Present, Sir!

Wowza! Lots of snow! I hate snow, and where I live we normally get the worst of it. *grumbles* Stupid lake effect...

Mags you guys have a lot of snow out there?? We had grass showing until this morning. Those horrible storms going through missed us by a few miles at most. Crazy!

Tay, no worries. I'll keep the icing to a minimum... unless its on a cake. hahahaha :| yeah, that wasn't very funny. :S

We were going to send out cards this year. I had it all set on the computer, edited, looks cool, and for some reason it wont save onto my external card to take to the store to print. grrrr and to figure it out now is almost pointless! Maybe we'll save it for next year. (or I thought about posting it on Facebook and tagging everyone! lol)

sorry about the toes. I'll get some ice. :D

I'm fantastic, Tay. Thanks for asking! It's the Holiday season, my shopping is done, I love my life! What's there to complain about?! I have not started rping. I'm in the midst of getting Cab to get his bio approved now *sigh*. Men... *rolls eyes* He says he'll have it done by Sunday... but he's said that before.

How about you? Everything going well?

*and listens to the echo*

anyone home?

*stomps on some toes*

That aughta git ya talkn'. Come on, peeps! Say something, DO something!

*waits to be pummeled*

*practically in tears*

Wow! I've never had anyone fight over me before. This is so awesome!

Xandrea Raylin (Drea)

Freebooter

I have no idea where to find my bio, see the bio boards if you like.

In Short:

Drea was formerly Commanderish for a while of the Band of the Red Hand but left with the then current commander in search for his daughter whom was kidnapped by his long-lost-evil twin brother (can you say soap opera?). She now roams the land in search for herself and a place to call home. (I may have her return to the Band, we'll see how cool you peoples are compared to them. hehe) (I'm kidding! I'm kidding!)

*acts surprised*

All this for me!? Guys, you shouldn't have! You're too much, really.

:)

Will do, boss! I'll get right on all that stuff as soon as I can!

Okay! I'm done. I don't really care for the ending, but I didn't want to make this a friggn novel! It also has nothing to do with any part of my bio, but I've never played Drea as a child and thought it would be fun. Also, I wanted to show that she had a great, normal family. She wasn't abused, didn't run away, it was loving and normal.

Btw, I'm on my blackberry, so here's hoping this turns out! If not, I'll edit later. *EDITED*

The curls of jet black hair fell to the ground and surrounded Drea's bare feet. Her slim legs were dirty and scraped at the knee with half healed cuts adorning her chins and calf's from a basic day's play. The hem of her navy blue dress was trimmed with flowers of every color and flowed just above her knee, leaving her wounds all the more obvious. The rest of her dress was simple with only flowers along the high neck and along her wrists. She hated this dress, and she hated those curls. In her right hand was one of the knives she had stolen from her brothers' bedroom. She stood in her own room in front of a large looking glass, quiet as to not wake anyone else up, and sliced away at those blasted curls. Chunk by chunk Drea sawed away at her long hair until each one of the ringlets was off her shoulders.

Taking a final look in the mirror her pride and excitement turned quickly to dread. She looked hideous! She didn't look like her brothers, or like Marshall, she didn't look like anyone but her six year old self with an uneven hair trim. Pieces jutted out all over the place, frazzled from the sawing of the blade and there wasn't an even cut through her whole head. Most of the left side was longer and the right shorter. Thank the light she couldn't see the back! Slumping on her bed, Drea pondered how to fix this. Her thoughts were cut short as she heard her mother in the kitchen downstairs. Frantic, Drea looked around; tripping on the jar of honey she had brought up to spread on her breakfast. Leaving herself no other option, Drea scooped up a hand full of the honey and started slathering it all at the ends of her jagged hair then quickly grabbed the curls and tried to paste them back on. The footsteps started up the stairs to the bedrooms. Drea shoed the rest of the mess under her bed with her feet and quickly hopped into bed. She hoped her mother would think the rats nest on her head were from a restless night's sleep. She hoped.

The door creaked open as her mother peeked her head in. Drea closed her eyes tight, pretending to be asleep. Tenderly, the blankets were pulled back from the cocoon of cloth and Mama gently kissed her cheek to wake her. Drea opened her eyes as if waking from a deep sleep and murmured to herself. She raised her head a bit and smiled at Mama. Mama smiled back, but the curve of her lips quickly turned the other way.

“Drea?” She asked, looking closer at the nappy, sticky mess on Drea’s head. “What happened to your-“ She paused as she touched the ends and pulled out a twisted strand stuck to her fingers. Mama held back a gasp but a small sound escaped her lips none the less.

Drea remained silent, just bit her lip and waited for her mother to do something besides stare at the hair that lay so miserably along her pillow. It took a few minutes, but Mama finally did just that. She swallowed any nasty thoughts that were in her head and stood up. A loving hand reached out to her young daughter and she managed a smile as Drea stood.

“Good gracious, child! You certainly did a horrible job now, didn’t you?” Mama laughed again, turning Drea back to the full mirror next to her bed. The two stood and laughed at Drea’s first attempt at a haircut. “Come on now, off to get you cleaned. And we better be quiet about it. No need for your brothers to see just yet.”

Once Drea’s head was clean they returned to her bedroom and Mama attempted to even the mess properly. “Why in the light would you do something like this, Xandrea? Your curls were so beautiful.”

Drea paused, not sure she wanted to admit the truth. “No one else has curly hair, Mama. Ethen, Kimal and Marshall always make fun of me because I’m too much of a girl.” Biting her lip again, Drea continued. “I just want to be like them, Mama.” She lowered her head in shame, now realizing how absurd her ideas really were. She’d never had self esteem issues before, all the girls in the village jealous of her beautiful hair. “Do you think they’ll grow back, Mama?”

Mama sighed, uncertain, and set the sharp knife on the bed next to her. “I don’t know, Darling. What I do know is that you are an incredible girl regardless of what you look like. You will be something some day, I can feel it. You’re going to do things to change the world.” She looked fondly upon her daughter as they admired the finished product. Drea’s black hair was now pin straight and just touching the lobe of her ear.

“Thank you, Mama.”

“Just don’t do anything like that again, Child, or I’ll have your hide.”

Just then, the door opened and in ran Ethen and Kimal, Drea’s older brothers, and their best friend Marshall. All three stopped just inside the door and stared, eyes wide. Mama stood up and kissed Drea on the top of her clean, neat head and left the room, stopping only to give the boys a warning glare. The door closed and all three boys burst into a laughing fit.

“What happened to your head?” Ethen, 8, teased while walking closer to inspect his sister’s new do.

“What happened to your face?” Drea retorted punching him on the shoulder.

“I think it looks nice.” Marshall blushed when all three kids looked at him incredulously. Marshall, 10, had already asked multiple times for Drea to marry him. Drea had declined every time.

Being the oldest and much too mature for his 12 years, Kimal went up to Drea and put his arm around her scrawny shoulders. “He’s right, Drey, it does look nice. You look like a princess in Caemlyn.”

“Mama says I’m gonna change the world!” She said, solely to her oldest brother. “Maybe as a princess, or the Amyrlin Seat, or I’ll discover another land.”

Kimal smiled at her and nodded. “Those are grand ideas. I’m sure you’d make the most royal of Amyrlin Seats. But let’s focus on today.”

“This is boring. Let’s go hunting in the woods. Papa just gave me a new knife he forged yesterday and I want to try it out on a few rabbits.” Ethen bragged, standing by the door already waiting.

Kimal squeezed his sister’s shoulder and urged her to come with as he followed the two younger boys out. “So, what did happen to your hair, sister?” His knowing smile touched his eyes. Drea didn’t answer, just returned his smile and loyally followed her big brother.

You're telling me!!! WHEW! I'm just glad to be able to post...

now to wait for Cab to get his bio done.

*Stalks off to find Cabroci*

I've sent in my reply to Myst adjusting Drea's age.

*pouts and sighs* Fine...

;) Naw, I realized that when you started getting so indepth. no worries, I was just trying to make you laugh. 'cus the world revolves around me... didn't you know that? :B

*makes herself comfy on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and waits for her cameo*

oh, this auta be good!

*bump*

Any idea what's going on with this? I'd like to start rping soon.

Thanks,

Drea

Slim pickn's, huh???

*ducks*

I'm kidding, Mags! Kidding!

Congrats, really... ;)

umm... technically I'm part of the *coughs* _freelanders now but I'm still lurking also.

*sniffs* Gal, I miss this place!

Xandrea Raylin

pick a number from 1-10

What was the other question?

oops. that would be my fault. Drea has always just aged as I have and she's been around for 10 years. I never considered the "age of the band" before, its always just been there! hehe We can change her age if needed to 23-25? Let me know. I'm fine with it.

A month later...

geez! Where have I been?

Oh yeah, Cab? well...well... Poo on you!

*totally won that argument*

*nods*

Drea's here too... somewhere... also working on a bio.

speaking of which, who shall I send it to for aproval? Let's get this show on the road!

*swats at Cab*

Handle: Drea Raylin

Char: ditto

Corps: Scouts

Rank: ummm... pick one. She's been them all.

*clears her throat* take that back slimey minion or I'll... I'll... do something really bad! :p I will always be Lanfear up here *Points to head* No matter what that girl says.

*hears her mistress calling*

Gotta go. Btw... keep that comment between us, eh? Thanks, you're a pal.

(In all seriousness) Welcome to the CoS. We're pretty cool... no no no, we're the coolest. What's more cool than evil? That's right, nothing. Hope you find your niche.. can't wait to RP with ya sometime. (If/when I come back out of hiding)

-Cyndane/Drea

Hi all... Here's the latest.

Dad's doing well. He was in rehab for almost three weeks. He lost all control of the right side of his body, but we have one of the best rehab facilities in the state less than a half hour from our house and is currently 90% better. So that was a huge blessing. Right now we're struggling with speach and comprehension, but that's normal for stroke victims. It's frustrating for him to not say what he means and for us to see him give up so easily. Though on Friday, he scored a 99 on his speach test, so that was another huge blessing. He's currently staying with his daughter while he continues with his rehab. In about a month he'll be allowed to go back to work and Jason and I will be moving in with him for a month or so. Not the ideal situation, but you do what you have to for family. Unconditional love, right? :) We'll make it.

Also, the restaurant we live above (which had free wi-fi) shut off their internet for the summer so we're currently without internet unless we go to the coffee shop across the street (which is where I'm at currently). Not a huge deal, but a pain to have to walk down the stairs... just kidding. It's just time consuming and Jason usually has the lap top for his homework whenever I have a few minutes to check anything.

So you may see me around, you may not. Whenever I say I'm not going to be around, I always find time... so I'm just going to play it by ear. If I go the whole summer without showing my face, well, we'll make a few decisions then. But for now... I think I can make it a few more weeks.

Thanks again for all your concerns!! You guys are a great support system. Take care, and hopefully I'll be seeing ya soon.

-Drea (Stef)

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to be around for a while again... I know I haven't been around much lately anyway, but this is my actual post.

My husband's father had a stroke this past week. We're in the beginning of recovery stage, but it's going to take a few months. Doctors are still trying to figure out what happened. We have a long road ahead and a lot of life changes coming up soon for people who have only been married a few months. Definitely not what we had planned. So yeah, anyway, not going to be around. Keep us in your thoughts (and prayers).

Drea blinked, groggy and bursting with pain. Her hand was the first to move, a slight twitch in front of her eyes. She blinked again, slowly becoming aware of the hard wood jutting into her head, shoulder and the rest of her body. Mentally, she forced her foot to move, and then the other as sound entered her world. The sly, slithery voice stimulated consciousness and a wave of understanding crashed against her. Though her head screamed as she lifted it, and her body ached with each returning thought, Drea sat up in time to see Ayrik disappear through some black door in the middle of the room.

Part of her wanted to leap off the stairs and follow him, to take her other knife and stab him until he looked like her father. But the door was gone, the man with it and she was completely drained of energy. Leaning her head against the wall she felt the other side with a shaking hand. The blood had stopped, but her hair was still wet with it and the pounding increased when she touched it. Weakness took over and her eyes became heavy again, but a motion across the floor caught her attention.

She watched Mehrin cross the floor and drop to his knees next to a petite shape. Koreen… Mother…  Heavy eyes weren’t enough to keep her still. Drea grit her teeth and crawled down the steps and across the floor.

“Keep her safe, you hear?” She whispered as Drea finally reached the two. Her arms shook as they held herself upright and looked into her mother’s tired, red eyes. Drea’s own swelled up with tears, but she wouldn’t let them fall.

“I hear” Mehin replied softly and put a hand on her shoulder.

Drea’s mouth opened to say something, anything, but no words came as she watched the bit of life drift away in her mother’s eyes. Still the tears would not fall. There were more important things to do than morn. Sorrow and sleep could come later. Drea cleared her throat and looked up to Mehrin. She caught the exhaustion in his eyes and knew how he felt. Without saying a word, she nodded and knew what they needed to do.

*****

The horses were a bit skittish from the flames that engulfed the house that she had grown up in. The only real house she’d ever known, holding more memories than an entire army combined. A house that was more to her than a house, it was supposed to be a sanctuary. A haven. The walls were arms that embraced her tight when she walked through the door. Her father’s pigeons were let loose and one still circled around the black smoke, watching in despair as Drea was. For the first time, Drea saw Mehrin on a horse, awkward and hunched. Renly danced away from the gate once more. It was done. There was nothing left to trace what had happened, or where they were headed. Kicking Renly, Drea lead him down the road and out of the city, to find what was next.

Wait for me!!!! *jumps in*

Drea paced back and forth across the wooden floor. The house was silent except the steady creak of the old planks. A path was already worn, but not only from tonight. She had tried to sleep, but the unsettling thought of what—or who—was out there kept her restlessly awake. Wide awake. Her sleep time was coming to an end, but she knew if she went down early, Mehrin would mutter something under his breath about not getting enough rest, or some protective mumble, which would only lead in guilt and frustration for being guilty. Light! Why couldn’t life be normal? Who was she kidding? This is normal. This will always be normal. Frustrated once again, she threw one of the knives she had been toying with and watched it jam into the wall by the door and waited. The noise would have startled Mehrin, but she didn’t even hear footsteps. Blood and ashes, it was too quiet. Drea threw open the door and snatched the knife from the wall.

The first thing she noticed was a ball, a bag of something at the bottom of the stairs. There were shadows, but no sound. A steadier watch proved two shadows, two people. Mehrin obviously one of them, and the other… the other was some shape in the air. Confused, Drea studied harder. No, it wasn’t Mehrin. This man had a cloak on; Mehrin’s cloak was in the bedroom. Which meant the floating figure was-. Drea’s heart beat rapidly as she realized what had to be going on downstairs. The fact that it was silent still haunted her as she snuck silently down the stairs. She wasn’t a genius when it came to men who could wield, but she spent enough time around the band’s asha’man to know they had more than one dirty trick up their sleeves.

In what seemed like hours, Drea was at the foot of the stairs, Ayrik’s back to her and the man’s bulky shape blocking Mehrin’s view of her. Good. She couldn’t have him give her away. She still couldn’t hear what was happening, but the shadows showed movement and pain as Mehrin’s body jerked and twisted. Biting her lip, forcing herself to concentrate, Drea drew her knife in a tight fist and flung it toward the dark man’s back. Emotion got the best of her and she let out a small grunt of pain and as quickly she felt a blow of air, hard as a horse, slam her halfway up the stairs. All the same, the knife stuck Ayrik in his right shoulder.  He seemed neither bothered nor hurt as he pulled the knife out and let it drop to the floor, point straight into the wood. Drea tried to back up the stairs, but her feet slipped against the wood. It was a split second before Drea realized they were covered in blood. She watched as Ayrik approached her, nothing but evil in his eyes. He mouthed something, but Drea still could not hear what he was saying. From behind him, she saw Mehrin, bloody and weak, shouting in return.

The blood wasn’t hers, she wasn’t hurt. The ball at the end of the stairs, the tan colored-blood stained piece that sagged out a side told it all. The man has a pattern, and if Mehrin was the one he wanted, Drea was next. Swallowing all her tears to savor later and transforming it into rage, Drea’s feet caught a stair and she leapt at the man with a scream. Nearly two feet before she reached his body, she stopped mid-air and dangled in front of Ayrik. He looked her over with a sly grin, similar to one she’s seen on Mehrin, but with completely different implications. Drea snarled and clawed at him, but he ducked out of the way.

“Oooh, she’s a feisty one, Brother. Tell me, is she like this in the sack?” His attention was turned back to Drea, she could feel his slimy eyes all over her. “No one likes a boring lay.”

Drea’s eyes closed and she breathed in sharply as something brushed against her lips. It continued down her neck, between her breasts and along her stomach. She bit her lip to stop the tears. She would not give this bastard the pleasure of watching her cry. “Is that why you still haven’t gotten any, Ayrik?” A slap of air struck her cheek. “I mean, you’re how old?” Another, a bit harder. Drea moved her jaw around and spit out a gob of blood. “He’s at least had three-” She heard a shout from Mehrin just as the next blow hit her in the side of the head.

“There’s at least one, my dear. Maybe two by the end of the evening.” Another brush of air grazed Drea’s cheek. She shook her head as if it were a fly and she the cow. “Your mother was a fantastic lay. All the squirming and screaming.” He made to bite at Drea’s neck. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain. “Definitely not boring. I’ve always found sex before murder exhilarating. Though, I guess it depends on the wench.”  Drea opened her eyes again and found his face directly in front of hers. With their noses touching, Drea could see even more of the resemblance between brothers. “Like mother like daughter?” His voice was a whisper, almost inaudible to her ears, and yet the words slithered across his tongue.

With that, Drea’s body fell to the floor with a forceful thud. She lay there for a second, trying to regain any composure she found, and then lifted her head. Ayrik had left her and returned to Mehrin. In her daze, she couldn’t make out definite words, but there were screams of pain she knew weren’t coming from Ayrik. This could be her only chance. Making a difficult decision between love and honor, Drea stumbled to her feet and ran as fast as she could for the stairs. Just as her foot touched the first step, another blow of air struck her in the back of the head. She felt her limbs go numb as her hope turned to black. Drea’s head hit the corner of a step and bounced. When her body was still, fresh blood stained the grain of the wood step and the house was silent again.

She heard her mother moving around the house long before she heard Mehrin get out of bed. Sure anything could have been going on, but Koreen was known for her lack of sleep and Drea was trying to trust again. But when she heard Mehrin open the front door and a voice that belonged to neither family member, Drea was out of bed and creeping down the stairs.

As soon as Koreen saw Drea she ran to the stairs and held her daughter close. The older woman shook with fear. A life of fighting darkfriends and trollocs and this woman was afraid of a beggar? Drea glanced in Mehrin’s direction as he closed the door. She whispered soothing words in her mother’s ear to disguise the sounds from outside, but the woman sobbed harder when she heard the ending.  Drea clutched her mother closer as Mehrin approached the two.

“What did you make of that, Drea?”

A motion by the kitchen caught Drea’s eyes. Instinctively she reached for her knife but relaxed once realizing the shape was only her father. The big bulky man rubbed his eyes sleepily.

“What’s going on her, Xan?” he muttered. “What was that noise?”

Drea struggled for a moment between telling them the truth and dismissing it as nothing. A quick glance at Mehrin gave her the answer. “Nothing, Papa. Just go back to bed.” She peeled her mother off her shoulder. “You too, Mama. Get some sleep. It was just a beggar man wanting money. Mehrin and I will take care of everything.”

Koreen ran to her husband and followed him into the bedroom. Tone hesitated before turning to leave, glaring at Mehrin, a warning more than anything.

Drea waited until they were alone before walking over to Mehrin. She put her head on his chest and sighed heavily. “I don’t know what that was, but I’ve never seen my mother so scared before. She’s a boarderlander. She’s harder than I am.” Drea looked up. “We need to move, don’t we? Somethings going to happen… I can’t let it happen here. Not in front of my parents, Mehrin.”