ѕннн! ιт'ѕ a ѕєcяєт! dnp

[Dangerosa]

tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab █████████████████████████████████████████████████████
dangerosa
tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab LIFE IS LIKE A FORGE tab tab tab tab tab YES, AND HAMMER AND ANVIL, TOO
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃


tab tab & tab You'll be ▪ ▪ ▪ roasted ⊰ smelted ⊱ pounded ❖ ↘↘
tab tab • tab tab • tab tab • tab tab ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
tab tab ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
tab tab tab tab AND YOU'LL SCARCE KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING TO YOU
tab tab Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. tab tab Maecenas ultrices adipiscing dolor sed dignissim. tab tab Nullam tortor est, sodales consequat feugiat eget, dapibus nec elit.
tab tab Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. tab tab Maecenas ultrices adipiscing dolor sed dignissim. tab tab Nullam tortor est, sodales consequat feugiat eget, dapibus nec elit. tab tab Sed faucibus augue at massa porta elementum.
tab tab Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. tab tab Maecenas ultrices adipiscing dolor sed dignissim. tab tab Nullam tortor est, sodales consequat feugiat eget, dapibus nec elit. tab tab Sed faucibus augue at massa porta elementum.
tab tab Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. tab tab Maecenas ultrices adipiscing dolor sed dignissim. tab tab Nullam tortor est, sodales consequat feugiat eget, dapibus nec elit. tab tab Sed faucibus augue at massa porta elementum.

tab tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ tab tab tab Mᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴs tab tab tab Wɪᴛʜ
tab tab 「 2nd floor hallway 」 tab 「 solteria, lucis 」 tab 「 emeline 」
dangerosa

In what felt like mere seconds, his quiet wish was answered. He heard her before he saw her; her voice soft, coloured by an accent that was familiar to his ears. Then he raised his eyes and saw her, the forest green cloak that she wore billowing slightly with the briskness of her steps, allowing him to glimpse, every now and then, the deep burgundy colour of her dress. What looked like fresh mud was on the sides of her boots, indicating that she had probably spent a decent amount of time outside again.

Looking beyond her, he noticed the butler making his way up the staircase as well, and Brandon nodded politely to him, before returning his attention to his fellow guest. It wasn’t because he had anything against the butler really, but at the end of the day, he was another servant to the Lord — and in his brief experience with servants, he was finding them to be a bit too nosy, a bit too gossipy, and just a bit too helpful for his liking. Or maybe it was simply that fact that he was a bit too particular and independent to ever be able to put up with being waited on by others.

”Good evening, Lady Emeline,” he responded in turn with a slight smile and nod of his head. ”Thought it would be a good idea to get ready a little early; don’t want to be hurried later on.” And he didn’t want to risk being late. Not that he thought they would leave without him, but he was worried he would forget something if he found himself rushing to get dressed at the last minute.

”How was your day? Are you looking forward to this evening’s picnic?”

Brandon would assume that the answer to his second question was ‘yes’, but she may surprise him. Emeline probably knew more about the surrounding area than he did, and may have already explored the area they would be visiting tonight and formed an opinion it already. He only hoped that if she had, her opinion of the area was favorable. With the way the temperatures dropped in the mountains at night, Brandon wondered if perhaps the time was chosen so that they could witness something that wasn’t so obvious during the day.

As he thought about it some more, Brandon came to the realization that he had probably spent the majority of his time simply awed by everything there is to see in a Lord’s castle and hadn’t taken the time to really get to know many of the other residents, save one or two individuals. Regardless of the sights he would be seeing tonight, the picnic would provide an excellent opportunity to rectify that. As long as the evening didn’t have as much excitement as the ball. It would certainly be a far more relaxed setting.

”Have you heard anything new about the princess? I’d assume that since things are going on as planned, her condition hasn’t deteriorated, but I hope that they discover the case of her ailment.”

Hmm, probably not the best word choice, but he didn’t have the patience or upbringing to talk in circule and would rather just get straight to the point — when he could at least. There were other times where he might just have to bite his tongue and try his best to be tactful… and that was slowly becoming quite painful.

tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab BUT STAND BOLDLY TO IT! tab tab tab tab METAL'S WORTHLESS TILL IT'S SHAPED AND TEMPERED
dangerosa
tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab █████████████████████████████████████████████████████
tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab ⋰⋰⋰⋰⋰⋰⋰ ⁎ Face the pounding,
tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab ⋰⋰⋰⋰⋰⋰⋰⋰⋰ ✖ don't fear the proving;
tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⟢ and you'll stand well against any hammer and anvil ⟣⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

[Dangerosa]

There had been a sudden shift in the nature of the war. At least, that is what it felt like to Kaegan. Standing with a small group of soldiers, surrounded by tall trees and towering mushrooms of varied colour and smell, the blonde haired prince could scarce believe that he had been assigned this mission or that he was willing to have faith that a representative from the Katari would be willing to speak with him or forge a temporary alliance. But what other choice did they have?

His father, Emperor Thaddeus Txrael III, had assigned him the task of retrieving the Aisu Quartz from the Au'run Mountain Range while his elder brother, Lucius, went to Hulfirdum to attempt to determine the cause and extent of a plague that was sweeping the wolfkin in the region. Given a map of the Mountain Rage that had been discovered by Counsellor Avon Et Ghethru, he had been informed that though he possessed a possible advantage that should aid him in his search for the Crystal of Power, the accuracy of the map was unknown; there may be paths that are no longer accessible, new tunnels that have opened up, and traps and other obstacles that are unrecorded. In addition, legend has it that the Aisu Quartz is guarded by a powerful mythical creature — most claim it is a dragon. No amount of training or preparation would ever make him or any of the soldiers who accompanied him on this quest ready to face a dragon, should the stories prove to be true, and that is how he got to thinking of this plan, which just might be a bit crazy.

After his father had briefed him about the mission, and he'd heard the news of the Dark Republic encamped on the mountain and driving the natives away as they searched day and night for the crystal — which only added to the sense of urgency to the mission as not only did they have to retrieve the Crystal first, but they also had to find a way to free the villagers from the Dark Republic — Kaegan had spent hours pouring over every piece of material he could get his hands on relating to the Crystals, dragons, the Mountain Range itself, and the limited Intel they had collected on Dark Republic movement in the Mountains. And then he had decided to take it one step further.

Even before he started his research and planning, Kaegan knew there was no way he would be able to finish it all before the Airship was ready to depart. If the Empire was going to stand a chance of success there was only one group that would be able to give them even more of an edge in the hunt: the Katari. Unfortunately, perhaps emboldened by the actions of the Dark Republic, the simmering unrest among the Katari had turned into an open rebellion, prominent members of the community had formed a group dedicated to bringing down the Empire and even dared attack the Capital. Knowing their beliefs, perhaps it was a bit of desperation, feeling as though there was too little time to properly prepare for the mission, that had led him to send one of the fastest messengers available to Shipwreck Bay in order to suggest this meeting.

The decision wasn't one that had been made lightly and even now he was debating the wisdom of this decision. If no one showed up, he had an extra few hours to go over the information, the soldiers could review the plan of attack and make improvements where necessary, there was potentially a higher chance of success. However, if no one showed up to this meeting, the Dark Republic would have had another day to search the tunnels of the mountain without interference; they would be that much closer to getting their hands on the Aisu Quartz. Or, the Katari could already be here and, curious to know why he would have requested a meeting, decide to wait in the shadows and then follow at a distance to see what this was about. Or he could have walked right into a trap. He was doubtful of the last possibility, as the Katari would have to know it wouldn't end well for them should they incur the Emperor's wrath. But he was being hopeful, believing that they would be rational and think things through and not seize the opportunity that he'd presented to them. There wasn't enough information on the Crimson Shipblade to really say either way.

The note he'd sent had been rather general; he asked to discuss terms and hoped for a temporary alliance as they worked against a common enemy. Knowing that there had to be something in the message to make them curious enough to acquiesce to a meeting on his terms, Kaegan had hoped to tempt them by conceding a few points and acknowledging that there were certain areas where the Katari would have an advantage and that this was one of them. As messengers and envoys had been attacked in the past and the matter he wanted to discuss was quite delicate, he'd asked that a representative of the Katari meet with him in Shroom Forest so that they could attempt a negotiation in person, but time was of the essence.

And now time was slowly ticking away. It was the middle of the afternoon and there was still no sign of a Katari representative.

"Are you certain you want to do this, sir?" Captain Cyrur, a human of average height, asked for the second time since he had explained what he was planning. With his long black dreadlocks held tight in a ponytail to reveal a gloomy, mistrusting, face and scars holding memory of his luck in battle, the Captain was someone Kaegan would be listening to closely on this mission.

Wearing an all black uniform with no visible weapon on his person, despite the weapons clearly held by those around him, Kaegan nodded. "We have nothing to lose by trying. As long as your men are in position and remain vigilant we shouldn't run into any difficulties." Though he had never been much of a fighter and it was well known among the soldiers with him, Kaegan trusted his negotiation skills. While they were on the Mountain Range, he would trust the Captain and his men, but now he had to trust himself. He only hoped the Katari were willing to listen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ shroom forest
tab tab Wɪᴛʜ npc soldiers.
tab tab Hᴇᴀʟᴛʜ 60 / 60
tab tab OᴏC ...

Health :

██████████ ██████████ ██████████


« Reason for HP Decrease »

Stats :

Might tab tab Dexterity tab tab Magic tab tab Vitality

█████ tab tab █████ tab tab █████ tab tab █████

Quote:

[Dangerosa]

The sound of a masculine voice coming from the shadows of the trees and mushrooms was their only warning that they weren’t alone. The Katari had made their approach silently and stealthily, catching the group off guard, and the soldiers raising shields and their arms to try to protect the prince. But it probably wasn’t the sight of the Katari who surrounded them that had alarmed them, but the black dragon on which the leader sat. And while the soldiers worked on quieting their fear and making sure that he was safely guarded, Kaegan smiled.

This certainly was an unexpected surprise and one which would hopefully help all of them in their strategizing. It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid or caught off guard by their unexpected approach and the drake they had brought with them, but they had had every opportunity to kill him had they wished it and they didn’t take it. Instead it seemed as though they were willing to listen to what he had to say before deciding on a course of action, and that, to Kaegan’s mind, was enough. They were surrounded and caught at a disadvantage, but if they couldn’t manage to find a way out of this, they were woefully unprepared for what lay ahead and would have to reconsider their plan of action. This wasn’t exactly what he had planned for but he would take it.

As the leader continued speaking and his dragon roared as if emphasizing the man’s points, Kaegan did his best to remain composed despite the feeling of hairs raising on the nape of his neck, and a growl fighting for a release that he did not give. They both knew their history: Thaddeus Txarel II’s tenure in power, his subsequent indictment by Jenzen Katari who rose to power in his place, Jenzen’s assassination, and Althalos Txarel’s coup and the fight against the Katari that continued to this day. Perhaps if he was his father or even his brother he may have had a harder time controlling himself at that moment, but it was unlikely he would ever have claim to the crown and he much preferred to go about his business unfettered by titles and formalities. Malakard Karari, was trying to get a rise out of the wrong lion.

Signalling for his men to lower their weapons, Kaegan took a step forward, ignoring their protests, and met Malakard’s dark eyes for an instant before turning towards the dragon, deliberate, assessing, weighing their chances. He couldn’t back out now.

”Then I’ll be brief so as not to take up too much of your time,” he started, jumping right in and by passing the usual ritual that came with any negotiation. ”This meeting has nothing to do with the conflict between our families. If you would like to discuss who is the rightful heir to the throne, we can do so at another time. Right now I’m more interested in preventing the Dark Republic from laying claim. I think we can both agree that neither of us want that.”

Keegan bit the inside of his cheek briefly, looking around at the archers who were in position around them, the faces of those who believed that the Txrael’s should relinquish their claim to the Empire and wondered, briefly, what Jenzen would think had she been alive to see all of this. But more importantly than that, why was it so important that one family or another had claim? They both did. Neither of them did.

”We have received word that the Dark Republic has encamped around the Au’run Mountain,” his eyes returned to Malakard’s watching his reaction closely to see if the Grand Rose Marshal of the Crimson Shipblades and Leader of the Katari would catch on to what he was getting to. ”Legend has it that a dragon lies within the mountain. Given the actions of the Dark Republic in the past, it is likely that they will attempt to kill or enslave the dragon to accomplish their task. I would rather not see harm befall such a powerful beast.

It’s said that the Katari have a bond with dragons; a bond which you have demonstrated by your relationship with the dragon at your side. As for the dragon’s treasure…” Kaegan shrugged. The mission may have been to retrieve it before the Dark Republic was able to, but sometimes it was better to cut losses. The Katari and the Txrael’s had worked together had one point in time; perhaps they would be able to yet again. And if they couldn’t… Kaegan hoped it didn’t come to that. ”As long it does not fall into the Dark Republic’s possession. Both of us have much to lose should they succeed, so I am here to ask you for your help." All that seemed to follow the Dark Republic was destruction -- livestock, forests, peoples. This could be one way to break their power... if only Malakard would see it that way. Kaegan had no illusion that at the end of this they would be at each other's throats, but until that time came, there was a chance.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ Shrom forest
tab tab Wɪᴛʜ Malakard ; various npcs
tab tab Hᴇᴀʟᴛʜ 60 / 60
tab tab OᴏC ...

Health :

██████████ ██████████ ██████████


« Reason for HP Decrease »

Stats :

Might tab tab Dexterity tab tab Magic tab tab Vitality

█████ tab tab █████ tab tab █████ tab tab █████

Quote:

[Dangerosa]

Malakard was trying his patience. Were it not for the fact that he had been the one to propose this meeting and that he wanted the cooperation of the Katari, he may have turned and walked away. But a wrong move from him and this could very well cause the simmering tension that surrounded them to erupt and someone would die here, or at the very least have to be limping away from here. And with the power plainly tilted in the Katari’s direction, Kaegan couldn’t take that risk.

Even knowing this, his jaw was locked in an effort to keep from coming back with a sharp retort that he knew would not be appreciated, and to keep his shifting powers, which had a tendency to get out of hand when his temper got hold of him, in check.

As Malakard listed his ‘mistakes’, Kaegan’s only reaction was a questioning raise of his eyebrow. If the Dark Republic were to have an uncontested reign of the Empire, not only would they need to remove his family from the picture, but the Katari as well. Did the Grand Rose Marshal really think that his family would be safe should the Dark Republic seize the throne? As for his second mistake… Kaegan could admit to being surprised, in part, by what was said. Apparently the Katari had better sources than he’d imagined. Concerning, but eye opening and hopefully when he returned to the Capital he could do something about it — just what course of action he would take depended on the outcome of this meeting.

Once the letter was in his hands, Kaegan read it carefully, narrowing his eyes as he listened to Malakard continue to speak on what he could so easily read in the order. Humming quietly, he quickly tried to bring to mind what he knew about the amulet in question, which wasn’t all too much. If the amulet was taken from Jenzen Katari and there was proof of this, as Malakard suggested, then he would have liked a moment to study the records for himself before handing it over. Moreover, there was no guarantee that once they got to the Au’run Mountains that Malakard would keep his word or allow them to part with the crystal.

”Other than a family heirloom, what is the amulet to you?” he inquired, hoping for a little bit more information, but knowing that the likelihood of that happening was next to none. And Malakard’s response, playing it off as a gesture of good faith, wasn’t much of a disappointment. Of course that was all it was.

Still, he nodded as though he accepted that as the truth and continued, ”Since you’ve gone through all the trouble of forging the order, I can seal it and have it delivered so you can avoid any unnecessary difficulties in having the amulet returned,” he said guardedly, waving one of his men forward and passing him the letter for him to read through and hopefully catch anything he may have missed. Kaegan was not taking any chances with this.

While the soldiers drew their swords at Malakard’s approach, the prince’s lips curled in a nearly imperceptible growl of warning, no doubt setting off the Katari leader’s men. Things may have been rather calm until now, but Kaegan didn’t appreciate having someone so close to him who would otherwise want to see him dead.

”The seal may be genuine, but nothing else about the document is. It will only take one attentive servant to call the order into question… Of course, if you’re willing to take that risk,” he shrugged, and took a step back, turning to the guard who held the letter who looked frustrated and gave a reluctant shake of his head as if saying that there was nothing in the order that was cause for concern.

Kaegan tsked and his expression was pensive for a moment before he nodded. Since Malakard was firm in his resolve to have the letter delivered himself, he would have to plan his next few moves carefully. He had no prior knowledge of this amulet or the reason why it was locked away rather than returned to the Katari, and he hoped that he wouldn’t be making a mistake.

”Then we have a deal. Once it’s sealed you can deliver it to the Capital and the amulet will be delivered to you, provided you keep your word,” So saying, he shook Malakard’s hand, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, but smiling good-naturedly as though this was better than he’d hoped for. And perhaps in some respects it was — only time would tell whether it was worth it. ”It will just take a moment for me to affix the seal. It’s located in the airship,” he nodded his head in the direction of the ship and took another step in that direction, intending to walk over and hopefully buy himself a few minutes with his guards to confirm his earlier plan. ”If you don’t trust that I’ll do as I say, you can always join me. It would be helpful to work out how, exactly, we will be working together. The faster we do this the better it will be for both of us.”


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ Shroom Forest
tab tab Wɪᴛʜ Malakard
tab tab Hᴇᴀʟᴛʜ 60 / 60
tab tab OᴏC if anything needs changing let me know

Health :

██████████ ██████████ ██████████


« Reason for HP Decrease »

Stats :

Might tab tab Dexterity tab tab Magic tab tab Vitality

█████ tab tab █████ tab tab █████ tab tab █████

Quote:

[Dangerosa]

The morning was cool and slowly warming as they rode along the norther border between Uassine and Plessa. A rumour of a boy matching Prince Nereus' description had been heard and they were on their way to confirm whether or not there was any truth to it. This wasn't the first of such rumours, nor would it be the last, but thus far they had been nothing more than a wild goose chase. They had scoured what felt like all of Hentor looking for the missing Royals and Styxx hoped that the chase would soon come to an end. During their missions, they had built up a reputation as some of the most feared individuals in all the land because of their skill and the persistence with which they pursued their quary and the Black Rider of Aresi could hardly remember a time when things were different.

For half of his life, most of his life that he could even remember, he had been part of the Riders, training with the prince and the others who rode with them and dedicated to tracking down the missing Royals and brining them back to King Trey. From the time he left Aresi, all that mattered to him was finding Princess Anna and making sure that there was some way that she could be safely returned to her birthright. It had been what had spurred him on, what drove him to get better and push himself until he was known for his marksmanship, and not just the fact that he was heir apparent to the Duke of Aresi. He had been successful at that, earning the praise of his instructors, being filled with confidence, believing that he would almost never miss his mark and he had nothing to fear.

And why would he? His younger brother, his twin, would always have his back. His brother's lover and the other riders would be there too. But then things changed, drastically, and he was left on his own, drawing into himself and becoming more focused on the mission, his training, anything to forget what happened. Now, it wasn’t only the Princess that was his motivation, but his brother’s untimely death, and he was forever chasing the man in the white hood, hoping that once he was gone — for good — he would finally get the satisfaction that he so desperately craved.

But for now, he would have to play along with the Prince and the usurper King and hope that he would soon get what he wanted. And perhaps even sooner if Prince Mikhail was willing to play his part. For now, both of them knew that it wouldn't be wise to move until the Royals were found to prevent all of Hentor from erupting into chaos. Unlike some of the others, his loyalty was to his home kingdom first and his loyalty to King Trey was near the bottom -- not that he would ever dare voice that aloud. He had his family to think about and wouldn't see them harmed for a mistake that he made. But even so he begrudgingly pledged loyalty to the High King before he would side with the Rebels. Things would be so much better if it weren't for them.

Looking ahead to the Commander of the Black Riders who lead them as they rode quickly along the northern border, he wondered how much more longer it would take before Mikhail gave in and did as he suggested. How much more of Trey’s belittlement and abuse could the Prince take before he cracked? It would be interesting to watch, but as interesting as it may be, Mikhail acting out without direction was also something he did not want to see. Not because he feared what he would do, but the Rebellion did not need a reason to take the life of someone who was otherwise innocent.

Following Mikhail’s lead, he slowed his horse, a beautiful chestnut mare whose temperament suited him better in a fight than many of the other horses available, to a walk. Listening as the Prince spoke, Styxx couldn’t stop the smirk from coming to his lips as Mikhail finished.

”I would never do something like that, Your Highness,” he replied, his tone a little more formal than it would be otherwise and coloured with mock hurt as though he had been offended by the very idea. Sobering, he continued, ”But we have been riding through the night and though I have the energy to continue another few miles, some of the others, not to mention the horses, could maybe use a rest.”

And if the others agreed with him, he might as well sample the local delicacies. Something that was always more enjoyable with a partner. Throwing a charming smile in Elizabeth’s direction, he moved a bit closer to her, lowering his voice slightly so as not to be overheard. ”If we make a stop in this town, maybe we can find a place to enjoy ourselves for a while. Feels like it has been far too long since the last time." His smile turned a bit seductive, a flirtatious gleam in his eye, before he turned away and looked at the other Riders.

If Elizabeth turned him down and nothing caught his interest while they rested, he could always ask Chel. Though if it came to that, he would probably find himself trying to learn a little more about Nereus as he doubted he would have much luck convincing her to let him spend some time really getting to know her. Styxx could hardly remember Prince Nereus, though he knew that they had had interactions when they were children when the Prince visited Aresi. It was those childhood friendships they would need to rely on if this was going to be successful. If the rumours were in fact true to begin with.


Ꮗith: Riders tab tab ℒocation: Plessa-Uassine Border tab tab ℳood: Calm

Ꮋunger: ██████████ 100%
Ꮋealth: ██████████ 100%

ɪɴᴠᴇɴᴛᴏʀʏ

Arrows: 20/20
Dagger
Rider Ring

ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴀʀʀᴏᴡs

OOC

[Dangerosa]

Gerrard’s eyes slid over to his old friend at his remark that he was making empty threats. If Donovan decided to push things any further, they would soon see him back up his words with action. There was nothing, to his mind, so dangerous as an idiot and Donovan with his impulsiveness was proving that he might just be a liability if the three of them were to be forced to work together. If it did turn out to be every man for himself, he might spare Clement’s ill-mannered partner a broken bone or two… eh, what was he thinking? He might do it all the same just to be on the safe side.

The criminal would be prevented from putting his plan into action, but the sudden sound of rustling in the bushes around them. Gerrard tensed slightly, his eyes darting about the foliage as he searched for the source of the sound. Whatever it was, it was taking its time in approaching, and Gerrard instinctively reached for his knife, which, unsurprisingly, wasn’t in its usual place at his side. Of course the goddesses would put him in the middle of a forest with his greatest rival and who knew what kind of strange beasts that inhabited these strange woods and leave him with nothing to use to protect himself. There were utensils on the table that he could use, but he didn’t want to risk turning his back on the whatever it was that was approaching. By the sounds of things it was getting closer. He tensed —

Only to discover that it was nothing but a peculiar little cat-like creature that emerged from the bush. Gerrard drew up short, his brow twitching upwards as he watched in surprise and curiosity as the creature walked past him and made its way with a hop, skip and a jump, over to and on top of the banquet table.

Curious, Gerrard moved towards it, his eyes narrowing as he took a closer look at the creature. What he first thought to be part of a strange headband that the creature was wearing for some reason unbeknownst to him, turned out to actually be an antenna attached to the creature’s head, a red ball bobbing at the end of it. He almost pinched himself to see if he was awake or this was all part of some elaborate dream, but then he remembered that he was dead and in the domain of a goddess he knew nothing about.

Then, and most startlingly of all, the creature spoke. Not the unintelligible mews or barking of an animal he was familiar with, but actual human speech! Gerrard’s eyes widened and he was, for the moment, too dumbfounded to speak. He could only watch slack jawed as the creature’s antenna twirled and three large presents appeared in the field before them. It was only then that he found his voice.

”What is this?”

Seconds later, he had his answer and he turned to look from the creature to the presents and back again as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. There was some trick to this, surely, but it didn’t look as though they would get any other clues.

A glance at Donovan revealed that the younger man was watching the creature as though it could not be trusted. Turning to Clement, Gerrard noticed that he was already eyeing the presents as though he knew which one to choose.

”Are you crazy?” He exclaimed, aghast, when Clement indicated that he was going to unilaterally make a decision without discussing it with them first. ”It would be a better idea to examine each of the presents carefully before making our choice.”

That said, he moved closer to the presents, examining each of them closely, only pausing in his examination of the third box as he started to feel somewhat… odd.

It was as though the temperature in the clearing had been slowly heating up from the moment he’d arrived and now it was as though an uncomfortable warmth had spread across his skin. He felt flushed, but at the same time he had that dull, tingling, pins and needles feeling that he normally associated with a limb falling asleep — except this time the feeling was somewhat mild and easily forgettable at the moment.

”The ticking coming from the Ivory box makes me less inclined to open it,” he began, his voice somewhat distracted as he slowly started to examine his hand, noticing with an alarm that he kept carefully hidden, that it seemed that he was somewhat… paler than before. It made no sense!

”As for the box you’ve selected, though it’s not moving or making any distinctive sounds, I feel like it would be better to avoid it. Unlike the second box, I feel as though it is deceptively attractive.”

Looking at the other two men in the clearing, Gerrard noticed that neither of them seemed to be experiencing any discomfort. Donovan who had not eaten of the banquet seemed as fine as ever, as did Clement. Though Clement hadn’t tasted any of the fruits and didn’t seem to be as wary as he was when it came to eating what had been provided to them. Was this some kind of payback for having had doubts about Medea and her intentions? If so, he took back every negative thing he had ever said or thought!

Since the others seemed okay for now, he wouldn’t say anything and he just hoped it would clear up on its own. It was just a little paleness and maybe things were always like that and he just hadn’t noticed before.

”If the movement indicates that the second box is some sort of animal, then at least it’s something we might all be familiar with. If not and it’s like this creature here,” he motioned to the cat with the antenna. ”Or something more violent, I’m confident we can outsmart it. Or sate its hunger by feeding Donovan to it,” he smirked.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ clearing tab // tab Wɪᴛʜ donovan, clement, cat-creature
tab tab Cʜᴀʀɢᴇs ◽ ||◽ ||◽ tab // tab Cᴜʀsᴇ 10%
tab tab Hᴇᴀʟᴛʜ 100%
tab tab OᴏC ...

IILovelyAmarathII

Yllin

[Dangerosa]

The morning air was cool despite the the sun and his internal fire that warmed him. It was the middle of spring and still it felt as though the sun was fighting against the clouds and winter to bring warmth back into the world. Kyrian longed for the days when the sun would be out in full force, the intense rays heating the earth, its warm embrace surrounding him once more. The golden sun, its warmth, its touch on his skin, reminded him of childhood. Of being held close and told that everything would be alright. A young, feminine voice that he could hardly remember, golden hair like his… When he pulled back to smile up at her, he noticed her eyes. Worried. Or maybe worried wasn’t the right word. Determined and kind, and he could see something else there, but he couldn’t place his finger on it.

He never asked.

And then, a heartbeat later, she was gone and he was once more buffeted by the cold wind and shivered internally. He didn’t like the cold. Why couldn’t the tip have lead them to one of the warmer parts of Grastin? Ivelon was beautiful at this time of year. And so was Syelrion and… that other city that he couldn’t quite remember the name of. Thes… ? No. Thyme…? No, that was a plant. But he was sure the name reminded him of a plant! He’d just call it Thyme for now, but it was a warm city from what he remembered! Instead the tip was leading them to Erdfried, a mountainous city that he knew nothing about except for the fact that it was cold and had hot springs ? Hmm… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe if the tip didn’t pan out, he could relax in the hot springs before going back to Plessa. He and Mali had already taken care of the Rebel problem before starting on this trip, so he was sure King Trey wouldn’t be too upset if they took a few hours to relax. Right?

As much as he wanted to try to find Cairo to make King Trey happy, he also felt this uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was as though the cold air that surrounded them had somehow entered him and coiled in the pit of his stomach. No matter how much he ran his hand across his middle to attempt to get the feeling to go away, it persisted, leaving him altogether uncomfortable and uneasy.

To be honest, he couldn’t quite remember much about his life before Trey saved him. There were glimpses, fleeting memories, fractured images that seemed to disappear as soon as he wrapped his hand around them. But while the memories were indistinct, the emotions tied to them remained strong. Most of the time, that was all he had: a feeling. And he couldn’t explain why he had that feeling, he just knew that the memory was sad, or happy, or scary. So when the people in the last city had said something about a boy resembling Cairo, Kyrian had instantly started to feel uneasy. He was nervous but he couldn’t explain why. Well, he could, but not in a way that made sense. He just knew that Cairo didn’t like him.

They’d met… once? Twice? More than that? Kyrian wasn’t sure. He just knew that they weren’t close.

He doesn’t like me…

But he’d been a little kid back then. Maybe it was because he was so little, or he’d said something wrong. He hadn't known any better. Now he had the chance to show Cairo that he was all grown up and better than he was when he was little.

It won’t make a difference…

Kyrian shifted the bag slung over his shoulder, and tried to focus his thoughts on something else, something happier.
There were kids playing in the streets, screaming gleefully as they chased each other over the ice and snow, tripping over each other and almost causing him to stumble as he moved to avoid a boy who was not paying attention and nearly ran into him. Kyrian's hands found the strap of his bag and started fidgeting. Try to focus on something else...
Troubled blue eyes found a parent and child next. The girl jumping on her father's back. It brought a smile to his face and his fingers stilled for a few seconds. Mikky...

”Maybe we should have told Mikky about this rumour,” he murmured. But he knew that it wasn’t possible for the Riders to get here as quickly as they could. They were already in Grastin on a separate mission when they heard the rumours while the Riders were in the North heading towards Uassine if his memory was good.

Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought, then blew warm air into cupped hands in an effort to stay warm. Kyrian hoped that this wouldn't take too long. "I'm cold, Mali. Can we find an inn and ask anyone if they've seen him? Maybe we can get something warm to eat." Licking his lips, Kyrian imagined a nice hot plate of meat and eggs, or even some kind of stew. Both options had his mouth watering, even though it was probably too early for anyone to really be serving the type of food he had in mind. It really couldn't be that hard to find a boy with white hair and gold eyes in this village, but with each step, each face he scanned, the knot in his stomach grew and constricted even more. He was excited to find Cairo and bring him back to King Trey, but so very nervous about meeting him again.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ Erdfried (Grastin)
tab tab Wɪᴛʜ Mali
tab tab Mᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴs Mikhail, Cairo, Trey
tab tab OᴏC ...

[Dangerosa]

Amusement shone brightly in Styxx’s eyes at Mikhail’s quip. As much as Mikhail refused his advances and protested each time he flirted with one of the other Riders or someone else in close proximity to him, the prince seemed to enjoy playing into his hand or putting himself in situations where one could read more into what was said than he was sure Mikhail intended. It was something he would surely bring up later if he happened to catch the Prince alone for a few minutes during this mission. All it would take is a few minutes to have some enjoyment at Mikhail’s expense. It never did go much further than that, and as much as he wished it otherwise, Styxx would have to content himself with it.

Around him, the other Riders seemed to agree to a stop in the city they would be approaching, though when Elizabeth declined his invitation his interest in taking a break dimmed a bit.

”I’ll be sure to take you up on that when we return to Plessa,” he murmured evenly, showing little sign that he was bothered in any way. … At least he wasn’t until Mikhail said something about it, and he glared at the prince’s back.

Entering the village, it felt as though the air around the group stilled and swallowed up any sound as people laid eyes on them. While not all of them could be recognized immediately, it was known around Hentor that the Black Riders were lead by the Prince and that in itself was enough to make some people uneasy it seemed. Mothers held their children a little tighter; Fathers walked closer to their families, were a little more on edge. And why? The reputation they had acquired, the fact that they worked for King Trey directly. Sometimes it was good, allowed them to get things done quickly and efficiently, but there were other days where he wished for the anonymity they had when they were working apart from each other.

Slowing a bit, he paused to ask a man who caught his eye the name of the town before proceeding, as the village didn’t look familiar to him and he’d rather have a name to go with this place should he ever have a reason to make a second trip or they needed to name it in whatever report they eventually made to King Trey. It was a relatively minor detail, something that could be easily overlooked, but he didn’t want to risk it being something important later.

Rejoining the group, he was just in time to hear Mikhail explaining the source of the tip that lead them on this mission, and he ground his teeth in frustration, biting his tongue to keep from interrupting before he got all the facts and made an erroneous assumption. If only he had known about this earlier, made use of the individual for his own ends, then he may have been able to persuade the King to let him go on his own to chase down whatever new leads he had about the rebel leader and settle the score once and for all. He needed this more than anything, and had to find a way to compel Mikhail to give up the name of his spy once this mission was over.

When they reached the stables, Styxx dismounted, handing the reigns to the stable boy who seemed almost nervous to approach, but yet awed at the sight of the group. He looked young, probably too young to remember the events that happened a decade ago (though if he had, would it have made a difference?) and the way he looked at them made Styxx suspect that the nervousness was simply a result of being around nobles rather than any real sense of fear. Smart boy.

”I’m going to see if there’s anyone who would be able to confirm the rumour you heard,” he stated, glancing briefly at Mikhail, then looking at the others in the group. ”The marketplace is always a great source of information so if any of you would like to stock up on supplies, you can follow me.”

With that, Styxx turned and started away from the sables, though he hoped that if Chel decided to stay behind to make sure the horses were well taken care of, Soren would hang back as well. Though he knew each of them was strong in their own right, he didn’t like the see the other Riders alone when it could be prevented. For some reason it never sat right with him, even if he wouldn’t admit it. Using his senses to help him find the highest concentration of life energy: where people were concentrated usually tended to be hubs of information, trade, and goods, which was what they needed right now.

Gradually, the crowds around him grew, the sounds and smells of the square drawing him in, colourful banners fluttering in the wind, alerting him that he were in the right place. The snippets of conversation that he heard wasn’t too unusual. Village gossip, excitement about an upcoming festival, comments about the quality of something or the other, visitors to the area. This last piqued his interest and Styxx slowed to examine some fabrics and jewellery on display while he listened to the conversation.

”I’ve heard that they carry goods from all the Kingdoms in Hentor! They give you a good deal on the items they offer, too.” One said, then proceeded to talk about what he hoped to purchase.

The other was more doubtful, ”It’s stolen goods mostly likely, or counterfeit. How else could they afford to give you such good deals? I’d be careful with them.”

Traveling merchants wasn’t exactly the type of information he’d been hoping to overhear, but if he could find the group maybe they would remember something from their travels that could be of use.

Getting the attention of the merchant manning the booth he had been pretending to examine, he pointed out a bracelet and made a purchase before walking off. And as the coins and jewellery traded hands, Styxx couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched, but seeing no one suspicious when he looked around, he kept walking through the market, pausing occasionally to ask questions about the merchants who were supposedly arriving that day to see if anyone recognized Nereus by his description when he slipped it into the question about the village visitors.


Ꮗith: Black Riders tab tab ℒocation: Solnesta tab tab ℳood: Curious
tab x ➠ Alone

Ꮋunger: ██████████ 100%
Ꮋealth: ██████████ 100%

ɪɴᴠᴇɴᴛᴏʀʏ

Arrows: 20/20
Dagger
Rider Ring

ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴀʀʀᴏᴡs

hope y'all don't mind that I named the village

yayayang

esude

done-geon crawler

grim is calling

Minoshiya

[Dangerosa]

Stepping back quickly after Clement put a hand to his forehead, Gerrard looked at his old friend with a note of warning in his eye. Maybe the pallor of his skin was a little more noticeable than he thought it was, or he’d done something to make his alarm noticeable, but he didn’t need a check up.

”Thank you for your concern,” he said dryly. ”It’s touching, truly, but I’m not sick.”

He flexed his hands as if to reassure himself that he still had feeling in them, and hoped that Clement’s assessment wasn’t correct. Gerrard had his doubts considering what Medea had told him when he’d awoken, but he wasn’t too sure if she could be trusted given her seemingly fickle nature. It all seemed to be a game to her as far as he was concerned. Life and death could be just as inconsequential to her as whatever form she felt like assuming at a given moment.

And then it would seem that both Donovan and Clement were willing to tempt fate as they chowed down on apples, quite noisily, and seeming to make a show of it. What did he possibly do in life to get himself stuck in this position? Couldn’t he have been brought back to life with a different pair of people? Or at least someone who he would consider his intellectual equal? Clement certainly was at one point in time, but he wondered if he had hit his head a bit too hard on the floor when he died, and now walked around with a death wish.

As Donovan sputtered off something about ‘democracy’ which Gerrard felt had no purpose to their current predicament other than to fill the air with more noise, and Clement decided to question his intelligence, Gerrard sighed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose to keep himself from saying anything he might later regret, and feeling the beginnings of a headache blossoming at the front of his head.

Idiots, both of them, and deaf too. Do they not hear the rumbling in the third box?

Patience didn’t seem to be Clement’s strong suit right now as he was deciding to throw a spoon in the air and use whatever side it landed on to make the decision for him, rather than take another few minutes to logically and carefully work things out. Perhaps he had been wrong in his assessment of the three presents and Clement could have given him a reason to go with the third box, despite his misgivings.

Clement’s fingers had barely touched the ribbon when the sides of the box started to bulge and a terrifying sound filled the air. Gerrard’s stomach twisted in knots, and he started to back away from the box, not wanting to be in front of it when whatever came from inside emerged. Was he having doubts? Certainly, but this wasn’t a bomb that was about to blow the three of them to bits so he wouldn’t complain. And even if it was a ferocious beast that appeared all they had to do was find a way to knock it out, and the bigger they were, the easier the task would be.

'It still would have been nice of Clement to give them a moment to plan an attack or way to defend themselves before he decided to touch the stupid box,' he thought angrily to himself.

The sides of the box tore open and a creature grew in size before their eyes. Standing the size of a bull, and looking just as stocky, the creature was covered in scales and spines, and had wickedly sharp teeth. For a fraction of a second, Gerrard was frozen to the spot as he looked at the creature Clement had unleashed, then it roared again, bowing its head as it started to charge. It was then that Gerrard finally found his legs and jumped out of the way, looking over his shoulder to see the creature skid to a stop, dirt, clumps of grass, and rocks being kicked up in the process.

"You couldn't have waited another few minutes before opening the box?!" Gerrard exclaimed, wanting to shoot an angry glare in Clement's direction, but not daring to take his eyes away from the creature as it moved the charge again.

"That thing is deadly! You have no weapons… your only chance is to find the power gifted to you by the goddesses and use it; find it inside yourselves and channel it through your brand!"

Power? What power was that generous cat-like creature talking about? He'd much rather have his knives right now. Hell, he'd even take a gun over some power that he knew nothing about! But what he did know was that there were some hard fruits on the table as well as plates and utensils. Maybe not weapons in the traditional sense, but they were good enough for him! At the very least they could blind it or slow it down and try to lead it head on into a tree where it could knock itself out.

"Either of you know what the cat's talking about?" he inquired, as he hurried towards the table. Looking over the selection of foods provided for something firm, his eyes landed on the apples. That should work. Taunt it, get its attention and lead it into a tree. Seemed simple enough. Hopefully it worked. "And Donovan, since you were so eager to fight earlier, I think it's time you show us what you can do. Distract it while Clement and I come up with a plan."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ here tab // tab Wɪᴛʜ Donovan, Clement, cat-creature, monster
tab tab Cʜᴀʀɢᴇs ◽ ||◽ ||◽ tab // tab Cᴜʀsᴇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇⬚
tab tab Hᴇᴀʟᴛʜ 100%
tab tab OᴏC ...

[Dangerosa]

Kyrian looked over at Mali in surprise when she slipped an arm through his, and he opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, when he felt a sudden wave of warmth spread over him and the cold that had been so biting before seemed hardly worth mentioning. Being the King’s Mage, Mali was great at spells and magic, far better than anyone else he knew, which was one of the reasons why he enjoyed being around her. He didn’t know a lot about what she could do, so there was always something just a bit unpredictable about her. It kept him on his toes and he was almost always learning or seeing something new and different when he was around her.

Sighing out his thanks on a contented note, Kyrian wondered if maybe he would be able to learn how to use his fire to be able to keep himself warm one day. Should be easy enough since he was half drake, but he always found it difficult. Probably ’cause he didn’t practice as much as he should and tried not to make a habit of using power and abilities that would hint at him being anything but human. It wasn’t that he wasn’t proud of the fact that he was half-drake, but he was afraid… afraid of being confronted by someone who wanted him to be someone he wasn’t. Maybe at one point he was what some people claimed, but he wasn’t anymore. He was just someone who was trying desperately to find his sister and not make any waves in the process. If he could get through life without upsetting anyone and have his sister with him once more, he’d die happy.

So when Mali reminded him that there could be Rebels in the area, he sobered and nodded, deciding that now that he was slightly more warm than he was before, he could bear the cold a little longer and make sure Cairo wasn’t in the area before they went and had a sit down mean at an inn.

”Food stalls…?” he echoed, easily following after his companion as she tugged on his arm.

Where did she see food stalls? The only thing he could see was crowd of people moving steadily in the same direction they were. But he trusted Mali to know where they were going: she was older after all, and probably knew something that he didn’t about towns and their layout. It wasn’t too much longer that the mouthwatering scent of cooking foods wafted through the air and his faith in Mali was paying off. Turning to her, he grinned, his eyes wide and animated as he looked around the market at all the food that was being offered. Where to start first?

”Uh…” his eyes quickly scanned the area trying to find something that would catch his eye. It all looked and smelled so good, he was having trouble deciding. Then he noticed some people walking by with a warm drink in their hands, laughing at some joke that he hadn’t been lucky enough to overhear. And the drink smelled like apples…. ”Oh! I know!”

He took a step in the direction the group had come from, intending to sniff out that sweet, spiced, autumn-like scent if he had to, only to feel Mali twist away from him, saying something about gold.

Frowning, he moved to follow after her, wondering why she was getting so distracted by gold. Couldn’t they look at the gold souvenirs after they got something to eat and found Cairo? Kyrian was certain that she’d told him only moments ago to be careful cause they could be rebels around, and should focus on finding their target.

Oh. He forgot. Cairo; he had gold eyes. That’s why she was racing after gold.

But now he couldn’t see Mali and he still didn’t see anyone that looked like Cairo, even as he stood on his toes and tried to look over the crowd for a head of blue or white. Puffing out his cheeks and letting out a breath in annoyance, he hoped he would grow another few inches this year so he wouldn't feel so lost in crowds.

Standing in place, holding his bag close to him while he was being bumped and jarred slightly by the people who continued to move around him, Kyrian debated what he should do. Mali would be easy to find with her blue hair and since he was already familiar with her scent. If she had found Cairo, then when he found her, he would also find the prince. Kyrian also still wanted that spiced apple drink and was still feeling somewhat nervous about seeing Cairo again, and didn't ming putting it off just a little longer.

Coming to a decision, he turned on his heel and went to buy the drink first. It didn't take long for him to find the place and then he was all but bouncing on the balls of his feet as the hot apple cider was served to him. And it tasted even better than he thought it would! Lightly spiced, just sweet enough, and with the refreshing tartness of apples, it was like fall in a cup! And most importantly, it was hot!

On sudden impulse, he bought a cup for Mali before starting away from the stand, hoping that he would be able to find her quickly fast enough so the drink would still be warm. Kyrian hoped she liked it and wouldn't be upset that he'd decided to get something to drink rather than hurry to find her and Cairo. Well... if she really was upset about it, then he could just explain that he took his time getting to her 'cause Cairo doesn't like him and he didn't want to risk scaring the target away. Yea, he'd go with that. Seemed logical enough to him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ Erdfried (Grastin)
tab tab Wɪᴛʜ no one
tab tab Mᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴs Mali, Cairo
tab tab OᴏC ...

[Dangerosa]

Somehow people always seemed to sense when they were being watched and followed. No matter how thick the crowd was, how many cries flew through the air as merchants tried to sell their wares, people always seemed to be able to sense when something was amiss. That prickling feeling on the base of one’s neck that alerted them that they were no longer alone in the crowd. For Styxx, it was no different.

As he continued to make his way through the marketplace, searching for a vendor who had the items he and the Riders would need to continue their journey, he had a sudden awareness that someone was following him. Despite the amount of people around him, he refrained from looking over his shoulder for fear that it would tip the individual off and he would lose the opportunity to confront him and figure out what this was all about. He was certain that it couldn’t be anyone from Aresi coming to give him a message as they would have approached him by now rather than attempt to sneakily follow after him. It couldn’t be any of the Riders either for that very reason.

He stopped and spoke to a vendor about some supplies for a few minutes, buying himself some time to think of a way to approach. Styxx could tell that his tail was still there, waiting patiently within the crowd, but his eyes couldn’t pick the individual out. Moments later, he moved on, the individual followed, and seeing an opportunity to confront whoever was following him up ahead, he planned to make his move… but it wouldn’t be needed.

At that moment, he noticed Mikhail and a raven haired girl coming towards him, and he turned to observe the girl with interest. Had she been the one who was following him? Other than the vague sense he had that she wasn’t entirely what she seemed to be, there was nothing astonishing about her. Despite the bit of dirt that was on her clothes, she seemed too clean to be just another girl living on the streets, and her eyes held more curiosity than fear. Either she wasn’t familiar with the Black Riders and their reputation or she was defiantly refusing to show an ounce of fear. A rebel or something different altogether?

”Kill her,” he replied calmly, his eyes not leaving the girl’s as he said the words.

It was only then that a flicker of emotion other than curiosity crossed her face. Surprise mostly, followed by doubt and panic. But there was still no recognition of either of them. No cries for help and no struggling either. It was curious, but he supposed the fact that he hadn’t reached for a weapon gave her some measure of comfort that he wasn’t as serious about his words as he appeared to be.

”I knew someone was following me,” Styxx looked away from the girl and at Mikhail with a slight shrug. ”What I didn’t know was that my shadow was a female who’s not quite human.” So saying, he met her eyes again, wondering if his words would be surprising enough to get her to reveal to them what she was. They weren't.

”You're quite bold to decide to follow an armed stranger," he mused. "You're lucky I wasn't serious about my earlier words," Waving it off, he continued. "It's obvious you have questions, so if you follow me, we'll answer them for you." Styxx put enough persuasive energy into his words to get her to follow without too much protest.

Watching her closely, he waited for that subtle shift in her eyes and body language that indicated that he had her, before nodding to Mikhail to let her go. There wouldn't be a risk of her trying to get away for the next few moments.

They made their way through the crowds, Styxx trusting that Mikhail would be able to keep an eye on the girl since her dual nature made it a little more difficult for him to use is powers on her. On top of that, she was fairly strong willed and independent, which didn't really make her an ideal target for persuasive magic. He knew he was lucky this time and it wouldn't always work so he'd have to be careful with her. It would probably be better if he relied on his own persuasive charms rather than persuasion with the force of magic behind it; get her to feel comfortable about talking to him, make her feel good about volunteering information, and the more answers he would receive. The hardest part would be getting into her head based solely on the small cues he managed to pick up in the initial few minutes of their conversation.

Stopping just outside the marketplace, Styxx turned to face her, his eyes assessing, and coldly calculating despite the apology that rolled off his tongue like water. "I'm sorry if my friend startled you on his approach. We've been working closely together for years and he tends to be rather protective.... But before I answer any of your questions, do you mind telling us why you were following me?"



Ꮗith: Mikhail, ElierianDangerosaDangerosaDangerℒocation: Solnesta, marketplace
Ꮋunger: ██████████ 100%DangerosaDangeroᎻealth: ██████████ 100%



ɪɴᴠᴇɴᴛᴏʀʏ

Arrows: 20/20
Dagger
Rider Ring




ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴀʀʀᴏᴡs

asked yin's permission for this

yiyayang

esude

[Dangerosa]

His mornings always started the same way: he would wake up just as the sun was beginning to crest, and go for a run with Lucky and Ace. The early morning hours were still rather cool, but now that they had entered spring, things would slowly but surely be warming up. He couldn’t wait for summer to come around, a season where he could get back to work and make up for all the time lost over the winter. Though visiting the aquarium did help, nothing would ever beat being in the ocean, feeling the water moving around him and seeing the ocean creatures in their natural habitats. The deadline for his paper was fast approaching so he hoped that he would be able to put the finishing touches on the draft during spring and answer any lingering questions during summer to have it submitted by the end of year deadline. Just thinking of it got his stomach all twisted into knots.

Finishing his run, he stretched out, then walked up to his apartment at sleepy cove inn to shower, get dressed and find something to eat before the walk to work. Music played quietly in the background as he went about his morning chores and he hummed along as he got dressed in his work uniform and accessorized with a few braided leather bracelets on his wrist. He didn’t do much with his hair, just letting it fall naturally and pushing aside the few strands that fell in his eyes. Once he was done getting dressed and everyone was fed, the apartment fell silent as he turned off the music and started out the door on his way to work.

James kept Ace and Lucky outside their pokéballs, wanting them to enjoy the walk and fresh air with him. Having a morning shift always meant that they wouldn’t be running into too many people, not to mention the fact that Lasco Island had a sleepy town feel to it, and the roads were lonely at times so he appreciated their company. It was great to watch as Ace glided gracefully through the air, a shift of his wings and catching an updraft, going higher into a cloudless sky. At his side, Lucky barked out a question, which had a smile twitching on his lips as he responded. It truly was shaping up to be a beautiful day and he hoped the afternoon would stay the same. Arriving at the diner, James recalled his pokémon into their pokéballs and walked inside to help with the set up and making the diner ready for their first customers.

————

”Good morning, Joelle,” he greeted one of the regulars as he walked over to take the young lady’s order. ”It’s good to see you again. How’s Kirlia?”

He took a few minutes to speak with her before writing down her order and starting away from the table to check on some of the other patrons and deliver the order to the chef. Though it was 10.30 the diner still seemed as busy as ever as people continued to trickle in for breakfast. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as the morning rush where he could hardly spend more than a minute or two with the regulars as they came in. This slower pace was something he enjoyed since there was no chance of him messing up an order or forgetting who got what as he went from table to table. It was a wonder he made it through the mornings with his head still screwed on the right way.

As he cleaned up after a small group that had just left, he heard some whispers from some of his colleges. Pausing in his work and looking in the same direction they were, he noticed someone sleeping in one of the booths. Wasn't she a coordinator? What was her name...? Elle...? Ellie...? Something like that. She was joined shortly after by a friend who seemed to try to wake her up and he turned back to the others.

"Has she ordered anything yet?" he asked, walking towards them and looking over his shoulder at the pair.

One of them nodded and expressed her nervousness to go over and wake her up, and James arched a brow. They couldn't really just let her sleep there. Well they could, but he couldn't imagine that being comfortable. And if she ordered something it didn't seem right to just make her wait for it like that.

"A coffee and an omelette, right? I'll take care of it. Just cover one of my tables for me, will you?" Flashing a smile, he went to put the dishes in the kitchen, then walked over to the coordinator's table with coffee, milk, cream, and sugar packets.

"Good morning," he said kindly, placing the cup of coffee in front of her, hoping the smell would also help to rouse her. "Late night? Your omelette will be ready in a few minutes." Turning to the coordinator's friend, he gave a welcoming smile. "Morning. Let me know when you're ready to order. And if there's anything else you need, I'll be happy to help."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ diner
tab tab Wɪᴛʜ Elliot, Sydney
tab tab Mᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴs n/a
tab tab ┌─ ◓ ────────────────────────────────────────
tab tab tab tab KELPpokemonPEARLpokemonACE
tab tab tab tab DEVIpokemonCORAL pokemonLUCKY
tab tab └────────────────────────────────────────────
tab tab OᴏC idek

[Dangerosa]

A comforting warmth filled his body as Kyrian carefully sipped on his hot apple cider, and he sighed contentedly, a pleased smile spreading across his face. This was good; so warm and satisfying, such a pleasing flavour and aroma. He wanted more of this to take back home, but he couldn't, unfortunately, so he was going to have to savour this one cup. Maybe if he found something about the village that would make it worth the wait he would try to sneak in another trip over here, but right now he was telling himself that this would be his first — and hopefully his last — trip to Erdfried, Grastin. It was much too cold.

Kyrian was slowly making his way through the marketplace, the new and different sights, scents, and sounds a bit of a distraction and causing him to stop occasionally to examine a particular object or be tempted by the warm pasties and pancakes that were being made. What he wouldn't give to be able to shift enough to have a tail and be dexterous enough to use it as a third arm so he could carry a plate of crêpes! Or... maybe a dragon tail wouldn't be good for that anyway.... He would have to get the courage to give it a try one day to see!

Suddenly coming to a full stop, Kyrian straightened, tilting his head upwards somewhat to catch the wind. It wasn't a new smell that had suddenly hit him, but the sensation of Mali's magic that had him suddenly more aware of his surroundings and why he was really in the village. If Mali was using her magic to help him find her location, then she must have found Cairo or was in need of help! If everything was under control, he was sure that she would have let him find her at his own pace or she would have used used the warming spell that she placed on him to find him instead. That meant, he had to stop dallying around and find her! ... But if she had found Cairo...

Kyrian felt sick: he had butterflies fluttering in his stomach, while it twisted in knots and did backflips, threatening to bring up what little he had eaten that morning. "I can do this, I can do this. It won't be so bad...." Trying to stay composed, and repeating this mantra over and over again in his head, Kyrian pressed forward, and at that moment, no amount of heat would be able to bring warmth to him.

Why was he cold? He shouldn't feel so cold.

"It's all in my head," he quietly reassured himself, but even he knew the words were a lie. He wished he could have had a hand free so he could hold his doll close.

His doll had always been there for him. No matter what, he could hold it and feel his sister with him. He could see her smiling at him and telling him that she would always be there, that she would protect him and keep him safe. And Kyrian knew that were it not for the Rebels and Rudolph, Anna would be here with him, doing just that. She would be one of the last people he saw before he went to bed. The hug would be real and not just a ghost. Her voice would be strong in ears instead of a faded memory.... But the doll, the doll was all he had and he was happy that he still had it. It had been with him through everything, had experienced everything with him, and with it, he could slip away for a few minutes, be somewhere else while all the bad went on around him.

But instead, he had to rely on himself right now instead of the doll. He had to put on a brave face as he continued through the crowds to Mali's side. He had to show her that he could do this, and make sure that King Trey knew that he could do this and that he wasn't a disappointment. If Mali was in danger, he'd save her. If she wasn't and she had only found Cairo, then he'd... he wouldn't be scared.

Eventually he found himself a few feet away from them, Mali's blue hair making her stand out in the crowd, but it was Cairo who drew his attention. From the few words that he had managed to overhear and the way Cairo stood, Kyian had the impression that the prince was just about to walk away. Lengthening his stride, Kyrian moved to stop him.

"C-Cairo —." His throat tightened, he felt nervous, and he worried his lip, hating the fact that he was stuttering. Please wait, Cairo... Cairo wasn't that bad. He just had to distract himself for a few minutes.

Looking away from him and towards Mali, he offered the cup of apple cider to her. "It's still warm. I thought you'd like one too since it's so cold out. It tastes really good!"

Kyrian smiled. That went better. It was easier talking to Mali than it was dealing with Cairo. But now that he'd done that, he just had to figure out where to start. For all he knew the years might have changed things. The most obvious change, he noticed, was that Cairo looked different. It might just be his memory playing tricks on him, but Cairo was different. He was shorter than he remembered. His hair was neater too. Or was it messier now than it used to be...

"You look different," he blurted. "Do you remember me? I'm K-kyrian... Kyrian Jasven."

After all these years it felt weird using his full name like that to introduce himself. And in public too! Didn't look like anyone was paying too much attention to them though, so nothing bad would happen 'cause of it. That was a relief. But he probably still sounded like a kid, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted to sound like right now. It was the last thing Cairo wanted. Embarrassed, Kyrian looked down at his feet for a moment, kicking at the snow, then he looked at Cairo earnestly.

"You and my sister used to play together a lot. Her name is Anna. She has blonde hair like me and blue eyes. I'm trying to find her too. You always liked her more than me, but Blythe was always nice. I d-don't remember much about th-that though."

Maybe he shouldn't have said that, but it was the truth. Cairo never liked him. Kyrian sipped nervously sips from his cup, wondering if anything he was saying was stirring a memory or if he just sounded crazy. Mali probably told Cairo something before he arrived so if they both said the same thing, then he wouldn't sound crazy right? But then the harder question was how do they convince Cairo to go with them? That he's not lying?

"You're a prince... the Prince of Crator," As a sudden though hit him, he frowned a bit as he continued, his eyes a bit distant as he tried to recall a memory. "Basil said something about this once... I don't know exactly what it was. Basil is your other brother."

Abruptly turning his attention back to Mali, Kyrian shuffled his feet in the snow once more as he tried to think about what they should do next. "Do you think it would be easier if we spoke about this somewhere else? He said he has to meet someone so... we could go with him. Then we can show him stuff and maybe he'll remember."

Standing within a crowded market Kyrian couldn't just go flashing valuable things around, and his doll was his most prized possession! The other didn't mean so much to him, but he knew that it was valuable because of what exactly it was. Cairo had to remember something!

"Please, will you give us some time? Crator is depending on you... you can't just leave them to suffer. From what I remember you'd never do that!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ Erdfried (Grastin)
tab tab Wɪᴛʜ Cairo, Mali
tab tab Mᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴs Anna, NPCs (Blythe, Basil)
tab tab OᴏC ...

[Dangerosa]

Surprise coloured his expression for a moment as the coordinator offered to pay for her friend’s meal, but soon he was smiling and making a note of that in the pad. That was kind of her; he must have been a good friend of hers if she was willing to do that for him. Not only that, but it seemed like she wasn’t too embarrassed by having been found asleep in the booth.

”You’ve got it,” James said, biting back a smile as she waved off her friend’s protests before he could even make them.

”I’d recommend the homestyle favourite, sir.” So saying, he pointed it out in the menu. Essentially a benedict with sautéed mushrooms and cheese and home fries, it was one of his favourite things to get when he decided to eat at the diner for breakfast. As rare as that was.


Nodding and adding tea and coffee to the order, James was about to read it over to make sure he had everything right or wanted to add anything more to it, when the coordinator mentioned something burning.

Pausing in surprise, James realized she was right, but it didn’t smell like anything in the kitchen was burning. James started to look around for the source, unwilling to believe that this was an actual fire and hoping that it was some illusion caused by a mischievous psychic pokémon in the area, but they wouldn’t be so lucky.


Fire was quickly spreading from the front of the diner, the smoke was starting to become more than a slight itch in his throat. For a few seconds, James was frozen, unable to say or do anything until he felt the cold rush of wind from Dragonair’s blizzard.

Snapping out of it, he realized that he should probably try to do something to help out as well.

“Kelp, Coral I need your help!” Dragalge and Corsola burst from their pokéball in a flash of white light, their expressions determined. “Kelp use aqua tail, Coral use scald. We need to put out those flames.”

While his pokémon worked to help slow the spread of the flames, James started helping the customers and his coworkers escape the flames and smoke. Between his two pokémon and the customer’s dragonair, he would have thought things would be getting better, but that’s not the case. With every passing moment, the smoke grew thicker and it became even harder to breathe and see anything around him. Not only that, but the flames just kept getting hotter and more intense, drying up what moisture remained in the air.

Not wanting Coral or Kelp to have any health complications because of this, he quickly called them back into their pokéballs once he was sure that most people had managed to make it out. There was nothing more that he could do right now to try to save this place. Coughing, and covering his nose and mouth with his shirt, he started to hurry towards the back door when he heard something that he wasn't expecting.

”Yuuki?” James thought she’d already managed to find her way out of here, and panic seized him as he hurried towards the sound of her voice. He couldn’t bare to see her hurt because he was lingering just a moment too long.

Relieved when he found her, James grabbed her hand and lead her towards the exit and fresh air. ”I’m here, we need to go.” It wasn’t until they were outside and he was eagerly breathing in clean, cool air did her release her hand and start to look her over for any signs of injury. ”Yuuki, are you okay? Are you hurt? How are you feeling?” If he was at all worried about himself, he didn’t show it. Besides, if something had happened to her while she was looking for him he’d never forgive himself.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ outside the diner
tab tab Wɪᴛʜ Shirayuki
tab tab Mᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴs Elliot, Sydney
tab tab ┌─ ◓ ────────────────────────────────────────
tab tab tab tab KELPpokemonPEARLpokemonACE
tab tab tab tab DEVIpokemonCORAL pokemonLUCKY
tab tab └────────────────────────────────────────────
tab tab OᴏC ...

[Dangerosa]

Gerrard breathed out a sigh of relief when the creature decided to momentarily give up its pursuit of him and turn towards Clement. Though he didn’t want to see his old friend mauled to death by the creature, he also felt that it was just what the man deserved for determining which box to open with the mere flip of a coin. It was a surprising course of action to say the least, but perhaps Clement’s time with his amateur detective friend had been enough to dull his wits. Either that, or death had caused the man to lose a few IQ points.

The criminal had to admit, however, that the detective was right: neither of them had the time to spare in trying to determine what mysterious power they had been gifted with. Moreover, the surprise that came with discovering the power and the momentary pause that would undoubtedly follow might be the second the monstrous creature needed to kill them if they couldn’t finish it off first! But with the way things were turning out, what choice did they have?

His heart beating rapidly in his chest, an embarrassing trembling in his hands from fear, Gerrard spared a quick glance over his shoulder and noticed that the beast had managed to tackle Clement to the ground. Looking in Donovan’s direction revealed that the amateur was frozen to the spot, seemingly too afraid to move, and Gerrard didn’t feel like wasting his breath to try to spur the man into action. Instead he took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself before turning and taking a few steps towards his friend, shouting at the creature to try to get its attention and hopefully spare Clement a few seconds to get away to safety. If the bull didn’t move, then maybe he could push it away. It was a foolish thought, no doubt, as it was several pounds heavier than he, but he couldn’t seem to find a way to activate his power, whatever it was.

But before he could reach Clement, the beast bit him as he tried to roll out of the way. Strangely, Clement didn’t cry out, nor did Gerrard witness a crimson stain begin to spread over the man’s shoulder.

What the hell had happened?

Coming to a stop, he stared only to realize, once the creature roared again, that he was staring into its murderous dark eyes as it began to charge towards him, apparently giving up on Clement and deciding to focus on easier prey.

”s**t,” he muttered, the word falling from his lips before his mind could even register the fact that it was his voice.

”I doubt those vines will be strong enough!” Gerrard yelled as he decided that it was best to get off the ground and into a tree as well.

He had just made it into the shadow of the nearby trees when he noticed that the beast started to slow and then came to a stop. Gerrard could have sworn that he could read confusion in its face as it stared in his direction, but seemed to look through him as though he wasn’t even there. What’s more, the back of his left hand felt… different — that was only way he could describe it — and when he looked at it he saw a mark that had never been there before. If he squinted, he could almost say it looked like some sort of stylized compass. As much as he did like tattoos, and did have two facial tattoos marking his cheeks, he had never had a compass inked into his skin before, nor would he ever do it himself as they were meaningless to him. Was this the brand the cat-like creature had been referring to ?

But just what was his power exactly? Invisibility? How could that ever help him fight this creature?

"Well dearly me, I suppose I forgot to mention one little thing.”

Forgot? Forgot what exactly? To tell them their powers were useless? What kind of sick trick was this? Were the goddesses going out of their way to see them killed within minutes of their arrival in this clearing?

Wanting to wring the neck of the goddess who decided that this would be a fun little introduction to whatever game they were now trapped in, Gerrard looked towards the table where the cat was just in time to see all the food disappear to be replaced with weapons. The expression on the criminal's face practically melted into something tender when he saw the selection of weapons at their disposal. As much as he disliked using them, guns seemed to be the best option to use against this beast, and there were a few he would be comfortable using on the table. More importantly, he could see a collection of knives. The cool glint of metal caught his eye, and immediately, he was running out of the shadows and over to the table, carefully looking over the selection of weapons trying to determine which gun had a caliber high enough to do some damage to the beast, while the cat-creature spoke to Donovan. The knives, on the other hand, were selected quickly, though there was an almost sensual caress of the handle before he pocketed it, and he was happy to have the familiar weight at his side once more.

"Do you have any suggestions, Clement?" he asked as he picked up one weapon and looked it over in his hand, checking the weight, type of ammunition available, and how it felt within his grasp. Like the other gun he had picked up, he put it back down, the grabbed another to give it a similar inspection.

"Have fun little champions!"

That seemed to be the signal to the beasts to resume their attack, and Gerrard realized that he didn't have time to give the weapons as thorough inspection as he would have liked and he tsked in annoyance.

"How do they expect me to fight like this?" he growled lowly under his breath.

Double checking to see if the gun was loaded, Gerrard flicked the safety and then started shooting like mad at the bull-like creature as it charged. He hated the feel of the weapon in his hand, how impersonal it was, but there was no way he would be going against it with a knife! Though with how many of his shots seemed to miss because of the slight trembling in his hands, he wondered if it was even worth it. Perhaps by the time he emptied the clip, the beast would still be charging and he would have to resort to stabbing it.

And all that ignored the fact that Donovan was now frozen to the ground. Something else to worry about, another distraction. Part of him wanted to save the man, not wanting to see any of them killed, but another part of Gerrard had little interest in saving him after the headache he had been just a few minutes ago. He simply had to keep reminding himself that whatever happened to Donovan was not his fault. He wasn't the one who had killed him, who had iced the man's feet to the ground and immobilized him. He could either risk his life and attempt to save him, or hope for the best and put the beast down before they all died in this clearing. Logically it was the right decision, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. Even if he wasn't the one who would be ending the boy's afterlife. "I'm loathe to say it, Clement, but I believe it's better to leave your friend for now and concentrate on putting as many bullets as possible into this thing."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
tab tab Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ clearing tab // tab Wɪᴛʜ clement, donovan, cat-like creature
tab tab Cʜᴀʀɢᴇs ◽ ||◽ ||◾ tab // tab Cᴜʀsᴇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇⬚
tab tab Hᴇᴀʟᴛʜ 100%
tab tab OᴏC...