Surprise of brotherhood

As they walked and talked, Tomas thought about what it would mean with the king dead. He'd never really met the king personally, though he remembered when he was little how the King would meet with his father. He knew the King's children the best though, especially the daughter, Fran. Tomas knew that his father wasn't the only Talon to have an alliance with the king, there was the second talon as well, and with the Eighth Talon decimated by the infamous Zevran Aranai, it was in no position to be an ally to anyone. Tomas kept trying to remind himself it wasn't his world, it wasn't his problem, but it was his family, he of course was concerned for the situation. Eventually Tomas got to thinking how they'd discussed his love life but not Julian's.

So, we talked about my love life, what about yours? Anyone interesting?! As they walked, they eventually came to where the path in the road narrowed out and winded between high hills on either side of the road, making it hard to see far ahead. Little did they know they were about to walk straight into some darkspawn that had wandered off from the main hoard that the Orlesian grey wardens were fighting to the east.

As they walked along the main road, he nodded in the small conversations here and there. It wasn't until they reached a path that had a narrow path that caused some hindrance from view. Of course, his brother would ask him about his own love interest. He wasn't seeing anyone but he had only spent time outside with his sister, was with Alonso. He was like his best friend and every time they were together, he had a sense of butterflies. Though, it was never something he truly acted on. Julian stopped as he glanced over the narrow path before them. Looking for any signs of trouble, almost as if he was trying to get out of this conversation. The hills on either side of him made it hard to see what was farther ahead. He sighed and looked back at his brother. 

[color=#c10300]"My love life? None existent. I have no time to love...maybe if father gave me less responsibility then maybe..."[/color] Julian lied. If he truly wanted love, he would act on it. He was different and knew eventually he would have to marry someone to keep his lineage for the third talon family. There was a slight pink colorization across Julian's cheeks if one was paying close attention to him. He was a good liar and can charm his way out of most anything. But when it came to family. His sister and brother knew him the best. His body betrayed him without him even thinking about it. He thought he was quick enough to deflect. 

[color=#c10300]"I'm going to check ahead...." [/color]Words echoed from Julian's mouth. Words that were more statements. He was going to distract himself from this conversation. Julian quickly hiked up the hill a few feet away to get a better view of what was ahead. The wind blew silently through the air. It was quiet. Which was strange for the main path. Usually, you could hear something. Animals of some nature whistling announcing their presence. He should have known better than to expect something but it was nearly too late for him. An arrow pierced through the air. The head of the blade twirled as he glided toward Julian. The sharp piece clipped Julian in the face. Leaving a trail of blood dripping down his cheek. [color=#c10300]"Shit!"[/color] Julian's heart stopped. If it was just him, he would be fine. But Tomas was here. He was pretty sure, Tomas was not the greatest at fighting. Julian turned around and darted toward Tomas. His movements looked as if he had skipped or leaped in time. Shadows erupted from him with each step. One minute Julian was at the top of the hill, and now he was next to his brother. [color=#c10300]"Hope you know how to use this...."[/color] Julian took a spare dagger from behind his cloak and handed it to Tomas's hand. 

As the weapon was delivered into Tomas's hand, Julian materialized two longer daggers. One in each hand. Dark like ichor. They could look like obsidian daggers by just a glance. These were his daggers, which he formed by combining his Umbramancy magic. With a second look of slight fear but also confidence, Julian gave his older brother a smile. And then he was gone. Vanished. Trails of smoke and shadow all that was left. 

As they spoke, Tomas considered pressing Julian on his love life, but he figured he'd let Julian off the hook for once. Though it did bug him mildly that Julian knew so much about his, but that he didn't know that much about Julian's. Tomas sort of nodded as Julian said he was going to scout on ahead, so far the trip was going well health wise, the potions were definitely doing their jobs.

Tomas had never seen a darkspawn in real life, only pictures in history books, but seeing them in person was utterly terrifying, and smelled just like he imagined they'd smell, like something rotten and nasty that had come up out of the bowels of the underground. As Julian passed him the weapon he shrugged slightly, his focus on the sounds the darkspawn were making as they got closer. It wasn't like he had zero training, after all he hadn't been diagnosed with MS until he was like twelve years old and since Crows train people as children, he'd held a dagger before that and been given some basic training. The real problem was his condition, fortunately at the moment he'd recently taken his potions so his symptoms were mild. Still, what little training he'd gotten as a kid, definitely hadn't prepared him for something like darkspawn.

Just be careful OK, you don't want to get their blood in any open wounds, last thing dad needs is for the heir to end up having to join the Grey Wardens, assuming we could even get you to one in time, and yea yea I know, same goes for me. Fuck, fuck, fuckety fuck. Tomas let Julian take the lead and did his best to have Julian's back so that he didn't get flanked. With the number of darkspawn he could see they might have been all set had Tomas been a strong fighter, but he wasn't so, things were going to get messy.

He heard his brother's words, the warning echoed through his entire body. He knew about the blight and darkspawn. He had no intention of letting any of their blood get inside his own. That would most likely cause so many issues for his family. Would they find a grey warden in time for him to be saved? Julian shrugged off the thought. His confidence gripped him and just thought to himself that he just wasn't going to let them touch him. 

His shadow-like blade was at the ready. Kill them before they reach Tomas. That was his goal. Julian darted...glided through the shadows inch by inch. Almost seemed like he was teleporting from side to side. A group of three darkspawn came charging down the hill. Easy enough Julian thought. As he dashed through the shadows, he appeared to the side of the closest creature. His blade went straight into the back without issue. With one clean yank, Julian then slashed a horizontal strike to quickly behead the fowl-blighted creature. Then Julian was gone, once again using the shadows to his advantage. Julian appeared toward the next one, out from darkspawn's shadow. Julian towered onto the darkspawn's back and gave a few stabs in the back until it stopped moving. A bit barbaric but the nasty-looking thing kept shouting and moving. He needed it not to move. Julian looked up to see the third darkspawn slowed down and began charging at him. Without thinking, Julian took his free hand and took a spare dagger, and flung it at the darkspawn's head. The lifeless body fell down without a fight. 3 down. Julian took a breath to check his surroundings and could see more groups of dark spawn flooding down the hill. He noticed a few pass him while he was trying to take care of the three that were closest to him. [color=#c10300]"Fuck....Tomas...." [/color]

Julian shouted with worry. He wasn't using much of his magic, but very short burst for the teleportation. He still had plenty for the remaining journey but if they were attacked again well that could be a bit of a problem. Julian closed his eyes and again he felt the shadows call him. Dancing around from shadow to shadow, he appeared behind Tomas. Aligning his back with his. [color=#c10300]"Right....this shall be fine...we can do this....just hit them before they hit you...ya?" [/color]

Julian spoke softly to his brother, he took a stance and placed his shadow blade into the ground. [color=#c10300]"Alright...this should help a bit with most of them I'll be open briefly..."[/color] Julian spoke. He took his hands and began to form energy from his hand. The combined magic of air and water swirled around. It wasn't going to be strong as he was still in the process of learning this talent. He had mastered the shadow and light magic and only began working on his techniques with the other elements. For a brief second, Julian wince with a bit of a struggle. The energy staggering as if it was going to fail outright. Grunting he pushed further and soon the storm-like ball crackled. He launched it into the air and small lightning strikes appeared on the ground as if a storm cloud appeared. It wouldn't last and it wouldn't kill any of them but it gave Julian and Tomas enough time to get prepared for stragglers. Shaking his head he grabbed the sword once more and prepared for the worst. He had one idea up his sleeve. But he needs the group of darkspawn to get closer. Surrounded them even. He would hate to use it in front of his brother but being surrounded by a small battalion of dark spawn makes it hard not to use. His idea was to enhance his umbramancy with blood magic. It's risky but he needed to keep his brother safe. He couldn't let one slip passed him. As he stood there watching the lightning strikes hit the dark spawn and the ground, he gripped the shadow blade with his hand tighter. 

As he stood his ground, the darkspawn charged at Julian. From his viewpoint, it was easily telegraphed moved. He simply step aside and went for a killing blow. Julian found himself doing this frequently. But soon they stopped charging. There was a silence in the air. With a few looks around, he noticed the remaining forces had surrounded both his brother and himself. If he grinned, it might give away his plan that they fell right into his trap.[color=#c10300] "Isn't this fun Tomas. We may have found ourselves a bit of a snag though...."[/color] Julian spoke calmly but his face showed signs of worry. He wanted the darkspawn to feel like they had them in their clutches.

Jaqueline had watched as the first group of darkspawn descended on her brothers, confident Julian could make short work of them.  When the additional groups crested the hill...well that was troubling.  If the pair could handle things, fabulous.  If not...well...she couldn't let them be hurt.  There just wasn't much time.

She soundlessly rushed to a place she saw earlier, praying the landscape would funnel the creatures as she expected. Reaching it, she quickly positioned a device she had been working on, running a light rope away from it to a place in the nearby trees where the shade was especially dark.  She glanced up at her brothers, frantically watching as the darkspawn charged and were driven back by Julian.  This was a matter of time...and she didn't know how long he could keep up.  At best, his attention would be divided between the enemy threat to him and worrying about Tomas.  At worst...well, she needed to not think about that option.  She wouldn't allow it to happen. 

She moved swiftly and silently, reaching a point far enough away from her device.  It was time to act.  Pulling two of the daggers from its concealed place in her cloak, she took a moment to aim and threw it with precision.  They flew past Julian's head, humming as they sliced the air, reaching their mark and deeply embedding themselves in the neck of a darkspawn that was approaching as his attention was diverted.  In the next instant, another dagger joined the pair.  For a moment, the creature seemed frozen in time--save for the black ichor dripping from its mouth onto the handle of one of the daggers.  The gentle patter of those drops hung in the air as the moment stretched on. And then, as if someone hit play and the scene sprung back into a whirlwind of motion, the darkspawn seemed to crumple under the weight of its own body.

Four other darkspawn turned in unison, hisses piercing the air as they searched the shadows for the origin of the daggers.  Wordlessly, two broke away from the group, in search of this new foe.  There was no time to think, and Jaqueline moved on instinct using the skills she'd long kept hidden.  Her secrets didn't matter - her family was in trouble.  And somehow, she had known they needed her help.

Without a sound and concealed by the trees and shadows, she sprinted around the edge of the clearing until she had a clean view of the creatures closest to her brothers.  With nimble fingers, she drew another set of daggers from her bag, being careful to keep her hands away from the sharp edges.  Even with gloves on, she was well-practiced enough not to touch the sticky red substance coating the blade.

Taking a silent breath, she threw them true, catching the darkspawn closest to Tomas square in the chest.  She didn't stop to watch the life seep out from around the weapons' hilts, didn't watch as the second corpse fell - she needed to move again.  This was her family.    She had to protect them.

Now was the time for the device.  As she raced toward the rope, she turned her focus inward for a moment, willing her voice to ring out from the point she had first been back when they appeared.  She willed the bushes to rustle and mark her location far from where she was.  When she reached the rope she spoke, her voice calling out to Julian from the treeline across the clearing, "You can help anytime."  She pulled the cord, and the device launched a dagger at a darkspawn that had foolishly moved into its path.

The blade hit, sinking into the creature's side, but didn't find the same purchase it may have if she had thrown it.  A gurgling laughter seemed to rumble out from the vile being.  Slipping from her position, she approached from the creature's back silently and drew another blade, plunging it deep into the darkspawn's back with fury and twisting.  As she felt its back arch and its muscles tense uncontrollably, she had to fight a powerful urge to stand over its body and spit on it.

Instead she released the handle of the weapon, glad for the protection her gloves provided.  She darted back toward the shadows, knowing full well that both Julian and Tomas could have seen her - even if it had been just a glimpse.  Had it been anyone else, she would have just been some faceless shadow moving across the forest floor...but her brothers would certainly not fail to recognize her.

It doesn't matter, they just need to be safe.

The words echoed in an endless loop, propelling her forward without fear of the consequences.  It didn't matter.  They just need to be safe.  She just had to make them safe.

As Julian gripped his shadow blade, the sudden shock of help surprised him. Let alone recognizing his only sister shouting at him. The one thought he had was why on Thedas was she out here to begin with. They were still so far away from home. If his father found out the two siblings were not there, there would be hell to pay. Taking the sudden distraction, he used it to send a flare of wind gust that burst from his hand as he slammed it into the ground. The wave of gust sends bursts of energy of wind in small bursts over a few seconds. 

Julian's confident face narrowed with seriousness. Determination to protect and kill everything in his site. His face raged with cold grit. Julian took a smaller dagger from his hand and made a cut in his left palm. The pain was just a snag as he turned his open bleeding hand into a fist. With his right hand, he tossed his shadow blade up into the sky. His eyes turned dark as the blood from his wound wrapped around his hand like a snake. The snake of blood darted toward the shadow blade. The Shadow blade engulfed the bloody snake and soon the shadow blade began to grow in size. 

Taking the moment to breathe, he raised both of his hands up and motioned toward the blade as if he was yanking the blade apart. The giant towering blade of shadows shattered into tiny pieces of shards. The shards of shadow went flying toward every darkspawn around them. The burst amplified as they ripped through the darkspawn only to turn around to do it again. The shards weaved in and out like arrows. Julian ripped part of his clothing as he wrapped it around his left palm tightly. He didn't need darkspawn blood to enter his bloodstream. Julian then looked toward his sister or well, the last known location his sister slipped into the shadows. A sharp but rather calmness echoed through his words. [color=#c10300]"I'm handling it. I had them right where I wanted them...." [/color][color=#000000]After speaking, Julian gave a gasp of breath. He felt his magic waning. Though Julian made sure to bring out his smirk of coldness. No one needed to see that he was using to much of his magic. [/color]

Jaqueline heard Julian call back to her, but ignored it - she was too intent on sneaking up on the two darkspawn she had seen in the shadows.  She moved silently, her mind assessing the situation at the speed of lightning.  The one with the crude crossbow leveled at Julian was a danger - but not so much as the big guy standing slightly behind it.  The pair were well hidden and, had she not been so careful to move silently and see everything, she probably would have missed them.

She circled wide around the pair, creeping up while being careful to remain undetected.  If she was going to do this, she would need the element of surprise.  She watched the two for a moment, surveying the way each moved.  The large one, the one in better armor, seemed much more confident in his movement.  His hideous mouth opened, but no sound came out.  She could tell, though, that some sort of communication was happening.  They were going to kill her brothers.

Everything in her screamed to act, but she held fast.  She would get one shot at this, and with so much on the line she couldn't fail.  So she watched and waited for her opportunity.

When it happened, she was ready.  The armor was impressive, leaving few places that would allow her to strike a deadly blow.  But when he lifted his arm again, she saw it - her chance.  In an instant she was behind him, the long thin dagger clutched tightly in her left hand had been pushed through the opening under his arm and into his chest.  Her right arm wrapped around his neck, the blade in that hand sliding between the armor and his chin to his neck.  Immediately, her right glove felt warm, and she knew it had been coated with ichor. 

Her mind was moving so fast now, inventorying her state.  She hadn't been wounded, hadn't been cut.  No open wounds, no places for the blight to infect.  She was okay...though she still wanted to strip the gloves from her hands as soon as possible.  No time now, though.

The darkspawn with the crossbow turned his head slightly as the creature in her arms crumpled to the ground, but the tip of the bolt did not waiver.  Jaqueline was on him before he could react any further, the blades in her hands piercing his putrid flesh.  He loosed the bolt, but the attack had caused his aim to falter just a bit - just enough to let the projectile fly harmlessly between her brothers.  She pulled the blade in her left hand out and plunged it deeper several times, giving it a twist in the final stroke.  When she felt the body go slack, she retreated back to the shadows, away from any others she may not have seen. 

Once concealed in the darkness. she crouched and scanned the trees around her, looking for further threats.  Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Tomas plunged his blade into an attacker approaching him.  It had probably been years since the last time he trained, but Jaq idly observed that his movements were still sure, still showed the practiced grace that could only come from instruction.  She also tracked Julian, noting the two stragglers that seemed focused on him.  Jaq was sure he would make short work of them - the certainly did not currently pose enough of a threat to warrant giving up her position.

Despite the rush of adrenaline coursing through her body, something at the bag of her mind seemed to quiet - as if the string that had been tugging her here finally fell silent.  She didn't trust feelings like that, though, so she resumed her search, checking for more hidden dangers.  Finding none, she finally turned back to her brothers and watched as the final attack descending on them.

As the last two remaining darkspawn came running toward Julian and his brother. Their screams of madness as if that was some sort of tool to help intimidate their foes. He gritted his teeth and pushed his hand toward them. Shadows around their feet looped around like daggers and had slit their own throats. They fell just as quickly as they dashed toward them. A moment of silence echoed through the small clearing. A dozen of darkspawn bodies laid dead, lifeless. After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, he looked up at his brother a bit guilt on his own face. And then for a moment, he forgot about his sister. He turned toward the last known location and he was furious. A burst of rage boiled within him. [color=#c10300]"What on Thedas do you think your doing here? Your supposed to be at home...."[/color] Julian shouted in disbelief. But then his anger released and his calm appearance came back to him. He shook his head. What would his father think if he found all three of his children under attack by darkspawn. He would be livid. Though he had been busy as of late and wouldn't have noticed much. [color=#c10300]"Tomas, you okay?"[/color] Julian spoke softly as he approached his brother. He first examined him to see if he was injured and then he gave him a big hug. 

So far in all of Tomas's life, he'd never been faced with a situation where it was absolutely necessary for him to fight. It was only thanks to the fact that Crows trained from a very young age that he was even able to know the proper direction the pointy sword went in, since he'd had some training before being diagnosed with MS. Still, it certainly wasn't enough to be prepared for fighting darkspawn, so when Jacq appeared he was quite relieved. He was so freaked out by the situation, the fact that his brother was doing magic didn't fully register.

Overall he'd managed to kill two darkspawn that had gotten past Jacq and Julian, though if asked how he'd managed it, it had happened all in a blur. He had some darkspawn blood on his clothing, but since he had no open wounds and none on his face, he felt confident he didn't have to worry about the taint. It wasn't until Julian was hugging him that he finally came out of his daze, his hands starting to shake more than usual as the adrenaline wore off.

That was insane!!!

Relief washed over Jaqueline as the last of the darkspawn were killed.  They were safe.  

When Julian's admonishment registered, reality seemed to come crashing down.  Fuck.  She was going to have a lot of explaining to do.  She'd worked so hard to keep things separate, to keep them from knowing the whole truth.  And now...

Fuck. 

Jaqueline stepped out of the shadows, a serious expression masking her spinning thoughts.  She could feel the adrenaline still coursing through her body and willed her hands to be steady.  Now was not the time for her nerves to show.  Right now she needed to be confident.  

With a practiced move, she returned her daggers to their sheaths.  When Julian turned to hug Tomas, she managed to conceal them with a quick glamour.  She'd been working from the shadows...it was possible he hadn't picked up on that particular skill.  She really, really hoped he hadn't noticed.

[color=#7CD98A]"Hey, fancy meeting you here.  What a weird coincidence."  [/color]

Julian looked at his sister with a frown and disapproval. There was no reason why she should have followed or chased after him. If anything bad had happened to her, it would have been his fault. Seconds drew by and Julian sighed and shook his head. He looked into his bag and tossed a wrapped substance toward his sister. [color=#c10300]"By the way, it's not what you told me it was....So you going to tell me why you followed?" [/color]His eyes stayed on his sister and then forgot that his brother was right next to him. For a moment, he had forgotten that his brother was there. Julian turned slowly to face his brother. Guilt slowly formed. [color=#c10300]"Well the family is all together now....all that we're missing is father...you think he may jump out of the shadows?" [/color][color=#000000]He joked to ease the awkwardness between his siblings. Maybe his brother would just not ask questions about his magic. Though, if he was in his brother's shoes then he would be bombarding him with questions of his own. [/color]

With a swift motion, Jaq easily caught the small package and rolled her eyes at Julian's disapproval.  Then, despite the fact that her brother hadn't directed the question at her, she answered.  [color=#7CD98A]"Highly doubtful.  He had to deal with some minor emergency and will be consumed with that task for at least another week."  [/color]

She surveyed the area again carefully and then began to pull off her gloves, being careful not to touch the black ichor staining them.  Once they were safely tucked away, she walked over to give Tomas a brief hug.  [color=#7CD98A]"It has been too long.  I've missed you dearly."[/color]  As she noticed that his hands were trembling she realized, too late, that the effort she had made to steady her own hands revealed far more about her experiences than she had intended to share.  It was a stupid mistake, and she internally cursed.  

She turned back to Julian, finally, and with a sweet smile she responded to his questions.  [color=#7CD98A]"And, for the record, I didn't follow you.  I just...figured I'd join you for the last leg of the journey.  With father consumed with whatever,"[/color] she waved her hand dismissively, [color=#7CD98A]"I figured there was no sense waiting around with unneeded excuses while you got to see the world.  So...here I am."[/color]  She said the last part with a little more enthusiasm than she needed, but it wasn't like he'd believe her anyway.  

It actually was mostly true.  She hadn't followed him....and it's not like she could have kept up even if she had.  She'd stayed, fully intending to deliver the excuses as promised.  But then, after a few days, she woke up sick to her stomach.  It wasn't ill...it was this foreboding feeling of doom that left her so worried she could barely breathe.  She knew that something was very wrong...or soon about to be.  

She wished desperately she was able to control her intuition, that the insight she felt would come when beckoned and not just come crashing down on her like a surprise every time.  But that had never been the case.  Even now that she knew what it might be, or at least what Magnus said it was, she understood that the chances of her mastering it had slipped away long ago.  Instead, she just had to listen whenever it spoke, and act whenever she could.  That had to be enough...she didn't have any other options.  

Jaq met Julian's eyes, knowing damn well he wasn't satisfied with her excuses.  She gave a small nod, acknowledging the explanation that was still needed and the anger that was sure to appear once he had more time to process everything that had happened.  But...he had revealed secrets of his own to Tomas and she knew he should concentrate on that first.  What she had done was stupidly dangerous...but any magic she'd called upon could be explained as mundane.  He materialized weapons made of shadow.  He used blood magic.  She was pretty sure that trumped throwing a few sharp knives at darkspawn from the treeline. 

The day seemed to be absolutely full of surprises, one after another, really it wouldn't surprise him if their father jumped out of the shadows at that point, but since Jacq was convinced he was too busy with something to have noticed her absence, well that was one surprise that they could be fairly sure of wasn't going to happen. He was over the moon happy to see his sister though, there was no way he would have been able to take on any serious amount of darkspawn, since his fighting skills amounted to just basically knowing which way to point the pointy end of the dagger.

Sis, you have impeccable timing, it's really good to see you, and see you both in action, like seriously guys you both kicked some serious ass!!!! If it hadn't been for his MS than perhaps he'd have had serious skills, but sadly that hadn't been in the cards for him, his condition making it all but impossible.

It didn't seem too off from his father dealing with emergencies that lasted weeks. Regardless of the situation, it still put Julian in a sense of dread. If his father ever found out his children were off-slaying darkspawn...they would be in huge trouble. I mean they would be crows most likely to be set in place to watch them. If he knew his sister, he knew she would do what she wants in her own way regardless. No sense in telling her or scolding her for following. "Seems like father. I mean with the death of the King....it's been quite the time for the Talons." 

Julian paused as he watched Jaq approach their brother. A simple smile curled along his face. This moment right here he thought. He would cherish seeing the three of them together. [color=#c10300]"I'm glad to see you unharmed. Well seems we should clean up a bit...don't need us walking into our house with darkspawn blood on us...we don't need rumors spreading." [/color]Julian's eyes lingered on his twin and then on his brother. He was slightly surprised his brother wasn't asking questions. But when you dealt with a condition most of your life, things tend to change perspective for you. Julian learned magic for his brother. To find a cure. He hated seeing his brother have to drink potions and just walk normally. He cursed Andraste for giving his brother the condition. Why did his brother have to suffer? Wasn't taking their mother away enough pain? Julian took a beat and placed his hands on his brother and sister. 

[color=#c10300]"I'm not surprised father will be hearing about the darkspawn reports soon. Orlais might be becoming a bit dangerous..." [/color]

Jaqueline locked yes with Julian for a moment, the stare hard enough to underscore the seriousness of her words. [color=#7CD98A]"A bit."[/color]  There was no question in her statement.  She'd heard things. She'd felt things.  Orlais was in danger. 

She looked up at the sky.  Despite being midday, the light was weak.  Darkness seemed to spread out from the direction her brothers had just come, like a storm gathering on the horizon.  

She glanced toward Tomas, her concern obvious.  [color=#7CD98A]"Probably best to get home soon, then.  Goodness knows we don't need to find any more trouble along the way.  I think we've had enough excitement to last us quite a while." [/color]

She walked over a shrubby bush and plucked her back from the spot hit had been hidden.  Turning back to her brothers, her smile was playfully impatient.  [color=#7CD98A]"Shall we?"  [/color]