ℂℴvᴇᴎ: hell on vangare ⊰closed ⊱

[IILovelyAmarathII]

Hot pink eyes belted in a jolt of surprise when she saw the young man getting up out of his chair. She was about ready to move to follow him until she felt a surge of strength coming from her waist. She felt him pull her in his arms with a soft forcefulness. Oh My...this young man's strength is his arms is very interesting indeed. I guess I shouldn't think of him as child. Maybe I don't look half bad in this dress considering he already has me in his arms...wait ...What?!?!? What's going here?? Why am I being pulled into him like this?!

His warmth radiating has he held her in comforting hug and he spoke so softly. She just listened. She wanted to hear this. Celeste listen to his story of being just a hired hand. She learned about his overwhelming kindness towards Simone and how those fang bastards treated them both. All she could do right now is laugh.

This young man and I share great deal in common when comes to adversity in our lives. A bright smile came from her lips she couldn't hold herself back anymore. With her left hand she ran her fingers through his soft auburn locks and grabbed the back of his suit and with all of her strength lift upward let his hands escape her waist. Celeste had already had some wind magic castes in place in the palm of her left hand.

The wind she controlled went towards his feet as she had lifted him up in the air. She gave him the feeling of floating for a moment. She gently floated him back down in his seat. She calmly whipped away his tears of sadness with her soft delicate hands. A burst of laughter came from her as if she was a Viking. She was grinning and laughing to ear to ear. Her voice came out a little rougher though not as smooth or delicate as your normal everyday woman.


"Har, har, har, very touchy, feely aren't we? I'm quite flattered actually. Shouldn't that strength in your arms go to her not myself? From what I had heard Good sir, it like Lady Simone Mesa sounds more than just a friend or Client. I'm sure you have fallen in love with this woman no? The way you speak about her I already know that you are. You and I have a lot in common I would like to think. Your compliments could flatter any woman. I'm very glad that you and Lady Tarien were able to enjoy yourselves. I, Celeste Stettner welcome you and Lady Tarien to Granate. Unlike those Fang bastards you had to waste a part of your life in, I say only this. Granate is strong. We know adversity like no other. Those arrogant Fang bastards will reap what they sow."



She finished her heartfelt conversation with Cress, and watched him go take care of his dishes. Looking downward at the his sword on the table. She smiled and grabbed it. Pulling out her rag she began to polish it some more. She wanted to see his Sword companion named Regaltz shine. Celeste heard it talk and she just smiled and coyly spoke to Regaltz as she began to hold the sword close to her bosom. "Are you sure you're not a intelligent, charming, and very handsome man stuck inside this metal? You sure talk like one." Celeste studied Regaltz features making sure handsome man wasn't going to come out or the enchanted sword itself wasn't going to turn into a man. Chuckling to herself she said. "A fine Maiden you say? I haven't heard that term in such a long time. It feels good to feel young again."

She heard feet and then her ears and her eye took her attention off of Regaltz to face the petite blonde woman that looked like a small little girl. Celeste's eyes glowed with a bright happiness and she gasped in awe. Lady Tarien looked so adorable! Celeste itched to pull her in a hug and squeeze the adorableness that she was reflecting from her appearance. Instead, she stood up, placed Regaltz back on the table and pushed in her chair and bowed lightly from Lady Tarien's introduction of herself. Celeste was about to speak until her Alquierm on wrist of her right hand started shining a bright lime green manna surrounding it. Celeste looked back at Lady Tarien who looked very irritated at the as the petite woman commanded her to answer it. It was like a locket and flipped the seal off of it. A very faint, but alarming voice of her sister came from the Alquierm.

"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."

The woman made a scowl. Closing the Alquierm back up. She began to walk briskly. She knew now what had to be down. Turning her head back to Tarien she gave her a respectful nod and she said sternly with all seriousness. "Master Cress, and Lady Tarien. Please follow me. There is a small emergency we must attend too. Since you two are in my care, you both must come with me. It seems that one of Knights by the name of Ulrick Van Haden has entered what we call the Reaper's Crypt. I do not know all of the details, but we do not have time to waste."


Celeste had exited the little apartment building that they were in and looked back to make sure that the both of them were following her with ease. The avocado haired woman looked downward at the shoes she was wearing. Sandals. This is going to take longer than it needs to be. When I think something is easy...it always ends up being harder than it really needs to be. I hope to god that I still remember that password. It's been ages. I really wonder Ken and little favor are doing right now...I wonder if Kozue had gotten a chance to drink some of my special tea that I had made for this little celebration last night.

Celeste thought a little worried as she was walking in silence. It seemed that she was rambling on in her mind. Not really wanting to pay attention to the task at hand. It was her way with coping with troublesome situations. To her being Granate's watchdog seemed more complicated then one, two, and three.

The trio walked through the residential areas. Many of the residents were making gasping noises at the looks of them. Especially, Celeste. Not too many people knew that she was back in Granate. Her eyes rolled at the gasping noises and the whispers. Things seemed to get a little quieter when they reached the temple. Celeste turned around and stopped the both of them. She gestured them to get closer to her and she whispered earnestly. "Master Cressus and Lady Tarien, You must swear to me, and for all of Granate, that you must not disclose the whereabouts of this location to anyone. Only a very few know about this secret location here in Granate. I must warn you the walk will be some what of a bumpy one."

With that she lead the way through maze of this temple and found the underground dungeon. Stepping downward she entered to what it seemed like a cave. If it wasn't for the stalagmites bright coloration, it would have been impossible for her and the others to move through. Going further downward the trio meet a checkpoint of where two wardens were. Celeste calmed their looks of panic in their eyes. " Men, please show me to Knight Van Haden and the Mesa witch please. I'm Celeste Stettner, the high priestess sister. She gave me orders to get Knight Van Haden out of here and to make that Simone Mesa was still restrained."

The wardens, didn't not question who she was or the other two that were with her, they just followed her without hesitation. Having as much power as the Stettner family had they just felt like it was ok to trust Celeste and her other to companions.Celeste's hot pink eyes widen in shock of the sight she was now seeing when reaching the location of Simone and Knight Van Haden. Celeste's eyes narrowed in serious at the blue-eyed woman. Then had looked at very angry and frustrated bruised up knight. Lastly, it looked there had been a fight. Clearing her throat to she faced the knight and her bright pinks meet his dark emerald greens.

"Knight Van Haden, I do not know of what had happen between you and our guest the Mesa witch, but this needs to end now. I have orders sent by my sister High Priestess Kozue that she wishes to speak with you immediately. You can find her at the Koko river bank. I would like to accompany you, but I must keep a eye out on our other two guests here. Please. Take your leave."

Celeste walked to Mesa witch, but kept her distance. Her hand grabbed on to Claire from the back of her dress and that was attached to her back. Celeste began to speak to her slowly and in soothing voice.

"Simone Mesa. The man, that you seemed to be troubling you is leaving now. Your companions. Cressus Edge is here along with Lady Tarien Don'Nodel of the Sajinni. If you wish to speak with them they are here. I'm Celeste Stettner, sister of the High Priestess. You may not know me since I myself have recently returned back to Granate. Just know that people here want what is best for you." Celeste left it at that. Picking up her alqiuerm she had gotten in contact with Kozue.

"Sister. I'm here inside the Crypt. Knight Van Haden is leaving to meet with you as we speak. The condition of the Mesa witch could better, but since I was in the care of Cressus Edge and Tarien Don'Nodel of the Sajinni. They had to accompany me here. What is our current plan as of right now? I thought it was important that Simone talks with Master Cress and Lady Tarien."




☪ Location: Reaper's Crypt ☪ With: Herself, Cress, Tarien, Knight Ulrick, and the Mesa witch. ☪ Mood: Earnest ☪Outfit : creamy white dress Hairstyle : curls.
☪ Her Sword: Claire ☪ HP:100 MP:90 /EN :100 ☪ Theme : Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary) OP

☪ 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

LadyTarien

SaturnMidnight

KokotheBoss

@ At Koko: I just called her blue-eyed. She's no longer blind folded now. I wanted to keep it simple.

Edited: I had edited out the Blindfolded part.

[IILovelyAmarathII]

The raven haired Vesthun did not waver. He felt the hand of Prince Alecion land on his shoulder. He had heard his words carefully. Mordred felt exceptionally thankful that the Price of Civok took the time to actually hear Ember and Him out in this critical situation. He listened as the Prince explain to them how could he was only a mere prince and that doing the impossible just seemed out of the question, but Mordred knew that Prince was capable of overcoming the impossible and more. He felt like that was just the type of person he was.

Mordred felt Prince Alecion's presence leave him and he lifted his head upward to see where he was going. Violet eyes watched him like a hawk as he went to a large desk and pulled out a parchment of some sort. He went back to sit down on the bed and watched as the Prince brought back a drawing and placed in Lady Ember's lap. The Prince asked her to describe what the drawing was. Looking at the drawing Mordred took a guess that it could have been Fang's Crest because of the fact he himself wasn't in Granate long,He wasn't absolutely certain, but he had a gut feeling that it was just that.

His violet eyes watched Ember as her hands went over the parchment. He moved his right foot in slight nervousness. This is the moment of truth. Please Ember, get this right. For the sake of all of Vangare...ugh what I am thinking...but it seems she has the only answer left.He listened to her words and facial expression showed with a solemn smile of relief. The both of them had spoken the truth about how havoc would reach Vangare if Fang wasn't stopped. Mordred watched Ember carefully as great tenseness rose within her. When Ember had sat the up down on the plate and excused herself, Mordred digged his feet into ground as if it was second nature. He wanted to follow her. He shook his head and sighed. His violet eyes meet the Prince's eyes. He spoke earnestly.

"Prince Alecion, you say that you are only just a mere prince, but Ember and I believe in you. As we both know that you will become a fine king of Civok. You heard our pleas, and Lady Ember has revealed to you even more proof that what I shared with you is true. You may take what has been shared with you today how ever you chose, but I feel that you can accomplish the impossible. Please, take a few minutes to review what you have heard. Excuse me, I shall check on my companion." The Vesthun gave another slight bow to the Prince and his servant Umbra and exited the tent.

Walking over to the post where their horses and his baby sloth He stared at it and watched it sleeping peacefully. I wish I could be like that little guy.Mordred admired how carefree the creature looked he picked it up and wrapped the sleeping creature around his neck. Walking over towards Ember he watched how she paid special attention to the horses. He had placed his left hand over her shoulder and then move his hand towards her soft white locks of her running his fingers through it softly trying to calm her down.Turning his violet eyes to her wraps of her eyes He had spoke softly "We did our best today. Especially you, Lady Ember. Weather we like it or not, this war. All of Vangare now lands in the hands of Prince Alecion himself."






HP: 100 MP: 100 Location: With Ember outside of Alecion's tent Mood: Nervous/Humble/Serious With:Ember, Alecion, and Umbera Theme : FMA- Full Metal Alchemist (ED-2)


His Outfit : Mordred's uniform

Ember's Outfit:
Green Dress.
Boots:
black boots.

Hairstyle : Down




















Okami_Lone_Wolf



KokotheBoss


Notes:
- At Campsite of the prince.
-Baby Sloth is somewhere with horses.
-OCC:

[hot toddy with somebody]

Their three new companions were an odd bunch, from what Kuklo observed during the very short time they spent together. Gur was not a bad fellow so to speak. Honorable and true to his word since the moment Mikahail and the others met. From the outside at least. As for his companion - or "wife" as Gur had introduced her as - was another story. The woman was crude and didn't seem to care about anyone's opinion. That and the fact she is a woman obviously made Mikahail even more uncomfortable despite Chi bluntly stating she didn't like him. As for Fabien the farmer - who didn't look like a farmer but Kuklo was not one to judge - he still had no idea, but the male seemed to have his own agenda. Either way Kuklo knew he should not trust them so easily.

After the quick interrogation of the scientist he found, Kuklo silenced him by hitting a pressure point on the man's neck, forcing him to fall asleep. Chi found this act annoying and opted to kill the man to cover their tracks. Kuklo merely shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I am not allowed to kill anyone no matter the circumstances," he stated firmly. Chi grumbled something inaudible but Kuklo could hear something along the lines of "a pansy a**". Glancing at Mikahail he wondered if he should knock out the woman as well to make their new mission easier. Seeing the look in his eyes Mikahail gave a quick shake of his head. Now was not the time. Kuklo shrugged, glancing at the facility in the distance. "Well, we have our answer. The Jaimen are experimenting on innocent children in there. What's our next step?" Mikahail and Chi answered at the same time.

"We investigate inside the facility to confirm his statement."

"We go in there and make them pay for what they've done!"

The two decided to share a a murderous glare before Mikahail gave Kuklo an order. "Just go back in there to see if you can find the children our "witness" talked about and determine how many scientists and soldiers there are inside the facility. We'll find the front gate and meet you there in about twenty minutes. That'll be enough time for you to assess our situation, correct?"

"Should I eliminate any soldiers I encounter?"

"No. Knock them out, but do not kill them."

Kuklo nodded once in Mikahail's direction before taking the path he used earlier. He was around a quarter of a way to the Jaimen facility when he could hear the distinct voice of Gur sounding behind him. "Why is your servant not allowed to kill anyone? It would be easier for the rest of us if there are less enemies around." His voice slowly faded as Kuklo moved forward. Despite being far away, he didn't have to be near the group to know what Mikahail's response would be. "It's complicated."

~~~~~

It didn't take long for Kuklo to find the original entrance he used when he first entered the facility. There was a large crack in the wall of the back of the entrance, large enough for a thin man like himself to slip through without a problem. Mikahail gave him a twenty minute time limit; it took him four minutes to reach the wall. That left him with 16 minutes left to spare. Judging the size of the wall around the base, others in his position would say there wasn't enough time to scout the area. Kuklo thought differently. With enough training and skills, scouting an area using stealth was not a tough task for him. Find the children and count the personnel wandering around the base. Unlock the front gate and report back to Mikahail and the others. A simple plan, one Kuklo had no problem with completing. At first glance it seemed the base was empty for the moment. He did see one person walk by and enter a large building. Considering it was morning still, everyone would be enjoying breakfast before continuing their duties. Perfect timing since there was barely enough shadow for him to maneuvre in during broad daylight.

Without shadows, he'd need a disguise, just in case a soldier spotted him. Kuklo slinked into the building closest to his secret entrance. The door was unlocked. No one was around to see him slip inside. It turned out the building he chose was the warehouse. Burlap sacks were stacked everywhere, wooden crates further in the back. After searching through one of the sacks he found several white coats, perfect to wear for a scientist. He buttoned it up to the top button, just in case someone asked about his clothing. With his disguise somewhat in place he prepared to leave the warehouse. Until a certain scent caught his attention. Is that... sulfur? It wasn't just sulfur. He could smell saltpeter and something else as well. About three or four bags away from the coats, a pile of heavy sacks were lined up against the wall. Tearing one open, Kuklo stared at the dark matter inside. Gunpowder. And where there was gunpowder, there were guns. Mostly guns. If this is a science facility, why store gunpowder here? He understood some soldiers were stationed here, and the rest of the staff can be classified as scientists. Yet he counted seven, maybe around ten bags of gunpowder. Guessing what was contained in the crates farther back would be a fool's errand. Why such a large storage of weapons?

Used in case any children make an attempt to escape? To help clean up their mess? Explosives? The possibilities are endless. This new discovery slightly altered his mission; not by much though. He could use this to his advantage.

~~~~~

Less than ten minutes left until Kuklo's rendesvous with the group. Spending time to set up the explosives was not part of the agenda but he considered it a necessity for later. Breakfast for the facility's staff seemed to be over for many as there were a few scientists and soldiers walking around. Kuklo kept his eyes to the ground, avoiding eye contact with those around him. Hopefully everyone saw him as a simple blonde scientist. Speaking of, a group of white coats exited the mess hall (from what Kuklo determined after looking through the window). He fell in step behind him, careful to keep a certain distance from two men in front of him. He caught pieces of their conversation.

"Subject 34 died early this morning but 12 is still holding strong."

"I take it the injections are working then."

"Only on some of the subjects. Most of the older ones have died. A few remain from the first testing. The rest are dropping like flies!"

"Well if they keep dying, it means something is going right. Grab a few more test subjects and continue with the injections. Actually, hold off on 12's injections for the next 24 hours to see what her withdrawal symptoms will be like."

The rest of their conversation following after switched to what they had for breakfast, a conversation Kuklo did not feel like listening to. The scientist ordered to find more "test subjects" broke away from the group, heading westward. Instead of following the remainder of the group, Kuklo followed after what could be a lead. More test subjects; possibly the children they heard about earlier from the first scientist. Time was running out. He could interrogate this man and ask about the staff after they arrived at their destination. Kuklo held his breath and walked silently, eyes darting back and forth. The buildings inside the encampment were sparse in this area. A large, round one stood out from the others. Part of it appeared older and needed repair. The rest looked as if it was built a short time ago. The scientist searched through his pockets, pulling out a key and casually picking out one to unlock the door. Kuklo quickened his pace, his hand withdrawing the blade hidden on his left leg. He pressed the blade against the man's throat, shoving the man into the door and twisting his left arm behind his back.

"What the f--?!"

"Unlock it now and let us in, or else your blood is going to paint this door red."

A false statement but it did the trick. His captive didn't hesitate to unlock the door quickly to let the both of them in. Kicking the door shut, Kuklo scanned the room quickly. Empty, except for a few benches and another door in front of them. "I'm going to keep this as simple as possible. Answer my questions honestly and I won't have to kill you. Understand?" Kuklo whispered into the man's ear. He felt the man's body tremble, small whimpers escaping his lips. "If you don't answer," Kuklo continued, tightening his grip on the scientist's arm until the man cried out in pain, "I will break every bone in your body, one by one, and slowly carve up your body until you wish for death. Are we clear?" Good god, it felt like such a long time ago since he last used that threat. The scientist nodded before sniffling for a brief second.

"Good. Besides yourself how many scientists are in this facility."

"There's thirteen of us. Well, there were two others but they died in an accident during testing a few weeks back."

"And soldiers?"

"Twenty-three. Twenty of them are about to leave to find more suitable subjects and three are to remain here. Two by the front gate and one in the testing chamber in case anything goes wrong."

"Good. I have one more question for you. How many children and your so-called "test subjects" are there in this facility?"

Once more Kuklo tightened his grip until the scientist blurted out, "Th-Thirty-seven! The soldiers that are leaving are supposed to bring back twenty more in case we start to run out! Please! D-Don't hurt me!"

Kuklo sighed, releasing his captive. The man collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. "I won't hurt you," he stated, slamming the back of the hilt against the base of the man's skull, knocking him unconscious. "But I can't guarantee what my companions will do once they are inside." Grabbing the keys from the passed out male Kuklo searched for the correct key to fit the lock. Only three minutes left. He needed to hurry before the others decided on a change of plan. The fifth key he used fit the lock perfectly and Kuklo threw the door open. Several pairs of frightened eyes stared back at him from a dark corner. He found them. He found the children. "Y-You're not one of them," a small voice stuttered. It was too dark for him to see. Only the glint of their eyes from the light behind him allowed him to count out ten pairs. Where were the rest?

"No, I'm not." He stepped further into the room, the eyes shrinking back as far as they could go. He didn't want to scare them; his voice came out in a soothing, soft tone in order to keep them calm.

"Are you going to take us away like the others?"

"Others?"

"They keep taking us away. Nobody comes back." The voice fell into a whisper. "No one."

Then their voices grew. Several wanted to go home; others wanted to see their brother or sister again ever since they were taken away earlier. Kuklo felt a short, painful twinge in his chest. "You will be going home soon," he reassured, causing the voices to stop in unison. "I promise you that. But this is what I want you to do. When you hear loud sudden noises, I want all you to go through these doors and run as fast as you can. If someone tells you to stop, you keep running. No matter what." The eyes blinked at him. Shuffling feet echoed in the dark room as he heard the children stand up. "Good. Now wait for those sounds to go off before leaving." And with that Kuklo left the building, leaving the door leading into the small room open.


~~~~~

Kuklo couldn't explain the feeling he felt. When he first trained as an assassin he was taught not to feel any emotion. It had been years since he last carried out an assignment for the Ouroboros but he still followed those teachings in a way. No emotion. This time was different. Leaving the building Kuklo stomped through the encampment, not bothering looking down to hide his features. He didn't care anymore. His mission was basically complete. The front gates loomed in front of him, with the two guards his captive mentioned earlier. Mikahail ordered not to kill anyone, but it didn't mean Kuklo could not hurt them. One of the guards shouted out, demanding to know what he was doing. This didn't stop Kuklo from rushing at the two of them, smashing one guards head into the heavy wooden door and landing a kick in the abdomen of the other. With one guard knocked out, Kuklo turned his rage onto the other guard by grabbing the gun of the first and slamming the butt against one of the man's knees. He heard something similar to a wooden practice sword breaking in half. The guard screamed from the pain as he fell to the ground, leaving Kuklo to silence him with a kick to the head. "If I wanted to I could kill you in the blink of an eye." He hissed as he released the latch that kept the large gate closed.

"But I'll let them do that for me."

➸Front gate of Jaimen facility ➸Mikahail, Rei, Gur, Chi, and Fabien ➸Furious ➸Bleeding Out - Imagine Dragons
ＨＰ: (100%)

ＥＮ: (100%)

OOC: The official, last Kuklo post from me. Farewell hot ex-assassin crying

[EDIT]Made a quick change in the last paragraph about the gunfire.

[Stardust Drifter]

Celeste seemed to melt to his touch, but quickly became stiff and ridged. The next thing he knew he was in the air floating to his chair, with the woman laughing at him like some hearty drunken sailor! Yet she seemed happier now and that was all that mattered.

"Oh yes! More polishing!!! Oooh...your hands are so gentle yet firm. You know how to handle a blade Madame Celeste!" the sword mused happily purring as she decided to polish him once more.

Cress rolled his eyes and sighed, and slightly blushed at the sight of the golden haired woman. No longer naked she was wearing an adorable dress, he took notice of her mark for a moment but quickly took his eyes off of it. He knew how annoying it was when people stared at his mark. The petite woman was a strange one though, before she looked so ravaged and gave off a vibe that made a chill run down his spine. Now she looked chipper but still held that elegant attitude of a noble.

Maybe she was one? No matter, after she introduced herself he gave a nod of respect. "It's a pleasure to meet you Tarien. You look beautiful and elegant in that dress by the way." the remark she made about clothing confused him a little. Did she belong to a group of nudists or something?

The people on this continent, mostly the women, were so strange...so very so.

Regaltz was having the time of his life, deciding to play with the woman's head a little he chuckled. "What if I was? A powerful King, handsome and rugged, forced to spend all of his eternity in a sword. Ah I could be cursed, perhaps I am? Maybe I'm waiting for the right woman to rub me the right way to break the curse, to take her away as my Queen in a castle and Kingdom filled with vast riches. Perhaps a kiss on my hilt? A leap of faith perhaps." he mused happily.

Cress sighed, his sword was full of bologna this morning. He was debating to tell her the truth about his sword when something began to make a strange noise on Celeste's personal being! Tarien didn't seem to like it and complained, yet again, that she shut it off. He watched her talk into the device, staring at her like she was some kind of crazy person. Was that some kind of communication thing?

The woman suddenly grew serious as she mentioned a place called the "Reaper's Crypt." Nodding he grabbed Regaltz, his sheath, and prepared to follow after the women. Whatever was going on they both were needed.

------------------------------------------------------
As they wandered the streets Cress noticed the people whispering about the avocado haired woman leading the way. Surprised to see her, was she really a big deal? Her last name seemed regal and important but that was the first time he had ever heard of the Stettner name. This crypt was a secret as well, whatever they kept in there must have been a secret as well. "Don't worry I won't tell. Right Regaltz?" he said getting a bit serious and glaring at his sword.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I do not reveal secret locations, even I have a code you know." the sword grumbled causing a few people around them to do double takes at the talking blade.
---------------------------------------------------------

The air of the crypt was thick with magic. Eerie, the Stettner woman coaxed the guards and was their guide in this dark labyrinth. The mention of Simone's name caused him to grow a bit more serious. So this is where she was being kept, on top of that some knight was with her? Why were people hounding his client so much? Earlier Celeste had asked if he liked her, Cress wasn't sure the answer to give honestly.

Sure he still had a slight crush on the woman, but Simone had probably been through a lot more hell than he had. Of course arriving at the scene before only caused his anger to burn. It was that man she wanted dead. It looked as if he had run into a room of rampaging bulls, did she do this? What a fool, did he come to torture her more?

Simone looked like a wild beast, dangerous and full of rage still. Celeste seemed to asses the situation like it was a walk in a field of flowers. Walking past the woman he stopped close to Simone and gently moved his hand down to gently touch her cheek. "Simone...I was so worried about you...so this is where you were being kept! Are you alright? Did that man try to hurt you?" he asked gazing at her with compassion. Cress met her eyes and finally noticed the tendrils she looked possessed, this only broke his heart more.

He wasn't sure what they wanted him to do, but part of him just wanted to hug this poor woman. Yet with the crazed state she was in that probably wouldn't be a good idea. Still he didn't remove his soft gloved hand from her cheek as he just stared into her eyes. "Simone...what....what happened to you?" he asked as everyone around them seemed to vanish. Now focused on the woman she looked as if she had been left for dead. How long had she been in here? A monster sat there in her place but he couldn't look away. Instead he smiled warmly at her, like he always had. "That man you want dead is gone...everything should be alright now. Just try to calm down..ok? I'm here, I won't let them hurt you anymore." he said in a soothing tone hoping to get in touch with the crazed woman before him.
----------------------------------
HP: 100/100
EN: 100/100
Location: Town House
Company: Regaltz, Celeste, Tarien, Crazy Simone, Ulrick the punching bag knight ( razz lol)

Feeling: Concern for Simone

(OOC: )

[Grrrr the Gur]

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅
Gur Drikrtend
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The guard almost spotted them. Gur was in his black armor, Which would have been fine if it wasn't getting to be not-so-early morning. Mika wasn’t really dressed for a stealth mission and Fabian was unnaturally clumsy, so unnaturally that it was… well, unnatural. It worried Gur, along with Fabian’s story, which sounded a bit fabricated. But he owed the man; Mika probably would not have agreed to the truce without Fabian’s intervention. That, and they were in the middle of an enemy camp with a couple dozen Jaimen and regular troops and they could use any help they could get. He couldn’t see any down side in any case; even if Fabian’s story wasn’t true, or wasn’t completely true, it was clear he disliked the Jaimen with an obsessive intensity that bordered on madness. Whatever the reason for the animosity, Gur would take it; the enemy of my enemy and all that rot.

“There’s something about Fabian I don’t like” said Sker, echoing his thoughts. Sker had rejoined them while they were scouting the camp, giving Gur and Chi a succinct report on her slightly longer round trip to her body. It had been a relief to hear that she … or her body … was not a prisoner and seemed well cared for by this “Alf” person. After Kuklo had ... very efficiently ... let them in the front gate, with two heavily wounded guards down for the count, they had split up, with Chi, Rei and Kuklo going to rescue the children and Gur, Mika and Fabian looking for the drug's origin. Sker decided to stay with him since they were heading in to what looked to be nominally more trouble.

Gur’s group was heading toward the building the white cloaked Jaimen had been entering most frequently. The man they had captured had called them “chemists,” which to Gur sounded like another Zhu attempt to dress up magic and call it science. The white, traditional robes and the aptitude for mixing potions clearly marked them as alchemists. They were the group working on perfecting the drug. Not surprisingly, the labyrinth… no, what had the man called it? Ah, yes, the lab-bore-tory. The laboratory was in the center of the camp and more heavily guarded than the prison area.

That didn’t mean the prison area was safe, and Gur felt a spike of worry about Chi. “She’s fine” said Sker, feeling his anxiety. And Sker would know.

Gur half sighed, half chuckled. He’d really hoped that showing Chi monsters would be enough, but he knew her, knew that she wouldn’t be able to walk away from something like this. Despite Chi’s devil-may-care attitude, under that shell were the regrets that people had about mistakes along the meandering path life often took. Regrets that had reached some kind of boiling point when she’d killed the teenager at the farmhouse. But you didn’t reach that boiling point if, at your core, you didn’t care about right and wrong. Under it all, Chi might not be a saint, but she was a better person than most, and he knew that from the bond and from observation. And, frankly, saints were boring and pedantic. He’d take Chi even if he wasn’t tied to her soul in every sense of the word.

Sker went on, interrupting his rambling thoughts. “You know, I can’t feel him the way I can feel you and Chi, but I feel something… something kind of like that dormant demon in your head. That and… something else, a little different.” She paused, and Gur felt puzzlement through the bond. She finally added “I think Fabian is possessed by an inactive demon and an active ghost. Or maybe the right thing to say is Fabian possesses the young man and he and the demon are dormant. He, the young man, I mean, not the ghost. “ Sker paused. “This is confusing. I’ll shut up now.”

But Gur thought about the odd way Fabian moved, like he wasn’t comfortable in his own body, and what Sker said would explain that. Although how one person could be unlucky enough to be possessed by a demon and a ghost at the same time escaped him. Still, the same ”enemy of my enemy” reasoning applied… Fabian, whoever he was, didn’t like the Jaimen. And, even if it was now six… seven with Sker… attacking the camp, the odds of dying were still way too much in the red as far as he was concerned. But it was what it was. No one lived forever, and if he, or Chi and he, died trying to make her whole, well, at least it was a worthwhile cause to die for, unlike the twisted machinations of house Fang.

Mika was peeking around the corner. “Ok, the guard is past. We have a gap, two or three minutes tops, let’s get inside” he said, and all three of them sprinted for the door to the building, Fabian running quickly but with that odd gait like his legs were longer or shorter than he thought they should be. It was a large, weathered wooden structure who’s most noticeable feature was a complete lack of windows. That, and some slippery, oily thing that seemed to have soaked into the wood, something that smelled like fear. They slipped inside as quietly as they could.

Inside the door was a hallway. This had a real scent, an antiseptic smell with a touch of pine, and the floors were polished wood that you could have eaten off of. Along the right side were doors spaced at regular intervals, maybe ten feet apart, except for the one closest to them, which was twenty feet from the others and apparently lead to a slightly larger room. On the other side, in the middle of the wall, there was a single double door. The hallway was dimly lit by oil lanterns, since the were no windows to let in light. Gur and Mika each grabbed a lantern off the wall and moved further in.

They opened the first door in the right side, and it opened into a large room. There were desks and chairs, but most prominent where clipboards with papers hanging from the wall, each with a label overhead with a six digit number on it. Gur pulled one off the wall and read it.

Apparently, the six digit number was a patient identifier, and the papers held meticulous observations of the patient over one or more sessions, with a summary at the top. Gur looked at it in more detail. 453367 was, according the paper, a twenty two year old farmer, married, with no obvious signs of magic potential. The summary read “Subject 453367 was administered a single dose of agent jajellin suspended in 20 milliliters of water. Subject exhibited an immediate allergic reaction, with difficulty in breathing and heart palpitations. Subject appeared to be in the normal state, blissful and unaware of his surrounds. Monitored patient until death fifteen minutes after injection. Autopsy is required to determine if root cause of death was heart attack or inability to breath.” Gur handed it to Mika and looked around. There were hundreds of the clipboards on the wall.

Mike threw the board down in disgust. “Let’s move on.”

The next door was a small room with a chair and something like a padded table the right size to hold a person with wrist and leg straps. Gur noted that they were stained red. The next room was the same. “These are all patient treatment areas” he said to Fabian and Mika. He went to move on but Fabian was just staring at the table, expression unreadable, not moving. Gur shook Fabian’s shoulder. “Fabian, man, we have to move.” Fabian snapped out of whatever memory was holding him locked in place, but his expression couldn’t have been more grim than if they’d discovered a barrel full of drowned kittens.

They skipped the rest of the doors on the right side and went to the double doors on the left. Mika listened for a moment, then waved them in. Inside was row after row of wooden tables with hard tops made out of slate or some other dark stone. On each was a collection of glassware, beakers, bottles with strange fluids inside, and a variety of instruments for measuring, stirring, and otherwise helping with potion creation. Shelves and cabinets lined the walls with more collections. Gur shuddered a bit as he noticed bottles that looked like the one Chi had extracted from the … Mika had called them cannons … cannon wagon containing the anti-magic potion.

There were also desks at regular intervals, most covered with books and papers. They were about to explore when the all heard a door slam outside in the corridor. Gur and Fabian ducked behind one desk while Mika ducked behind another.

There were footsteps and muffled voices, and then the door to the room they were in opened. One man was speaking to another, although Gur could not see them. “Doctor,” said the first man, “I think you are confusing extrapolation and causality. The children that seem more susceptible to the drug are not necessarily latent magic users, although that might be a reasonable guess. But there’s no way to tell until they exhibit their powers.”

“So” said the second man, and Gur froze, because he’d heard that voice before, “is this some kind of objection to executing them if they test positive?” It was Gotzz, the Jaimen he’d run into at the tavern in the nearby Zhu town.

“Not at all” said the first man, sounding surprised. “They’re just farmer’s offspring, no real loss. I just want to have a large enough cross sample … from them and from the control group… and let them mature for a few years to see if they do develop powers. Then, we’ll have a statistical correlation that will prove or disprove the theory.”

Gotzz paused a moment and said thoughtfully “I suppose we could use them in the coal mines. They’ll develop magical powers, or not, well before they die from black lung disease. Write up a proposal with how many you need from each group, and I will look at it in the morning. Ahhhh… here we are, my hat. I knew I left it in here.”

Gur was literally holding his breath. A few more seconds, the two would be gone, and they could possibly figure out a way to sabotage the laboratory without raising an alarm and more than likely getting killed. Luck was with them…

Fabian stood up and walked out from behind the desk.

Crap, thought Gur, and stood up.

“Doctor Gotzz. Oh, Doctor Gotzz. Do you remember me, Doctor Gotzz?” Fabian's voice was choked with emotion. And not a pleasant one.

There was Gotzz in his black military outfit and another man in one of the white robes, Fabian walking toward Gotzz with a rictus of a smile on his face. “Gig’s up” said Mika, standing up, and he grabbed one of the lanterns, did a half spin, and let it fly at a nearby wall. The lantern broke open, oil splattering and catching on fire, spilling over some of the tables and cabinets. Gur held his breath again, remembering the disastrous results of mixing the bags of black power and flame, but there was no explosion, and he let it out. Then he noticed some of the beakers were flaming up. One cracked, and fluid with an odd blue flame spread out like rivers of fire. Where those rivers intersected other beakers, new floods of flaming liquid spread out in a widening circle.

Crap.

The white robed man spun and ran, screaming “intruders in the lab! INTRUDERS IN THE LAB! INTRUD…. Huh?” he stopped short as a pair of glowing gauntlets suddenly materialized in front of him. Then Sker, invisible except for the gauntlets, punched him hard enough that his head exploded like a rotten pumpkin dropped from the top of a building, blood and grey matter spraying over everything nearby. Gur took a mental note to do the dishes more often and to complement Sker on her outfit any time she changed... anything needed to stay on her good side. And Chi's.

Unfortunately, the cry had alerted someone, and Gur heard the clanging of alarm bells start to go off in the camp.

Crap.

In the meantime, Gotzz had backed up against a wall while Fabian approached him. “Know you? I don’t know you, I’ve never met you” he said, and when Fabian was at arm’s length, his hand flashed out. Fabian, in an odd show of dexterity, caught Gotzz’s hand and twisted it so Gotzz’ wrist was visible. There were four needles coming from little pods attached to a band around his wrist; one of the needles was pushed forward.

“I’ve seen that trick before, Gotzz. And surely you remember, you remember 117345? We had so many times together, so many injections, so many conversations. I remember you all too well” Fabian replied, and that hint of obsession and madness twisted around his voice like a python squeezing its prey.

Gotzz looked scared and confused. “You are not 7345. He escaped, that Maizen soldier, the fire mage, he looked nothing like you.”

Fabian laughed, and there was enough chill in it that if water had been nearby it would have frozen. “No, Doctor, I did not escape. The camp, maybe, but not the drug. Two days out, I couldn’t take it, couldn’t take the withdrawal symptoms. I hanged myself. But you know what they say. What comes around goes around.” And Fabian pushed three more of the needles in Gotzz’ wristband forward and then leaned on Gotzz’ arm, forcing his wrist backward until Gur heard the bone break. With Gotzz' hand facing backward at an angle it shouldn't have been able to, Fabian jammed it forward, the needles going into Gotzz’ neck.

Gotzz’ face was a mask of terror. “No… no… no…” he said. Then his eyes started glazing over. Fabian backed up and Gotzz took a couple of steps. “No… nnnnnn” and he stopped talking. And started smiling. Gur’s stomach churned.

Fabian started gently pushing Gotzz toward the spreading circle of fire from the beakers that were still cracking and spilling the flammable liquid. “You know,” he said, “I was going to burn you. Burn you from the inside out. But this, this is better.” Fabian gave Gotzz one more gentle push and Gotzz stepped back and then stood there. Stood there while the flaming liquid ran past his shoes, stood while his clothes caught on fire, while his skin charred, while his hair started to burn. Stood smiling while his eyeballs bulged and then exploded, the liquid in them boiling in the intense heat. Smiled while what Gur sincerely hoped was his corpse finally collapsed into the flames.

Mika was standing in shock, but finally shook his head. “Time to leave this party” he yelled, drawing swords, and Gur could hear the clattering of Jaimen boots on the floor of the hallway. Half the lab was on fire, there was only one door in and out, and behind that door were probably more Jaimen soldiers than he could count.

A classic frying pan and fire scenario. Except maybe this time, it was fire and frying plan.

Crap.

The gauntlets had vanished after pulping the head of the alchemist in the white robe, and Gur had felt Sker moving around, or more exactly knew she was moving around because he always had a sense of where she was. Now she spoke up. "Gur, I poked through the wall. There's already a few heavy crossbowmen outside the door and I think the bolts have that anti-magic stuff on the tips, and more Jaimen are pouring through the doors every second." Sker sounded panicked, but it gave Gur some hope.

"Sker, I'll get close to the wall; can you move through and attack the bowmen? Then Mika and I will just be fighting against swords." Sker, of course, would not be in any danger from physical weapons. He could see the question mark in Mika's eyes, but explanations could wait until later. Every moment they delayed was more Jaimen soldiers to fight.

The gauntlets clicked back on and Sker, still sounding scared, said "It takes a lot of concentration to keep them up but I'll do my best." But her voice suddenly sounded choppy and the gauntlets were strobing, flicking in and out of sight, "Oh shiiii...." said Sker. And was gone.

Crap.

That left Fabian, Mika, and he. Mika was an excellent swordsman, and Fabian might or might not be but had that feel of someone that had seen combat before and wouldn't freeze in a fight. And he was a fire mage, from Gotzz' comments. Perhaps the three of them, bursting out of the door at the same time, would present enough targets to cause the crossbowmen some confusion, enough to get off a spell or to close with swords. It was the best he could come up with, so it would have to do. But there was one thing he had to do first.

“You’re the soldier we found hanging in the woods.” said Gur. Fabian turned to him and that mad light was still burning back behind the one good eye but he nodded. Gur held out his hand. A set of military metals sat on his palm. “I think these are yours.”

Fabian took the medals reverently and closed his eyes. “Gotzz… these… that’s all I needed.” And then he opened them wide and Gur wasn’t sure if his expression was horror or relief. “No… no…” he said, and it sounded a little like Gotzz had. And then his face went funny, losing all the hardness and edginess. The face was the same, but suddenly Gur was looking at a boy, a confused boy. “Wh... wha....wh...wh...whaa...” escaped the boy's lips.

Gur corrected himself. A confused boy who couldn't string a sentence together. Because you needed all the handicaps you could get when you were caught between a raging fire and two dozen armed troops out after your blood.

Crap.

[Koko the Boss]

Ember, Garnet, Remington, Minerva, Joanna - - everyone in this damn coven disgusted her. The only reason she could pin point to evidence the anger towards them was that they didn't lend her the hand with Estella. Any other logic and rationale had been thrown out the window the minute Reginald had tainted her soul with the dark magic, resulting in extreme hate for House Granate and any one affiliated. The repetitious echoes bouncing off the cave walls would drive anyone insane considering the amount of shouting and movement the two ex-lovers were producing. A quarrel between two mages in any event caused alarm but these two especially had fire in their eyes. Her whole body buzzed with adrenaline as her tongue glided against her knuckles to clean off Ulrick's blood. If only these magical cuffs weren't on she could have choked him in the air or made sure to inflict a considerable amount of damage to the traitorous blue haired male. The cot she had thrown at him flung over to the right side of the cell wall. Darn metal frame. 'This guy needs to be locked up in a glass box' Simone thought to herself in annoyance. Ulrick himself wasn't amused and burst out a thunderous roar before slamming his fist into the wall. The red tendrils in her eyes swirled and branched out in excitement at the sight of Ulrick's hand covered in blood. She drew in a deep breath to catch the iron smell of the dark liquid, it enticed her the same way it did with Lestor.

Ulrick took several limping steps towards her with a strange determination in his eyes. Those green eyes were emanating sadness and anger clearly directed towards her and whatever was troubling his heart. "This is what you want. The reason I let you do this, is because today I found out everything." Simone gritted her teeth at the closing proximity between them, her feet taking her backwards until she felt the cool cave wall against her back. She let out an animalistic growl to warn him from drawing nearer but Ulrick didn't stop until a few inches separated their bodies. He began explaining what happened with the Dragonblade he had discovered soon after their engagement, how it was cursed and how the dragon within it took away his memories and feelings for her to create a hole in his soul. To add a cherry on top, the dragon even took away the memories their family and friends had of them being together. Simone wanted to look away in disbelief but his strong gaze kept her there glued to the spot the same way it always had. Even when she literally wanted to shred him to pieces he still had her magnetized to him.

Simone took a sharp breath, "Y-you're lying. You are one of the strongest mages I know, you wouldn't let a damn curse take over you like a weak sissy boy. Ulrick. Please....Stop... Just stop lying!!!" Her voice hit a high pitch and cracked as she felt her eyes begin to well up. Her body began to shake fervently and fists clench again. But why would he go so far as to make up such a ridiculous and intricate story?

Ulrick growled and gritted his teeth as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I couldn't fight his hold on me! I was so ******* weak! I couldn't do a damn thing for nine years! I didn't even get to feel any pain-you were the only one who got to suffer, when it was me who deserved all the pain!" His boots thudded against the cave floor and echoed as he took the liberty of giving her space again. Simone exhaled in relief but gasped as the tears suddenly gravitated downward, streaking in waves as if feeling the same bundle of emotions that day he tore up her heart. Nine long years she spent getting over him until she found Virgil, it took her that long to find someone worthy of trusting enough and opening herself up to again. Simone quickly wiped away the tears in an attempt to gather her bearings again in front of her enemy.

"Someone from Fang has turned your heart so that you hate everything to do with House Granate. Don't you dare-don't you ******* dare tell me you are as weak as me, to let this spell undo everything you have-forgetting everything you've experienced. ****** me! Think of your friends-no your family in this coven who taught you how important it is to love and fight for the peace and goodness in this world. Who have fought despite a losing war, and who have given their lives for everything we stand for. Joanna, Ember, Remi, High Priestess Garnet, your own family- don't forget them and what they mean to you, goddamnnit!" Ulrick pointed at her with wild green eyes. For the first time in a long time she felt her blood run cold and her head began to pound. She felt like someone was repeatedly smacking the back of her head over and over again, it just wouldn't go away. At this point her magic would have spiked the same way it did with Lestor but the magic cuffs contained all magic including the dark magic that would have forced her to go beserk again. A flaw in the system that the High Priest Reginald had not accounted for.

Simone clamped her hands over her head and closed her eyes shut with her back still against the cave wall. "Lies...Lies...Shut up! SHUT THE **** UP!" Her breathing became irregular and pulse climbed up exponentially. Flashes of memories with everyone in House Granate ran through her mind. Her conflictual goodbye with Minerva. The days she spent running around Amarile Forest with Joanna and Ember. Hours spent learning to wield her katana from lessons with Remi the weapons specialist and bigbrother/father figure. Laughter and tight embraces from High Priestess Garne. Growing up with Ulrick, playing pranks on everyone in the coven together and the day he brought out the most magical looking ring she had ever seen...'No..No...' Simone began to sob and shake her head in massive confusion. They are monsters...They're all monsters...liars..They never loved her..Only House Fang..Virgil..

Ulrick's voice broke through her thoughts, "House of Fang has your sister Estella, and only recently we found my mother encased in crystal. She said that Fang took Estella away, but because my mother was under crystalization for so long, she shattered into pieces right in front of me, after having risked her life trying to protect your sister! not only that, but for the first time in years our coven infiltrated Fang with only one goal in mind-to rescue you! We long one person-one you mutilated under the dark magic's spell, but even one false move and all of us could have died!"

Simone shook her head 'no' even though her head was still hurting. "Estella...no...that's not right. High Priest Reginald told me that they met and she went to Zhu..You're mother...crystalized..." Mrs. Van Haden was a kind woman, even giving her tips on how to take care of Estella when she was a baby and asking how High Priestess Garnet was fairing. This woman was dead? Simone opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at him. That's right, House Granate had infiltrated Fang to make history and that woman with blonde hair and even Cress mentioned something about them trying to rescue her. But something in her mind, no her very soul was blocking her from connecting everything and feeling anything but rage. She bit her bottom lip, was he right about someone tampering with her soul? Ulrick's green eyes expressed a deep pain that could not be faked.

"Now here you are, crying over your dear sister while playing the pawn for Fang, while using me above all else as an excuse to beblinded into hating Granate! Of course I'm angry! I'm furious! I'm angry because...Because I can't make up for any of this...and I messed up the life of the one who made me who I am-you, Simone..You've moved on....and I'm glad you could find happiness again...but I don't want you to feel the way I do; having to watch you move forward without being aware of what I lost, and only finding out now what it was when it's nine years too late." Ulrick paused, his eyes softened and voice lowered, "You can fight the spell, or you can keep beating me up till you've had your fill of revenge. It's your choice. You know that I always hated you repressing your emotions."

Simone leaned against the wall, her hands gripping the cave surface to give her support from falling over. " Nothing's making sense right now Ulrick...I don't know what to do anymore sometimes it feels like I can't control myself... I can't..." She was feeling light headed all of a sudden and couldn't understand what was going on with her, it scared her and scared her even more with the thought of Ulrick being correct. But if he was right about this then it would mean Virgil lied to her...why would Virgil do that? It didn't make sense. "...I hate...everything..House Granate. It doesn't make any sense!" Simone pushed herself off of the wall and forced herself towards Ulrick. She grabbed his shirt collar and shoved his back against the metal bars. Her fingers gripped the material of the collar while one hand laced around his neck in a weak grip. She had the intention of choking him but something was stopping her from following through.

Ulrick just looked in her eyes with determination and faith in her. The Knight was past all of his regret as she wasn't choking him. His hands clamped over her hands that rested above his collar and neck, he didn't remove them, instead he held them gently. It was the first time they touched in nine years without it being a completely aggressive action. Ulrick's voice rose up softly as his green eyes met her blue ones, "It's dark magic...". There were still traces of anger in his tone towards whoever had done this to her. Footsteps echoed throughout the cave, the sound originated from the stairwell.The pastel colored light coming off the different colored stalagmites hit against the shadows of three oncoming figures. Abruptly he looked as she did towards the sounds of people fast approaching. Knight Ulrick gritted his teeth in frustration, but didn't look too surprised that the guards had told the priestess about him entering the crypt.

Simone watched carefully as Celeste, the blonde woman named Tarien and Cress entered her metal cell through the door several feet away. They were all dressed rather fancily but that didn't stop the green haired woman from grabbing her Claymore and speaking with a tone of authority,"Knight Van Haden, I do not know what had happen between you and our guest the Mesa witch, but this needs to end now. I have orders sent by my sister High Priestess Kozue that she wishes to speak with you immediately, you can find her at the Koko river back. I would like to accompany you, but I must keep a eye out on our other two guests here. Please. Take your leave."

Her chains had long been broken and nothing kept Simone restrained other than the fact she still remained within the cage and the magic cuffs tightly clung to her wrists. She could feel Ulrick tense up under her touch the minute Celeste spoke but he remained in his spot with his back against the bars. In return Simone did not let her grip go of Ulrick even after the woman spoke. Instead she narrowed her eyes as the corners of her lips raised mockingly, "A claymore? You plan to strike a defenseless mage inside of this cage? I cannot run anywhere but I suppose that's how your kind likes it. You are the new High Priestess' sister huh? She came in here earlier to feel me up, are you going to get kinky with me too?"

Ulrick's eyes narrowed upon what the Stettner Priestess' sister had to say, but nothing in response, even at the presence of the claymore to boot. However the Knight new better than to ignore the Priestess' orders. He let his hands drop from Simone's to his sides. Simone turned her attention back to him, she could tell he wanted to say something but the hesitation was apparent. She exhaled heavily in annoyance and let go of him and took a step back from him to move. Ulrick nodded to Celeste before grabbing his coat from the floor and staff out of the bars. On his way out he took a moment to acknowledge Tarien silently, he then gave Simone one last longing glance before heading up the stairs and out the exit of the crypt.

"Simone Mesa. The man that seemed to be troubling you is leaving now. Your companions. Cressus Edge is here along with Lady Tarien Don'Nodel of the Sajinni. If you wish to speak with them they are here. I'm Celeste Stettner, sister of the HIgh Priestess. You may not know me since I myself have recently returned back to Granate. Just know that people here want what is best for you."

Simone listened to the woman speak through her aliquam. She glanced behind her to see Cress and Tarien. Tarien was dressed in childish clothing and a strange mark was seen over the nape of her neck, she was the same blonde woman who claimed to be her kin and even had a dragon-like form that fought against Ulrick. Her blue eyes darted over to meet the bright pink orbs of Celeste. " I recognize the Stettner name, my mother made sure I knew about the noble houses," Simone said in reference to Garnet and suddenly chuckled, " You think that man was troubling me? Did you see his blood and bruises? Or perhaps you want to have the same sort of fun with me?" Her eyes sparkled dangerously as she stepped up forward until her own neck grazed over the edge of Celeste's Claymore.

Cress suddenly walked past Celeste and pulled Simone away into an embrace. Simone's body tensed and she glared at him in confusion and irritation. His hand glided down her cheek gently with concern filled in his eyes, "Simone...I was so worried about you...so this is where you were being kept! Are you alright? Did that man try to hurt you?" His voice was soft but Simone scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. Did he not hear what she just said to Celeste? There wasn't even a scratch on her while Ulrick looked like hell on wheels walking out of the cave. Clearly she cared about Cress, she was relieved that House Granate hadn't done terrible things to him but sometimes she wondered if he was paying attention to the details or not.

"Simone...what....what happened to you? That man you want dead is gone...everything should be alright now. Just try to calm down..ok? I'm here, I won't let them hurt you anymore."

The pounding in her head remained steadily apparent but she managed to ignore it better than earlier. Inwardly a wave of rage hit her again, this time she couldn't control her actions as well as before. Innocently she shook her head 'no' to Cress, her hands creeping up his chest, "I'm fine..." Simone breathed in slowly and quickly forced her fingers around Cress' neck and tightened her grip. "What do you perceive me as!? A weak damsel in distress who can't save herself with the presence of her ex-fiance?!" She angrily shoved Cress in Celeste's direction before she did something terrible

"What do you all want from me anyway?! Cress, why are you even hanging around these people? And Tarien Don'Nodel of the Sajinni, what are you, a dragon? You said we were kin right? You must be lying because I'm human! You're all just a bunch of liars!" Simone growled angrily, her fists clenched and eyes wild.

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tab tab LOCATION: Reaper's Crypt 』『COMPANY: Ulrick, Tarien, Cress, Celeste『THEME: This is worse than it seems!

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xHEALTH ( HP )ＣＥ: █████████ █ 90/100 tab MAGIC ( M P )ＴＡＮＣＥ: █ █████████ 15/100

xoxoxoxxoxooxoxoxo

Notes:
『 I'm using this layout until Simone is back to her old self again then return to her original layout which I'm pretty excited to use again!

『 The reason why Ulrick was able to get to Simone is because of the magic blocking cuffs she is wearing (thanks to Kozue!). The magic cuffs are blocking Simone's natural magic but also the dark magic that Reginald had installed thus making it weaker. Simone's own willpower and soul is able to have more clarity than before and control however she is still tainted, angry and confused. High Priest Reginald also twisted her memories so they are still like that until Tarien can use her magic on her grandbaby. I won't go so far as to say 'love' is able to overcome and guide Simone (this isn't a Disney movie) but in a sense her strong bond to Ulrick is keeping her from killing him or following through with it.

[Uchiha Itachi Jr]

As Marcus practiced his magic he started to catch on rather quickly and develop his abilities quickly but still nothing could replace his years of training that he had forgotten in seconds from his death. When his brother showed up and helped guide him on his form and some other techniques, Marcus simply blushed slightly and attempted the way his brother taught him to do it. It was then that in that instance he remembered a moment when he was younger when his older brother use to do things like train with him all the time. The only difference was that Marcus caught on extremely quickly and had always done it a step better. The younger child was a prodigy after all of the prestigious Callavaro line. He was a spitting image almost of his mother and even had her fire it seemed.

The Callavaro were a driven noble family who were extreme rich, powerful, and influential. There wasn't many who didn't know their name. Many feared them for their dangerous abilities while also respecting them for their status. Marcus started to gain fame after his various dealings with trade for his family in Maizen and then within the coven after his first trials and he showed much talent, to where it attracted many council members and the current high priest and priestess. It however made him have a higher status of his older brother of which it didn't matter much. Marcus still had always loved his older brother and hadn't treated him any different. In fact he treated his brother probably better than most people.

Being taken to the Prim forest for the ceremony, Marcus tagged along on his white horse and entered into the area. At first the guards questioned who he was and was quite surprised and then let him in. It was then that his older brother took him to the stage where the two leaders of the coven stood. Both looked excited for him to be alive but also angry at his brother for entering the stage without permission. Looking at his brother briefly, he would glance at Reginald when he would speak to him about being allowed to stay however it would bar him from re-claiming his knighthood. Thinking for a moment, Marcus looked into the ground towards the members of the coven and then to the knights who were nearby. Stepping forward, Marcus smirked for a moment. "I rather reclaim my knight title, seems like fun... plus I would love to show off and take down some newbies that would like to take my spot even in my I guess new body." He said in a cocky tone.

Marcus was still the same Marcus it seemed at heart. Waiting for the two to respond, Marcus glanced over at two twins. For some reason something told him not to trust or like the two of them. He would then look towards Virgil, a man his brother told him he didn't like. Seeing him he didn't understand why he wouldn't like him until he spoke out and called everyone morons. Turning to face his brother, Marcus spoke outwards towards him so most could hear what he was saying. "I see why I wouldn't like this p***k now, I want to punch his face in already." He stated out loud as he then turned back to face Virgil and throw a glare towards his direction. Yeah somethings never changed it seemed.

Thinking back to his brother he wondered if he announced him being a phoenix was the smartest idea. Their family must have hidden it for a reason, the most common one being that they were beings of fire and would be naturally weak against water magic. Also he agreed with Reginald that announcing it to people who weren't bond to the coven was a mistake as well, if some of them left or didn't make it, he would have to kill them now it seemed. Looking towards Reginald the former knight would shrug. "It won't be a problem, whoever doesn't make it or leaves will be killed by me." He reassured the man before turning to the crowd and looking at the crowd intensify with fear of not passing the opening ceremony. That would handle any thoughts of betrayal he believed, and hopefully it would kick everyone into gear of passing the entrance exam. Oh how the boy hadn't really changed at all. Well he was more prone to emotions now and also was more reckless as a teenager and impulsive so he actually was more dangerous the way he was now.

Thoughts - ≈ -Great and would hope to reclaim knighthood. - | - Magic/Health - ≈ - MP: 95/100 HP: 100/100 - | - ｗｉｔｈ - ≈ - Fang members

[bacchanalia bat]

With a swift movement, he took the reports from Celeste and tucked them under his cloak to keep them dry. It wouldn't do to have her hard work destroyed by the pounding rain. As for her generous gift, he was struggling to find the appropriate response. Kendall had never been adept at speaking, and when someone presented him with something that caused surprise, it grew even harder for him. He was used to having his gems supplied by the woman, but her gifts had reached such a level of munificence that he was at a loss for words. To avoid stretching the silence, he let out a simple vowel. "I," clutching the sack of jewels, he gathered himself between attaching them to his belt and looking back up at Celeste. "My thanks," he finally found his words, delivering them as smoothly as he could manage.

He listened to her concerns with great attention, glancing in the direction of the forest with both curiosity and concern piqued.

"Celeste, you need your rest. Let us take care of it." Kendall admired her aptitude for detail and the immediate concern for the protection of the coven, but he knew that she had traveled a great distance and needed to rest before she fall asleep on her feet. "If I may ease your mind," he gestured to the group of wardens standing by the gate. Within the signs that most of his rank knew, a fully extended arm with the thumb up and index finger pushed out slightly meant 'search the area.' He had been the one to induce this language to those who guarded the wall, and the sleight of hand in which they communicated was subtle enough to not be seen or understood by an enemy. Afterwards, he sent for a stable boy to take Celeste's horse and wagon. It wasn't much of a task for him, considering he had people who liked him enough to obey his beck and call while he caught up with an old friend.

As per request, he went to check on the High Priestess. Or at least, he meant to. With the reputation and resources he had on hand, he was unable to locate her.

x x - T i m e s k i p - x x

The day passed by in a relatively uneventful blur, though he had heard rumors of a catastrophic event in the Fang Coven. Kendall disregarded the majority of what was said, getting the gist rather quickly and pushing the rest aside. He was not someone who had an abundance of curiosity, so things like this held no interest to him. As long as his Coven, friends, and family were safe, he felt no worry. Most would call him a simple-minded man for this thinking, but he simply chose to prioritize his things of importance.

Regarding his duties, he had been assigned to guard the front entrance to the city with his usual squad. The men exchanged stories and laughs, (he could have sworn he heard someone gloating about serenading his sweetheart) while Kendall stood rigid. Of course, they tried to include him in the fun and gimmicks, but he always politely turned them away. If they were to be attacked at this moment, he would like at least one of them to be standing at attention.

A wagon full of produce approached the gate, and he gave the signal to open the gates for the merchant. It made him smile to know they would have fresh food in the market. He had planned to go on a shopping trip with his daughter sometime soon; and, she only seemed to enjoy it if she knew she was purchasing things of the best quality. An odd trait for such a tiny tyke. Before he could finish his mental chat, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to face the origin. To his surprise, it was his good friend Celeste. She had obviously done herself up for some occasion, and he could easily say that he had never seen her in formal wear. "You look lovely," he spoke with sincerity, giving her a polite smile. Kendall had never judged by any outward appearance, and Celeste was no exception, but a few compliments couldn't hurt.

His face visibly brightened at the mention of Favor, his hands moving as he spoke. In the spur of the moment, he accidentally slipped into signing. "You know you're always welcome," he was confident that his daughter would be ecstatic at the sight of the green-haired woman. She had missed so much in her absence, including the first time that Favor talked back to him.

He had never felt so helpless in the hands of someone so tiny.

x x - T i m e s k i p - x x

Personally receiving an invitation to a banquet by the High Priestess was quite easily the biggest honor he had yet to receive. Their interactions had been few, but he considered her a leader in her prime and a strong ruler. In accordance with the invitation, he had been given the day off of his Warden duties. He took advantage of this extra time by waking Favor up in the morning and helping her pick out a dress to wear. The little girl's happiness at having her father with her was explainable by any human words, but was clearly seen on her smiling face. After going through almost every dress he had purchased for her, she picked up a frilly blue dress with pink ribbons and a peter pan collar. For himself, he dressed up in his best suit. As he felt he should, he attempted to style Favor's long brown locks, but he eventually gave in to his lack of skill and called in the nanny. Despite it being a formal and seemingly peaceful event, he did not leave the house without first sorting the jewels Celeste had given him and attaching the belt under his waistcoat.

Favor's blue Mary Janes echoed on the cobblestone path outside their home. Occasionally, she would run back to Kendall and cling to him for a few moments before racing off again. When he knew that cobblestone would soon turn to the forest floor, he offered a piggy back ride to the small girl, which she gladly accepted with a giggle. "We gon' see Aunty Celeste?" She asked curiously, wrapping her arms around Kendall's neck and putting her head on his shoulder. "I think so, baby girl." Personally, he looked forward to seeing his friend again. They had a lot of catching up to do to make up for the time she was away.

The first person he spotted when they entered the banquet was the High Priestess, accompanied by the Lady Minerva who had made an acquaintance with the previous day. Approaching the two, he bowed as best as he could to the Priestess and Minerva with Favor clinging to his back. "Good morning, High Priestess."

Annoyed with the lack of attention to her, Favor reached for the top of Kendall's head and patted it lightly. "Where Aunty Celeste? I wan' see her," without waiting for a response, she turned her big amber eyes on Minerva and clutched the skull atop her head with tiny fingers. "Is she under the hat?" Patting the skull, she nodded her head in confirmation and spoke again in her warbled toddler voice. "She under the hat." Smiling at his daughters theory, he lowered himself slightly to allow her to slip off. Before he could even say no, she had already clung to his leg and stuck her thumb in mouth.

"Beautiful day." He murmured to no one in particular.


------------------------------------------------------------
[Haha, get it? He said he looks lovely and she's lovely's character. Yeah, I'll show myself out now. I'M LAME I KNOW QUQ.]

With: Lady Minerva, High Priestess Kozue. Feeling: Content.
MP: 100 | HP: 100

Gem stock
[Water] - 4 Sapphires, 3 Apatite.
[Nature] - 4 Emeralds, 4 Peridots, 3 Tourmaline.
[Healing] - 3 Diamond, 3 Rose Quartz.
[Lightning] - 4 Agates.
[Fire] - 3 Ruby, 3 Garnet.
[Wind] - 4 Howlites, 3 Kunzite.



Koko the Boss




Peacock Catastrophe

[Saturn Midnight]

HP 90/100xxxxxxxxxxx
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MP 95/100xxxxxxxxxxx
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The last thing "Knight Van Haden" wanted to do was leave Simone there in the cell, however, he didn't know if he wanted to be there when Tarien got rid of the dark magic's influence. He couldn't be the one to comfort Simone once she realized all that transpired, when her feelings and memories came back together. There was no future for the two of them, and it had taken all his will-power to not let her words get to him; the ones which now freely echoed in his head as he left the Reaper's Crypt:

"Y-you're lying. You are one of the strongest mages I know, you wouldn't let a damn curse take over you like a weak sissy boy..."

It made him so ******** pissed with himself...he felt like he could cry as his heart seemed to truly shatter at those words. He had always showed off to her, always getting stronger to protect her, training when most would stop at his rank, convinced their skills were already ingrained in their bodies. The last thing one could imagine Ulrick saying was that he was weak when he hated-absolutely loathed- weaklings. That he would even say something to degrade himself with his ego was unthinkable...and yet, that was what he had become when he lost his feelings and all memory of Simone and him. He had become so egotistical and cold, barking at people to keep their distance.

Now, he felt faint. He could feel the places she had hit him, and he didn't bother to wipe off the blood. He had thrown his jacket over his shoulder, and passing the select few people in the hall, he stared without seeing them.

Although Ulrick had been a troublemaker when he was younger, he had become one who followed the rules of the coven, and fought with all his might. Yet, now he had gone to Simone's cell without asking permission from the Priest or Priestess. It had been a spur of the moment kind of thing...he never thought of how he shouldn't have gone until the green-haired lady had showed up-

Celeste Stettner; the priestess's sister. The two had seen each other around coven before, but never spoke or grew close. Thinking back to the lady's violet eyes glaring at her, he remembered with a jolt the size of that woman's breasts. With wide eyes, Ulrick paused in the hallway, wondered if the lady had bigger boobs than Simone, then he shook his head, mentally hitting himself at the thought.

It really was out of place considering what had happened...

He had been surprised to see Tarien awake finally, and in that get-up too. Nevertheless, Ulrick had given her a serious and sharp look that said they needed to talk. That is, until he noticed a mark on her neck which made his eyes flicker from green to red for a split second. He knew this because there had been a sensation in the back of his eyes and a feeling through his head similar to when Mallik had taken over before. It disturbed him to say the least...Ulrick had to get Tarien to free Mallik...even though the b*****d deserved to die-more importantly, his mother needed to be tied back to a body Tarien could create with the crystal remains.

A lot of s**t was sure piling up lately...Ulrick wondered why he only noticed it now.

He had wanted to let Simone know that he was there for her, but she had made it clear that the dark magic would not allow her to accept such a commitment; one that seemed empty given their past. Even then, Ulrick wasn't one to hide from his problems, despite the pain being around her would definitely pose he cared about her deeply...Though Simone probably wouldn't trust him, even without the dark magic's influence, it wasn't a barrier he wouldn't climb to be by her side when she needed him; that he was sure of.

On the other hand, she had many that would do the same; besides her lover, there was the red-haired friend that had actually been allowed down into the Reaper's Crypt. Ulrick had half the mind to question why the green-haired b***h had allowed a stranger who had also been controlled by dark magic, and was unaffiliated with either coven, should know about their dungeons.Should they be handing flyers around about the place now? Perhaps he could comfort Simone were Ulrick could not, but in any event, she should have been taken to a room instead of being healed in a gloomy old dungeon...

He could understand Tarien being brought to heal Simone but...he also felt a strange sense of trust for the dragoness. Perhaps it wasn't so strange considering how she had helped them infiltrate Fang, and that without her it might not have happened with so few deaths, let alone have happened at all...He definitely owed her big time, and would especially once she helped his mother and got Mallik out of his body.

Approaching the room he shared with Remi, he closed the door behind him before tossing his jacket on his bed and going to the bathroom. He reached into the medicine cabinet to take out a potion in a teal-blue bottle that healed minor wounds over a few minutes and stopped blood from flowing from open injuries. Taking a quick swig, he had a look of distaste at the flavor of sour grapes and mint in his mouth. After putting it away, Ulrick took a hand towel dipped in water to wipe the blood off is skin. He didn't feel like delaying his meeting with Priestess Kozue any further with a shower, but he also didn't want her to see how badly beaten up he was.

Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he decided he should change into his nicer clothes for the festival, assuming Kozue wouldn't keep the honored knight; that had planned the whole infiltration, from celebrating....and most probably getting drunk. Even if she didn't let him go, Ulrick wouldn't care so much. He slipped on a blue coat, white shirt, and gray vest, along with a belt with a few glowing rune crystals, and navy slacks. He kept the same boots on underneath, as well as keeping some metal on his person; something that was a habit of his, before putting on a bit of cologne and walking back into the hall again.

++++++

Upon arriving at the scene of the festival, Ulrick was glad that he hadn't been directly involved in the half-giant rebellion part of the infiltration; therefore not recognized by any of their large guests. However, he was sure the whole coven knew of his involvement, so he tried to hide behind their bulky frames on his way towards the outskirts of the banquet where the Koko River flowed through Amarile Forest. He tried not to focus too much on the glowing lights of the naturally dark forest, as he could feel memories of Simone and him there come to surface. He tried to shake it off as he needed to mentally prepare himself for whatever the High Priestess would say to him---shout to him most likely.

Upon sighting the green-haired priestess extravagantly decorated to say the least, a server had good timing to ask if he wanted some red wine. He took one without hesitation, putting a hand on the man's shoulder as he drank it down straight before setting it back on the tray. The server looked confused, but Ulrick made his way the rest of the distance to Kozue; looking rather expressionless even at her company; a green-haired witch he wasn't familiar with, and a warden whom he had seen before around the coven before, yet didn't know personally.

The first one to notice him was the feather-brain that the Priestess usually kept with her. He could swear the creature was absolutely glowering at him; a look he returned with a sharp, dark green state, before bowing his head politely to the high priestess. "High Priestess Kozue," he acknowledged simply, meeting her odd-colored eyes grimly, before nodding to the witch and warden. He would leave it up to her to excuse them.


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Location: The Festival with Kozue, Kendall, and Minerva
Mood/State: Cool...calm, but wary
Appearance: Picture to the left. [Minus the coat] [Mallik of the Rakazik Flight] Red Dragon Form
Current Weapon His staff (black metal with silver tips and covered with seals engraved and layered upon seals). [Dragon Blade of Essence]
Theme Song: Chrome- Music Junkies

(( --- ))

[Priestess of Athena]

FAIRY JAIL IN ARKEN WOODS ✿ QUEEN ROSE-UP-HER-@$$ ✿ I JUST LOVE REUNIONS

As usual Fang tingled her fairy senses with its hint of wrongness. But it was where the good money was, and she could handle a little discomfort for that sweet golden clink. Something she was owed quite a bit of after her latest escapades of chaos causing and war starting. The dot of light that was her zipped through the rift and over the walls per usual. Then she came to a sudden halt rather than her fast track to Reginald’s study and payment. The coven grounds were a battlefield now. Bodies, bloods, and fires littered the area, mainly focused on the side closer to the half-giant encampment. Their large bodies could be seen mixed in with the mages of Fang, or more often, pieces of them.

She should probably flee and return some other time for her money. But… This was wrong. She watched a group of half-giants attempt to go after Reginald who was responsible for so much of their suffering. And with little care for the lives he took the snake man disposed of them. Something she hadn’t realized she still had sparked inside of her. Compassion. These blood thirsty Fang folk were slaughter the half-giants without a second thought. At the rate they were going they would end the entire race or perhaps something worse. You never knew with Reginald and his like in charge. These poor giants needed saving. She’d come back for her gold of course. But what if Reginald found out? She wouldn’t get her gold, and he might seek retribution… Maybe she just leave them to their fate…

She cast her tiny eyes over the scene unfolding beneath her considering coming back when she didn’t have to watch all this carnage. Until her eyes fell upon a familiar form. There was the half-fairy Josephine zipping about the battle, helping those she could. All fae knew of her blasphemous birth, its singular crime considered far worse than anything done by Madia’s greed. However she was still a fae in a sense and it was her parents who had done the crime, she just had to suffer not being allowed to embrace half her heritage except the wings that graced all their kind. Madia fluttered a little closer wondering if she should somehow help the girl… they were like half cousins or something.

Wait what was that Fanger doing? No! Madia grabbed her mouth to stop herself from screaming though they probably wouldn’t have heard the little peep it would have made. They were cutting off her wings! That was… that was just wrong! Wings were a fairy’s identity. You didn’t… She turned away as the two finished the girl off. Why? That man Val had a reputation for being kind and helpful. Especially unusual in Fang. Why would they do this? Fang must have been worse and more corrupted than she’d ever understood. For her fallen brethren, she had to do something against them. First she’d help by stopping anymore innocents from being killed. But how to help the half-giants?

As luck would have it, she saw a group sneaking out of Fang away from where the main site of the fighting was. And she most certainly recognized one of them as a Granate member. And was that the head of Granate? She must be mistaken. That would be idiotic for him to be risking his life here. But where were they going? Ah! They had a way through the rift? No! They had a dragon! Now she could do something. She zipped away to the half-giants who were farther away from the fighting. Buzzed right up to their ears, they’d have trouble hearing her otherwise, and told them how to get out. She even sprinkled a couple with the tiniest bit of fairy dust to show them a path. That shiz wasn’t that cheap. She was super awesome for doing that.

Once the half-giants were safe it was time for her to do some pro bono reconnaissance, pro bono for herself of course. Not like she’d ever do that for someone else! Flitting off she zipped into the Fang compound and straight to Reginald’s study. Darn, the hole in the wall was repaired. She hid up in the corners of the ceiling, dimming her fairy light. There she crouched, resisting the urge to sleep since she was one hell of a snorer, and finally after what seemed like forever (about four-five hours) Reginald appeared. As he opened the study door she zipped in the crack at the top. At first she went to hide in the pretty menagerie in his quarters but turned out that was full of snakes. Who seemed far too interested in fairy meat. She zipped away before they could try and hid in the bizarre golden suit of armor Reginald had in his study. Why would someone like Reginald, who hated all physical fighting, have this in his study? Who had ever thought to put this here? Well it did make a damn good hiding place. There she waited AGAAAIIINNN until the d**k-wad finally departed to take care of all his dead people that were lying around outside.

She zipped to the desk, turning big and into an adult form for ease of access. Quickly she rifled through the papers. Unfortunately Reginald kept most information in his head but there was always the most recent… Oh man. This was his plan for the war? Her tidbits of info that pissed everyone off was just the beginning. And… this book. It was so ancient pieces of the pages had fallen off. Only a strong protection enchantment was holding it together. It seemed… to be some sort of ancient genealogy. And a history. Her mouth gaped as she read the first page. Carefully she flipped through the many pages that followed. This book was too thick… someone would come soon. She had to find out who the target was, who had this… this evil flowing through their veins. The last page, the writing here was only a few decades old... And she gulped when she saw the name and what was written down next to it.

She’d helped Fang because she thought they’d never really succeed. But with this… The world was in trouble. Gold didn’t matter if the world ended. It was time to let go of her greed, (only until the world was ready for spending again). Time to suck it up and… go home. Once the study doors opened again she zipped out and away from Fang. She was not coming back there. Not without an army.

~Present~

Madia sat in the hollowed out stump throwing a dandelion seed that had floated in against the wall over and over again. Her return to her fairy tribe was not greeted so warmly and rather than listen to her amazing words of wisdom, they’d thrown her a** in fairy jail. Was she going to rot in this stump while the world ended around her? Screw being a good guy. What the hell was she thinking? She threw the dandelion extra hard and it bounced right out of the top door. “Aw dammit!” With a dramatic sigh she threw herself on the cot she was provided.

Then a noise sounded above. “Look presentable prisoner!” Madia rolled her eyes and draped herself as casually as she could upon the bed. “Queen Moonrose is entering!” The Fairy Queen gently floated down, obnoxiously elegant as always. She looked down at the lounging Madia, not letting her feet touch the floor of the prison.

Madia gave her the toothiest smile possible. “Aw well hullo there mom. All peachy, or dare I say - rosey - to see your darling daughter return?”


MP: 100/100 ✿ HP:100/100


Location of Arken Woods (and Moonrose fairy kingdom)

[Saturn Midnight]

✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤

Wild light in her eyes, the amber irises were keen and sharp, only closing as the scientist ran his hand down the inside of the scrub pants she wore. She moaned softly as the man kissed her neck as well, trailing a path down to her chest. Hands were held over her head by cuffs that were chained to the high ceiling; accompanied with thick shackles around her ankles. However, she welcomed his touch. He had something she wanted constantly.

"Nathaniel," she whispered in his ear. "Won't you give me more of that medicine? It's even better than before," she almost purred his ear, reeling back at his touch.

"I've been a good girl haven't I? Just one more dose," she pouted as he met her eyes with a smirk.

"I can't give you any more, beautiful," he said, removing his pants. "So, lets just enjoy each other. I don't want to have to order you," he teased, but there was a cold look in his eyes with the truth of his words.

Sera bit her lip; the teasing look turning desperate in an instant. "No, Nathan...no!" she spoke softly, then shouted as he pulled down her pants. "I need the medicine! I need it now! I'll die! I need it! Please!-" she cried with tears streaming down her face.

Smack!

Her eyes widened at the sting in her cheek, and she stared at Nathan who looked disgusted-mockingly so as he pulled her pants back up, and started putting back on his own. "I can't keep doing favors for an experiment. I've been doing it for the past 3 months now," he chided harshly, but with an ulterior motive behind his voice. He grabbed his clipboard hanging on the wall with the number 12 on the back, and Sera shook her head with fear.

"No-wait!" she cried as he started to walk towards the cell door. "I'm sorry Nathan! Don't go!" she pleaded.

The scientist smiled with his back still turned to her; he wanted her to beg for him. "I gave you more dosages than I should have. We need you to cope with it for a while. Let the medicine settle in. However, I don't think I want to give you any more after this," He walked right up to the door, and Sera struggled like an animal against the chains, gasping.

"No, no, no! Come back to me! I'll give you anything! I'll do anything for you! Touch me, do whatever you want with me," she pleaded. "I'm yours, just give me some more medicine, please..."

Nathan smirked widely, and walked back up to her, letting a hand cup her tear-stained cheek, Sera narrowed her eyes invitingly. "Have your way with me."

Nathan chuckled. "If only I could. It's a little one-sided with you chained up like this."

"Then unchain me, so I can return the favor," Sera spoke softly, a slight tensity in her muscles. "Let me touch you," she urged, eyes roaming down his figure. The scientist was rather young, perhaps only a little older than Sera, and he looked fairly plain.

"I can't live without your medicine."

Nathan looked suspicious for a moment, however Sera took the opportunity to let the tears fall from her eyes again as she pulled furiously against the chains. "I need it! I need you!" she whined.

After a moment, Nathan smiled his hollow, depraved smile, before drawing close to her, reaching up to the shackles over her head and using a key to unlock them. Sera quickly fell forward into his arms, and he pinned her by the hips against the wall with a hunger in his eyes. Sera stared back with a smirk, and pulled her shirt over her head to reveal the plain black bra underneath.

Just so he could be comfortable that she wouldn't try anything.
The explosions that shook the building were only an added bonus.
Alarms tolled to hearken the day she would escape finally.
It must have been fate.

Startled Nathan looked towards the sounds, and that's when Sera took the chance to punch him in the face. Finally...after all these months, she could punch the a*****e. Punch the man who made her sink to levels that showed total disregard for her pride. She hadn't let her body grow weak, for they only kept her in chains to examine her and inject the medicine in her. Sera had been susceptible to the allure for 4 months.

It was an injection that made you think you were absorbing a wealth of mana, when really it was a pressurizing injection which attempted to block the flow of magic through the body, so that when forced to use it, the pressure made you bleed out every orifice till you died. She had heard the cries of children; heard the mutters from the guards about the blood.

Sera was a different case however. They had assumed she had mana storage like any other witch or wizard, however she was a vessel for magic. When this was realized much later, they wanted to attain her ability to absorb magic so that they could use it for Zhu's defenses. Well, like hell Seraphina Lazeh, daughter of Larus Cervantes, would roll over and die. She ended up killing a few guards and scientist upon being injected with the mana shot, and not falling for the added effects that made the user addicted. However, she was hit with the magic-draining devices Zhu was known for, and they had knocked her out. Her security tightened, and she was moved to a building separate from the rest. After a few months of kissing a**, the security lightened.

Now, here Nathan was lying on the ground, slightly dazed from the punch, as she hovered over him, removing the keys from his front pocket, with her bent knee close to his crotch and ready to strike if he tried to fight her. With the chaos outside, nobody would hear his cries anyway. Upon removing the shackles, she felt a sensation go through her; a thrill of excitement, sadness, anger, and other emotions threatened to take over her, but she took a calming breath.

Turning cold eyes upon the scientist reduced to looking like a frightened child. Sera smirked widely, laughing mockingly at him for a moment softly, before laughing out loud, and jabbing her knee sharply into his crotch. Nathan cried as she stood to her feet still laughing for a short while before proceeding to kick him in the chest several times as tears poured from her eyes.

The alarm sounds ringing in her ears,
her eyes stinging with hot tears,
and her whole body shaking...

Seraphina finally ceased her kicking, and stared at the man once confident and in control, reduced to a sniveling pup, crying in pain and begging for his life. And what a worthless life-he didn't deserve to live after all he did-not just to her but all the children held there.

The half-elf finally crouched on top of Nathan, hands in a vise around his neck, she leaned forward, staring into his fear-filled eyes and kissing his lips, before choking him to death.

+++++

Upon getting out from the cell, Sera looked around to see that she was indeed by herself. There were no guards to be seen; probably on their way to address the threat that caused the explosions. Instead of investigating herself, she ran out her building and out doors, planning to go towards the back to find the children's cells.

The half-elf paused however, staring around her with wonder to be outside again. She stared up at the sun, and actually missed it. However, she got a hold of herself. She would have plenty of time to sight-see once she was safe, but the children needed to be saved first.

Damnit-if only I had mana," she thought, but shook the thought aside. She was just as well a match without them so long as there weren't too many lab cronies to fight.

Sera ran quickly over towards the commotion, and was surprised to see children escaping into the woods, but without guards chasing them. Whoever came-are they here to help?

It was only at the end of the group that she saw five guards chasing after them. She stopped where she was and focused on the children as they passed, absorbing mana here and there in increments, however it was not nearly enough. Without a second thought, she ended up pushing past the kids, till she stood before the guards staring at them.

She gave them a roguish smirk; her eyes bright with a sort of hysteria, and her whole body still shaking to be free. "Guess who's back from purgatory?" she snickered mockingly, before tilting her head at them.

The group was momentarily taken aback, and all of them stopped.

"The ********]
"It's 12!"
"She's top priority-forget the kids."
"Right."

"Are you ready?" she goaded them more coldly. She wanted them all to rot in hell.

Nostalgic, Sera thought as she took her fighting stance. Have I still got it?

The first guard came forward with a sword striking downward, which she neatly dodged, before spinning on her heel to avoid the next guard's attack with a spear. Sera smiled as she neatly kicked the following guard in the chest; seemingly out of nowhere with speed that made them far outmatched. It knocked the air from the man's chest, and in his surprise she was able to knock his sword from his hand and steal a dagger from his belt.

The dagger wasn't nearly as good as the one she had before, but it would do. She had no time to worry about that as the fourth one made his motions towards her, while the other two sneaked up behind her. Thinking fast, she used what little mana she'd obtained to attach herself to the shadow of the guard coming behind her, sinking through it quickly and leaping into the shadow behind the fifth guard who had only been watching.

"Shadow-possession," she said as her whole figure figure came up black out of the guard's shadows. Raising her hands as if she held the guard's sword, she struck out at the guards that had been running towards her, and therefore in the direction of the guard. The guard under her control stabbed the first one with a cry, and then slashed the next that had followed closely behind.

The other two guards stopped running, directing looks confusion and horror towards the guard who had killed him.

"The hell are you doing Micheal?"
"It's not me-I can't move! She-Ahhhh!"

Sera made Micheal cut his own throat, so that he fell before the remaining two guards who cried out in shock. Phasing out of the shadow, the half-elf clasped her hands together before pointing at the men, but one of them had snapped out of it, and threw an anti-magic bomb towards her, making her run quickly as it crashed to the group and emitted the misty poison. With a glare, she ran for the guards, avoiding a strike and sinking the dagger into the shoulder of the guard who was still shocked. The other one came to help, but she quickly removed the blade and moved out of the way, rolling on the ground, before standing to her feet fluidly as ever, and throwing the dagger towards the second guard, who dodged it. However, the dagger sunk right through the injured guard's head well enough.

Breathing a little heavily, Sera glared at the guard who looked scared s**t-less as she walked over to him. He dropped his blade and raised his hands, not too high due to his shoulder.

"I surrender! Please-spare my life and I tell you anything!"

Sera didn't let the surprise show in her face as he didn't look very guilty for not blocking her dagger which had made his comrade fall. No remorse, she thought, yet this guard was actually not so dimwitted to make a wager-even when he was in no position to do so really.

"Kick your sword out the way, and I'll think about it," she instructed, and the guard hesitated before nodding and kicking it towards her. She picked up the blade and walked towards him. "Stay down," she said as he made to get up. She came forward till she had the blade pointed at his neck, meeting his pleading eyes coldly. "Now tell me what's going on. How did the children escape?" she asked.

"A group of magic-users. About four or five of them. They freed the kids," he said quickly, looking from her to the blade a frantically.

Sera's a eyes narrowed and the blade gently prodded his neck. She watched as his breath caught, and felt a little sick, but shook the feeling away inwardly. "I said "how". I want details." After a moment, she gave his neck some room to breath by pulling the blade back to hear him speak.

"Look...I-I don't know anything more," he stammered.
"You said everything-I want to know everything," she snapped.

He flinched. "I..I think one was a swordsman with purple hair-it was long, and there was a man with a large scar on his chest and two blades-"

Sera's eyes widened. No...it can't be....The protector of the Roman Scriptures? she thought.
"-What did the scar look like?" she interrupted.
"Uhh....I think it was the shape of a diamond or a cross maybe..."

It is him. Why would he be helping magic-users?" she wondered. He would take mana and kill mages like it was nothing...

Her interrogation was suddenly interrupted by another explosion as the fight moved a wall nearby, making Sera knock the guard over the head instead of killing him; albeit she did it begrudgingly. Taking his dagger to go with the other she took, the half-elf didn't know what was going on exactly, but she decided she would retreat for now and follow after the children; to make sure they got out safely on their own. However, it wasn't as if the lab was in any shape to be returned to if they were caught...


✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤


Location: Zhu encampment, escaping after children
Mood/State: A little disoriented...why must I help the children again?
Appearance: Dirty, white scrubs, and carrying a dagger. Picture above
Theme Song: Addicted to You- Avicii

(( EDITED 12AMish ))



HP 100/100xxxxxxxxxxx
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
MP 5/???xxxxxxxxxxx
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

[hot toddy with somebody]

➸Prim Forest ➸Reginald, Diana, Virgil, Ash, Aaren, Marcus, Gabby, and many others ➸Passive ➸For Everything a Reason - Carina Round ➸Fancy
ＨＰ: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆ (100%)

ＭＰ: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆ (100%)


Striking. That was the first thought that sprung in Nilin's mind as the hooded man she singled out removed his hood, revealing features that could put many men to shame. Instead of his hair being blue - no, she corrected herself. It did have blue. Only on the edge before it turned into a deep shade of red. The hair reminded her of Gabryel. Speaking of, the man in front of her spoke up, his voice thick with an accent she couldn't quite place. Once more she saw Gabryel in her mind. Didn't he come from a group who's hair had two different colors fading into each other? What were they called? Aiserens? She'd have to ask Gabryel next time they met. Back to the matter at hand though, this new arrival appeared quite delectable, so to speak. Delectable enough for a night, two nights even. Now if only he would remove that cowl.... She heard the murmuring voices of those around the newcomer; rude comments reached her ears easily. "Enough!" barked Nilin, glaring at the crowd in front of her. "If I so much as hear the term 'bootlicker' or anything of that sort, I--"

Nilin was interrupted by a voice demanding her attention. She snorted. "What the bloody hell is going on now?" Behind her stood Aaren - from Diana's look she planned on slicing and dicing these two "intruders" appearing on the platform - and a younger male. Aaren was a familiar face. She thought he would be grieving or depressed in his own way after Marcus' death but she did not see any sign of grief. He brought someone with him. A miniature version of Marcus. Or according to Aaren's proclamation, Marcus himself, back from the dead. Only much younger. He looked different, yet very similar to the Marcus she last saw. Pheonix? What the hell was Aaren talking about? Nilin stared closely at the teenager. No doubt about it. This was Marcus. "Well well. Glad to see you're back from the dead, Marcus." Reginald appeared and began to verbally reprimand the brothers for showing up on the platform. Nilin simply nodded along until Reginald stepped up to her and whispered, "If you wish you can address this elsewhere, but replenishing the coven is my priority. I will continue the ceremony."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll take care of this mess as quickly as I can." She did want to see the outcome of the trials but taking care of the Callavaro brothers became the top priority. Nilin sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "As much as I love your company boys, you should know better than to enter the platform. But since you're here we may as well use you for something. Hm...." Glancing around for an idea she spotted Marcus moving away from them mentioned something about reclaiming his original title. "Not so fast short stuff! Even if I enjoy the fact that you're still alive, you have to wait until you're stronger. You'll end up dying again at this rate," berated Nilin as she dragged him by the collar to stand him back next to his brother. "Now why don't you help them with the mirrors?" She nodded her head in the direction of the mages handling the mirrors; only half of them were in midair. "As for you Aaren, you get to help him 'practice' his magic and make sure he doesn't jump down there. Understand?" The two men - well, one and a half men - began to grumble as they shuffled towards their small assignment.

With that out of the way she heard Reginald call out her name. He wanted her to initiate the trials. He doesn't like to waste time, does he. She waved her hand in a momentary gesture. Gabryel appeared on the platform as well, expressing his relief in seeing her alive and well. She laughed. "I'm glad to see someone believed I would get back on my feet! And I'm happy you're still around. Those Zhu bastards better hope they don't run into us." Nilin reached across, her hand playfully ruffling up Gabby's hair. Seeing the purple tinted hair reminded her to ask him where he came from one more time, but before she could, Gabryel detached himself from her hand and proceeded towards Reginald. "Hm, I'll have to be sure to ask him when we both have a chance to stop and chat." Turning her attention back to the crowd, she raised her hand high, her voice loud and crystal clear. "Begin the Initiates' Trials!" The crowd cheered, their voices echoing in the forest. Nilin returned to her seat, crossing her ankles and directed her stare to the projecting mirrors. The Initiate Trials barely started. As for the Knight Trials, it seemed they were ready to begin without any need for an introduction. One of the mirror's soared across the crowd, pausing above Virgil and a raven haired mage known as Vivian, her brother Valentine standing near her. It appeared they were taunting Virgil. Their plan worked as Virgil launched himself at Vivian. Goodness, everyone around here is so impatient! Whatever happened to waiting? Then again she hated waiting around twiddling her thumbs so she couldn't blame them. Their need to start their fights early, though, gave her a brilliant idea.

Nilin coughed into her fist. "There's been a change of plans," she stated firmly. "Instead of the Knight Trials beginning after the Initiate Trials end, it will begin now as well." The mages in charge of the mirror projection glanced at her with curiosity. Or is it annoyance? Nilin frowned at them. "What? If you try to tell me we don't have enough mirrors then I'll throw you into the crowd." She watched as they returned their attention back to the mirrors without arguing. Simpletons.

OOC: EDIT I didn't see the part where Gabby greeted Nilin so I added that in here.

[Lady Tarien]

Almost stumbling, Ash left the stage and the side of the High Priest, only to catch himself mid air, inches from the ground before re-calibrating himself until he stood upright. He looked over the male before him, something about him struck him as familliar. He couldn't put a finger on it. Ash kept a rather open poise, in attempts to lure Rainbow hair into striking first, hoping the male goes all out and makes Ash's decision quick.

++Pale blue eyes studied the floating figure as he rose from his kneel. All that effort to learn the others brought to naught, like so many of his efforts, ruined. Visual cues noted the lean frame, the discolored and wrapped arm, and the arrogant cant to his opponents stance. He didn't look like much of a fighter, but Trystan knew just how much looks could deceive. Absently he realized that this red head was taller than he, how nostalgic. The mage patiently waited for Sylas to begin, but the heavily muscled form kept his loose guard till the Priestess gave her blessing. At her word, Tryst pressed forward, so much slower than he was capable of, but he was testing the waters. His gaze locking on the cocky grin, he eased the tight mental hold on his mana, and loosed one of his favorite hexes.


"A bit-" the red head paused as he bit his tongue, a sin for such a silver tongued devil. Though this distracted him long enough for the male to close the distance between them, it did little to give him an advantage. Nearly nose to nose, before twirling to the side and dodging rainbow hair's first strike. Freely floating along the edge of the circle they had been granted, Ash lingered to a halt on the opposing end, letting the two simply trade places. "I do hope you haff more van charging at me like a hobbling giant." His words carrying a the effects of the bitten tongue, as well as the remembrance of what happened just days ago. He held that open stance once more before gesturing as he spoke. "I guess I'll showcase first. What shall it be rainbow hair, Some demons... Or how about some skeletons?... Oh or maybe a Warewolf...? NO! I've got it, your hair, obviously some sort of abomination... lets match that up,... with a Chimera."

++His hair was a mark of pride, and having it insulted was just as vexing this time as it had been the first. His hood was worn for that reason, and not some odd sense of fashion. An outsider would not understand, though he would need to work a bit harder to get a rise out of the Aseran. At least the mage had revealed aspects of himself, he was fast and a pact binder. Tryst had no idea what a Chimera was, and was not keen to learn anytime soon. Time to learn just how fast this monotone was, and maybe something exploitable. His foot twisted, the straps of his sandals snapping as a small indent formed in the ground beneath his heel. His speed built, as he followed the retreating figure. Matching dodge for strike, the redheads became a blur. Trystan dropped all pretense, claiming his full speed, and finally forced the summoner to block. As the light strike slid harmlessly to the side Tryst let his momentum carry him into a small flip. Landing nimbly, he tilted his head, a single word was startled past his lips, "Paper?"


As Ash dodged to the opposing side of the duel hued opponent, his arm unraveled like ribbons, before slowly reforming once more, after which the fleshy color of his skin coated it as if all was good. "That one actually hurt you..." He paused before a grin graced his lips, and shortly after he rose a hand in front of him, before lifting the other to the side, and the first shifting over to his other side and doing the same motion once more as if gently tossing three objects into the air. Then clasped his hands together as if catching the first by the two following. He remained silent for a moment before a wisp like figure ripped through the surrounding trees. As it entered the clearing, its contents were mangled, howling in pain before crashing to the ground between the combatants. As the dust cleared a large beast sporting two heads and razor like claws rose to its feet, the pain apparent in its expression, a large scorpion like tail whipping from side to side, looking for someone to single out to target. From behind this beast stood the summoner, the grin widening from ear to ear as a sinister look crossed his face.

++Tryst's eyes widened briefly in interest of the creature, or creatures. The scents of wolf, reptile, and insect clashing harshly, and causing him to sneeze. The smell was not so much bad, as it was wrong. The sound drew the attention of the twin heads, and the pain enraged chimera's gaze settled on him. The barb tipped tail jerked forward, the fighter twisting just enough to let the stinger pass, scaled tail sliding along his armor to impale the ground. He blinked at the overwhelming amount of flaws, the cause of it's pain becoming blindingly clear. This creation was just as the paper husk had named it, an abomination. Trystan's gaze narrowed on the venom dripping tail that rose for a second strike, while his skin shivered lightly. He always did enjoy a challenge.

+++++ Sidestepping the tail's strikes while being mindful of the perimeter of the circle, he sent a reinforcing edge of mana to the hex. Confident the arrogance rolling off the other red head would lead him to goad Tryst while he dealt with this monstrosity. With every miss, Sylas came into skin to scale contact, every touch feeding more of his magic into it's body. The stinger came at him again, but this time he jumped up as it hit the ground. Twisting, he kicked the joint of the venomous bulb and the tail with all his strength. The slathering maws of the wolvine heads howled in pain as the sharp snap sounded over the din of combat. It lashed out with the ichor dripping ruin of it's tail. For fun, he threw the barb at the other male, hoping it would distract him just long enough for Tryst to guide the chimera into taking a swipe at it's own creator. This was supposed to be a display, after all.



Ash watched, fairly motionless as the two fought. His face remained cringe free to the sound of the bulky bulb being severed by brute force, as well as the pain fused howl. Ash was far from expecting the large barbed bulb to be lobbed at him, nearly hitting him as he swiveled past, letting it hit those who helped form the circle behind him. The beast lashed out, willingly taking swings at anyone in the area, that was until it swung at Ash. Who despite being distracted was anything but in harms way. The spirit that infested the beastly monstrosity was forced to freeze where it was. Razor like claws inches from the floating paper man. Physically unable to attack based on the fine-print of the binding contract. Giving out a gnarly roar, revealing a mouth of dagger like fangs and the split tongue of its lizard counter part in the process. Attempts to make the male flinch, but it only widened his grin. Cocky as he was, Ash wasn't a fool. "I will end your suffering, once you end him, now go." Pointing to the multicolored head of his opponent, the beast lowered its claw before whipping around to glare daggers into him. Ash had reserved enough mana with this summon to summon in another to do the dirty work, had this rainbow hair not done it for him.

++Fascinating, the chimera could not harm the pact mage, though severed portions of it's body were not effected by that rule. He listened intently to the byplay between the two. "End Me?" Tryst sneered from his side of the ring. So much for non lethal, he supposed it was time to secure his entry to Fang. The beast turned to him, eyes filled with hate and agony. Enough of his mana infused it's ill formed body that he could feel the maligned muscles and half fused bones across the distance. It promised him death with something between a growl and a hiss, and he could not stop the answering rumble of challenge that left his throat. A sound too low for most to hear. It charged him, fangs gnashing, and he held his ground till the wagon sized beast was nearly on top of him. Spinning to the left, he used both his own momentum, and that of the creature to slam the back of his fist into the snout of the near head. The maw shattered with a satisfying crunch. Continuing the motion, his ankle swept the front leg forward, his weight dropping smoothly into a crouch as his right fist crushed the awkwardly angular wrist of the beast. A piercing yipe rent the air. Tryst shifted his weight to the bent right leg and sprang towards the center of the circle, only to twist and push back towards the hobbling giant trying to turn to follow. A small crater and the remains of his sandals left in the spot from the force of speed, strength, and magic. His knee met the chimera's rib cage, thin flexible bones, made brittle by the insidious nature of his power, splintered and snapped.

+++++ The impact unbalanced the compromised stability, knocking the abomination onto it's side. Resting a moment on the chimera's side, he felt the bone shards puncturing the lung, the one head that had been able to breath properly began gurgling, frothy blood joining the spittle. The wounded tail swung heavily at him, and he grasped at it, letting it carry him to the ground behind the suffering amalgamation. He turned to the paper husk and took a step in his direction. A horrible cry issued from the summoner's creation, Tryst turned in time to see it surging to maul him. A last act to protect it's master. The Aseran pitied the thing. Leaning in, he wedged the gold cuff at his wrist in the open jaw, his left hand gripping the mane like fur at it's neck. Using it's own weight and movement against it, he rolled his body, flipping the now fragile creature up and over. It landed hard on its back, it's bones breaking audibly, while the tail flopped uselessly in the dirt in front of the floating mage.


Ash nodded, satisfied with the show the male put on. And while the Tryst was focused on the beast he had pinned to the ground. He broke down into the pages that formed him and in a silent flurry returned to the scriptures at Reginald's side. Leaving his competitor to finish the beast however he saw fit. He was in deed strong, "When it dies, I'd love to dissect him, he holds some unique secrets" The beak like maw spoke to the high Priest, "But until then, he definitely fills the shoes for my venture."

++The silent flash and flutter of his opponent's retreat caught at Trystan's peripherals. He looked up in time to watch the last of the pages fly to the High Priest's side. He rested a hand gently on the head struggling to breathe, it whimpered, "...h-h..ur-ting..." It's purpose fulfilled, it need suffer no more. "You poor creature, I will end your pain. Be at peace." he told the chimera in a flat tone. The dust like, dark gray blue, streams of his magic rising from his skin to slither and seep into it's mangled form. His eyes closed as his fingers flexed, digging into the soft fur. The havoc of his power freed, the body was destroyed in moments. Torn apart on a visceral level, the wash of blood, gritty bone residue, and liquefied tissue burst out to spray the crowd. Not even the platform was spared as what remained of the chimera rained down. Standing up, soaked and dripping red, Trystan calmly slicked his hair back as his gaze turned to the priest and priestess, awaiting further instruction.

Mana: 30% { ❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦}+++++++++++++++MP(50%)▆▆▆▆▆
Health: 100% { ❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦}++++++++++HP(90%)▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Unedited Sky]

Kuklo was off doing his Ninja thing and Rei was off being a good wingman woman so that left Chi to stand back a bit pretending to provide vision from afar. Well not too far really, she was just around the bend keep watch, which wasn’t what she had expected to be doing. Standing back while someone played hero, but it was either a choice between that or punching a hole through Kuklo’s face and that probably wouldn’t blow over well at all. But it wasn’t her fault, the blonde kept giving her these looks before exchanging glances with either Mika or Rei, as if he thought that he could take her out if he was given the order. Chi really wished he would try it, she wouldn’t kill him…. Completely, but she’d get more than an ample apology out of him.

Chi let out a small sigh, she really shouldn’t just be standing around, she should be helping, or doing anything else, but it was hard to be proactive when you were with company that you could not stand. Chi just hoped that Mika and Gur were cooperating more fluidly. She would mention Fabien, but she had lost track of him a little while ago, which was a bit of an issue seeing as since she didn’t trust the guy. She just hoped that her lack of awareness wouldn't come back and bit her or Gur in the a**, but she doubted it. He didn't appear very strong, and while she didn't recognize his scent, she did recognize that he was alone, and that she could squash him if it came to it.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and noticed the back end of a child being forced into the building that Chi had seen the smoke raising from earlier. She could see that Kuklo hadn't returned and Rei was nowhere in sight, so she was the only one in position that could help these kids. So she walked, straight towards the building not bothering to hide herself, rather bold considering that they were in the middle of a enemy territory or that she would be attacked on sight, she knew she had to get to these children fast. The smoke that had been raising from the building carried a very sickening odor, it was the smell of burning flesh and bone, it didn't take a genius to figure out why the children were being brought to this building, and she had to stop it.

As she neared she could hear men talking inside, as well as the terrified murmur of children, knowing that their end was near.

"So we're just gonna burn 'em?" one of them asked, as casually as one would order a drink.

"Yup, things are going to s**t around here, we just need to douse these runts and get rid of as much evidence as we can before making a run for it."

"Got it."

At some point Chi had lost the ability to see clearly through the red haze that had filtered into her vision, she could taste blood in her mouth, because she had bitten down hard enough to crack teeth. Unthinking, she rushed in, two humans that was all she had to take care of, and she did just that. striking one on the side of his head before he even realized she was there, she could hear his skull crack against the floor when he fell, even if he wasn't dead he would be getting up anytime soon. Her companion wouldn't be taken so lightly, Chi would make sure he died, before he could escape her she reached out for him and caught by the throat lifting him off the ground and squeezing crushing his windpipe, and watching as he flailed against her grip, she saw him reach for something, and didn't react at all when he stabbed a vial into her arm. She looked at it as the liquid drained into her, but she felt nothing, the smell was similar though, she remembered it as the stuff that was sapping Gur's mana. Chi smirked. "Oh you thought your anti magic, tech would work against me? Cute. But there's nothing magical about me. Just anger, and brute strength" Those were the last words he would hear because she completely choked the life out of him before dropping his body to the floor.

Only then did she think that maybe killing two men in front of kids was a bad idea, Chi turned to the kids in the room, managing to look somewhat sheepish as she pulled the needle out of her arm, dropping it to the floor. She offered the children a friendly smile making sure she didn't show her teeth, as she raised her hands to her sides, showing she meant no harm. "Uh, hi there. Sorry you had to see that Ummmm..." She really wished Gur was here, he was a better speaker he could handle this far better than she could.

"Are you here to help us?" A small voice spoke up, Chi saw that it belonged to a slightly older looking girl that was standing to the forefront of the group, obviously a very young mother figure in a crowd of children.

"Yes, I'm here to help, my name is Chi, and my friends are out there somewhere freeing the rest of you." Chi said with a smile, she would have to make friends with this girl in hopes that she would persuade the others. "You guys should come with me, we can get you out of here." Chi tried, extending her hands to them, she noticed that they were staring at her intently, namely staring directly at her horns, Chi laughed a bit. "Wanna touch them?" Chi asked softly, and when she got no response she thought she might have said something wrong. But once again the girl whom she had been counting on to lead the others, stepped forward. Her hand extended as she hesitantly placed a hand on one of Chi's horns testing the tip, when she saw that Chi was going to attack her, she felt safe to firmly rest her hand on the base of Chi's horn, soon the other kids moved forward squeezing in to touch her horns, Chi smiled, heaving a sigh of relief. "We should get out of here." Chi said, and before she got a response, she scooped up multiple kids in her arms leaving the bigger ones to walk as she carried the younguns outside, she grinned as they laughed despite the horrid situation they had just been pulled from.

They were sentenced to death no more than five minutes ago and yet here they were laughing, because of her. Chi couldn't help but feel incredibly warm inside. But no matter how warm she felt, she had to be careful, she could hear sounds of scuffle near by and decided that it'd be best to head to the rendezvous point with the children, it wouldn't be safe for them here.

"This way." Chi whispered before taking off in a jog towards the fence, she carefully lifted each child over before following them herself, and once they were all over she lead them to the meet up spot, hoping that the others, or at least Gur, would meet her soon.

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Location ✥ Zhu camp tab tab tab Company ✥ Children tab tab tab Mood ✥ Relieved

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

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