User blog:Malice the NightWing/Zalessa Gets a Day Off

Bex Dizznee, who went by Zalessa, was just about to go home from Foxfire when she saw a peculiar scene right outside the glass pyramid.

There was a bright flash of light, and popping sparks as two figures materialized on the ground. It looked like a crazy light-leap gone wrong, and she was about to scream for help when the figures solidified and stopped sparking.

Zalessa stared as she recognized Jaydan and another member of Team Moonshadow she hadn't seen in a long time. He was a shortish human who looked like he was in his fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and a wry, handsome face. His eyes were a shocking bright blue, a deeper, more electric shade than Jaydan's fiery sky blue eyes. If you looked close enough you could see that his ears were pointed, too, giving him the odd effect of looking both human and elvin at the same time.

"Jake?!" Zalessa gasped. "You tried light-leaping again? Is something wrong?"

Jake winced, clutching his arm, which was a blackened, bleeding mess. It was a horrible burn. "You bet it is," he groaned. "We just encountered a crazy Psionipath who tried to kill us, for your information."

"Let's go to the cave." Zalessa said firmly. She pulled out her Imparter. "Show me Taige."

A girl with chocolate brown skin, wavy black hair, and shimmering purple-cobalt eyes appeared on the screen. "Zalessa? What's wrong?"

"Meet me at the cave. Tell Glennon."

Taige nodded and disappeared. Zalessa turned to Jaydan and Jake. "We've got medical supplies there for that burn. Do you think you can make a light-leap again, Jake?"

Jake grimaced. "You know I have low concentration."

"We have to go there anyway. Let's walk, just to try and avoid any... problems."

Jake nodded slowly, and got up, just as Taige and another boy with tanned skin, a spattering of freckles, a mop of brown hair, and translucent, pale ice blue eyes appeared there. "The path is that way." Glennon said, his voice so loud that students glanced their way. Zalessa suddenly became aware of all the witnesses. "Ahem, Glennon, please be quiet..." She whispered, giving him a death glare.

"What?" Glennon yelled. "This is my inside voice!"

Zalessa sighed heavily and led the way as they started off into the nearby forest.

After a while, Zalessa started to think she heard rustles in the bushes behind her. After a while, she snapped her head backwards to see what it was, and saw a flash of black disappear into the thick shrubbery. ''Oh, it was probably just a squirrel... ''She thought, shrugged, and kept hiking up the narrow forest path.

Then, after hearing more rustlings and finally a twig snap, Zalessa couldn't bear it any more. She whipped around. "Show yourself or I'll have my friend here destroy all the bushes around here and possibly you in the process!"

Taige whirled around. "What?!"

Suddenly, the bushes shifted, and a male voice said, "Raspy...?"

Taige froze as if mesmerized. "Blackout?" She whispered.

To Zalessa's surprise, a teenage boy came out of the bushes. He was dressed in a worn out Exillium uniform without the hood or mask, and he had black hair, light skin, wide blue eyes, and dimples. He stared at Taige, and Taige stared back, for a shocked moment.

Then they fell into each others' arms, crying and laughing at the same time. "Blackout! I haven't seen you in forever!" Taige gasped, and the boy grinned. "I thought you'd fallen off the face of the earth, Raspy."

Jaydan stepped forward, bewildered. "Um, would you mind introducing your, er, friend to us, Taige?"

Taige seemed to notice the situation, and pulled away, gasping. "Oh, I'm so sorry, this is my old friend Blackout. We met at Exillium and broke out together."

Jaydan's eyebrows rose so high they looked like they would float off his face. "You met at Exillium?"

"I'm not as... well, obediant as some." Blackout said with a mischevous grin. "Good to meet you." His expression grew blank for a second, then he asked, "You're Jaydan Pyren, aren't you?"

Jaydan turned deathly pale. "Cauldis. Jaydan Cauldis. You're a Telepath? I don't recall giving you permission..."

Taige had a guilty expression for a moment. "Well, he doesn't exactly follow rules..."

Jaydan looked at him warily. "Will you stay out of my head if I ask you to?"

"No. But you might consider having a Telepath on your side. You don't have any in your team, do you? And I know all about the Exile breakouts you're fighting. Believe me when I say you're better off with me than without."

Jaydan was silent for a while. "Zalessa? You're the leader. What do you think?"

Zalessa wasn't really listening. The huge stone mouth of the cave loomed in front of them, and Zalessa could already smell the burning. Inside the cave, the organized shelves of frissyn, medicine, food, maps, books, weapons, and other things were overturned and strewn in a shattered mess on the cave floor. There were piles of ash and scorch marks laying around, along with half-burned books and maps. A scorched smell was in the air. "Guys... I think we have a problem..."