouldn't try. I was so distracted by this exercise in <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>stupidity I failed to notice I was outside. I did notice Cope had stopped moving once I <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>had bumped into him.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I thought you weren't listening."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I'm distracted." I said, looking up, "Don't worry about me, go a-uh-uhhh."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>With every event in your life, there are two moments you remember. The second <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>is during the event, when you realize that your life has changed. At that moment I was <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>struck dead where I stopped by the new world I was standing on the edge of.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Isenport is not small. I'm used to seeing buildings stretching out in all directions <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>with people crammed into them. What I wasn't used too was the image of a wolf on two <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>legs and an utterly beautiful woman walking in front of me while discussing something.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"…wow." I whispered. Cope smiled.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Animals and people of all ages and sizes interacted. Species I had never seen <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>walked beside children who had an air of authority. The din of noise was unlike anything <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I heard in a marketplace or dock. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>'What are those creatures?' People with feathers. Lizards with faces shaped like <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>knives. Creatures that were brightly colored, things I had never seen before. A desert <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>where you could feel life swarming all around you. I swallowed.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Done gawking?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I wasn't gawking." I stammered. "Just wondering why we stopped moving. I <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>don't want to just sit on my ass doing nothing." The smile was replaced by a frown. "Is <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>there anywhere I can get very drunk while waiting?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You could show some gratitude."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Not to any of you." What an ass. "In fact I can't wait to leave this place. I bet <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>you can't too." He shook his head. "What's that for? You're never going to see me <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>again and thankfully I'll never see you."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"You were in a bed for two weeks!" Cope said.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Yes we've established that."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"We've been trying to tell you something—"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I don't want to hear it!" Copernicus sighed.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Feel the skin around your eyes." I didn't want to do what he asked, but even <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>more than that I wanted quiet. So I reached up and touched the area beside my left eye.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>'No no no no.' I scrambled away from Cope, moving as fast as my frozen legs <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>would carry me. 'Nononono.' I stopped at the first window I could find and stared at my <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>face.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"No…" And golden eyes stared back at me. "No!" Across my nose were scales, <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>small pebbles, cool to the touch. "Oh no no no I can't no no no."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>'I asked for this.'<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I tried to tell you." I turned to see the lizard man approaching me. "We both did <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>but you wouldn't listen. You've been in bed for over two weeks, in and out of <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>consciousness."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Am I cursed?" I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Yes."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"What am I?"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"I don't know." Copernicus said. "A reptile of some kind. You have scales, <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>that's all I know for certain. You are changing slowly—<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>I collapsed. The lizard man rushed over but I brushed him away.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Don't touch me. Don't…damn it I didn't want this." Blood rushing through my <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>ears blocked out the world and my head dipped between my knees. "I want this to stop, <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>get me out of here."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"James you—<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>"Don't talk to me!" I cried. "Don't look at me, don't talk to me, leave me alone." <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Copernicus didn't say a word but he did sit beside me. He put an arm around me and I <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>couldn't knock it off.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>For that I am grateful. At the time though I only thought one thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1417635606339_2525"><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>'My life is over.'<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></body></html>