Siren's Island (Lit/Adventure/Fantasy) Open/Accepting

I love you, join my thing!

Ok.	43.3%	[ 13 ]
Fine I will!	13.3%	[ 4 ]
I'D LOVE TO!	43.3%	[ 13 ]
Total Votes:			[ 30 ]

[Sambo-Kojin]

Maric Falnore
Ex Pirate Captain

Maric felt the ground shake as Jaska lifted the large boulder and watched as he readied to smash the pink haired faerie. Maric a magic lacking Zuleidan was always amazed by magical actions such as Jaska moving a large boulder without even touching it, the situation was a good reminder of why Jaska was the chief of Las Hermanas. Though now was not the time to lose himself in pointless amazement, so Maric refocused on the situation and prepared to unsheathe his swords.

He could tell that Jaska was agitated about the current events, so when Jaska ordered Maric to take the girl he did not hesitate to respond. “Okay I’ll get her.” As Maric began to make his way to her a spike shot up from the ground, which made Maric stop in his tracks. Again magic, an astounding power that he could never use, amazed him, even though he was amazed he did not let it show on the surface. After she claimed she wasn’t going to resist, but she didn’t want anyone to touch her Maric complied with her wish to not be touched and responded in turn. “Fine, I won’t touch you. Just come with us before things get even more violent here, unless you wish to be killed by that white haired Salorite or captured by someone else.” Maric walked around her until he was behind her and waited for the small Shasta women to begin moving. He did this to try and keep her safe. Someone could easily sneak up and attack her from behind.

[Angst Werewolf]

Lanya Masslak

-- Salorite Illusionist

The man actually listened to her mangled attempt at the old language, though being shot at by flaming arrows might have encouraged him. Well, no matter, as long as he wasn't trying to strangle anyone.

And then, of course, the dock caught on fire.

Ivan went into the water and Lanya fought the urge to rub at her eyes. She didn't want to ruin her makeup. The Salorite wrested her arm free of Eron's grasp and used on hand to gather up her skirts. The others from the island were mobilizing, and it appeared they were on the verge of fighting over the recruits. Well, they wouldn't have hers, that was for sure. Maybe she'd luck out and they'd all kill each other.

But in all honesty, she wasn't going back to the home base empty handed. Cursing, Lanya made her way to the shoreline. Ivan was curled up, head in his hands, probably unaware of everything that was going on around him. Lanya worked her jaw angrily. "Hey!" she called, trying to get his attention without having to go any further into the water. Ankle-deep was far enough, thank you.

He didn't respond and she stomped a foot angrily in the sand. She took a moment to run through all the phrases she knew from the old language- mostly wedding vows, funeral dirges, a couple of prayers. None of them were exactly useful for trying to get someone to follow you.

"This is ridiculous...стоять на моей стороне?!" 'Stand at my side' was a line from her own wedding vows, way back when her family had thought it was important enough to arrange marriages. Those were the good days.

[Rada Han]

Ivan Rusnak
The Alpine Slasher

Ivan's personal judgment wasn't completely broken. It was obvious that he wasn't going to win today's battle. Once more he'd be taken hostage by people he was unfamiliar with - which, technically was all people - and likely put into a small cage, tied up and stifled, to await further torture at their hands. Still, if there was someone to be trusted even the tiniest little bit, it was going to be the one who spoke to him in his tongue.

The wild man was uneducated in the most severe sense, illiterate, and untrained in his behaviors when it came to 'society', and his mind may have been damaged by the years spent in his lonesome, but having had a relatively firm grasp on his own language as compared to the common language, he could tell that Lanya did not speak old Salorite. He stared at her with some indiscernible expression on his face at her final attempt to sway him in her direction. Despite the frantically whispering voices pounding at his brain, Ivan heard her clearly as day.

"стоять на моей стороне," He repeated, as if teaching her how to properly say it. To him, who knew the difference between the intonations and synonyms of his own language, Ivan was greatly influenced by this phrase. It wasn't as if she was telling him to follow her or to come with her to safety or anything of the sort. The phrase showed an intimate vulnerability, almost romantic in a way, though Ivan barely understood the concept, the idea was undeniably inviting. It did not simply mean to 'stand at my side', but to 'stay with me', indefinitely. Sincerely.

Ivan could feel the hot flames at his side, and even though he preferred the cooler (but still warm) water that he'd thrown himself into, he also felt the need to leave that place. To somehow escape the scene, even if it was in the hands of a female he scarcely knew, who apparently wanted him to stay with her forever. He could still see the fawn, standing there, in front of her rock pillar (where did it come from?), and he regretfully tore his eyes away from her, but swore to himself that he'd find her again. That he'd escape from wherever the older woman was taking him and then hunt her down and take her back.

With great effort, Ivan pulled himself up sopping wet from his spot in the water and placed himself before Lanya, sizing her up with his eyes. Tilting his head slightly as he did so, it was obvious that he was never shy about staring. He was taller, larger than she was. With the thickest accent imaginable, the wild man used his limited knowledge of the common language to address her.

"I go vis you," He said, slowly. "You not tie me." Unsure if he'd used the right words, it was accompanied by a pantomime of his wrists tied together as they were on the boat.

[Angst Werewolf]

Lanya Masslak

-- Salorite Illusionist

Well, at least they were communicating. Lanya watched, lips set firmly in annoyance, as Ivan splashed away from the water and fire and towards her. She backtracked to a safe distance from the docks, beckoning for him to follow. People were staring, but Lanya did tend to make a scene wherever she went. They were jealous, obviously.

The illusionist turned to face the newcomer, slightly put off by his height. Even though she was no towering wall of muscle, like Eron, but being dwarfed was annoying. Humph.

Ivan's accent was thick, his pronunciation off, but she was hardly any better with the old Salorite tongue. I guess we'll just aggressively gesture at each other, she thought. At least his request was reasonable. "No tying," she agreed, nodding her head to show she'd understood.

"Come. We'll go home." Hopefully he at least understood "come" and "home" and there would be minimal confusion. She pointed towards the general direction of the Salorite towers. "There is food there." Food was a good motivator with most people. It was a universal constant- everyone understood the offer of food and drink.

[Rada Han]

There's a rat on the island...

Faust reporting in,

Danger level on the island has risen from a five to a six, elevated danger levels caused by rising tensions on the island.

I had received word that the Slasher would be arriving on the next shipment. Congratulations on the successful catch. Yardis is a safer place because of you and the bureau.

Naturally, my curiosity caused me to go to see the landing, as I was suspicious that there would be a violent reaction from one or many of the tribes today. I was correct - the Slasher was struck by an arrow, but is alive, though I doubt that he will survive given his condition and constitution.

Just a few patients are recovering. I am allowing those you have specified to die slowly. Some will do so quicker than others.

I have nothing more to report.

Please send my regards to the captain’s wife, and forward the following message to my brother, who is stationed in Dradecus.

Dear R.,

It was such a joy seeing you today. I could barely hold back tears. You have gotten so tall and strong. You’ve grown into a man, my dear brother. I hope that the children are well. I long for the days when we will meet again. Unfortunately, it will not be for many years to come.

Until we meet again,

Faust




----------------

Roll a number between 2 and 5 to shoot down the message.

[Rada Han]

It was fortunately a dry night. Not a drop of rain fell from the sky. The sky was clear. The stars were out. Few were looking up at them. New arrivals meant new problems. New procedures. They had to learn the ropes and learn them fast, as some tribes were not as forgiving as others.

Morning came swiftly, with a rare cool breeze sweeping over the island.

Holidays are over. Time to post.

Sambo-Kojin

possom4444

ashkoa

Wederhelft

[Sierra The Captor]

TAO QI YI

✘ ℓσcαtισи [ anjeonjia camp ] ✘ cσмραиу [ other watch guard ] ✘ мσσ∂ [ tired ]
______________________________

The pink-haired faerie was unsure which scenario he had to be cautious of. The fact that the whole of the tribesmen, her Shasta race to be specific, were up in arms at his callous conduct of their fellow member, seeing a floating rock nearby ready to pummel him case he moved even an inch with the shrinking violet, or the newly-introduced moss-like faerie closely digging her claws into his skin with her manhandling. Claws? He didn’t remember faeries having claws of any kind. His direct eye contact with one of her opaque ones clearly shows she was no ordinary faerie, and for once, Tao’s usual tenacious ways were beginning to be sieved away at how utterly terrifying she looked.

He looked away, and in a haze of numerous affairs of moving earths, bridal proposals and testy tribesmen he was eventually moving along with his own kind, if by force, because if he had the choice of the tribes not hating each other, he would not want to be looked down by many of the faeries here on his pastel physique. Especially since the severity of his clipped wings was fresh to his wounds, so more than not, he did not want to be seen as a burden. Tao simply cleaned his ears with his pinky as a sign of his lack of care for the previous incidents as they gave him odd, possibly dirty looks, but he was a little nonplussed at what had transpired. It had been awhile since he was even within the vicinity of his own kind, so he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Awkward, he had deduced, as the leader Tao learned was Momoki passed down the babysitting duties to one of her followers to explain the protocols of the island. He had only half-listened to much of it. The allies and enemies were not surprising; burning the forest is not the most original reason to hate the Gradians.

“I think that sums up the works of the island,” Bada, a soldier faerie, turned to him “Do you get it?” oh, wait, he’s finished. Tao simply nodded his head to show he understood.

“Sure,” he mumbled.

“Okay,” he answered “You get the night shift. Don’t fall asleep. I’ll be watching you,”

It took a while for the dealer to wrap his head on what he had actually agreed on. He fumbled a confused “What?” before the guard left to tend to other businesses.

“Damnit,” was the only thing he managed to utter as he stood on the surface of the lily, watching the dark outskirts of the area while in a bored, and rather sleepy disposition. His head rested on the flower for a quick nap, and a rock was thrown in his way. He let out an annoyed grunt and he turned for the source of the fling, sighting Bada far away from his side, two fingers gesturing on his eyes to his direction to show he was being a busy body and an a** “I wasn’t sleeping,” Tao’s voice was raised, and Bada quickly raised his index finger on his lips to indicate silence. The pastel-coloured faerie could only roll his eyes as he watched the night turn uneventful, making sure to dance careful toes around the tribe leader should he wished to waste his sleep away on something as mundane as a watch guard.

After a few hours, Tao’s eyes had watered and reddened from the lack of sleep. It was only a few minutes before the break of dawn, but the faerie felt as though the span of waiting for that moment was endless. He no longer cared about watching any fictional danger of the sort. He was tired, and soon his eyes and conscious followed into a deep sleep.

[Rada Han]

Jaska Aiza
Chief of Las Hermanas

The poorest bastards of any faction were the field messengers.

In Las Hermanas, they were almost always new recruits with little experience on the island. For the first two years they'd be messengers. Jaska always said that it helped them build experience and knowledge of the island, and proved that they were trustworthy by putting their lives in danger for the tribe. They were treated the absolute worst by their superiors until they were able to traverse back and forth from Aditya unharmed within a day and a half.

The guy barely made it in one piece. He'd stepped on a nasty rock and split open his toe, then slipped on a patch of mud and fallen on his face, breaking his nose. Not to mention the fact that he'd dropped nearly all his supplies somewhere in the forest. He was merely a yearling without much wearing on his shoes.

The message he brought that night was simple:

"Sir Jaska of Las Hermanas urgently requests an audience with Lady Mahira of Aditya. His party will arrive at first light."

He said so as he fell to the ground in exhaustion.

Jaska was not the type to leave his people to die. He left for Aditya in the middle of the night with an entourage of a few trusted members of the tribe. They traversed the lands with little effort, having done so many times before over the course of many years.

When they arrived on the mountain, they practically shoved their way through Aditya's gates as much as they could. Stone-faced, with sharpened weapons in plain view, there were few who would stop them until they reached the vicinity of their supreme leader.

Formalities were always necessary when dealing with Adityans. Those who mattered wouldn't budge if they were not warmly acknowledged. Jaska didn't see the act of putting down their weapons as a sign of submissiveness, but as a sign of respect, regardless of what his personal opinion on those flaming assholes were. Unfortunately, the leader of Las Hermanas wasn't the type for politeness. His patience wore thin.

No one asked any questions. It was clear from the look on the tribesman's face that he wasn't interested in speaking to anyone except the one he came for. It would be his very first meeting with her face-to-face. Their first meeting was hardly the appropriate time to bring up the urgent matter of not shooting at his people, but it had to be said.

With Mahira, he didn't know what to expect. Jaska had never in his life met a 'fiery' Gradian. They were pretty in appearance, but dull on the inside. They didn't laugh or cry, or have any interesting things to say. Duty, duty, duty. That's all the Gradians cared about, and back on the mainland, Jaska had hated dealing with them. Due to their looks, however, he'd seen Gradians fetch a higher price than anyone else.

When it took much too long for their leader to show herself, Jaska, with a fierce growl shouted into the village.

"Come out to face me, Mahira!" He said, baring teeth, and the ground shook just a tiny bit.

[Rada Han]

Ivan Rusnak
The Alpine Slasher

быеги быеги сам лифу выди...

Hot.

It was so hot.

There was no breeze that could make Ivan feel any more comfortable on that island. He felt as if he were melting. The moisture in the air made him nauseous. He couldn't understand how anyone could live this way. There was a mountain in the distance. That was where he wanted to go, but that wasn't where they were going.

It took the longest time to reach their destination. So many hours. By that time, Ivan was weak. He was dying. He had to be. It felt that way. Their party stopped only once during the journey, taking just a few minutes to take the arrow out of Ivan's shoulder and roughly bandage it up as he fought them, hating so much that they had to touch him. The pain was of no consequence, but the heat was unbearable.

Like 'civilization' often liked to do in the past weeks, the first thing that the savages did was throw him into another cage. Ivan fought against the bamboo bars. He couldn't believe that no matter how hard he pushed, pulled or fought, something made out of a plant would not break. Ivan wanted to see Lanya. Lanya - he'd heard someone say her name during the journey to this place. He shouted her name over and over again, but she didn't show her face to him again that night.

The screaming went on for hours, and all of his voices screamed along with him.

When the morning came, Ivan's cell was eerily quiet.

Sometime during the night, Ivan had had enough of the heat. All of his clothing was piled onto the floor when the Salorites came to see him, and he was sitting on the ground stark naked, white hair sticking to the sweat of his body and his bandages ripped and bloody. In fact, there was blood all over the place. The man hadn't managed to go hungry that night, since an unfortunate rat had dared to wander into his cage. When they came, Ivan was still chewing on the bones.

[possom4444]

ＤＡＲＩＡxxxx ＭＡＲＯＫＯＶＡ
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃★▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃★

After all the commotion around the docks had died down, and the lean woman watched the final islander leave the clearing, Daria decided it was finally time for the Outcasts to be proactive. Nothing would ever change unless she forced it, and dragged the rest of her race with her. She sent her two companions back to the settlement with little explanation, just that she would be back before sundown the next day. They would know what to do if she did not return.

As her tribesmen traveled westerly, Daria instead turned east, towards the seemingly impenetrable forests of Anjeonjia, the home of the island's faerie populace. By the time she reached the edges of the forest, unseen and untraceable, the sun had sunken behind the horizon closer in time to when she had split from her fellow half-bloods then now. Still, she remained just outside the forest, slowly deducing when and where to enter the darkness the woods seemed to physically hold in their boughs and branches. Daria was always extra cautious in the faeries territory. The presence of magic always heightened her awareness and senses. As she was a half-blood she had no magical ability of her own, and that was constantly a sore spot. Imagine what she could do with just the slightest control of that power? The Outcasts wouldn't be where they were today if it were possible. No other race understood the injustices her kind had to face simply by default of birth. Despite this, the faeries were the race who spawned the least amount of half-bloods, and for this, she respected them.

Despite not inheriting the Elven weakness to sunlight from her mother, Daria always felt more comfortable at night. Entering the trees and slinking through the darkness, Daria was able to remain undetected in this forest full of loyal faerie eyes like no other. Though she had spent less time on Siren's Island than the average prisoner, Daria knew almost every dip and curve this place had to offer, because of her stealth skills and all the exploring time the Outcast lifestyle had to offer. She had been inside every tribe's inner circle several times each, sometimes pilfering, sometimes watching and listening, and sometimes knifing those who caused her people trouble. Even the uninhabited corners of the island were familiar territory.

Shortly before sunrise, Daria found the faerie she was looking for; he was fast asleep beside a big old magic flower. It certainly appeared as if the faeries had dumped him on surveillance duty his first night on the island. Daria's lips curled into a wry smile. Even though it was obvious there would be someone watching him, it appeared their guard had been let down and he had been allowed to sleep. Kidnapping him certainly wouldn't be the hardest job Daria had ever executed in Anjeonjia, but she would be a fool to allow that to relax her into complacency. Neatly ripping off part of her shirt sleeve, the most elusive thief in recent Yardis history easily scaled a tree, slipping from branch to branch like a leopard, before silently dropping to the ground beside the boy. In one swift move, she pushed him into a sitting position, tightly tied the scrap material over his already closed eyes, and wrenched both his arms behind his back, holding them there with one of her own. Her free hand came around and clamped over the faerie's mouth, and she whispered in his ear, her voice low. "There will be no struggle tonight."

And in that very fashion, weaving through trees and fleeting darkness, she led him out of the forest before dawn broke.

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"See no name? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxHalf-Breed of
xxxxSee no owner?" xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxDradecan and Salorite
" I t ' sx y o u r s . "xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxO u t c a s t
★xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx xx★



★★★★★★★★★★★★
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[Angst Werewolf]

Lanya Masslak

-- Salorite Illusionist

"Your pet has been calling for you, Masslak."

Lanya scowled at the greeting. She had just finished getting dressed and done up, and had all but been mobbed by the senior members of the Spires. Eron was nowhere to be seen- Lanya assumed he was laying low. He had little standing, aside from his association with her, and getting caught in the fallout of bringing Ivan back would likely be deadly for him.

She straighened her shoulders and finished descending the last few stairs to the main floor. "I am not surprised, considering that I'm the only one to treat him with an ounce of decency." Well, Eron had been the one to clean Ivan's arrow wound on the way back, but hadn't actually spoken.

The other Salorites watched silently as she brushed past the mob. Lanya had been planning on breakfast, but it was clear she wouldn't be left alone until she at least made a show of dealing with Ivan. Well, fine.

With a huff, she turned back towards the man who had originally confronted her. "He is still in the holding cells?"

"Yes. The guards said he screamed all night."

"Has he attacked anyone?" That would certainly cause a stir.

"...No people."

So Ivan was just being loud. Fine, she'd go deal with him and get on with her day.

She made her way down the cellar stairs, making sure to keep her skirts lifted. Falling and breaking her neck would be unseemly. She finally reached the cells, only to find the guards clustered around one of the cells. That, undoubtedly, was her target. "What? What's wrong with-?"

Lanya shoved one of the guards aside to see Ivan, stark naked, gnawing at what she assumed was a rat. Her lip curled. Ugh.

[XSenkoX]

мoмoĸι ĸυrαѕαĸι
ғαerιe ѕpy :: αиנєσиנια ℓєα∂єя

POST COLOUR:

Overnight watch was easily the worst job to assign to new blood fresh off the boat, but it was always where Momoki put them. They would show their colours there faster than in any other position, and if they ran, the island would kill them just as efficiently as Momoki could. Her babysitters might complain, but the job they did was just as necessary as her own and their reports the next morning invaluable. That didn’t mean she left it entirely to her trusted fellows, though.

At some point in the night, Momoki went to check on the pink boy herself and was not entirely displeased. She would find a use for Tao Qi Yi.

Dawn came peaceably enough, the sounds of her watchmen changing shifts pulled Momoki from a surprisingly restful slumber. She was in the middle of breaking her fast and had not yet dressed for the day when urgent knocking split the silence she had been enjoying. Momoki greeted Tao’s panicked babysitter with a blank face, expecting to hear that the boy had run.

“Someone took him,” Bada practically shouted, his face pale and body language screaming panic even if he hadn’t been doing it himself.

Momoki raised her eyebrows. How unexpected that was.

“We stayed big, you know how it is with newcomers after the wings are clipped.” He paled further and looked like he might be sick, “I guess I dozed off just before dawn and when I woke up the kid was gone.”

“How do you know he was taken and didn’t just leave?” She stood slowly and paced away from Bada, casting a look over her shoulder to signal that he was supposed to continue while she pulled on her mossy clothes.

“There were two sets of footprints. I made sure to check before reporting back. I thought the little p***k might have been hiding somewhere, at first…”

“You noticed nothing strange in the night?” Bada shook his head quickly. “Fine. Go fetch Xun to me and then get some sleep.”

Bada excused himself in a flurry of apologies and assurances and left Momoki alone to her thoughts again. She returned to her seat, a simple thing carved roughly from a bit of the stone stolen by her predecessor from Aditya (a dried mushroom cap made the thing comfortable to sit upon.) and steepled her fingers. For someone the other islanders wished dead, moving against Anjeonjia by taking a new member of the tribe and not assassinating the one targeted seemed sloppy. Aditya seemed unlikely to take such a risk just to ruffle some feathers before they struck, but they might have been instructing someone else. The latter option struck Momoki as just as unlikely as the first, though, and she set it aside for later contemplation. The elves were on good terms with the faeries, they seemed unlikely to move against allies; Lanya was sure to have her hands full with the screaming man; and the half-breeds had no reason to agitate Anjeonjia, as half-breed faeries were practically unheard of. Truthfully, it seemed most likely that Las Hermanas had acted out against Tao’s stupidity, despite his attempting to rescue their precious woman. The door swinging open interrupted Momoki’s train of thought and she looked up to see the small-even-by-faerie-standards Xun standing in her home. Bada had moved quickly, she mused with a smirk.

“You called?” The tiny female questioned lightly.

“Yes,” Momoki confirmed. “I want you to visit Las Hermanas and tell Jaska that I’ll be coming soon. I believe he has something of mine.”

“Your watchers report that he was last seen travelling toward Aditya,” Xun replied evenly.

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, Momoki nodded. How that information had not reached her yet was one thing, the other was what it possibly meant for Tao. Jaska was a foolish old man if he had, indeed, moved against her in such a way.

“Convey to the watchers that I will know the instant Jaska leaves Aditya. You will go to Las Hermanas to inform them I am coming, but make the context gentler. Act surprised he is not there. If you find Tao while you are visiting, gods help them when I do arrive.”

“Of course.”

And Xun was gone. Momoki rose and again crossed her room, pulling a scrap of parchment down from a shelf as she passed it by. It had clearly been part of a full-sized document once, but reduced to faerie-size for practicality and general uselessness to the other races. She unfolded and spread it across a workbench, revealing a rather simple map of the island. The mountain was marked almost cartoonishly and the villages were simple boxes roughly outlining territory. Instead of features, the map was covered in black cross-marks at seemingly random. There were more of them around Anjeonjia’s territory and fewer by the mountain and shore. Momoki had crafted this map herself, and each cross was an old-growth tree that she could travel to, allowing her nigh unlimited access to wherever she wanted to be. Today she was looking for the trees that would get her closest to Las Hermanas.

[Sierra The Captor]

TAO QI YI

✘ ℓσcαtισи [ some random area ] ✘ cσмραиу [ daria ] ✘ мσσ∂ [ dead tired ]
______________________________

“There will no struggle tonight,”

That was the last sentence Tao had remembered. The effort of having to stay awake during the night until dawn have rendered his conscious and body akin to that of a rousing sloth. It took a while for him to digest what had happened within the span of having his arms tied in his back by a mysterious assailant he had yet known the identity of, to having himself bending to her whims so that he would not be idiotic to act on his impulse again. Though by her voice it was definitely a woman, and with it being unfamiliar meant they had not the courtesy of meeting prior to the ruckus on first meeting with the other tribes. He wondered how long it would take before Bada realized that he was gone, or whether he even cared at all. The seconds felt like minutes, and the minutes felt like hours. He had no idea how far gone from Anjeonjia the woman had taken her, or how far along she would take him to whatever destination she had planned. Despite the warning, he was starting to muse on how to escape out of her threshold.

But how?

…oh, wait. He’s a faerie. Duh.

Within seconds of figuring out that obvious solution, Tao dispersed into glitters and dust, easily sliding himself out of her reach and out of the blinds she fashioned on him. If every near cat-and-mouse games the authorities like to play when it comes to tracking down his criminal activities is that he could always turn himself in a small, barely the size of a person’s pinky faerie form to escape. No other race could play the stealth game as much as a faerie can, and in a satisfied, almost smug look Tao stared at his kidnapper in question, sporting her clicked fingers and a point in her direction.

“A-ha-ugh!”

Of course, he didn’t factor in the pain he felt from the aftermath of his clipped wings. In an instant his momentary success passed as quick as it had gone, Tao’s form fluttered and fell on the oversized grass, with as much force as the brink of his overconfidence descending quickly into his actual place; a faerie with broken wings “You’re kidding me,” he whispered in disbelief, the ghostly pain clamouring around the small of his backs lingered, and he sat there, with his knees on the grass, his left hand supporting his weight and his other hand hovering over his back. Silver wings, his beautiful silver wings, had been tampered with. He had been warned beforehand of his clipped wings, but for the first time since he had turned into a faerie had he felt the true reality of the emotional pain of losing the one thing that was beloved to him as a faerie.

And it felt awful.

He was sure by this time the woman had caught on to his presence. Faerie dusts have never been inconspicuous, and by the time his negative feelings set in, he turned from a faerie form into a human in dusts and glitter, leaning against one of the trees as though he had been aching. He had been aching. Yet despite the ache Tao stared at the woman with a look of eerie calm “You know, I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, but you ain’t gonna get the leader all riled up on my disappearance. She hates me,” he emphasized on the last sentence as though it was a matter of fact. Then his next words turned playful with a click of his tongue “Well, if you’re gonna torture me, better make it kinky. I like it rough,”

[Watervoir]

mahirarananah


"Is that the animalistic cries of a Shastian grating on my ear drums?" Long fingers ran through chocolate brown hair. The Aditya leader was observing Jaska and his entourage from the doorway of a second story entrance of one of the stone buildings. Mahira had long been awake when her scouts informed her that the members of Las Hermanas had arrived at the Supreme's mountain, and had been patiently awaiting their arrival. She had previous plans for the morning of course, all of which she had scattered to dust when Jaska's request arrived. Mahira really hated responsibilities sometimes.

This wasn't her own home she was exiting. Hers was further within the village, and the one behind her had long been purposed for strategizing. It was one of the few buildings that allowed the public within its walls. Most Adityans would sooner eat you alive than allow you into their abodes.

A stone staircase paved the way to the ground below. Mahira began descending the steps as she continued. "So demanding, yeeesh. We understand that you are savage beasts, but could you at least try to live up to the expectations of the Supreme while you are under our turf?"

When she reached the bottom, she turned towards the first story entrance to the building and motioned at the people hidden within. "Well, come now. Let him out from there. His Gramps is here to pick him up so we can stop babysitting him now." When the Shastian emerged, she addressed him herself. "See? I told you that I would give you back in one piece. Hm?" She gave the boy a pat on the arm before returning her attention to her men. "Well go on, cut him loose and give him back."

While her men were working on undoing the poor chap's binds, Mahira clapped her hands together at waist level and looked him straight in the eyes as she dipped her head down ever so slightly. "Dreadfully sorry about this terrible outcome. I understand how much of a monster we might seem to you, but we had to take steps like tying you up to ensure you wouldn't run away before we could return you to your folk. Just business, nothing personal. Well, off you go." Once the binds on the messenger's wrists were free, he was roughly shoved over in Jaska's direction. "Run away" was a bit of an understatement. Whether or not the messenger understood or not, the Aditya, Mabira especially, did not want anyone, ally or not, running around the camp unmonitored. It would have been a shame to return to Las Hermanas the corpse of someone who had learned too much.

"You should come join us for tea," Mahira said, turning to the Jaska and his party as a whole this time and waving them towards the first floor entrance. "I was just telling your courier last night how beneficial one of my masks would be in making up for that mishap on his nose, especially should he find his face irreversibly scarred for stepping out of line or the like in the future." Her tone was cheery and matter-of-factly, and it seemed she was completely oblivious to the degree of a threat her words sounded. By Mahira's order, the Aditya had fed and looked after him after his delivery task had left him much worse for wear. But even so, all in all it would undoubtedly had felt to the messenger that they were more likely priming him for their dinner, marinating him so that he would be all the tastier.

[Rada Han]

Ivan Rusnak
The Alpine Slasher

быеги быеги сам лифу выди...

Ivan wasn't in the mood to scream anymore. He had only shut his eyes to sleep for a few minutes, which was all he really needed to keep going. The wild man's adrenaline was high that morning. He was unsettled by all of the people surrounding his cage. He stared back at them for a while. They were talkative, but he couldn't understand what they were saying aside from just a few small words. He felt that they were mocking him. That's what the voices in his head were telling him.

The sound of Lanya's voice earned his immediate attention. He ground his teeth and crunched the mangled rat's bones in his hands before dropping the pieces on the ground. When he saw her, he rose from his seat in the dirt and approached her as closely to the cage's bars as humanly possible. Naturally, those surrounding the cage were being careful not to let him come too close. Ivan's fists were clenched, his muscles tense. As always, his posture was awful. A man raised by the wilds does not experience shame; the fact that he had so briskly discarded all of his clothing meant nothing to him. It was still hot, but better.

Judging by the way Ivan's body looked, it was obvious that he was used to living in places where food was not plentiful. The veins in his eyes were a harsh red, his skin was flushed by the heat. There was dirt and blood everywhere, leaking from his injured shoulder, and it seemed that he'd spread it all over his body and face on purpose to keep cool. The linen used to bandage him had been discarded as well, laying somewhere in the cage with the rest of the garbage he didn't want.

Staring behind dirty white hair at the Salorite woman, Ivan held a blatant expression of disgust on his face. Lanya had lied to him. Just like all the others, she wanted to put him away in some dark place, never to be free again. Her words from the previous day echoed in his head, taunting him, mocking him. She hid her face with some sort of war paint, so dishonest that she could not even show her real face to him. Ivan had had enough of being manhandled and tormented. He needed a way out.

"стоять на моей стороне," He said, through clenched teeth. He tilted his head to look at her. Her eyes reminded him of the color of the moss that grew on the trees of the mountain in the fall. It was all the deers ate during the autumn months, and when they s**t it out later, it was the very same color as Lanya's eyes. He didn't think them beautiful, but stinking, rotten, nothing that made him want those eyes.

"Машке ду лишта, (You are a liar,)" He said, voice deep and low, throat obviously raw from screaming for most of the night. He spoke very slowly and steadily, as if there was any chance that she would understand anything that he was going to say to her in his native language. "Баба да мискли плеех гласса, ше нидли да, буска аш вендяне еспара мыетра ми. Кампора мее. дерьмо́. (I tell you not to tie me, you say yes, and you put me in a jail. Is same thing. Piece of s**t.)" Ivan proceeded to hock up some of the remnants from his last meal at the back of his throat, only to spit the grisly, slimy mass through the bamboo bars at Lanya's feet.