What to do, What to do...?

[Orestes]

Orestes stumbled out of the corridor, clenching his fist as his face made impact with the ground. Gritting his teeth, he picked himself up, still nurturing the wound in his chest. He concentrated instead on the dull ache in his head, drawing his mind away from the pain that racked his body with spasms and forced him to take deep breaths.

He sat on the ground, cross legged, and searched the darkness for the one presence that he knew he would find: Atticus the Fallen, his master, and sent him a message.

"Master...the Wonderland siege goes as planned, but it seems I made a miscalculation in my attack...I was wounded, and forced to retreat until I am whole again...what is your course of action for me, Master?"

He simply closed his eyes, willing his body to shut down to begin healing, and yet kept his mind aware, searching, waiting, questioning...

[The Heartless Army]

An answer from the Fallen did not come as Orestes might have expected. Instead, another dark presence would come to him... one that many had forgotten about and a great deal more still didn't know. It came in the form of a single heartless, a Shadow, with a diamond-shaped scar on his head.

Apparently, this one had gotten lost on its way back to the World of Darkness from the Opera House, and landed here instead. When it heard Orestes nearby, it crawled over and looked to him, blinking with massive yellow eyes that conveyed so much with so little. It put its hands on his knee, looking at him curiously and examining his wounds. Knowing he was hurt, little Cuddles turned away and wiggled his antennae toward the dark, calling on others of their family for assistance.

Several Emerald Serenades would appear above Orestes, bobbing in the air this way and that to a tune that only they knew. They began to circle, sprinkling a green, misty substance onto the Heartless Earthbender which was laced with healing leaves. They were casting cure on him!

When they were done, they'd bow in their odd way before flipping backward and disappearing into the darkness. Cuddles, however, would still be standing there, his antennae flailing cutely before he looked off to a certain direction. There was a battle nearby... [in Pulp Fiction]

[Orestes]

Orestes nursed his wound, opening his eyes as he felt a presence within the shadows. Looking up, expecting to see his master, he was...surprised. Instead of it being Atticus, masking his aura like Orestes would expect him to, it was a single Shadow. Its slightly too-large head tilted to the side as it regarded him with big yellow eyes.

A diamond-shaped scar on its head gave him the indication that this might not have been a normal Shadow. He felt a small surge of affection for the little fellow, and gave it a lopsided grin.

"Hey there, little fella. What're you doing here? Did you come to help?"

His question was soon answered as the Shadow looked away for a moment, signaling to something with his small antennae. Orestes opened his mouth to ask what, but was silenced by the Shadow's gentle touch on his knee.

Then the Emerald Serenades came into view, dancing to a tune that Orestes could not hear, for whatever reason. They circled around him and he leaned back, feeling at ease from their soothing presence. Then he noticed a green powdery substance, sparkling despite the absence of great light.

It drifted onto his wounds, and he felt his pain easing, the wound on his chest closing and the scrapes on his body fading away, leaving no visible trace of a wound in the first place. They bowed lightly, disappearing back from whence they came, and Orestes looked to the Shadow.

"Thank you, Little One. I do not know how I can repay you, but I am in your debt. You may call upon the Lost One if you require any assistance."

The Shadow simply looked at him with those big eyes, then turned its antenna and its head in a certain direction, conveying a sense of urgency. Orestes nodded once, standing to his full height and corridoring out of view.

***Orestes has moved to Pulp Fiction***