ℂℴvᴇᴎ: hell on vangare ⊰closed ⊱

[Satellite O Love]

The longer he kept this up, the more convinced Gabryel was that he should never, ever attempt to be friendly or helpful to anyone ever again. It seemed that every new word out of his mouth only made poor Luna all the more anxious. Perhaps if he attempted to be incredibly mean, his current luck would turn it the opposite way and he’d appear a saint? He somehow didn’t want to try.

She was backed up against the wall which made the emotional part of Gabryel’s heart that he generally refused to acknowledge pang in sympathy. He had frightened people before, but not to this extent (and it usually took a great deal of effort or magic on his part). To think that he could scare her – what would she do when faced by an entire Coven of grim-faced (though surprisingly attractive) men and women? He took a breath and got to his feet, wobbling slightly with the effort. The world was spinning, but it was doing so in its usual proportions (waving, wavering, blurring at the edges). He had to retrieve her something to wear as her current garment was little more than a nightshirt based on what he’d seen other patients wearing.

Before he could move beyond her semi-private area, Luna’s disconcertingly sincere eyes sought out his own again as she asked what she was to them. “Them” referring the entirely of the Coven, he assumed. Gabryel bit his lip and then slowly lowered himself back onto his chair during which time she asked about her position in the coven and the type of reputation she had.

“The Coven, while a fairly open place for those with magic to hone their skills, is also here for a reason and with that reason comes order and a need for rankings and the like. The top of the structure belongs to the High Priest and Priestess, chosen by a vote after proving themselves in the eyes of the Coven members and the Council or the supplemental governing body that acts as a check to the Priest and Priestess’ power. Directly under them are the Knights – four especially able warriors who also share the burden of leading and directing those of us in the Outer Court.”

This was all probably too much vocabulary for someone with a head injury, but she had asked for it and he couldn’t think of any other way to explain it unless they were to be here for ages (improbable since the sparkling new aliquam was practically burning a hole in his pocket). “Don’t get bogged down by the terminology. The point is that you were given a special promotion not too long ago…really not even a week ago. One of Fang’s Knights skipped out on the Coven and you were chosen to take his place, so there wasn’t really much of a consensus of how you acted ‘as a knight.’ As for your reputation in general…” He pursed his lips and tried to gauge her reaction. It was equally difficult to try and figure out how to explain that she wasn’t exactly sane. Not much had changed, really, she was seemingly crazy in a different way though. “I can’t recall anyone who hated you off the top of my head. I think you’re an open…friendly…free-spirited sort of person. Or the Luna I know…you were…are. I’m not too sure what tense really works in this situation. Suffice to say, you would always say what’s on your mind and give the rest of us delightful glimpses into your version of reality. The reality in question is…skewed? Unique. Yes, I like that word better. You have unique perspective of things that you never hesitated to share with the world. While I find it endearing, I think it may have been alienating to other members.”

Fooling them, though, would be difficult. “Yes, Luna, I am your friend and I will do whatever I can to help you. I’m not too sure how you could go about fooling certain members of the Coven. The common ones, the ones you don’t well, will probably not see any discernible difference. However, you were fairly close to the High Priest, Reginald. As much as I don’t care for the man, he’s sharp. You’re just going to have to avoid speaking to him for an extended length of time.”

Her question about a leave of absence had him chuckle, but Gabryel covered his mouth with a hand to hide it since she hadn’t reacted well to him laughing about her earlier comment. “I think there’s an unspoken agreement that ‘you’re always fit for duty unless you’re dead’ if you’re a Knight. Though, who knows? Perhaps our leaders have a kind streak. Nilin’s probably your best bet there, though. I’m honestly not too sure why you accepted since they’re the ones most likely to be worked to death. But I’ve never heard of such a thing. Anyway, just sit tight, I’ll see about your clothes.”

Ten minutes and three stern lectures later, Gabryel returned to the curtained area with a bundle of garments in his arms. He placed them gently on the foot of Luna’s bed and managed another tentative, careful sort of look at her. He seemed at war with himself before he slowly (painstakingly), and gently rested his hand on the top of Luna’s head (away from the damage).

“I may not be terribly reliable, but believe that I will do what I can to help you, Luna. The absolute worst case scenario would be your dismissal from your post or the Coven itself and, trust me, there are worse things. Though I have a feeling you know that.” He withdrew and moved to the other side of the curtained area to give her privacy. It was already shaping up to be an odd day.

Location: Fang Coven, Infirmary


Mood: Awkward


Company: Luna(?)


▶▶▶▶▶▶▶▶▶▶ hp

◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀ mp

OOC: Gabby's nearing Nova levels of awkwardness. I never thought I'd see the day. It's not that it's hard for him to be nice, it's that he's so self-conscious about it he makes it far more difficult than it needs to be.

[Unedited Sky]

Chi was bored.

Again.

And this time it wasn't Gur's fault.

They were hidden within the cover of tree and by they, that would include Chi, Gur, Mika, Rei and Fabien. Sker wasn't back yet, but they weren't exactly allowed much time to worry about her. Not that Chi would be worried, Sker's was the second most badass ghost Chi had ever met second only to Chikara, and besides the woman had the Gauntlets so Chi liked to think that Chikara the aforementioned badass was watching her back. Sker would be fine. Though Chi did wish the woman was here with them. She could use the extra friendly face in the sea of strangers, that and she could use Sker's distinct advantages as a ghost to pull tricks on Mika. The guy was a bit of an a*****e and Chi had let him know exactly how she felt about him at every turn.

When the group had first arrived to their spot of overlook the only movement in the facility had been guards transporting adult prisoners, which prompted Mika to point out that the place looked to be no more than a prison. But Chi refuted that argument, their eyes could be deceived but not her nose, and this place didn't have the smell of a prison, no there was too much death in the air, death, sickness, and burning flesh. She could see black smoke raising from one of the buildings and she knew that they were burning bodies there, that and the fact that there were too many non-military personal traveling the grounds unattended. This was not a prison, that much was sure. Fabien had agreed, though Chi wasn't a big fan of having him agree with her. She didn't trust him. Not one bit. The man had said that he had been following them. But she didn't recognize his scent, if he had been following them like he said, she would have picked up on his scent, but she hadn't. Yet here he was. It seemed fishy, but Chi would wait to push that particular bit of knowledge.

Kuklo was approaching, and he wasn't alone. The male had been sent into the camp by Mika after Chi had explained her piece, he was to apprehend one of the civilians walking around and it seemed he had been successful as he forced a man onto his knees before the group. The man before them looked to each of them, his expression that of a deer being faced down by a pack of wolves, but his skin tone effectively paled ten times over when he spotted Chi, namely her horns. "Oh God." he gasped. Frightened. Chi ignored his fear and instead step closer to him, giving him a sniff. "You smell like ashes, and sickness. But there's something else." Chi stepped closer to the man trying to get a better smell, but the way he he shuffled back made her think better of it. He might scream. Couldn't have that.

“We have questions. Multiple in fact, but something already tells me you know what they are, and something also tells me that you are going to spare me the hassle of asking you these questions and just get to answering them. Right?” The man looked to Gur and opened his mouth before pausing thinking. Chi growled and he flinched again, his train of thought shattered "I-I'm just a scientist!" he exclaimed and Gur only nodded, expecting the man to continue, his pathetic attempt at claiming innocence shot down as he began to explain. "It was just standard procedure. This facility was used, to house magical prisoners who didn't make it far into the kingdom, those who were caught in secret. Once we had them we would experiment on them. J-just to try and lock away their magical abilities, r-really it was for our safety. Honest!" Chi didn't understand why the man had started panicking towards the end of her statement, not until she realized that she was growling at him still, her shoulders tensed. Kuklo stepped in front of the male, his eyes on Chi as if he wanted to fight for the scientist, probably feeling compelled because the male was still a citizen of Zhu. Chi snarled at Kuklo before speaking "You better put a leash on that pup of yours." her words were meant for Mika though her eyes never moved to him she still had them fixed on her target.

Gur put a careful hand on his wife's shoulder knowing that she could very easily lash out at him, but it was a risk that needed taking to calm her. “He's not Regi,” Gur whispered to Chi “He didn't do it too you.” Chi turned her red gaze to Gur and glared at him, damn him for knowing her so well. For reading her like an open book and seeing through her anger. She was mad, because these people were just using drugs to seal away people's magic, much in the same way that Chikara had been sealed away. Stolen from her. The sickening feeling of loss was overwhelming.

"It's disgusting" The scientist spoke up again. "It was just supposed to be for protection, only to be used on the dangerous prisoners, but. Soon. The Gotzz started ordering the guards to search for more, prisoners to experiment on. He found that the drug we used to control them, was addicting, they could do little to nothing without it in their systems, they were yearning for the thing that was killing them." The scientist spoke with his head down, and Chi couldn't look at him, less she fall into another fit of rage instead her eyes strayed to the camp, where she saw children being herded from one building into the yard.

"Kids?" Chi breathed it was more of a statement than a question it was something she had known, something Gur had mentioned however seeing those children there, in the midst of it all, made her heart clench. "Children are tested to see if they were birthed by witches and wizards, or at least that is what we are told." Chi watched as the children shuffled around void of life or drive. It was like the will had been sucked out of them. It wasn't fair.

"You're all monsters." Chi seethed.

“And now you know. We can go now, back on our path to granate. Mika and his companions can take care of this here, if they value the lives of their people more than some petty hatred towards all things magic, that-”

"I'm not going anywhere. Until we rescue, those, kids." Chi spoke cutting Gur off. Gur shook his head with a chuckle, part of him had expected this, that showing Chi who the real monsters were, would push her to action. But still he had hoped they would be able to just slip away with what little cover this scenario would allot them.

“Now who's running us dry?”

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Location ✥ Forest tab tab tab Company ✥ Gur, Kuklo, Rei, Fabien, Mika. tab tab tab Mood ✥ pissed.

✚✚✚✚✚✚✚✚✚✚ [HP:100%] tab tab tab ✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖ [EN:100%]

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[Unedited Sky]

"This place sounds like a zoo," No Name mumbled to herself while Gabryel explained the build of the Coven. "Or a game of chess with too many pieces, and I'm a piece that is directly under the king and queen." No Name let out a heavy sigh one that sent a painful throb through her head, but the pain was endurable this time. Besides she couldn't let the pain distract her she needed to be able to hear Gabryel speak, he was explaining her reputation, and her personality to her. How twisted. She had to find out about herself from somebody else. She was a stranger to herself, and what little she did know of herself was pain.

But at the very least, she had a friend, and the way Gabryel said she fit in, lead No Name to believe that she may even have formed a bit of a family amongst these people. Though he was dancing around words a bit, seeming to be stuck in trying to explain a few concepts to her. But No Name was no fool, she was suffering through amnesia not stupidity and she understood what Gabryel was trying to say when he used words such as "Skewed" and "Unique."

No Name had called this place a Zoo, and she fit right in with all these animals, she was a high ranking loon and she would have to embrace that if she didn't want trouble. No Name was left to think on her own Gabryel had said that she was really close with the High Priest and that prolonged conversation with him would be trouble. So she would avoid it. She was sure she could manage that. "We have to make this work" No Name whispered when Gabryel had returned to the room with clothes for her that he had gathered after going on a but of a trip she hadn't noticed him taking. She had been so lost in her thoughts that he had left her and came back without her realizing it. Even the throbbing in her head had been ignored for just the sake of thinking about making this work because above all else, at this very moment in time No Name didn't want to have to leave. She wanted to stay here in this coven, because right now it was the safest place for her to be. Gabryel had said that being removed from the coven wasn't that bad. Well, to be more exact he had said that there were worst things that could happen, and she agreed she had already lost her home once, along with it she killed the man whom she thought to be the love of her life as well as countless others. Yes much worse things could happen. But No Name didn't want to lose her home again, not a second time. "I can't lose everything, not again." No Name whispered to Gabryel before he left her to get changed, maybe he understood, because for the briefest of moments, he rested a comforting hand on her head.....

Once alone No Name let out a slow shaky breath, before sitting up slowly,, her head still throbbing as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She lowered herself to the floor and stumbled, having to catch herself against a counter in the segment of the room she had been placed in. No Name had to take a full minute to balance herself before she moved to her clothes. She slipped on the pants first, they were simple, black. Safe. A pure and 100% contrast to the top. it was... armored in places, slight breast plating, padded shoulders, but there a lot of excess material that No Name couldn't place until she had slipped the top on, and that's when she noticed.

It was a hood and around her neck seemed to be a mouth piece, angling it a bit she could see razor sharp teeth etched into the metal. she pulled the collar over her face, feeling as it locked in place, which caused her the briefest moment of panic as she wrestled the mouth piece back down. She wanted to deny the clothing to be her own. However it just fit all to well, there was no hiding from it. Gabryel had said that her views of reality were 'unique' No Name could see now, just how unique they truly were. In her segment of the room there was a mirror and she stood in front of it. Watching her reflection as if it were a foreign object, she was hoping that seeing herself would spark memories and it did, but it was simply an identical image, just her staring at herself in the mirror, but....there was something missing. In the memory there was a pouch on her waist and now that pouch was gone. Of course that could mean little to nothing, she could have simply been carrying something that day, but it seemed important. No Name looked towards the bed to see if she had missed it, but it was among the sheets, but a quick search around the room revealed it to be on the counter near her bed. No Name approached the pouch picking it up in her hand and weighing it, it was light, but definitely not empty, she opened the bag and reached inside, her hands were met with what felt like...leather? Opening the lip of the bag wider No Name peeked inside, and instantly she dropped the bag to the floor.

There had been the fleshy covering of an eye socket looking back at her, eye lid and all, the long piece of flesh folded in on itself inside the bad. Her bag. But No Name hadn't dropped the bag because it startled her, no. She had dropped the bag because she knew that face.

"Evella?"



____________

"You're far too sloppy."No Name commented with disdain shaking her head, only to receive a pout from Evella.

"I'm trying! Maybe you are just a horrible teacher!"

No Name slapped a hand over her face, they had been going over this for hours, No Name was trying to teach Evella how to properly skin a body, the body they were working on was a cadaver someone who had met his end within the walls of Fang, a fresh death, his blood was still flowing, even his eyes were still open. A lot of death came No Name's way. She requested it, fresh bodies presented themselves as a great resource, for experimentation and skin. Usually No Name worked alone to extract the skin, but Evella had wanted to tag along so she could learn how to flawlessly skin a body the way No Name could, though Evella's uses for the skill would be for torture, to skin someone alive without doing to much damage to the muscles beneath the skin. No Name wasn't the hugest fan of torture, but Evella was her friend, she wouldn't mind helping her. "You are digging to deep, you'll end up puncturing veins and arteries, you're subject will end up bleeding out before you are halfway done, and if not he or she will pass out and it will defeat half of the purpose." No Name said rolling her eyes and taking the knife from Evella. She grabbed the bodies hand lifting it, and she poked a small cut into it's wrist. "You make an incision, this is your point of entry for your blade, if it is too small cut it larger, or you can use your fingers to widen it, either is fine." No Name explained before turning the knife upside down, blade facing the ceiling as she allowed only the tip to enter the opening. "Now you, saw through, keeping the blade raised, careful not to poke into the meat underneath, and you can go up as far as you would like." No Name stated, she finished her cut, before reaching into the skin and spreading the opening, she made a few more cuts, to listen the skin, before she took the piece she wanted.

"Oh I get it now!"

Evella exclaimed happily, and No Name couldn't help but grin at the girls enthusiasm. "And here I thought I was a bad teacher, you should know better than to doubt the best." No Name joked. "Now come close and watch carefully, I'm going to show you how to get right to the organs. Without, your mark passing out or dying."

"Oooooohhhhh~"
----------

No Name knelt down besides the pouch reaching inside and pulling out the folded face, unrolling it and looking at the drying face of Evella. A pang of sadness washed through her. But it was short lived. They were close, but something told her that they weren't that close, No Name had scavenged her body after all, and at the moment she couldn't imagine doing that too a true friend. She'd never do that to Gabryel. But still, Evella had presented herself a wonderful tool, a clue into her past, she was slowly finding out who she was. "I am ready Gabryel" No Name announced placing Evella's skin back into the pouch and securing it back on her side. "Before we go, can you tell me what it is that I am expected to do at this...meeting?" No Name asked, before Gabryel came into view.

[IILovelyAmarathII]

Celeste looked up at the dragoness. She was very shocked at her words and her harsh tone. All she could do was bow in shame and say. "Lady Dragoness, please do forgive my informalities and as well waking you from your slumber. I was supposed to be Your and Sir Cress' hostess for today. I apologize for not being such a good one."

Before the woman could stand up, The blonde Dragoness already had made herself out of the room. Celeste to a deep breath to calm herself down. Rubbing her timples she muttered to herself.

"ugh...why do I always get myself into such trouble..." Celeste walked out the bedroom to try to find Lady Dragoness Tarien and Mister Cress. Hearing banging of pantry doors of kitchen she practically ran in there. Her boots making a echo. Looking around see that all the pantry doors were and see Cress and Tarien talking amongst themselves. Looking towards the young golden eyed man her face flushed in bright red one more and she sighed a sigh of guilt. Why do I always have over do things....I hope he understands that I was just very upset...and I actually really had thought he was quite handsome in the suit.....

Bowed her head deeply to the young man. With a stern face and slight sadness in her hot pink eyes she spoke softly"Sir Cressus, I apologize for my actions earlier, they were very unlady like of myself, and I was being too sensitive to the situation at hand. Earlier when you grumbled about your current outfit, I had to be honest it did hurt what very little feelings I had. I actually did think that you are quite handsome in the suit. I guess I tend to too overly protective of my family at times...even when.... She had stopped herself for a moment and only thought previous argument that had happened with her and Mako her younger brother. A pain dwelled with in her heart, and her eyes started to look a bit watery, she closed them quickly and walked off. Celeste moved toward the window and saw a orange tree and by impulse she used her wind magic to create a squall of wind open the window and gather about four oranges. Looking back at Tarien and Cress she gave a warm smile and titled her head trying to mask her sadness of what happened yesterday evening.

"Please, the two of you shall take a seat. Lady Tarien, you did say it was urgent that you get something to eat. Please, the banquet will have to wait. Walking to river bank in your condition is out of the question. Allow me to serve the both of you breakfast for today. I'll find something." The green haired woman looked into the pantries to find some pancake batter. She had pulled it out and set the it and the set of oranges down on the kitchen counter. She proceeded to look in the fridge. She was in luck. There was a couple of eggs and some milk she could use. She set those on the counter as well. She opened the bottle of milk and put her nose to it to make sure it was fresh. Thankfully, it was and thus she went to work mixing the ingredients in.

Celeste was different. She wasn't used a maid or anyone making anything for her. When Celeste had left for the military she had left the luxury of being waited on hand and foot. This made Celeste into a humble woman. Even though she came from very noble mage line, she grew to enjoy cooking while in the military and for herself and others.
The woman wore a light pink aparn that she found in the kitchen and some pancake batter power some how made it to her face as she was mixing the indigents together. The woman turned on the stove and began cooking up a batch of pancakes enough for just the two of them. Celeste even took the time to make some freshly made orange juice from the oranges that she picked off of the tree. Feeling the powder she whipped it off of her face. Putting Tarien's and Cress's plates of pancakes on silver tray she had poured them both glasses of the orange juice. Walking out of kitchen and into the dining room area she had placed the silver tray in front of them. Her dainty hands were shaking in nervousness.

She didn't know weather to act like herself or not in front of these strangers. Celeste then just decided to act how she would act if she was in front of her sister. Loving. Even though she was known as scary or crude at times, she had also this loving and kind side about her too. But she rarely showed it to strangers. Only to those she was close to like family or friends. She thought to show this side of herself to Cress and Tarien thinking it would be the right thing to do.
I really hope me opening up to them works.....

A bright smile came across her cheeks towards the both of them. "This isn't much, but please try to enjoy it. The banquet that I been ordered to invite you two will have more. Also, you will be able to visit with my sister the high priestess. Lady Tarien, I sure that you very used to not being in clothing, but I shall find you something to wear. I have to at least have you both look presentable." Celeste took off the apron to only look down to noticed that her black jumpsuit had gotten white powder from the pancakes she had made. Sighing she said. "Even I have to look my best, all of this cooking has ruined my clothes. No matter. They can always be watched....darn....I guess I'll actually have to wear a dress this time around! I shall return shortly."

After a few mins. the wind mage had quickly made it back the hotel and she was in the

creamy white dress from a couple day ago. Thankfully, it wasn't dirty. Celeste had very limited formal wears because she didn't like formal wear. She hated looking like a lady. She had let her hair down and played back into curls. She also had the yellow and pink flowers she had picked from yesterday and had arranged them in her hair. She knocked first and then went back in to meet with Cress and Tarien. She walked up to Tarien slowly and placed a A bright very colorful dress with a red bow and head flower arrangement. in her hands. "This is something, I used to wear when I was much younger. It doesn't fit me anymore, but it was the one and only dress I used cherish. Lady Tarien. You may have it along with hair piece as well."

Celeste took a seat across from Cressus. With her arms crossed in nervousness she just sat there quietly, then she started to give a cheerful giggle at red-haired young man. Her pink eyes met his gold in softness and in kindness. "I guess you should very lucky today, because I had ran into some bad luck today. Considering that I never wear one of these. This was a gift from a very close friend of mine. She told me to be more feminine and I'll actually have a boyfriend or someone to love."Put her elbow on the table and rested her head on her left hand. Chuckling to herself. She smirked saying. "You proably think I look stupid in this don't you? Ah, it doesn't matter. I shall force myself once again to this supposed to be happy banquet of mine sisters...even though...we're losing this war....I suppose there has to be some light at the in end of a dark tunnel doesn't there?"


☪ Location: In some hotel ☪ With: Herself, Cress, Tarien ☪ Mood: Embressed/sad slightly/Hopeful ☪Outfit : creamy white dress Hairstyle : curls.
☪ Her Sword: Claire ☪ HP:100 MP:100 /EN :100 ☪ Theme Kill La Kill : Don't lose your way

☪ Cress's new outfit : Cress's outfit
Tarien's new outfit : A bright very colorful dress with a red bow and head flower arrangement.




Notes/Occ: Claire, is Celeste's name for her Claymore.

StardustDrifter

*pokes writer with a stick* Celeste could some cheering up right now. She's trying so hard!!

LadyTarien

Tarien could use Dragon intuition to see that Celeste was in pain due the argument that she previously with her brother along with feeling of her not feeling very useful anymore. IF she wanted.

[Stardust Drifter]

The other woman had suddenly changed her tune, apologizing even. This made him feel a bit worse, after all he was the one that had insulted her pride. Cress listened inventively to her words and caught the hint of her trailing off, something must have happened to her to dash her spirit like that. She thought he looked handsome in this suit? A shy blush crossed his face at her soft words.

Cress rarely got compliments, glancing to Tarien who was probably too focused on her jerky to notice, the swordsman silently took a seat. Listening to Celeste his mind was figuring out the right things to say, the right way to apologize. Just saying "I'm sorry!" didn't always work.

Women were tough, yet delicate, roses. Some of them had more thorns to deal with than others, like Simone for example, but they were all the same. He watched her cook and couldn't help but think how cute she was wearing that apron, like a happy little maid setting out for the day. Once they were served and she left them to change he slowly began to eat.

Amazed at her skill, the pancakes were fluffy and moist, not too thick but filling enough just the same. The orange juice hardly had any palp and was fresh and delicious. Tarien had been silent, but the woman had stated how ravenous she was, letting her indulge in her small morsel before her, and oddly she had a bigger stack than he did. There was no way a petite woman like her could eat all of that!

Celeste returned in a beautiful dress, her hair done up in gentle green curls. She spoke again, revealing her shyness about her beauty and the slight hopelessness about the war and the situation at hand. Closing his eyes Cress stood up and walked over to Celeste. Wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled the back of her head, and body, into a soft hug.

"Forgive me Lady Celeste I spoke out of line. Here you've been nothing but kind and I threw mud all over your beauty. These last few days have been torture, watching a friend you care about slip into madness and change before your eyes. Living, temporarily, in a place with no happiness where everyone is just a grouchy mindless puppet, to be controlled." he said softly lightly tearing up.

"I'm a wandering swordsman, no home or family, just the wind and Regaltz to keep me company. To make a long story short I met Simone in a bar while I was looking for work. She told me the dire news of her sister and that she was seeking aid in finding her. I formed a contract with her, no I wanted to help her because it was the right thing to do. We didn't make it very far and after meeting a woman who's soul had fused with an Ogre, she tagged along. After some time, and meeting the elder of the village, Simone bumped into a red haired man whom she claims loved her. I was swayed by a dark haired woman who later died, like most of the women usually meet and fall in love with. We were tricked and pulled into a "rift", then we were separated and forced to stay in Fang...." soft tears were rolling down his face and onto the top of her head as he spoke.

She seemed like the kind of woman who would listen and strangely comfort. Closing his eyes he took a ragged breath and sighed. "I've spent the last few days in a muddle. Pulled around by questions filled with vague answers. I'm just an outsider caught up in all of this, honestly all I wanted to do was save her sister...I'm beginning to wonder if that wasn't but a lie itself. When I was saved and brought here I thought your Coven was the same, I'm still a bit afraid honestly but I think I can...trust your sister. Anyway, I shouldn't have mocked you like that. You've been nothing but kind to me and I appreciate it. Thank you Celeste, I hope you can forgive me. Also, ignore Regaltz that sword says whatever he wants without a care in the world. He's gotten me chased out of more towns than I can remember. Please don't take his, or my, harsh words to heart." he stated kindly, love and compassion pouring from his heart and mouth at the end of his statement.

"By the way, you look stunning. Not only that you're a very talented cook. I wouldn't worry about finding someone because no matter how you're dressed you've got a wonderful and beautiful personality. Love is more than beauty, it's also a heart connection. Whomever takes your hand in marriage and makes you their wife...will be very lucky." he cooed blushing a bit deeper. "As for the war, as long as you don't give up hope...then you can win. Of course finding the main root of the problem and pulling it out helps as well. I don't know how it started, but I'll definitely help solving the problem and killing the root so no more innocent blood has to be spilled."

Softly pulling away he took of his white gloves and grabbed his plate and cup. Walking over to the sink Cress began to wash them his face blushing a deep shade of red. All these women everywhere! If only...if only he could find one to hold and love. One to marry and start a family with. Yet they always died or left him, maybe he was cursed to be alone. Cress hoped he hadn't overloaded the poor woman with everything, but he felt it was needed. The swordman didn't care for dressing fancy and going to fancy parties, but he would for her sake. Also the sake of her sister, whom he wanted to talk to about Simone.

If only he could be there to help that woman out, her life was probably much more lonely than his. "I too apologize Miss, forgive my callous words. Thank you for polishing me my sweet Prince-err...I mean fair maiden. I have witnessed a lot as well, pity we've all been pulled into a war. You mortals seem to have one ever few centuries or so....." the sword apologized in his own way laying there upon the table near the group.
----------------------------------
HP: 100/100
EN: 100/100
Location: Town House
Company: Regaltz, Celeste, Hungry Tarien

Feeling: Guilt/Genuine Kindness

(OOC: )

[Priestess of Athena]

Xt
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"They are really dead huh?" Reginald's eyes glanced away from the beginning of the displays to look at Virgil. It seemed the man had cared for the other two knights to some capacity. And it was a pity to lose two strong fighters.

“Yes I'm afraid so.” Reginald said quietly as he returned his gaze to the initiates in front of him.

"You think these morons are up to the challenge?" Virgil all but scoffed. [******** doubtful.."

A small smirk played on Reginald's face at the hot headed words from Virgil. “"Well they do have quite the reputations to live up to, don't they? But first we'll see if they even have what it takes to try, which at a minimum means surviving against you.” He glanced up at the knight once again. He could see the anger, the blood lust swirling in the man's eyes. Good. That is what Fang should be made of.

He returned his full attention to the new initiates began to display their talents, eyes darting to those who showed potential and barely glancing at those who could throw a few measly sparks here and there. There was some good potential here, a glimmer of strength to renew the coven with. All the while the book man was muttering in Reginald’s ear about how badly he needed to get to his body since it was the only way to escape the book. Reginald had promiiiised. Blah blah blah. What was wrong with this man? He had been separated from his body for centuries. He could handle another day. Had being made of paper caused this man to regress to the mental maturity of a five year old? Reginald’s fingers gripped the chair arms tighting. Perhaps he should threaten to go lock the book in a dungeon by itself for a week. Then some of the crowd gasped calling his attention away. He would be surprised if they were gasping from the magic displays. Nothing had been shown that wasn’t seen before. No… They seemed to be looking behind the High Priestess.

He tuned out Ashleigh’s continued chatter and swung his head back to see what this ruckus was about. It was Aaren Cavallero and… the spitting image of a teenage Marcus. Nothing worth the dramatic sissy cries of the crowd. For all they knew this was indeed Marcus brought back to life or a mentally-handicapped younger child the family had kept under wraps and was finally letting out into the world. Perhaps the crowd was getting in a tizzy over the audacity of Aaren to not only step upon the ceremonial platform without invitation but also to do it from behind the Priest and Priestess. It wasn’t like they hadn’t seen the dead walk around before, Nilin did have a habit of making corpses walk around for entertainment. Why that group was being idiots now was beyond him.

Then Aaren began to chatter away to Nilin. Was he hoping that by focusing his sole attention on her and making a point of disrespecting the High Priest he might be one of the lucky few many to share her bed? He should look in the mirror again if that was his aim. And Nilin’s very protective sword wielding body guard. Aaren had also forgotten that when one sat in a wooden throne, one could not see through the back of it. Reginald could turn to see the man but unless Nilin chose to stand and turn around, Aaren was solely addressing the back of her seat. Too excited to try and make himself stand out to notice the details as usual. Reginald supposed it was frustrating having a younger brother who had surpassed him in so many ways.

But… lo and behold. Was this truly Marcus? The phoenix would explain his aptitude with fire. Either way Reginald had heard enough. He raised his staff and brought it down onto the wood with a heavy thud. “Enough Aaren. Councilmen, continue evaluating the potentials. Set up matches for those who you see fit to continue.” He stood up and strode to where Aaren was addressing Nilin’s back. Reginald’s eyes were cold and steely, his voice hushed but with a dangerous edge to it. “I see in your inept excitement to display your brother’s apparent talents that you have failed to notice what is going on here. Or perhaps it is your need to get near our High Priestess and a sad attempt to garner her sole attention. If this is truly Marcus the coven rejoices.” He gave the young Marcus a small nod. “We have missed you in your absence.” His eyes flashed back to Aaren. “However the legitimacy of your claim is brought into question by your glaring lack of judgement. If your family does indeed have the gifts of the phoenix they have clearly been purposely keeping them a secret for the generations they have been in Fang. So why have you suddenly thrown all that away in the most public forum possible, full of people who may not be granted entrance and will scatter from this location with a valuable secret to share?”

He looked over Marcus again. Reginald was not sure if Marcus had lost more than just age in his rebirth. “Furthermore you should have known since birth the traditions of this ceremony. Yet you fragrantly break them. Marcus does not need re-admittance to the coven, if this is him. So unless he is here to re-test for knighthood, this matter can wait until after we replenish our covens numbers. As an outer court member, you have no place on this platform. Be-gone.” He turned to young Marcus. “If you are indeed Marcus, you were a former knight. You may stay upon the platform and observe the new recruits if you do not plan to attempt to return to knighthood.” The young man’s identity would have to be verified later, but it didn’t hurt to remind Aaren of his brother’s superiority. Reginald gave Marcus a firm handshake. “Welcome back.”

He turned his back to the duo and whispered to Nilin. “If you wish you can address this elsewhere, but replenishing the coven is my priority. I will continue the ceremony.” He returned to his seat with a small sigh. They needed to get to the fights already so he could see people hurting each other.

He returned to his seat and muttered to Virgil. “It seems Marcus may not be so deceased after all... Though I will need to verify it after the ceremony.” And then… Ashleigh started up again. Really? How had being immobile not taught this man patience yet? Reginald clamped his hand over the yattering hole. “Enough. You were a coven member once before your pages became so withered. You understand why this ceremony cannot be abandoned for any reason.” He removed his hand. It was odd how the man looked so normal and solid yet the feel of skin was that of paper. “Now we can multi-task here. Any of these initiates seem like they could handle trekking to this library with you? I really would prefer to conserve the members who already are an integral part of our family of course.”

The ginger had been ready to unleash another onslaught of annoyances at Reginald until that question was asked. He quieted for a blessed moment to look over the crowd. His eyes rested on the giant of the group. “How about rainbow hair over there?”

Reginald looked over the man. Seemed like he placed too much emphasis on physical strength for Reginald’s taste. However… Reginald himself was in peak physical shape and he’d never deign to touch someone with his fist. Either way a strong man like that would be less likely to be suspected as a warlock… provided something was done about that hair. “A moment Ash.” He walked over to where the council watched next to the platform. He leaned in and made quiet discussions with them. Once they were all nodding, he returned to his seat.

One of the councilmen stood to announce which initiate would be fighting which. “For the initiate battles. Niko Vinton shall duel Kina Turner in circle 2. Ophelia Retton vs. Hale Cavin circle 3…" The list continued and ended with “Trystan Sylas, please take the spot directly in front of the Priests’ platform.” Once everyone was in their places, the man spoke again. “These fights are not to the death, they are a showcase of your ability to attack and react. To go outside your circle will not disqualify you, but it will penalize you. The ability to control is also being judged.”

Reginald smiled at Ash. “Now, go test his skills.” He shoved the paper man off the platform. His eyes roamed over to Trystan and he spoke to the tall man. “Your skills have been noticed. You have been given a more worthy opponent. Good luck.” Then the High Priest glanced over at Nilin and gave a little nod. “Nilin?” Tradition dictated the High Priestess announced the beginning of the fights, and the High Priest the end. Once she gave her command, the woods around them was filled with the sounds of magical combat.

Reginald smiled. Ah now this at least was something entertaining.





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§: PRIM FOREST x §: NILIN, ASH, COVEN MEMBERS, INDUCTEES x §: BUM BUM
々MP々99%x ☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀
々HP々100% ☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀

OOC:

[Satellite O Love]

As Gabryel waited for his friend to change, he considered what she’d said before that he hadn’t properly addressed. She’d stated that she had to fool them because she didn’t want to lose everything again – a reasonable enough statement for someone who lost several years of her life to make. The question was whether or not she thought this new life of hers would be worth keeping. Gabryel had been entirely honest when he’d said that there were worse things than leaving the Coven. At times, especially when he was away (lost roaming the countryside), he had odd moments of clarity when his ever-chattering mind questioned his purpose for being here. Though time didn’t heal all wounds, it was safe to say that his motivation for being here now felt starkly different than the haze of anger and hurt that had initially made Fang seem like the right place for him. But, as things stood, he couldn’t be selfish and skip out. Against all odds (seemingly), he had made connections with some of the people here and he would be a monster in his own right if he just walked out on Luna when she was in the middle of a monumental identity crisis.

His thoughts broke off as his friend moved to his side of the divider to indicate she was dressed and getting ready. It was odd: seeing Luna clad in her usual regalia without the lack of self-awareness that tended to radiate off of her in waves. It wasn’t a physical change – she was the same person in body that she’d always been (minus the bandage), but her fevered eyes were more self-conscious and filled with a type of analytical awareness that she usually only exercised unconsciously. He didn’t hate it, but it did make him feel a bit sad for the friend he’d lost. Whether or not this new Luna was even interested in maintaining their friendship (that meant far more to him than he would care to admit, especially in light of her apparent origins) still remained to be seen.

Equally strange was her calling him “Gabreyl.” He couldn’t even recall a time when she hadn’t used usually-hated nickname “Gabby.” He wasn’t sure why he missed it, but assumed it was because she said it like no one else ever could – with her usual sly mockery but with a hint of genuine affection underneath it.

“I suppose the relentless march toward progress continues. I cannot remember which crusty old philosopher who said the basis for the world is change, but I think he may have had something in spirit even if it doesn’t make sense in reality,” he started, saying it at Luna, but knowing that she wouldn’t really understand it since it was the concluding remark to a conversation he’d conducted with himself in his own head. Perhaps he was the crazy one in this situation; it wouldn’t be much of a surprise at this point. Meanwhile, Luna followed up her notice that she was ready with a question of what they were walking into. He gave a sort of half-shrug and managed a characteristic smirk.


“That’s the thing. I’m not entirely sure all that’s going to be happening since this hasn’t happened in the fairly short time I’ve been here. We had a bit of a – major – event and lost an impressive number of Outer Court members and even a couple of Knights, according to rumor. We can’t exactly have our population so low considering how aggressive Granate – that’s the Coven that opposes us – has been; not to mention the three-way war going on with the normal humans and the elves. I’m being confusing again, aren’t I? He sighed and tried to clear his head. “Basically, I think this is a trial-by-fire to induct new Coven members. There will be fighting, posturing, possibly stripping depending on what kinds of spells are being flung around. I heard tales of an initiation ceremony where High Priestess Nilin asked all the handsome men in the batch of new recruits to strip down to their undergarments. I doubt it’s true, but if you know her sense of humor, it might make you wonder…”

He’d hoped to get her mind off of questions about the dead Knights. It was a mercy, in a strange way. While he’d only just met her the day she died, Gabryel was well aware that as someone far easier to chat up than himself, Luna had been fairly close to Josephine. Marcus died too, which had Gabryel mentally conflicted. While he’d enjoyed some of his banter with the man, he was correct in thinking twice about the strange place his head had been when they’d kissed in Zhu (Understandably so, as he had been reeling with the many strange happenings of that day to include Marcus killing an entire village of bigots). That didn’t mean he wanted Marcus dead, just the opposite, but he had been faced with so much horror and loss in the past week that he probably hadn’t fully processed it.

“Damn it all, it’s just so much work to care,” He muttered to himself. Despite how much he pretended that everything rolled off his back like it didn’t matter, things had a way of worming into the stone he liked to think of as his heart from time to time.

“Ignore me, Luna. I’m just babbling. Actually, no. One last thing. I don’t mind if you wish to call me by my name in private, but in public you should call me Gabby. You’ve always done that…” It was still odd having to explain her usual personality in little bits and pieces. He shook his head and pulled on the handle to the infirmary entrance. “If there are no more questions, let’s be off,” Gabryel stated, hoping to get something like enthusiasm into his voice. It wasn’t really working, but he hoped she felt his fake zeal.

He was halfway out the door when he nearly ran headlong into a ten-year-old boy who was about to enter the room. Being Gabryel, he fell right on his a** which caused the strange kid to flail and apologize profusely. He pulled himself up using the doorframe as leverage and moved out of the kid’s way, initially thinking that he was an apprentice of some kind at the infirmary; he was quite surprised when the boy stuck to his side like an overly affectionate pet.

“So…er, sorry. I was supposed to find you, not knock you over. Don’t run off! I should have said that first,” The boy stuttered as he tightened his grip around the fabric of Gabryel’s shirt.

The mage tried his best to extricate his arm where it had been pinned to his body and awkwardly pat the strange little lemur on the head to get him off, “No harm done. You were sent to look for me?”

The boy seemed confused at that, but then his eyes darted to Luna and he pulled back as though he’d been prodded by something particularly sharp. “You! Yes! I was sent by the High Priest. He said to look for the man with the purple hair and a woman in a hood! It’s because you’re blind!”

That earned him a raised eyebrow from Gabryel who glanced over at Luna before he addressed the child again. “She seems to see just fine.”

In response, the young mage shook his head so rapidly that Gabryel was sure he’d rattled his brain “No! It was you. The High Priest said that the ‘idiot is probably running into walls,’ So I’m here to take you to him.”

Running into walls? Kid must have been listening closely. Nothing could stop the sly, almost bitter smile that graced Gabryel’s face, “Don’t worry about it, I understand what he meant perfectly. He wasn’t talking about me being blind, though. Lead on.” He was certain he was overdue for some sort of retaliation from the high priest given their last, brief exchanges (in the hall during the rebellion and just now over the aliquam). The fact that he vaguely sort of recalled calling the man an a*****e in a crowded medical ward also hadn’t done him any favors. To be called an idiot was the least of his worries. Besides, he liked opponents with bite (and Regi was very much like a viper in that sense).

Though he’d needed their pint-sized guide’s help to get away from the infirmary and through the entrance of their cavernous headquarters, when he was suddenly assailed by a wall of horrific tastes, Gabryel needed no more leading to find the rest of the mages. He bit his tongue and struggled to get his expression under control, though it was difficult with every damn magic slinger in the area shoving their unique auras into his mouth at once. He’d get used to it (he always did), though he might need to spend a few minutes dry heaving behind a tree to do so.

Their young friend gave the pair behind him a nervous sort of glance when they’d reached the edge of the arena where all the current coven members were eagerly watching the matches. He pointed obviously (waving, bouncing in place, exaggerating the motion) toward the rickety stairs leading up to the platform that held the high priest and priestess. Gabryel felt a bit uncertain about that, but then the man himself had called them, so he had to expect a personal visit.

“The moment of truth,” he started as he looked over to Luna. “Just try and look excited, I’m sure the other you would find this very amusing. The chance at getting a new skin – particularly a mage’s skin – has always brought a smile to your face.” He knew that these types of exhibitions weren’t meant to be deadly, but it certainly wasn’t unheard of.

Gabryel waited till the pompous old man who had been guarding the steps to the platform holding the High Priest and Priestess with his frail, grizzled body gave him a profound nod before he met Luna’s eyes and gave her shoulder a gentle tap of encouragement. Luna was counting on him to help her cover up her current disability and while he certainly couldn’t speak for her, he could attempt to distract Reginald in the hopes of annoying him to the point that his displeasure was focused on Gabryel. If so, there was a chance that he High Priest would pay less attention to Luna. He’d gambled on plenty of chances before, so he mentally steeled himself and walked (wavering slightly, as usual) up the stairs till he came out behind their paired seats.

The first person he saw was a vaguely familiar face and one that brought to mind his lingering malaise over the death of a friend. While Gabryel hadn’t been officially introduced to Aaren Cavallaro, his height and reputation preceded him. In person, he was even taller and adapting an angry, tense expression rather than the arrogantly handsome smile he recalled from the few times he’d passed the man (as Gabryel took special care to watch the tall ones). Aaren’s eyes were on Regi, so Gabryel figured the other man had said something unpleasant. No surprises there. He brushed past the man as quickly as possible as he didn’t want Reginald to notice his brief assessment and make a comment.

The moon-pale woman with the purple hair he’d privately named “eviscera” was standing at attention behind Nilin with the same mask-of-an-expression he vaguely remembered seeing on the grueling walk back from Zhu. It made his feet twinge just thinking about it, but he endeavored not to think of guts flying whenever he saw her (mostly for his own sanity). He waited until the din and ruckus from the matches was at its highest before he fully stepped up and did a truly elegant curtsy (putting aside the fact that he wavered and had to catch himself with his hands on the ground before pulling out of it) to show his respect for his superiors.

He addressed Nilin first because their last parting hadn’t been on healthy terms (also: screw Reginald). “High Priestess, it’s wonderful to see you recovered. I never doubted your resilience, but it does encourage me to see you recovered.”

He gave her as respectful a nod as he was capable before turning to Reginald. “I’ve brought Knight NoName as per your summons, High Priest. The fact that you sent an envoy ensured that this purple-haired idiot could report for duty in a timely manner. And I only ran into five walls on the way – a personal best.”

He glanced back at Luna again (not nervously, as Gabryel had long learned a decent poker face in these situations). “She’s still a little shaky from the head wound, but she’s up and walking around at least.”

It was then he noticed the youth standing nearby with an absurdly familiar face. Gabryel side-eyed him, brow furrowed in confusion, but he was sure Reginald would have a reprimand ready if he suddenly changed topics. Still…he glanced again. He looked like an awkwardly teenaged version of Marcus. Gabryel didn’t have a Cavallaro family tree on hand (nor would he own one to begin with), but he assumed it was a brother or a cousin. The old families in this coven had branches all over the damn place. It didn’t explain what he was doing here, but that was none of his business. So Gabreyl smirked in Reginald’s general direction and prepared to take the inevitable punishment he going to receive from the sharp-eyed priest.

Location: Fang Coven, Prim Forest


Mood: BRING IT, a*****e!


Company: Luna, Nilin, Eviscera, Head a*****e, Mountain Man Cavallaro, Babyllaro, Every Fang Coven member still living


▶▶▶▶▶▶▶▶▶▶ hp

◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀ mp

OOC: Because Gabby's faceclaim wears modern clothes, here's an idea of what he's wearing: GO~

NONAME SCENE:His interpretation of NoName here is that she’s usually (or her fang knight self, previous iteration, whatever you’d like to think of it) perceptive but completely unaware that she’s doing it. She’s off in her own little world and gives others glimpses, but she walks out of line with what he knows as reality. This new NoName is far more self-aware in the sense that she’s confused, but she is aware of this and can see things without the same insanity barrier as before. It’s like the difference between trying to make out of a figure through dirty class and seeing through an open window.

Gabby’s an emotional tough guy (or perhaps an emotional old timey strongman?). He likes to pretend that he doesn’t have feelings because feelings are for weak, squishy people and he’s already physically squishy enough. Also fear of intimacy/getting hurt/Freud waggling his eyebrows. So this is a lot of mental posturing on his part to try and rationalize himself out of feeling bad. Gabby can be an unreliable narrator when it comes to himself.

I say that, but don’t let it confuse you – he is and will always be a bit of a jerk. Especially to people he decides he doesn’t like.

FOREST SCENE: Gabby curtsies to Regi and Nilin because he’s a contrary person and his still-not-eradicated noble pride refuses to allow him to bow to anyone so he’d rather just look ridiculous. I’ve said it before, but if he were worried about his dignity, he’d never step a foot outside his room. Since he’s falling all over himself anyway, may as well get a couple of chuckles out of people in the process. Just ask him about the time he tripped while lighting the ceremonial candles in the temple at home and sent the ancient, woven rug ablaze.

Note: I assume this happens after Ash was sent to fight Trystan which is why I didn't include him in Gabby's peoplewatching.

Names for everyone he’s glimpsed in the past few minutes:
Aaren = Mountain Man Cavallaro (this is a total anachronism, but I would also call him a man whose every day is like an Abercrombie and Fitch photoshoot. If you’ve got it – flaunt it!)
Marcus = Babyllaro
Diana = Eviscera
Regi = Head a*****e
Nilin = Nilin
Though if he were feeling particularly sassy, he’d call the High Priest and Priestess “Lord and Lady nopants.”

Yeah, Gabby isn’t paying a lick of attention to the battles. Think of what he would say/do if he noticed Trystan out in the crowed while he was standing two feet away from Reginald.

[Koko the Boss]

The galloping of horses, blades clashing, battles cries and grunts of dying soldiers thundered across the open fields between Zhu and Civok. The border, once a peaceful atmosphere now a tragic play of life and death. Alecion's soldiers new the consequence of looking their ground and what Adara had demanded of them. The fate of their own people magical or not depended on how well they implemented their war strategies against the Zhu enemy. Many expressed their disgust and hatred for Adara Neptane, she had been a prominent figure in their military before she defected to Zhu. Her respect cascaded down to the soil beneath their feet. Everyone felt the ripple effects, especially the Prince himself. He yearned to be on the battle field with his soldiers, face to face with Adara and her fanatical group of genocidal maniacs. But alas, he sat in his tent conversing with an ex-military member and his companion. The medical soldiers finished patching up the Prince then briskly exited the tent to handle business in the large tent designated for wounded soldiers who came in droves despite the early morning. Umbra nodded at the medical soldiers then glanced over at Ember with deep contemplating blue eyes. The elf's fingers curled inward as she gazed at Ember to form balls of fists. Umbra's heart rate escalated exponentially but she maintained an expressionless face to everyone present. Morded and Ember both politely thanked Umbra. But the elf merely nodded at them as if she did not wish to speak aloud. She then cast her eyes to the floor and remained fixated.

Alecion's raised an eyebrow at his elven attendant but decided to address it at a more appropriate hour. Instead he brought his golden eye to inspect the two newcomers in the room who sought audience with him. The male looked very familiar now that he thought about it. Hard to miss the dark raven hair and brilliant violet eyes that were as striking as a predatory Jaguar roaming through the ancient Sandien Alps. The fellow had a tall frame, toned and broad shoulders. His companion had much darker skin and quite opposite hair. Dark and Light, these two. Bandages were wrapped around the female's eyes and her dress complimented her curves. She gracefully moved her head in his direction and found his right hand to shake it. He wondered what she hid under those bandages, scars, a bad rash? No, heavens no not a rash. What a rude thing to think! Alecion could only conclude that she did not have sight just as he did not have sight in one of his eyes but stating the obvious may be offensive to the maiden. He was mesmerized by her long waves of white hair. It reminded him of fluffy white clouds just before a sunset.

"I'm Ember Driaom. Mordred's partner on this mission. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Prince Alecion." She was breathtaking and even her voice produced a short lived smile from the Prince's visage. He wasn't one to fall to his knee's at the sight of a beautiful woman or grovel at their feet throwing compliments and suggestive gestures. Provided, he still treated women with respect but saw no need to throw anyone up on a pedestal and act like a man-child with hearts drawn over his eyes. His mother taught him to treat women as an equal, but his father chimed that was a different story in bed.

" The pleasure is mine, Lady Ember. Have you two traveled far to speak with me? Although Civok hasn't been completely invaded by Zhu or Maizen, this whole continent is still a dangerous place. Whatever you two have to speak with me about must be important if you dare to cross these war-torn lands. Such a shame our years of peace and prosperity have been burned out. "

Alecion offered Ember a smile knowing full well she couldn't see it, still it was the principal of the matter. He then shook Morded's hand before reaching out for the water and food. The Prince needed to replenish his system before going out to battle again. For now he had to drink, eat and listen to what Morded had to say. "Your highness, it is a pleasure to see you again. We have only met once before, but that was when I had Lady Greaves under my care. Yes, You would have knew me as Lieutenant Colonel Eaulligus back then. That is beside the point The reason why my comrade Lady Driaom and I requested your presence because we wish to make a proposal. You may have heard many rumors of organizations called "Covens". Your Highness, Lady Driaom and I are here to inform you that these "Covens" Do indeed exist. We are part of a coven called "Granate". For about ten years the two Covens Granate and Fang have been secretly at war with each other through out all three kingdoms. Both covens have been searching for six keys. Granate is at a loss, and Fang has exactly five keys left. You're possibly wondering what does this mean to you? As you may have heard over the centuries a demonic being by the name of Arianlord has been summoned before and brought havoc all around Vangare."

Alecion's yellow eye narrowed in deep thought as he tried to assess the truth behind Morded's words. Was there anything this man had to gain from telling such a lie? What if he was with Adara and trying to back up her story about mages and covens? Alecion finished chewing the bread in his mouth and swallowed hard. His hands folded over his knees and he leaned forward to size Morded up. The Prince let out a slow hot breath, " You must swear that everything you say is the truth, Sir Eaulligus, swear it under the good Lady Greaves' name." Morded paused and nodded. He reached into his pockets and handed Alecion a parchment with black ink scribbled in elegant cursive. A symbol of what looked like a unicorn on a crest was embedded into the paper with the name High Priestess Kozue Stettner written at the bottom. The Prince folded the paper neatly and placed it into one of his pant pockets seeing as he kept his shirt, top coat and armor off for now. His skin needed to breath from the heat of the battle and having his battle scarred chest exposed in front of Morded and Ember was the least of his worries. He nodded for Morded to continue, Morded took the hint and grabbed a cup of water to refresh his throat. What Morded had to say next made the Prince scowl, even Umbra sighed and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"The covens are well organized and have a similar structure to the military. They have people called a "High Priest" and a "High Priestess" that rule these covens. Our High Priestess Lady Kozue Stettner has personally wrote this letter of request for a alliance with the Civok forces and yourself. You are probably thinking I'm in the middle of a war, and at what cost do I have to waste on such matters? As little do you know. Granate is a big part of Civok itself. Many of these mages are citizens of Civok. Whether we wish to believe it or not. Magic is the essence that incases this world. From the nature itself from the all the way to the blood that is my veins, that is Lady Greaves' veins, that in Lady Celeste Stettner's and my comrade Lady Ember Driaom's veins, and lastly yourself. You greatly hone your magic and take a deep pride in it as you are of Lycan Descent. The country you are fighting namingly the Zhu wants us all to be dead or wish that we do not simply exist at all. They hate the most natural essence that has given them a existence. They want to watch fall to the ground. This brings me back to the summoning of Arianlord. Fang only has one more key to find. Granate is desperately searching for this last key trying to still find light in all of this darkness. In which brings to our main topic and reason as to why we are here. This war has to stop. What we all need is all the countries to unite and put aside their differences to prepare themselves if Arianlord is summoned. I have fought and seen a demonic being with my own hands. It went by the name of Jecht nightwalker. It wanted to mock us and let us know that his master was coming. Many mages have worked in Civok, Sacrificed their lives, along with wining many battles for Civok. If you wish to continue this war just know that Granate will take up arms for Civok, but I believe that Vangare has seen far too much pain and despair for far too long. If you continue with this war, Vangare will not be prepared for what it will have to face and all of Vangare will be crumble in the hands of this demonic being called Arianlord. Thus, in a sense the fate of all Vangare rests in your hands my excellency."

A sudden tension exponentially rose to capacity at the end of the mage's speech. Alecion shifted his head side to side to stretch them out as his mind raced with many thoughts. Morded lifted himself from the bed and walked around the table between the two to kneel in front of the prince. Morded's dark hair fell over his face as he bowed in determination to get his point across. Umbra shot her eyes in the direction of the prince, she opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it. A firm hand clamped over Morded's shoulder and a heavy sigh exited the prince's lips. " I can hear the sincerity in your voice, Morded Eaulligus. I shall take what you said into consideration and read this letter. You must understand that there is only so much I can do as a Prince. Ending this war and asking for a truce is almost as impossible as quieting a bar full of drunken nobles. How do you expect me to explain this to my father, the King? Or even to the Wei's in Zhu and Maizen's Ramsioaken's? They'll think it's blasphemy and accuse me of trying to get under their skin to make them weak so Civok can gain the upperhand." He scratched at his eye patch in frustration. He had so many questions to ask but the legitimacy of this claim could not be verified unless there was more proof, he knew it would take a lot more proof to convince his brother, sister and especially his father. Would they even want to listen at a time like this? And if he abandoned his post he would risk losing this battle and Adara diving deeper into his kingdom to hurt his people.

Prince Alecion lifted his hand off of Morded's shoulder then stood up. He walked across the tent towards a chest sitting on top of his desk and opened it up to reveal a drawing of a wolf and a crest he had accomplished a long time ago. He tossed the drawing up in the air and watched it fall onto Ember's lap. " I understand you may not be able to see, Lady Ember. But that drawing is the replication of a crest shown to my family several moons ago when Lady Adara Neptane rushed into our throne room screaming frantically like a mad woman about covens. She even went as far as naming the coven of which this crest belonged to. If you can describe this drawing to me then I may lean towards believing you two a little more, just a little."

　


♚　　　　OOC　prince wolfybutt　❚　COMPANY Umbra, Ember, Morded ❚　LOCATION　Zhu and Civok border　❚ ↙ ↙ ↙ P R I N C E o f C I V O Kprince. prince. prince. prince.　
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[Koko the Boss]

The morning progressed with laughter, music and chatter as Half-Giants and Granate mages mingled with one another. A chorus of songs derived by Amarile Forest birds interwove with the musical instruments being played. The sturdy platform built in the middle of the rows of tables and chairs housed the musicians and several dancers in ethnic Civok attire. Jewels, bangles and cloths of vibrant colors melted into the scenery. Slowly more and more Half-Giants and mages made their way to the food and tables, joyously chattering and making peace. It had been a long time since these half-giants ever got to roam through Vangare freely, and now they chose to return to where Vikar had sought redemption after killing one of Granate's mages. It takes a strong will to accept your mistakes and even stronger character to fix what you have broken. High Priestess Kozue greeted her family as they filed into the banquet. They were all dressed nobly with the finest cloth and sparkling jewels adorned in every which way. The Stettner's history within Granate dated back to the beginnings of the coven back when dragons still roamed without a care. Kozue noted the disgruntled look on her younger brother's visage, he wasn't his usual self. But she decided to disregard his uncharacteristic affect and instead embraced his wife, grown children and grandchild. Her purple and pink eyes briefly glazed over as she held her brother's grandchild. She had always wanted children, heir to her family and legacy to leave behind. Unfortunately she was always chasing a vision to modify and aid Granate in any way she could. Working as hard as she did left suitors in the dust and possible husbands a mere reflection in the ocean. Lis'Marie flew shoulder to shoulder, greeting each family member with a snuggle and hoot. They ruffled her feathers adoringly and offered her home made owl treats. After waving her family off for them to eat, Kozue turned on her heel to continue her hosting duties. High Priest Naito had yet to show his face at the breakfast but several of his attendants told her that he was busy. ' Always such a pain and doing his own thing. When will he learn to actually communicate with me properly like a man?' Kozue thought to herself in frustration.

The High Priestess glided over to the utensil and silverware table to pick up a a tea cup and filled it up at the closest tea station. The porcelain cups displayed at the tables were crafted by the closest pottery business to the Stettner residence called ' Chaitea Barn. ' The owner of the pottery business became close to Lady Kozue after she became a constant customer. Her light mint green hair cascaded behind her as she strolled through the grass and passed by a group of council members. She curtsied as they bowed respectfully. For many years she served with them on the council, working hard to keep the coven organized, defenses up and stability in tact. "The High Priest is going to attend soon, isn't he? The two of are planned to give a speech as per the itinerary states." An elderly councilwoman chimed as she stuffed her face with a bread roll. Lis'Marie scoffed, rolling her big yellow eyes at the thought of Naito actually attending this engagement. Kozue beat Lis'Marie from speaking before the owl could make a snarky remark. " I've sent a messenger to remind him of his High Priest duties and responsibility to attend this gathering. Whether or not he chooses to honor them as a respectful and responsible adult of power is up to him. Either way, a speech will be made and this alliance with the Half-Giants is being celebrated. Let us rejoice in our blessings no matter how few they are." The council members chuckled then quieted down as one of the coven's members pranced towards the High Priestess. Minerva Greaves, a cheerful Mystic who always seemed to be quite friendly with Celeste. Despite Celeste and Minerva's forty year age gap they still acted the same and hung out constantly which made Kozue wonder if that was why Celeste had yet to mature at her ripe age of 64. By the time Kozue herself was 64 she was already spreading her wisdom to younger mages by being a teacher and master of the magical arts. Then again, Celeste and her had always been different, their difference in fashion was as wide as their gap in maturity. Minerva wrapped an arm around Kozue casually, "Oh Lady Kozue! You look Mighty fine day!" Kozue raised an eyebrow. It didn't occur on a normal basis that anyone casually called her Lady Kozue without being a close friend or family. The majority addressed her as High Priestess especially on public occasions such as this. Nevertheless, a small smile formed on Kozue's lips as she quietly observed the young mage.

"How are you doing Lady Greaves? Enjoying the music and food?" Kozue laughed nervously, she could feel the cold disapproving stares targeting her from the Stettner table.

The council members gawked at the carefree affection Minerva displayed towards her superior with the highest rank in the coven. "You didn't happen to plan this grand breakfast all by yourself, did you?"

Choked laughter from those around them caught Minerva's attention. She quickly withdrew her arm from the High Priestess and bowed. "I do apologize Milady." Kozue waved her hand to dismiss the whole thing.

"Do not worry Lady Greaves. Besides, today is a day to celebrate and be merry. We have our new allies and the good Lady Andradite's eldest daughter has been returned home. Like I told our council members, we just have to count our blessings. Please, feel free to continue enjoying the feast and make some friends with our new allies- - oh, please excuse me." The High Priestess curtsied to Minerva then briskly walked towards the trees, her lips pursed to a thin line as a bad feeling set within the pits of her stomach.

Her aliquam had gone off, it's purple glow radiating brightly from the gemstone embedded within her staff. Kozue leaned her back against the trunk of a tree with fluorescent pink and white leaves. Lis'Marie hopped off of Kozue's shoulder to perch on top of the nearest branch. "High Priestess, there's a disturbance within the Reaper's Crypt. Knight Ulrick ordered all guards to exit but when I came back to check on him I could hear Miss Mesa screaming." One of the wardens spoke through the aliquam nervously. Kozue's fingers curled around the staff in a tight grip and her monocle fogged up from the heat coming off her body. Lis'Marie sensed Kozue's anger shoot through the roof. Her shoulders tensed but her came out smoothly, "I clearly stated that no one was to be with Simone Mesa alone, no matter if a Knight makes a command you have to confirm with the High Priest or High Priestess. Very well then, I will send help." Kozue killed the connection and transferred the call to someone she trusted to get the job done. Celeste had been a Knight before and would know where the Reaper's Crypt was located. She also was supposed to be watching over that swordsman Cress and Tarien, if Cress accompanied her then perhaps he would be of help subduing Simone. Images of what she saw in Simone's past flashed through Kozue's eyes to reaffirm her gut feeling. That's right, Cress had been a good friend of Simone even after she had been filled with the dark magic.

"Celeste. I need you to take a detour to the Reaper's Crypt. Knight Ulrick took the fancy opportunity to journey in there without permission. Whatever is going on in there make sure Simone Mesa is restrained and Knight Ulrick is of good health. Tell him to find me at the Breakfast, I need to have a word with him. Quammie me once you arrive and tell me the status. I will join you depending on when I have to make this speech. Be careful little sister." Kozue closed the connection. Lis'Marie's bright yellow eyes twinkled in slight amusement as Kozue sighed and pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead. She'd never get peace ever again as High Priestess. Not one damn day.

tab tab LOCATION: Amarile Forest』『COMPANY:Minerva

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xHEALTH ( HP )ＣＥ: ██████████ 100/100 tab MAGIC ( M P )ＴＡＮＣＥ: ███████████ 100/100

[Peacock Catastrophe]

+++ Standing in the forest, the mass buzzed in a silent hum as the time for the ceremony inched closer. People stood with anxiety about the upcoming trials, as they all knew what this emergency ceremony was for. Many would make it past, yet even more would fail and be sent home. Many were probably already scoping out potential threats in the near fight, yet the female stood like a statue in the crowd. She was not just an average face in the crowd; she was not here for the average spot within the coven. She was here to become a knight, even if it meant putting someone beyond incurable injuries. Despite the words given by High Priest Reginald. Yet, when he called upon those who were wishing to become knights, it was rather appalling that there were only two others besides herself who stepped forward. Were people here so weak as to not offer any more challenge in becoming a knight? They were all so pathetic. But her own opponent's could hold some concern. Vivian and Valentine Cidthrope. They were just as insane as the High Priest and High Priestess, if not more. She hadn't had any encounters with them before, so she had no idea what kind of powers they held. She would definitely have to keep an eye on them.

+++ Suddenly, Nilin spoke up and addressed a hooded man within the crowd. The man immediately reacted with incredible respect. Things seemed to be getting tense, but Svenja once more paid no attention until the stage was invaded by a familiar figure. Aaren Cavallaro, and a young looking Marcus. What the hell was Aaren thinking acting like that? To approach the High Priestess and Priest in such a nonchalant matter, he was just asking to get a beating. "Aaren, you idiot." the female muttered to herself. She really hoped that Nilin would give him a firm, yet swift beating. If not, she surely would later on. But for now, the battle for the normal inductees was commencing.

HP ●●●●●●●●●●
MP ●●●●●●●●●●

Location || Prim Forest
Party || Fang Inductees, Aaren, Nilin, Reginald, Many More

[Unedited Sky]

Jingna didn't know if she should speak up.

She remembered something, a shred of her more recent past was now floating around solitary in her mind. It weighed heavily on her thoughts and while she did want to share this occurrence with Gabryel, she didn't know if she should. The memory was gruesome, a downright atrocity, but even with these thoughts in mind. She couldn't lead herself to feel awful for the things she had done in her memory. She didn't feel bad at all, for having found such glee in her actions from the past. Maybe that was because she couldn't force guilt onto something that was in her past, something that most likely was the, or maybe it was because it in fact was the norm. It was second nature, she could almost feel it her hands running through the motions as she taught Evella the steps. She gathered some sick sort of excitement as muscle memory seemed to kick in, the feeling of a phantom blade tingling within her palm as she imagined going through the steps in her mind once again. Maybe. She was crazy, or unique or however one may want to sugar coat it. But that was the first stage to recovery right? Acceptance? Maybe accepting the fact that she was clinically insane might bring back more memories of her antics, anything that would help her feel more comfortable in her body. Because even with the few memories that she still had, this skin she was wearing, however limited seeing as her arms and parts of her stomach were bare, still felt like a costume. She felt this body to be borrowed, it wasn't hers and neither were the clothes or the bag of skin, they were just a camouflage that allowed her to exist. A wolf in sheep's clothing or more accurately giving her surroundings, she was a sheep shaved down, and beat over the head and forced to wear the pelt of a wolf. But at least she had found a friend. Gabyrel, his presence tied Jingna's all time friend count, 1 being the number. She had one friend in the past: Null. The thought of him made her shiver, but she shook the feeling, he wasn't much of a friend. So Gabryel was a new record, a genuine friend, she hoped. But even if he was only pretending, she would never give the male her name, at least not so easily. So he couldn't manipulate her to that extent, so at least that was progress right? Relentlessly marching towards that progress that Gabryel had mentioned, and hey, Jingna hadn't even had to smash her head against any walls for this progress to be made, but this progression was more tedious than relentless so maybe Gabryel's particular quote didn't apply to her situation completely, or at least not her personal situation. "Elbert Ainstein," Jingna spoke up, before clarifying. "You were quoting Elbert Ainstein, Jingna didn't really know how she knew this, but she found herself grinning. It felt familiar, like she had been apart of many conversations of this sort, but again she was unsure.

Though the feelings of uncertainty seemed to be mutual, as Gabryel stated that he was unsure what would be happening at this event, Jingna found herself resisting a familiar urge to roll her yellow eyes at Gabryel, but only because the motion would have felt way to common to her and that was a bit scary. But she could move past him being unsure because he mentioned that he had been around here for a short time perhaps even a shorter time than she had, he mentioned that they recently took a lot of casualties and she couldn't really being herself to feel bad about it, she didn't know any of those people. Or at least she didn't remembering knowing any of them, so hearing that they were dead didn't exactly bring a frown to her face. Not that she wasn't frowning already, the concept of giving new recruits a tryout brought back her previously calmed feelings of nervousness. She was a knight after all, if there were tryouts to be had, she might have to participate, and from Gabryel's description of the event, it could very well get violent. Jingna didn't know if she were ready for combat yet her head still throbbed painfully at the simplest of movements, a fight would probably be too much for her. But maybe she could avoid it, she was feeling a bit crafty and if this "Nilin" person was up to her rumored antics, maybe Jingna could get a pass....maybe.

Jingna didn't know what her plan would be, she had to see the area before she could formulate a plan, maybe she would just claim that such pointless combat was against her religion, of course she didn't remember being particularly religious, but who could honestly tell now a days? So many religions floating around, she could easily fake one....

“Damn it all, it’s just so much work to care,”

Her thoughts were cut into by Gabryel's out burst, and she didn't know how to proceed, she wasn't sure if he was or was not speaking to her, though he cleared that up, quickly enough. But there was something in his explanation that brought her a bit of pause. He wanted her to call him "Gabby." The nickname echoed in her head, she had heard it before. "Gabby" Jingna tested, and instantly her eyes went distant.

____________

"Why are you so heavy!" No Name complained as she dragged a body through the corridors of the House of Fang, the body was freshly deceased from the initiation ceremony, a ceremony in which technically the fights were supposed to be kept non-lethal, however this particular fellow had gotten unlucky. No Name hadn't killed him, but hey, she asked if she could transport the body to the morgue and Lord Reginald had agreed, liking her spunk and eagerness to help out around the coven, even if she was a fresh member having only been inducted on that very day. Little did Reginald know, this body wasn't going to be placed in the morgue right away. Nope. No Name was going to peel it for all it's worth before then. The man had said he had no family before he died, so no one would miss him.

No Name gave out a small grunt as she dragged the body around a corner, struggling a bit more as it's leg got caught and she had to pull harder to yank it loose. "I'm not cut out for this." The girl mumbled as she dropped the body just outside the morgue, she would do her work her and then drag it outside, she looked around and made sure that the coast was clear before she pulled out her blade and set too work. She had just extracted the first cut of skin when she heard, slow slightly, shuffling steps heading in her direction, No Name looked up, thinking herself caught, but noted that it was only another one of the initiates. She recognized the male solely based off his hair as he moved towards her, don't ask how she could tell but he didn't look like he was 100% sure where he was going. "Hey! You there! Mind helping me with this? You don't have to get your hands dirty, just help me drag him inside when I'm done. How bout it?" No Name asked with a grin. The other didn't seem to reflect her jolly mood. Rather, he pulled his sleeve over his hand to cover his mouth and raised an eyebrow in her generation direction "...You learn something new every day. I presume this is where the meat for that terrible stew they serve in the kitchens comes from? What, exactly, are you doing?" No Name rolled her eyes at the males question, and instead went back to work. "I'm just gathering resources don't worry about the details, I've got it all handled, and I just need a bit of extra muscle." No Name stated, pausing in between cuts to gesture at the males scrawny arms with her blade.The man couldn't help but look down at his limbs as though expecting them to have doubled in size, "Are you seeing the same thing I am? I am not exactly the epitome of physical strength. Besides, I doubt you'd want me to expel what little I ate of the slop they dare to call food this morning all over you and your friend there. His brows furrowed and he wavered as though considering whether ot leave or go, but instead he stilled and asked, "So what do you call yourself?" No Name looked up at the male her work done, as she stuffed skins into her pouch and sheathed her blade. She wiped her bloody hands on the dead man's shirt before looking back up at the purple eyed male. "No muscle required really, just help me drag him inside, and the name's No Name." She grabbed hold of the man's shoulder and prepared herself to drag him, but she waited for the other to move into position to help her and when he didn't move, she looked back up at him, he was looking down at her, she couldn't read his expression but he looked to be deliberating over something. "What?"

"No Name?"

No Name raised a brow at the male's confusion, she didn't understand what was wrong. "Yea, No Name. Is that a problem?" No Name asked, not sure where he could possibly be going with this.

"You really call yourself 'no name'? The seemingly endless list of other things you could call yourself - from Sheila to Mysterica - never occurred to anyone? So for lack of a better moniker, they just say that you have no name? And that doesn't bother you?" No Name laughed at the males argument before shaking her head. "I don't know what you are talking about. I like No Name, I think it's cool!" No Name argued, however the male didn't seem to hear her argument before he responded. "Well, I suppose I'm the odd man out then. I could hardly stand myself if I called you 'No Name.' It would be like calling that poor sod you're cutting up 'dead.' You are now and forevermore 'Luna.' "

"Luna?"
"Yes, as in Lunatic. I have the feeling I'm not too far off." No Name offers the male a glare that lets him know just how she feels about his little nick name for her. "And what about you? Huh? What's your name?" No Name demands, dropping the body and standing up, hands on her hips. The insulting man pulled a face with her words, as though he'd been reminded of something unpleasant."How rude. Never ask an Aseran his or her name, but you don't care, do you? I call myself Gabreyl Thales." No Name snorts. "I declare the name Gabryel to be long, and stupid! From this day forward you will be known to me as Gabby! Any objections?" The male looked like he had a few, but decided against voicing them. "That's what I thought, now shut up and help me move this body."
_______________

Jingna was smiling, she remembered! Not everything, but enough. She remembered something about Gabby, her friend, she wasn't completely lost, it was all coming back, slowly. But surely. "Gabby" Jingna tested once more, her smile widening as she enjoyed the way the words sounded coming from her mouth. She was so overcome with joy that she could almost jump for joy, though she was brought down to earth when, Gabby was bumped into by a boy on the other side of the door and subsequently fell to the floor. Jingna didn't recognize the boy, which wasn't a surprise but he seemed apologetic so that at least marked him as friendly, or so she hoped. The boy was speaking rapidly something about the boy being sent to find them, or so she assumed cause Gabby did have purple hair and she was wearing a hood, he also called Gabby blind, which didn't add up, it seemed Gabby didn't understand either because he thought the boy was referring to Jingna, who fixed a raised brow at Gabby. It was all cleared up however and rather comically when the boy explained, Jingna let out a chuckle, but groaned when her head throb. But still she smiled, it seemed that Gabby hadn't changed much from her memory. He was lost back then and he still walks around aimlessly now. Amazing. Jingna forced herself though another chuckle as she followed Gabby and the boy to where the event would be held. She was a bit surprised when their path took them outside, but she hid it well. She had already started to put on her game face and by the time Gabby spoke up again, she was ready. He told her too look excited, stating that her old self would probably be excited, and he was right, she'd be as bubbly as can be. So Jingna smiled as wide as she could manage, she put a lot of pep in her step, as she followed Gabby, he seemed to be taking extra caution with the way he proceeded and she appreciated him for it, his moved were deliberate and as he introduced himself to the High Priestess Jingna found herself relieved, Gabby put a name to the face for her, so this was Nilin, she would remember that, she would also remember that the woman had been injured.

Jingna did become a little worried when Gabby began speaking with Reginald, his words weren't exactly.... chosen carefully, he seemed to be going out of his way to mock the male, and Jingna may not have her memories but she didn't think it smart to talk to a High priest that way... but still. "Who are you calling shaky Gabby?" Jingna asked, no. No Name asked, she was No Name now, Jingna had to take a back seat for now. No Name pretended to be appalled by Gabby's words "I am a lot more balanced than you could ever dream of, even with this ol knock on my noggin." No name boasted, raising a knuckle and knocking on her head, her brain yelled at her for doing so the throbs of pain that shot through her head let her know just how ill advised her actions were. But simply talking hurt her head anyway, so it didn't much matter. "Don't believe a word he says Regi, I'm as good as ever, don't let these bandages fool ya." No Name winced internally, she wasn't sure if she was allowed to address her High Priest in such an informal way, but it just felt right, so she went with it. She really hoped her act was selling, because if not, she didn't know what would happen to them.

[Okami Wolfen]

Reckless and weary,
The truth has been buried,
Held down by the hand,
That refuses to carry.
The burden you built,
The lies, do you hear me?
The insult, the white flag,
You refuse to carry.

Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO

A strange vibe could be felt between Ember and Umbra. The white haired mage wasn't sure if it was because she just didn't like Ember, or if it was because Ember wasn't as lady-like as what they may know to be. Whatever it was, it was off. And Ember would think more into it later on. For now, the voice of Mordred broke through her thoughts as Ember listened to him explain the situation that would arise on Vangare. Ember hoped that Mordred could get through with the Prince in his explanation. Her ears caught the slight shuffle of paper, and she believe it was a letter that Mordred handed off to the Prince. She guessed it was from High Priestess Kozue to further explain the situation as well. Everyone was right though, if Maizen, Zhu and Civok don't join forces against Fang. Arianlord will rule and thousand will perish. After his speech, there seemed to be tension floating around the two males. Soon the wait of Mordred disappeared from the bed, and the soft vibrations of his feet showed her that he knelt in front of the Prince.

She wasn't sure if she should do the same, but just sat there and nibbled at the piece of bread she held. Vibrations of Alecion's pace hit the floor. He had walked over to what seemed to be a large desk and took something from a chest on top of it. Suddenly Ember felt a piece of a scroll land on her lap. Gently she picked it up and rubbed her hand over it. Well since the Prince knows they are from Granate. The only other coven would be that of Fang. Her eyes brows furrowed a bit under her cloth that shielded her eyes. She despised that Coven. They wanted to bring evil to this world, bringing more evil would make everything unbalanced. And when things went unbalanced it was unstable. Fang has to be stopped, they can't get the sixth key or all of mankind, probably even Fang itself, will become extinct. With a heavy sigh she faced the Prince. "This symbol, is that of a rampant wolf. Its eyes hold hatred, greed and power. This Coven strongly dislikes House Granate. They want power, and Arianlord can grant that to them. But with this power, I fear a great evil to cloak over Vangare. With a great deal of evil, the world will be unstable and cause destruction. Prince Alecion, we need to stop Fang. Or thousands of people, Mazien, Zhu and Civok a like will die. I can't afford that to happen. The kingdoms need to merge together, to stop Fang. If not, Arianlord will slaughter everything in it's path." She stated in a serious tone. One that she never used unless it was indeed a serious matter.

Ember didn't like speaking to the Prince this way, he was that of royalty after all. She felt like she needed to be softer, but this ordeal was too great to speak with such gentleness. It was an ordeal that needs people to be aware of. All race a like needed to know the dangers if Arianlord is summoned. They needed to know that they were all in grave danger if Fang wasn't stopped. Though, this feeling she had with Umbra, Ember couldn't shake it off. It almost felt like she has met the elf before. But she knows that she hasn't. Just the tension between them both was overwhelming. And she needed some air. Ember stood up and placed her cup down on the plate Umbra had brought in. "Please, excuse me Prince Alecion. I need some air." She said, turned on her heel and left the tent. She also wanted to check on Zephyr to make sure he was doing well and getting the things he needed as he stayed at the post. She approached the large horse and petted his muzzle. "Well, if we can't convince the Prince...then I'm not sure I have any hope that Granate will win this battle." She spoke softly to him and placed her head against his own.

Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO Oº°‘¨ ¨‘°ºO

I'm letting you go,
And all that you showed me.
I'm letting you know,
That you don't control me.
The feeling is cold,
And life is unfolding.
Reckless and weary,
I'm desperately holding on.
Erase My Scars :: Evans Blue.

♫Mood:: A little worried
♪Location:: Prince's Tent
♬With:: Mordred, Prince Alecion, and Umbra
♩Hp:: 100/100%
♭Mana:: 60/100%
❖Kind made up the last paragraph XD I just didn't want to feel like my post was too short. Terribly sorry if it's not good:/ And if I need to edit anything please let me know!

[Lady Tarien]

The Cycle ever Turns, Ending as it Begins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+++++Tarien was at a point were she was struck speechless. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This male was speaking to her calmly, as though her alluding to seeing him as her next meal was not an actual threat. Used to being naked? Of course she was. The idea of a dragon in a suit made her snort. And what did he mean by something he'd regret, she growled mentally, “Males!” The coat he'd placed on her shoulders still smelled of his time in Fang, and rested uncomfortably on her hair, she was highly tempted to throw it in his face, but that would be rude. Her shoulder heated, so warm, soothing her, a trickle of sound in her ear, “Just bathe in their blood.” She nodded, her eyes losing focus, the ginger likely thinking it was in response to his talk of breakfast. Images flitted across her mind's eye, but so fast and blurred it made her dizzy. A phantom touch, sharp and lingering, bit into the Mating mark as she heard a soft, mocking chuckle. Her head cleared a little, and she realized how close she was to taking his suggestion. She was walking a fine line with her control.

+++++The pain in her shoulder grew, not so enjoyable when trapped in a human body, and he knew it, but two could play that game. “I found Mallik.” she baited. The connection severed. So abruptly she stumbled, mentally giggling. Feeling the touch of another's hand she looked down, and nearly cried at the sight of the dried meat. Immediately she began to gnaw at it, slightly frustrated by the human molars that required so much effort to chew. The male, Cress, continued to chat away, and she sighed at the continued lecture on clothing. “Within Vendier, it is quite the opposite. If one covers themselves they are trying to draw the gaze to what is covered, or, more rarely, trying to hide something. Our fabrics are often sheer, and made to mimic or compliment our natural coloring.” she offered distractedly as the pink eyed female entered the kitchen. More apologizes! By the time she got to explaining she was protective of her family Tarien felt the need to scream. “STOP. Please. No more needless apologies. We are all extremely stressed, we are going to butt heads.” she groaned as she plopped down on a chair.

+++++She did perk back up at the mention of the banquet, though waiting was likely a good idea, she'd hate to drool at the squirrels. She stalked the woman as she prepared the meal, climbing the cabinet for more jerky to stop herself from nicking the ingredients or batter. Skittering to the table like a child once the hot cakes were ready, and immediately tucked in as soon as the plate was in front of her. The rest of the conversation escaped her. Not even noticing when the thread weaver left. Celeste returned just after she had finished the fluffy pancakes, they had taken the edge off nicely and Tarien's eyes had lost the black ring that had darkened them. Bright yellow orbs looked upon the dress that apparently meant much to the green haired mage. A little frilly for her taste, and the cut would make her look even younger. She refused to dishonor the gift though, and walked back to the bedroom for the sake of mortal modesty. A quick search turned up a hairbrush and Tarien set to work making herself presentable. Her hair hid the back of the dress, so she pulled it up into twin braids. She didn't really like wearing her hair up, it exposed her mark, but this was a special occasion.

+++++Opening the door, she stepped out to the sight of Cress embracing Celeste. She had been quiet enough that she was not noticed and quickly stepped back and pulled the door. “Well that escalated quickly.” she thought with amusement. Waiting till she heard someone walk into the kitchen before going back out. Celeste was there, speaking with the living weapon. Taking a couple steps, she twirled for the green haired mage, letting the dress and her hair swirl around her. Feeling like she was a hatchling again, she flared out the sides of the dress. Feeling a little more herself after the bit of food, she decided to introduce herself, as she had yet to do so, “Greetings and Salutations! I am Tarien Don'Nodel of the Sajinni. Thank you both for taking care of me.” she thanked the two. Turning to the sword, “What are you known by, good sir?” Though before the weapon could answer an odd bell like sound filled the air. “Really, you weavers are so fond of those singing stones,” she complained, covering her ears against the piercing tone, “well, answer it!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I Fear not Death for I have Lived, Reborn to Love, Again and Again.

** Mana Pool: 30/100% ** {==========}** ** Health Pool: 95/100% ** {==========} **

Location: Townhouse, Granate
In the Company of: Cress the Ginger Vestun, Living Sword and Pink Eyed Annoyance called Celeste something or stutter

[Koko the Boss]

⋤BEFORE DAWN...⋥
The air was thick and heavy with smoke, a woodland fragrance clouding every nook and cranny. Shrouded within the four walls a single incense provided a palatable aroma as three candles conceived light. These pieces to the puzzle were paramount to the makeshift alter. Sitting in its wooden glory this alter housed more than just candles and incense but also a canvas refreshed with blood every other night. The design drawn in blood marked the symbol of Arianlord, a greater demon, her god. She worshipped him, praying for all the blessings he could bestow upon her and her twin. All praise Arianlord, he had granted her and her twin a successful mission to Maizen's capital as well as a successful personal mission with her beloved Valentine and a certain blonde Fang Knight. Every hunting mission requires precision, accuracy, planning and prayers to the true ruler of all. The way Josephine had cried out sent shivers of pleasure up her spine that night. Even that Adelaide creature made sweet music. Only if Ariandlord were in this dimension to see it and be proud. A mighty god that would bring the real world order to Vangare - chaos. True survival of the fittest and essential execution of the weak. House Fang was close to summoning the veracious messiah Arianlord. Only one more key. This thought brought a crooked smile to her lips. She bowed in front of the alter, mumbling prayers between breathes. Vivian Cidthrope, a House Fang Mystic soon to be Knight, currently immersed herself in worship. A black and red sleeping robe draped over her curves, she kept her hair up and tied in a fashion popularly associated to her and her alone in the coven. Not that she humored herself in caring for fashion trends or who wore what, she simply understood her place in the guild of mages. This place encircled her away from everyone else, only to be accompanied by the touch of her twin and wishful dreams of High Priest Reginald.

Vivian bowed to the alter once more before opening a box containing supplies for her newest project. Vibrant crimson eyes remained riveted upon the snake skin tangled between her fingers. She beheld the wide expanse of patterns that decorated the leathery surface, each portion of the snake skin discernible through the High Priest's taste in specific breeds. She hummed a low tune as she wove the snake skin together. Bending, stretching and weaving the collected snake skin until her masterpiece was complete. A crown made of snake skin shed by Reginald's hissing pets. Vivian giggled, she stood up and twirled around in a circle. Her sleeping robe was of thin silky material, it accentuated her womanly and toned physique from years of training. It didn't leave much for the imagination as she wore nothing underneath. Her skin was flawless aside from the marks that littered her back and a haunting burn mark that matched Valentine's. Proud of her accomplishment, Vivian blew out the candles and killed the incense. She slid open one of the two secret doors to the room that connected her and Valentine's quarters. The connecting room was a quaint size but good enough for Vivian to use it for her prayers and worshipping of Arianlord and Reginald. Excitement overtook her as she rushed to her brother's side. Piano music played in his room, conducted by the blonde twin's fingers and sense of rhythm. He paused to look up from the piano the instant Vivian entered his room. The two simultaneously locked their crimson eyes and a smile spread across Vivian's lips.

"Val! Mi fino a naquis criolle! Onu dae mi winta ben hule."* (see spoiler for translations) Vivian pointed to the crown of snake skin she wore as she leaned over the piano. She could never play any instruments like her brother, all his talents were adored by the family and those of the coven. His music and company brought comfort to those around him unlike the terror she bestowed upon anyone looking in her direction. She didn't mind their outwardly social gap no matter how massive it was. Valentine was her twin, no one could take him from her least they wanted their organs displayed for sale above the marketplace. Sold at the lowest price of course for anyone in a cannabalistic mood.

"Mi winta ben wote of hule atten. Bero mi duno undeso whoque hue giva sen muoin atten te thad Granate whetch. Mi eva herron Knight Virgil wen felle of hula. Whoque warca hula numbri? Simone!. Yecht!"* She danced around the piano and plopped onto the bench beside her brother. Taking off the crown she sighed, twirling it around on her middle finger at a constant speed. Vivian pouted and leaned her head upon her twin's shoulder.

"Yuna alwasa sen sincero, Vivi. Howut cet hule nun? Anda duno wauvis bout then Granate woman. Hule's nun veta wocha of bellica a peto,"* Valentine said gently. He offered his sister a smile while rubbing the small of her back comfortingly.

"Thagato minet Val. Yous ringel, Granate poink amun to neva buh fud fore ten sluma. Leza gin roih fore thanb Cerebrut. Mi thoan ik's tumbro weh givre teh Cidthropes misque hontru."* She jumped off the piano bench and planted an innocent kiss on her twin's forehead. The crown of snake skin rested on her waves of black hair once again as she slowly sauntered back towards her room. She looked forward to the Knight match. She wanted to take the position for years now but always got looked over. When Knight Gur had defected she wished to take claim to his position but No Name whisked it away. This time Val was determined to prove herself especially in front of the Valerius heir, Reginald.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -⋤CURRENTLY...⋥- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Prim forest was live with new recruits, old members, and even the council. House Fang's beloved High Priestess Nilin and High Priest Reginald graced everyone with their presence and a few words to start and organize the emergency ceremony. The Core members sat over a wooden platform, raised above the grass and dirt for their show of authority and perhaps some comfort. Vivian noticed High Priestess Nilin's white heels, they weren't her usual style but it did compliment the woman. Their speeches raised morale within the audience and Vivian caught herself staring at Reginald several times. No shame. The Valerius and Cidthrope families were noble and popular names within the coven. Before Reginald took his ascent to the top of the food chain he had been at the same level as Val and Vivi. The three grew up together, learning the magical arts and spending much time as friends and.. She folded her arms across her chest and listened to their words. Many lives had been lost during the Half-Giant Rebellion and Infiltration by the House Granate scum and so the coven needed to fill the void left in their wake. The funerals that took place immediately after had made Vivian roll her eyes in mockery. Anyone who couldn't survive a Half-Giant rebellion did not deserve to call themselves a House Fang member. Those huge idiots weren't so graceful in their movements and navigating through the residential area was harder for them than regular sized house members who knew the layout better than they did. Vivian proudly stood garbed in a long, black and red cheongsam. Black elbow length gloves and bandages wrapped around her forearm to keep her hidden katars in place.

She kept close to her brother's side as she perused the crowd of new recruits eager to join ranks with the notorious coven. Turning to Valentine, "Tch. Mon bekis foh ut to parc whet."* Vivian murmured under her breath to her twin. A smile creeping up the corner of her lips and narrowed crimson eyes twinkling mischievously. It was like picking out prey for the next meal. Afterall her alter for Arianlord required fresh blood every other day. She paused to glance over at her blonde twin, a sweet yet worried expression across her face. Everyone knew he seldom stayed around when violence was involved. His only intervening moments occured when it appeared his twin was at risk. Many females in the coven swooned after his sweet smiles and gentle look. Vivian remained un-phased so long as they new what boundaries to stay behind. Vivan yawned boredly, her attention peeked only when some members were singled out. The lower brackets had begun, the mages giving it their best shot to impress the council members, HIgh Priest and High Priestess. Vivian's crimson eyes darted over to the HIgh Priestess as she yelled at a rather tall mage with different colored hair. "Wearing a hood or anything that can hide your identity is against the rules for the trials here..." blah blah blah blah. Once more Vivian turned her attention away and focused on the fresh meat. Some displayed abilities that intrigued her while others should try their luck out at Granate where the weak and ugly retreat. She spotted Svenja in the crowd. Hard to miss the nest of blue hair. They never really got along, their altercations ending in physical or verbal conflicts. There was no doubt that Svenja was feared in the coven, her reputation being noteworthy. But that didn't make Vivian flinch. Hardly anything made her flinch. The two suddenly made eye contact, as a natural reaction she barred her teeth at Svenja from a distance while the blue haired mage glared and turned away to continue walking. Good riddance.

Aaren Cavallaro took the stage, dragging with him a young looking Knight Marcus. Vexed by the astonishingly similar looking lad, Vivian gave her attention to the platform. "You do not recognize the man standing before you? Ah, it might be because my younger brother Marcus is in his form of a teenager. Yes. I had said that right. It is truly him born again from the ashes." Whispers exploded throughout the audience who were free enough to witness. Vivian glanced over at Valentine with an eyebrow quirked up. Why would Aaren Cavallaro announce this to the coven, even if their family truly had phoenix abilities then that would mean...A large grin graced her lips. What a great shame she wasn't a water elementalist. But she'd be damned if she didn't stock up the Cidthrope household with buckets of water just for kicks and laughs. Speaking of laughs, Vivian clamped her hands over her mouth to hinder herself from bursting out in laughter after High Priest Reginald spoke up in response to Aaren. This Ceremony was turning into a real live entertainment circle. She noticed Gabby, No Name and Virgil in the area and wondered what was going on in their heads. The Knight match meant that No Name and Virgil may participate but what about this pubescent Marcus? Of course, fighting to the death wasn't an option but at least they'd have fun with a good dirty brawl in this forest. She observed the confused expression on Knight Virgil's face as he spoke to the HIgh Priest. Their conversation eluded her considering the distance yet it produced a yearning to wipe off that scornful puppy dog look on his face. Knight Virgil walked up to the edge of the platform, "You think these morons are up to the challenge?". What an young arrogant pr*ck. Vivian stepped forward quickly, her shoes kicking rocks out of her way with the single step she took.

"Knight Virgil, or shall I say Zhu hero boy." Vivian smirked and bowed her head pretending to show some sort of respect to the mage despite her sarcasm. This time she kept her voice low enough for only Virgil and those in close proximity to hear.

With the High Priest and High Priestess' attention focused on other matters it gave Vivian the opportunity to speak more freely to the young brat. "How about you come down here and show us 'morons' what it means to be challenged by a Knight who seemed to be close to a Granate whore? Everyone says she stayed by your side in the infirmary like a little b*tch. Oh, excuse me, I mean Simone. That's her name right? We should have skinned her alive and gave it to No Name or perhaps fed her to the ravenous snakes. For the short amount of time she was with us, I bet she gained enough knowledge to spill the beans to Granate."

Her arms stretched out to give her muscles a good prep for the upcoming fight. A free for all with multiple participants had her blood rushing with utter joy and adrenaline. "You say moron. But only a real moron would sleep with a Granate b*tch and still call himself a House Fang member..." Feeling a look from Valentine she decided to wave her hands at Virgil with a coy smile on her face, "Oh I'm just kidding no need to take it personally. When are we going to start our game? We all look like we are ready to play."

__________________________________
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▇ ▇ ▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
↷H E A L T H : 100%▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
⇡ M AN A: 100%▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
⇣ M US I C: You'd never dream of breaking this fixation.
↪ Ｃ O M P A N Y : Valentine and House Fang members participating in the emergency Ceremony.
﹝ ↓ L O Ｃ A T I O N : Cidthrope Estate to Prim Forest.
__________________________________
__________________________________

⋤Ｏｕｔ.Ｏｆ.ＣｈａｒａＣｔeｒ⋥

↷ Vivi Dialogue: ▇▇▇ #A40000

↷ The "Knight" part of her graphic is there in advance but currently in this post she is just a Mystic. Again thank you SoL for the coven graphic, your artistic abilities are valued and appreciated by me and everyone in coven!

↷ @Virgil - - It is known in the coven that Simone was a Granate prisoner turned to be new Fang member introduced by High Priest Reginald. No one really knows that he used dark magic on her but she eventually made some acquaintances while Virgil was in Zhu. When she was taken back to Granate, few assumed she is still loyal to Fang while most believe she is a traitor. Vivian doesn't really respect anyone but the High Priest and possibly the High Priestess the rest are formalities. She's just egging Virgil on because 1) she is excited to battle 2) she dislikes him for showing attention to the same woman Reginald did. She's basically projecting her anger at Reginald, towards Virgil. XD Yes Vivian is a little psycho.

Satellite O Love

Peacock Catastrophe

Tigerx81

↷ Over the years Val and Vivi have established their own twin language as a coping mechanism to combat their harsh environment. Translation:

"Val! Mi fino a naquis criolle! Onu dae mi winta ben hule."*
Vivi: "Val! I finished a new crown! One day I will be his."

"Mi winta ben wote of hule atten. Bero mi duno undeso whoque hue giva sen muoin atten te thad Granate whetch. Mi eva herron Knight Virgil wen felle of hula. Whoque warca hula numbri? Simone!. Yecht!"
Vivi: "I will be worthy of his attention. But I don't understand why he gave so much attention to that Granate whore. I even heard Knight Virgil was fond of her. What was her name? Simone. Yuck!

"Yuna alwasa sen sincero, Vivi. Howut cet hule nun? Anda duno wauvis bout then Granate woman. Hule's nun veta wocha of bellica a peto."
Val: "You're always so sincere, Vivi. How can he not? And don't worry about the Granate woman. She's not even worthy of being a pet."*

"Thagato minet Val. Yous ringel, Granate poink amun to neva buh fud fore ten sluma. Leza gin roih fore thanb Cerebrut. Mi thoan ik's tumbro weh givre teh Cidthropes misque hontru."
Vivi: "Thank you Val. You're right, Granate pigs amount to nothing but food for the slaughter. Let's get ready for that Ceremony. I think it's time we give the Cidthropes more honor."*

"Tch. Mon bekis foh ut to parc whet."
Vivi:"Tch. More bodies for us to play with."

[Satellite O Love]

During the Half-Giant Rebellion

The petite woman fluttered through the carnage, searching madly for the man she knew she needed to find. She’d been told by one of the runners who was funneling fledglings back into the caves that the High Priest was attending to business outside in an attempt to save whoever he could and end this madness. She had to get to him and let him know that their problems were bigger than the Half-Giant Rebels. Josephine wanted to fly, but it made her even more of a target to the giants roaming the battlefield tossing whatever wreckage they could find at escaping mages.

Not only had she been temporarily felled by the High Priest, but her reactionary stream of electricity had shattered her aliquam, leaving her no other course than to inform the man in person. The only problem was that she kept getting distracted by the sights and sounds around her. The Knight had saved several imperiled Fang members from their mammoth foes more times than she could count – she’d used her power liberally and was running extremely short on mana.

Her breath came out in ragged gasps, but she still pressed on. A young Fang woman was about to be stomped by a rampaging giant and, instead of magic, Josephine darted forward and tackled the young woman to get them both out of the way. The giant howled in anger, but the girl in question had apparently recovered well enough to hit her assailant with a stream of ice.

“That was close. Are you alright?” the Knight asked, rolling off the young woman as she prepared to take to the sky again. Before she could even check to see if the giant was still after them, the girl’s hand darted out and clamped around her arm.

She opened her mouth to question the girl’s condition, but was stalled by the sight of the girl’s wide, staring eyes. They looked through her like the witch was in some sort of catatonic state, but her grip on Josephine’s arm was hard enough to bruise.

“Nobility doesn’t suit you. Why don’t you do the world a favor and lie down and let yourself be trampled?”

She was stunned by the juxtaposition of the young woman’s blank face and her vile words, but she didn’t have time to investigate. Perhaps this girl had just snapped under the pressure. “What? That’s not how you thank someone for saving you, girl. Now let go of me.”

The girl let go with her next tug and Josephine went flying back. Her reflexes saved her from nearly being trampled by the now raging giant and she spared only a confused glance back at the girl before zipping off. The battlefield thinned out as she moved closer to the mouth of the cave; the majority of the giants were surging anywhere but the stronghold of the enemy. Not so for the Fang mages, though. She nearly lost herself in a group of wounded, shouting men and women of all ages. As she moved through the group, a young man detached himself from the flow and turned to look at her. Josephine felt her skin crawl at the blank, empty glint in his eyes.

“You can run, but you’ll never escape us. This time you’ll never see us coming.”

She pulled back, glad that he wasn’t within grabbing distance, but the man didn’t pursue her. Instead, he spoke again. “I’m sure you don’t remember it. Inconsiderate people never do.” This obviously wasn’t normal. The Knight shook herself and tried to focus again on her mission to find Reginald. Anything else could be dealt with later.

Whatever the High Priest was doing, he clearly wasn’t staying in one place for too long. She’d been all across the battlefield but still had yet to glimpse him. In the midst of her search, a far off, familiar cry broke through the screams of terror and the sounds of spells flying through the air and property being destroyed. Josephine’s stomach twisted into knots as she realized who it was. The man was stumbling, practically falling over himself to get away from a half-giantess who was hurling everything in sight in his direction. Though the male was burly, he was only strong by human standards; he clearly had no chance against the rebel.

“Randolph!” Josephine yelled as she rode the sudden spike of adrenaline to help her friend. Randolph wasn’t the smartest or the most powerful mage in Fang, but he was loyal had had been one of her most reliable warlocks since she became a Knight. If her quest for Reginald was not going to pan out, then the least she could do was attempt to save as many Fang members as possible.

Josephine passed the man by and focused her attention on the Giantess. She summoned countless orbs of lighting around the enemy’s body. Luckily, the woman was still preoccupied with attacking the many mages still around her, allowing Josephine time to build the potency of the attack. The lightning crackled and surged and the giantess only saw it when it was too late. The jolt had the giantess’ heart stopped before she even hit the ground.

“Knight Josephine! Thank you so much! I thought I was a goner there,” Randolph shouted as he grabbed Josephine’s arm and wrenched her out of the air and into an excruciatingly tight bear hug. The man had always been demonstrative, but now was definitely not the time nor the place. The Knight patted him awkwardly across his broad back and said, “It’s alright, Randolph. I won’t leave you in the middle of this chaos. Now let’s go.”

“Thank you, Josephine. I suppose I’m handy enough to keep around because I’ll never be a veritable threat.”

Cold sweat rolled down her temple and over her cheek and Josephine suddenly felt like trembling. She was almost afraid to look up for confirmation of what his sudden change in tone could mean. His arms, while a comforting weight before, were now like a vise slowly crushing her. Josephine swallowed her fear and craned back her head only to confirm that he was just like the other strange mages she’d encountered. Eyes dim and empty, face completely neutral.

“Let me go, Randolph. I don’t want to do something I’ll regret.”

He laughed, but his mouth barely moved, sending a different sort of shiver down Josephine’s spine.

“No loyalty, even to someone you’ve endeavored to protect? There’s even less to admire about you. You walked away before I could finish, back when I was telling you about your infraction. It was the initiation ceremony and before you open that ridiculous maw of yours and ask, you should already know the answer to that question. You’re supposed to be brilliant, after all. So caught in in your own ego and the countless tidbits of useless knowledge you have fogging your mind that you never even noticed. So busy looking for a challenge that anyone who kept their head down and acted like they were impressed by your apparently unending stream of nonsense completely escaped your discerning eye.”

The more the man went on, the more Josephine struggled, but it was useless. She sent out a small jolt of warning, but Randolph laughed again and only intensified the pressure, “Go ahead and kill him. It’ll just be another stain on your conscience. Speaking of – it was terrible. I thought my blood was boiling. I’m glad that I shared the damage so that my poor kiraou wouldn’t have to deal with the brunt of it all by herself. Anyone who hurts her will feel my wrath tenfold and you – you not only harmed her, you destroyed her chance of making it to the second class on her first try.”

What in the world was he going on about? Under normal circumstances, the Knight would probably already have known the answer, but the knock she’d took to the head after her last fight was making things vague and answers far more difficult to pin down than they usually were. The pressure that Randolph continued to put on her lungs was also making her light headed. He moved forward a couple of lumbering steps and Josephine felt a strange breeze and then an odd whispering, like if the threads of the world themselves were reaching out and tickling the hairs on the back of her neck. Then, all at once, the arms around her opened and she fell backwards.

For an instant, she saw sky before her head passed through whatever had been behind her and her field of view broke, like a cracked mirror. It was then that Josephine felt the familiar crawl of potent magic along her skin and realized that she was falling through one of Vivian’s portals. Her ears popped with the sudden change in pressure and her head immediately ached at the sound of the raucous laughter that greeted her on the other side.

”Desrailr kiraou, disl has uyas, fraera. Mi heya e ludaiul.”
(“Darling kiraou, turn her over, please. I have a notion.”)

Soft, toned arms wrapped around her for a minute before Vivian’s fingers tangled hard in Josephine’s hair and the Cidthrope violently flipped her onto her stomach. Josephine turned her head to the side where she could see the unsettling, euphoric smile on Vivian’s face as she drove the point of her blade harshly into her neck.

"Pull anything funny and we'll make sure to get the last laugh. Electrocute me and I'll send you through a portal directly under one of those monsters. You'll be squished like the bug you are."

“And to think she’s always bragged about her intellectual prowess. I suppose keeping your nose in so many books prevented you from seeing what’s right in front of your face,” Valentine said as he pushed Josephine’s body down deeper into the dirt with the heel of his boot. Vivian’s glee was bleeding into him, humming along his skin the way it always did when she found something fun. While her voice couldn’t disguise her excitement, his was somewhat measured. And though his words were threatening, Josephine shivered at how pleasant they sounded. It created an odd juxtaposition of fear, anger, and delight. But then, his voice usually had that effect on people.

“I always try and strike a balance, myself between learning from words and learning from what's around me. People brought me a far vaster wealth of knowledge than some dusty old tomes ever did, anyway. But I understand your curiosity and since you’re such a rare mind, I’m sure you would indulge me an experiment.”

He gave his sister a smile that couldn’t be mistaken for anything but sweet as he unsheathed his sword and pressed the edge of it between Josephine’s shoulder blades.

“Mi cluw irrui’ya faal ruucailr llus runadhailr ilaiwia du essald irruis erdes, Vivi. Huw efuid e feais ull lleaisirr wailrr?”
(“I know you’ve been looking for something unique to accent your altar, Vivi. How about a pair of fairy wings?”)

“ Val, you know how to make my days better and better. Not like the witch will need it anymore, right Josephine?”

In response, Valentine's face lightened in joy much like he did when she asked for him to play her a song and he dug his shoe harder into the small of Josephine’s back before expertly moving his blade under the joint where the Knight’s right wing met her back.

“Do relax. It will make for a cleaner cut. I’ve always wondered if ripping the wings off of a fairy are roughly the same experience as ripping them off a butterfly…or perhaps you’re more like a bird.”

The wail of anguish that issued from Josephine’s lips as he worked was irritating. If he were alone, Val would have commanded her to shut up. But he knew that Vivi absolutely adored the screams of her victims, and so always endured for her sake. The crescendo of ecstasy he felt rolling off his twin in waves assuaged the pain in his ears, and he laughed along with her as his blade allowed him to peel the right and then the left wing off of Josephine’s body.

He stepped hard on her back and looked clinically at the torn wing he had in his left hand. “Calm down. Haven’t you had skin flayed off before? I doubt the experience is very different. Oh, or are you upset with me because I’ve taken your ability to fly? Is that why I felt those pathetic jolts you call magic? But then we made sure you were run ragged, didn’t we? Sending half-giants your way at every turn…you killed so many too. I’m sure Reginald would be pleased. And don’t worry, you won’t ever have to feel what it’s like to experience life on the ground like the rest of us peons. I’ve always heard ghosts can fly, anyway. And now you can die knowing full well your fate was sealed the moment you pulled that cowardly move and hit my beloved Vivian from behind and ruined her chances to join the second class for an entire year. Bye-bye, Josephine.”

Human suffering from pain was only interesting the first fifty times. Anything more was just blood, guts, and boredom for the man. Thus Valentine wasted no time in putting his sword through her chest, straight through the blonde's heart. Her body gave one last shudder before going perfectly still. Her blood, though, it was on Vivian’s hands, staining her dress – just what she needed to pay homage to Arianlord with a particularly potent sacrifice. Valentine nodded to his twin who immediately opened the portal she’d triggered to bring Josephine through in the first place. Randolph was waiting on the other side, eyes as vacant as they were when he’d pinned his object of admiration. His face lit up at the sight of Valentine who stepped off of her body and gestured toward the fallen warrior.

“You’ve always harbored untoward feelings for the Knight, haven’t you? Then it’s only appropriate you go out together. Take her and go find yourself a giant.”

He nodded and, like an overeager dog, reached through the portal and easily collected Josephine’s fallen body. The last Valentine saw was the sweat-and-blood soaked fabric of his coat and one limp arm from his burden before the portal closed and he was left alone with his twin.


The Morning of the Initiation


It had been his idea. He’d never really forgiven or forgotten Josephine’s antics during the initiation festival six years ago when the usual trials had turned into a free-for-all. The second-class hopefuls were testing then and Josephine, in particular, had been eager to rise up in the ranks. So she’d done what Valentine usually would have ignored and passed off as another eager young person to get ahead – she'd used her magic to incapacitate an unsuspecting rival. Unfortunately for her, that rival was Vivian. Valentine had been sharing damage with her at the time because he wanted to increase their chances of getting picked for second class so he’d felt the same horrific burning and seizing as his twin. It wasn’t his own pain he resented, though. It was Vivian’s.

He’d initially planned on hurting her in some way to make up for the trouble, but she’d risen in the ranks to Knight within only a couple of short years after that fateful day and so he’d begun to think of a different plan. Valentine was nothing if not patient (a quality his sister lacked, which was why he waited to tell her his plan until it was fully realized in his mind). He hadn’t expected to return just in time for a small war inside their home, but had immediately seized the opportunity to put it into action.

It all paid off. Josephine, while brilliant in her own way, was as short-sighted as the rest of them in the chaos and so had fallen prey to their many efforts to exhaust, confuse, and frighten her. The end result was lovingly pinned above Vivian’s altar while the rest of it was just a pile of ashes after the mass-cremations that had been done to all remains that were too “mixed up” to be really called individuals anymore and sent home. The pawn had done his duty – Valentine saw vaguely through B’s eyes the fond embrace Randolph had achieved with his former superior just before a rampaging giant stomped all over them. He’d lost a pawn, but B was witness to the incredible last moments of the Knight Josephine and one of her most loyal friends and warlocks, which was an end to the loop they’d created. Countless witches and warlocks told stories of how Josephine had helped them by stunning and killing the threats to their already broken and bleeding bodies. She’d finally exhausted herself and died while valiantly trying to save her friend. Valentine thought she should have paid him and Vivian for crafting such an excellent legend. She’d probably be remembered as one of the most loyal and outstanding Fang Knights, after all.

Her tragic demise took care of one of the Knight slots. After her death, Valentine had pulled back, exhausted, and had planned on working one of his pawns into the infirmary to kill Virgil to open up another, but in the aftermath he’d heard of Marcus’ death and so cancelled the plan. Valentine held no particular animosity toward the rest of them (Marcus, Virgil, No Name) – it was the space he was after and Marcus so kindly went and died on them which made Virgil's potential expiration from his grievous wounds unnecessary. The one thing Valentine hadn’t really accounted for was for one of the remaining second-class members to still be well enough to attempt to claim one of the two open spots.

He looked to her now as he stood beside Vivian; his sense of focus on the woman was intensified because he was more than close enough to his twin feel her energy enlivening his spirit and doubling his excitement for the battle to begin. But back to the woman: Svenja Mercier. She was one of many Coven members he had no particular use for and thus really didn’t know. Valentine really only associated with sycophants and moony-eyed dreamers because he didn’t like a challenge (too risky). Svenja had bumped heads with Vivian numerous times, but that was hardly anything new. She was independent and willful, but she’d given him no trouble because she thought him beneath her notice. Valentine preferred it that way.

Vivian bumped shoulders with him then, shaking him out of his stupor as she moved over and whispered in their language about the new recruits. He offered her a small smile in return and brushed his shoulder back against hers to return the favor. He couldn’t look too pleased, though. This was a somber affair so soon after the death of so many of their own and he had his reputation to consider. “Valentine” abhorred violence even if he could be coerced to defend himself and so this display would be considered distasteful to his usual persona.

The appearance of the young, newly born Cavallaro did surprise Valentine. He managed a surprised, wide-eyed look and flicked his eyes toward the hangers on who had tried their best to find his and Vivian’s place in the crowd to gauge their reactions. He was glad they knew to keep their distance (Vivian’s presence necessitated it, especially for the annoyingly persistent women. He hated being touched and covered in their nauseatingly strong perfume) because he didn't feel like putting on airs when so much was going on.

But back to Marcus Cavallaro: the boy obviously wasn’t up to a battle and so Valentine was undisturbed as his death had wrought what he’d hoped for with or without his bizarre ability to regenerate. What he thought was more amazing was Aaren Cavallaro’s speech to the crowd.

“Mi riffura ha dhailcr du alhelsa hair llenairirr’r hulus ail dha rairhd ull hair fsudhas’r aileirfaisaiuir naedh. Fsun whed I’n haesn, ha wer saiffan efesd elldas railrra-helnanrirr eddanfdailr du faed e herll-raield ail sunfed. Bid aid’r el essureld nuya llus dha Cavallaros. Whed aill dhasa esa rfaiar ail uis nainrd ereail?”
(“I suppose he thinks to enhance his family’s honor in the light of his brother’s inauspicious death. From what I’d heard, he was ripped apart after single-handedly attempting to beat a half-giant in combat. But it’s an arrogant move for the Cavallaros. What if there are spies in our midst again?”)

When she laughed at Reginald’s rebuttal, he had to look away and bite his lip briefly to keep from doing the same. He supposed it was funny, but then even the fierce looks these men and women were giving each other were suddenly hilarious to Valentine. He supposed it was because he was happy. He never could tell some days whether the euphoria he felt through their connection was all Vivian’s or if there was an iota of it that belonged to himself. He wouldn’t begrudge her any of it though.

It only became troublesome when she took things too far. As she stepped forward and blatantly challenged Virgil, he felt some concern mostly because he hadn’t had time to focus. It was obvious that he would be at a disadvantage on his own in a fair fight – but this was hardly any of those things. He’d do his part, in the only way he could.

Valentine closed the distance between them and put his hand down on his twin’s shoulder to look the part of the concerned, overly burdened brother. The “good” twin. He even leaned forward presumably to speak wise words to his sister and encourage her to back down and wait her turn. Of course, that’s nowhere near what he was really saying.

“You can put us at an advantage if you do this correctly, kiraou. If he sees red and attacks you, we’ll have the initiative and the attention of the entire council. You’ll outshine Svenja without even trying. Just remember – you’re stronger, faster, better than they are. Swift – so swift that even the wind envies your ability to dance and sweep over and around any obstacles in your path. You’re lighter than air and clever enough to see past his anger to the many places he’s vulnerable…how his anger makes him vulnerable.”

He didn’t use their special language for this because the last half was the beginning of a spell – to boost Valentine through their mutual focus. If he was in the mind to weave his spells, he couldn’t use their language because he could end up saying the wrong words to the wrong people.

Location: Prim Forest

Company: Vivi,
tab tab Surviving Fang Coven

Attitude: Excited

hp: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
mp: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇

OOC: VAL NOTES: First off, twinspeak translations are in the ( ) brackets underneath the gibberishy statements. Just highlight them to read it. I think it really reinforces how alienating it must be to hang around them or near them but have no idea what they honestly think about something since they’re the only 2 people who speak it.

Now, I tend to lay things bare in the posts because it would be dishonest to do anything else, but there are certain things that other characters would and would not know about Valentine. The only exceptions (meaning the only people who know what he’s really like) are Vivian and Reginald. Everyone else can have some suspicions, but if you’ve gotten close enough to Val to confirm it, he’s either wiped your memory or you’re dead.)

Reputation: Friendly, nonviolent, sweet, accepting, etc. He’s thought of as an angel, especially among the Fang Bangers and has a collection of admirers. He’s constantly apologizing for his twin’s outward behavior and most think that he’s too nice to tell her to tone it down.

Powers: People, of course, know the general range of his powers (like the words), but no one knows about the hypnosis/enslaving people he’s worked on over time when he wants for obvious reasons.

It’s more than alright to feel a little weirded/creeped out by him after an extended conversation, but most people don’t think there’s anything off about him other than his unusually strong affection for his sister.

POST NOTES: I have no idea what state Josephine was supposed to be in after NoName left her and she had her fight, but I assume she was well enough to try and attend to her duties and search for Reginald to tell him about what happened.

For the puppet people – They’re speaking in Val’s text color because they’re repeating his words – they do so in their own voice.

This is the song Val was playing during the morning part of Vivian’s post, btw.