It was quiet, serene, and not another soul in sight. Drake hummed an old Tarantella with its glorious rises and falls.

He walked freely, all but gliding through the parklands, revering in the last remaining edges of nature in the world. He looked up into the few trees, their withered, dying leaves brushing against each other, only adding to the symphony in his mind.

With a slight smile, he looked to the west, toward where the Alcove was, perched on a cliff, and holding his beloved within its scared walls. A chuckle burst from him as he shook his head. Centuries old, and free, uninhibited love had him acting like a mortal with the elusive 'spring fever'. It was a shame it was something akin to fall already in the world of Nebula.

With a sigh that seemed to release all the tensions of training the new DreamWalkers, searching out the others, and aiding MSI and the Avatars in whatever way he could, Drake eased down onto a park bench and crossed his legs, one foot casting a shadow over the other.

"Lovely day..." he murmured to himself, and set to watch the commoners for a while. A glorious day in this world of the morning was often no more than a distant memory as he set to watching the people bustle by once again. It had once been a pasttime of his, after all, before the Alliance and all that followed and preceded it stole him away.

While Drake's shadow was quite content to stay sleeping with it's master, the shadow cast by the park bench grew excited and detatched itself from it's host and slithered across the ground as a young woman made her way steadily across the park. There was nothing wholly unusual about the young woman that strode with a walk that was half confidence and half child-like as she seemed to be tripping over her own feet. The only strange things seemed to be the swirling mass of shadows that decided to follow in her wake. One shadow in particular was wrapped loosely around her neck like a scarf, except that a small head like appendage was drifting along in the wind next to her ear. She was dressed simply, jean flares with a brightly colored skirt over it and a plain black tank top but the tank was covered with a plain black hoodie which her hands were thrust inside.

Renegade was in one of her oblivious moods, thereby leaving her senses open to gather the various shadows that dotted the park, so it was no surprise that when she finally stopped to pay attention, she was overcome by a wave of happy shadows, toppling her over into the grass. She had fallen with a tiny squeal and tried to wave them away but they would not be detered, oh no they had ever so much to tell her! And they were very excited because there was a man in the park, a great man, a powerful apparently. Renegade finally managed to sit up and looked over to where a dark stranger rested upon a shaowless park bench. Her cheeks turned a pale shade of pink before she looked away agian.

She stood to her feet and brushed off the stray leaves and what she missed the shadows took care of for her. She had come out of the Alcove to get a break from the normal again, she was always wandering around these days and after finding her mother's tombstone she was more focused on trying to figure out her unique heritage than obsessing about the family she might have had.

"Now now, don't stare, it's rude!" she admonished the shadows as she jerked her heard the other direction. She started walking again, but couldn't help but sneak peeks at the man sitting on the bench.

Though Drake looked not at the young woman, he had seen her all too well. Felt her. There were ancient powers lingering inside of her, powers that were just beginning to come forth.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her, just as a hoard of shadows somehow caused her balance to shift and send her toppling into the grass. A slight chuckle left his lips as he went back to his current activity of absolutely nothing once again.

So, she had a claim over the shadows...And he could feel that somepart of her held sway over the dreams as well. No, she wasn't powerful enough to exact that gift, but it rested within her being just the same.

Glancing up, his eyes met hers before she looked away with a blush, resuming her somewhat disfunctional, contradictory stroll. Every so often, he could see her head turn, until finally, he called out to her. His voice was soft, as if spoken near her ear, though he was much too far away for that to be physically possible. "My dear, if it is a question you have, you should never leave it unasked or unanswered," he told her, finally looking directly at her, a hint of a smile curving on his lips.

Ah, she was a young one, and kindred, in her own right. The details of her being, he did not know, but he would find out soon enough. Though Drake did hate to delve into one's mind without them knowing, he could feel the ancient ruins of the DreamWalkers within her. This was far more than a glimpse into the thought's of a young woman. It was necessary.

A shiver ran down Ren's spine as she heard his voice drifting to her, though he was quite a distance from her. She looked at the shadows around her and jerked a little as they pushed her forward, eager for her to meet this strange man, though for the life of Renegade she could not figure out why.

"Um...I guess, I just have to ask...uh who you are?" she grimaced at the absolutly daft question and wanted to hide under a rock. "Not that I'm trying to be rude or anything, it's just that they..." she motioned to the shadows at "they". "They said that you were someone worth meeting..." she tried to shrug it off as if everyone talked to mindless shadows and that they told them who was who in this crazy messed up world.

She shifted nervously from foot to foot, a shadow darting here and there around her ankles. He seemed nice enough when he called to her but people were fishy these days and Renegade kept a critical eye open for signs that things would go wrong. She'd been practicing lately at making walls and barriers and so far none of the other avatars she had trained with had been able to break the wall, but this man was something different, something new...something ancient.

He watched the young girl, a knowing smile crossing his lips as he saw her shiver. Drake almost felt apologetic, but the boy that still lurked within him did love that reaction.

"Um...I guess, I just have to ask...uh who you are? Not that I'm trying to be rude or anything, it's just that they said that you were someone worth meeting..." he heard her say, tilting his head as he listened to her explanation.

He gave a nod and another smile, waving her over with a flick of his wrist, a wave of his hand. Drake was always, always curious, and this young one with the power to command the shadows- well, that certainly piqued his interest.

"My name is Drake Morpheus..." he told her, wondering briefly if she had heard his name in her circles before. He took another look at the shadows that shrouded her and gave a soft smile. "And they said I was one to meet, did they? What else have they told you, my dear?"

Drake Morpheus, oh then he...he was important wasn't he? Her mind practically reeled from the possibilities.

"And they said I was one to meet, did they? What else have they told you, my dear?"

"Anything...everything...They just like to talk, they always talk and since I can hear them they always talk to me. They're simple and yet...complex, it's not a very good way to describe them but it's the truth. They talk about light and darkness and they hate the wind..." she trailed off, her cheeks turning red.

"They just said that you were important, that you were...powerful and interesting. I mean, they seem to know that you were Drake Morpheus than I did," she pointed out. "Shadows know things because people don't ever realize that they are there, the tree there has seen murder and love, the secrets stored here within this shadow," she lifted a pale hand and a single orb of darkness detatched itself from the mass that was pooled at her feet. "Every shadow has a different voice and a different story to tell. They make great spies...." she added with a tiny smirk. She suddenly blushed again.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ramble!!" she bowed herself slightly as if to apologize to this great man in front of her but she lost her balance and stepped on a loose shoelace and thumped to the ground, sending up a shower of grass clippings. "I'm so embarassed right now..." her voice muttered from the grass as she attempted to hide her beet red face.

The lingering smile grew as the young woman talked on and on about the secrets her shadows could tell. So he was someone to meet, was he? It was nice, to have a suitable reputation, even it was only among the shadows.

"I'm so embarassed right now..." she said, the words muffled by her current face-down position.

A soft chuckle rushed forth as he heard her embarressed mutters from within the grass. Unfolding himself from his seat on the bench, Drake rose and walked to her, reaching down with little effort and helping to her feet. "Now, now, no need for that...You can't be gifted and graceful, my dear. It simply would not do," said Drake with a slight smile. This young one was most interesting, indeed.

"Yeah but everyone is better than me...I can barely walk down a hallway without falling on my face," she practically wailed. "Everyone else is always gliding around and Master Tristan of course is the best and everyon else can "glide" but I can't and I always fall and break something!" she whined at the indignity of it all.

She felt connected to this man, like she would gladly tell him things she wouldn't tell anyone else, for some reason she was comfortable enough around him to simply stay put and complain about her faults (slight as they were really, honestly she was just a klutz and read WAY too much for her own good), than running away and hiding.

"Anyway I guess it doesn't matter, Master Tristan says it's what makes me who I am..." she sighed as she sat down on the bench, her feet swinging mere inches from the ground.

"Everyone else is always gliding around and Master Tristan of course is the best and everyon else can "glide" but I can't and I always fall and break something!" she said and he gave a slow nod. He wandered back in time, struggling to remember his own awkwardness at her age, but came up decidedly short.

An understand smile appeared as he nodded, listening to the young woman's plight. He had one such apprentice that encountered the same problem. The mention of Master Tristan caught his ear and he gave another smile, nodding in respond. Yes, Tristan Licht was without a doubt the epitome of grace, comparable only to his own beloved Alika. "Well, my dear, you mustn't compare yourself to others...You are unique, clearly. There's no reason for you to desire such a trait when it would only serve to make you more of a molded individual."

Drake believed in individuality and he knew, already, that this young woman possessed it in abundance.

He glanced over at her, so petite and had to chuckle, though only to himself. "You should listen to Master Tristan," he told her in reference to her last comment. "A wise man and most certainly right in this circumstance."

You are unique, clearly. There's no reason for you to desire such a trait when it would only serve to make you more of a molded individual."

Renegade gave a long suffering sigh. "I know...but no one likes you if you're different," she sighed. "Everyone says I'm a freak, or they used to when I was little, they don't really talk to me anymore and I'm usually off by myself anyway." she shrugged. "It's not that...I don't like being different from everyone else, I just want to have a sense of belonging with them and I only ever felt that way when Master Tristan was teaching me." she took a deep breath of the crisp morning air and exhaled.

"But lately it's been different, I mean...I've been meeting all sorts of interesting people, like Greer in the library and I met Miss Walker in the cemetary..." she trailed off a little there, the pain of finding her mother dead still affecting her, though she'd forgiven the woman for abandoning her. "And Mistress Alika talked to me the other day in the Alcove and now I've met you!" she smiled up at him.

"And you know...come to think of it, it was all because of the shadows," she leaned forward and touched her nose to her own shadow that had risen before her. "So I guess It's not too bad after all," she smiled. It was a brilliantly happy smile, a true smile and when she looked around it was not with the jaded eyes of an adult but with the wondering gaze of a child.

He listened to her plight, tilting his head at all the things she spoke of, offering a smile when she looked to him between her frequent transitions from one matter to another.

"So I guess It's not too bad after all," he heard her say, and for her sake, gave a victorious smile. All those words, and it was only a journey for her to reach the conclusion he knew she held within her. The ability to accept herself, whether the world would do the same or not.

"And you see, you've come to that all on your own. Oddity or not, you're quite the quick one, my dear..."

"Not that quick, I've been depressed lately, but you know, I think I'll be alright now!" she grinned again. "So um...were you doing anything important when I came up? I know you were just sitting here, but technically you could have been meditating..." she asked.

Then.

"Do you control shadows? I mean...I guess you're the one to ask since you are "Drake Morpheus" and all that. Like do you talk to them or anything?" Hope swelled within her that he would answer positivly, perhaps he could show her how to control her odd behavior, if she didn't learn to control her powers she might eventually put herself or others into danger. As it was she only knew how to defend herself, what if she needed to attack? Thoughts swam persistantly around in her head and she sighed, massaging her temples.

"So um...were you doing anything important when I came up? I know you were just sitting here, but technically you could have been meditating..."

He gave a slight laugh...What had he been doing? Hadn't he been watching her? He had sensed within her the same gifts that he possessed and all thoughts, all musings had shattered. "Nothing of the sort...Just sitting, my dear. You've interrupted nothing at all."

"Do you control shadows? I mean...I guess you're the one to ask since you are "Drake Morpheus" and all that. Like do you talk to them or anything?" she asked and he could nearly see the hope swelling in her eyes. She needed guidance, he decided, far more than the other young avatars he met. Not because she was lacking in skill, but because she was so unique...

Should he tell her?

Leaning back, he pondered her question, raising a slender finger to tap against his chin. The elements were far beyond his reach. It was the metaphysical, the mind tha the could control. His own body, through time, through flight, through molecular realignment...but never the elements. No...Never had he tried.

"I'm afraid that I cannot control any frame of the elements. That is left to the Avatars alone. I can manipulate them, only to my advantage, for cover, for transportation, but beyond that, my domain is the mind, the things that dreams are made of..." he paused, knowing already the answer to his question, but asking it just the same as he would for those that did not know him, did not know of his powers. "Why do you ask?"

Renegade sighed and looked away a little, disspointment gnawing at her. "Well I was just hoping that maybe you could show me some pointers. I mean I know we just met and that is totally presumtious I suppose, but...I don't excell very much when it comes to what I can do with my powers. Every time I try to learn from Master Tristan and the older avatars I can't really do alot of the things the other shadow avatars can do." she chattered on.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to get better but I don't know how, and even though I'm trying so hard to do what the others are doing, nothing seems to work very well, and I was hoping maybe that if I talked to a Dreamwalker they would know something else I could do..." She felt that she was babbling on but they both knew that this was important to her.

She wanted to be the best she could be and if that meant training with anyone and anything she could find, she would do it!

Her ambitious nature brought a smile to his eyes, though it carried no further. Within electric blue orbs, his amusement danced as he listened to her, reclined on the bench before beckoning her to join him.

"While I cannot instruct you on how to tame the shadows that come to you, or the element of Air that you reign over...I can offer you insight, to break the barriers of your own mind. Tell me, child...Do you know where it is that you come from? The origins of your ancestors?"

He knew that she was part DreamWalker, having senses it from the moment he spotted her, so innocent and youthful across the way...Perhaps he had always known. She was a hybrid, a Unique in the world of the mundane and monotonous...The Mendencants had their physical battles. The Avatars fought the elements of the world...And the DreamWalkers waged war with the minds of the fiendish and corrupt that sought to destroy the world...But where would she fit in when the time came? She was both Avatar and Dreamwalker...

"Um..." Renegade fidgeted though she had just sat down on the bench next to Drake. "I don't know much...Master Tristan told me that my mother came from a long line of Avatars, not all were Air of course but that one was the most common. I don't know anything about my father." she shrugged and looked away, ashamed that she knew so little about her own family. "I don't think anyone ever saw him or knew who he was..."

The shadows swirled around her dangling feet as she sat on her hands. "Do door said that my father was there the night my mother left me at the Alcove but that's all it said, I can't ask it again because it was replaced the other day...something tried to get in..." she shuddered visibly remembering the hand that had tried to drag her through, she hadn't told the Master's that it was her that opened the gate but it wasn't as if she was trying to let in trouble!

"Maybe you know about a Dreamwalker that loved a mortal avatar?" she asked hopefully.

Sitting on the bench beside her, Drake had not moved an inch. Had not lifted a hand or made any motion whatsoever, and it seemed to him that the young avatar beside him had done enough fidgeting for the both of them, and anyone else that had decided to walk aimlessly through the park that day.

He did, however, lift his gaze when she mentioned her father...Or at least, his lack of identity. Her mother, an avatar, and her father, unknown. It made more sense now, and Drake knew that his suspicions had been confirmed... Her Dreamwalker ancestry no doubt came from her father, and if he took a glimpse within her soul, the deepest of her dreams, he would find her answer...

Her final question sent his mind rocketing back through the centuries, though it did not have to travel far. There were countless tales of affairs among the factions, those that MSI had forbidden to unite, along with the entities of the Avatars and Dreamwalkers, who forbade their followers to interact with those that they felt inferior...But times had changed and he did remember a time, a few short years ago, that placed the young one at his side within the timeframe in his mind.

"There are a few incidents, my dear, but pinpointing only one...isn't as hard as it may seem," he said idly, wondering what he should divulge to her. The intense fervor she possessed to know of her origins were understandable, and yet...he nearly felt guilty of the knowledge he could acquire with a simple manuever.

"Really?" she exclaimed her voice rising in evident excitment. "Really??" she couldn't think of anything else to say, she fairly vibrated with anticipation, staring at him hopefully. Finally, after all this time she'd know about her father and maybe she'd be able to find him, after all her mother was dead so her father...her mind crashed to a halt.

What if he was dead too? What if he didn't want her? Sure he'd been there the night that her mother had given her to the Alcove, but he could have easily taken her away himself right? Why didn't he? Why did he leave her there? She was older now, many years had passed since then and even she'd heard rumors about Dreamwalkers and their ideals of love and whatnot...what if the reason he didn't take her was because he knew he wouldn't love her after awhile?

She never understood parents, she was raised with some other orphans in the Alcove but all of them were given to other couples who didn't have children. No one had ever expressed an interest in her, so she'd stayed with one of the other teachers until she was old enough to have her own chamber. She became quiet and pensive.

"Can Dreamwalkers love their children?" she finally asked feeling that it would be rude not to say what she was obviously thinking and Drake being Drake she was sure he already knew all the thoughts running through her head.