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 Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:52 pm
((Nobody saw my blunder of posting with the wrong account, right? Right?? Good. lol ))
Azriel would have been interested in learning how Max opened that door...if she hadn't dropped the hint that she could see her other selves somehow. She made a deadpan glare, yet there was alarm practically flashing in her widening eyes. Rhone just being able to know without being told really rattled her at first, and now this?
She grabbed Max's collar tightly, keeping her face close. "What do you mean four." It sounded like a demand rather than a question, and her voice sounded more dark than amused. She knew exactly what Max meant; what she actually meant herself was how Max could see them.
~~~
Sure, Sheena's intel showed her in detail what Rhone was involved with...especially the piracy, and such, but it didn't tell her a lot of what the man himself was actually like. And Zelos didn't really make much mention about his personality, just his background. She was indeed made aware of his relations with a native of Mizuho long before she was born.
She raised her brows, slightly surprised at the action, as Rhone knelt down. He certainly has a flair for the dramatic as well, she thought before replying. "In the northwestern corner of this town is the stone dais where I used to practice my summoning arts as a child. You'll find a red wooden gate-arch at the opening of the path that leads into it."
Looking up and toward the front door that Rhone left open, she could see a bit of Azriel's black wing in view. "Well, I bid your friend good luck in this endeavor."
~~~
Unable to find the Chief at her office in the palace, the field agent thought to go to her house. He saw two of those outsiders introduced to the village earlier, but this was no time to question them at length on what they were doing at the Chief's private space. He had urgent news to deliver.
Rushing past the open front door, he didn't even react to seeing another of the outsiders within the house. He did notice, however, that the Chief was dressed in nothing more than a bathrobe and her hair wrapped in a towel, and he couldn't help feeling like he was committing some sort of violation viewing her in such a casual state.
Grinding to a halt, he stood rigidly and addressed Sheena. "Ch-Chief! I-in the forest! W-we've found Lord Christopher! It appears he was being chased after, but we've managed to lead his pursuers astray! He seems to have fainted from exhaustion, so we brought him to the infirmary!"
Sheena seemed to soften upon hearing this. Her knees buckled and she cupped her hands to her mouth, shallowly breathing behind them with widened eyes. Christopher, her son had been missing for 24 years. Her intel couldn't find any sign of him anywhere. She, Zelos, and the rest of their friends had even searched far and wide and kept a lookout themselves all the while. Husband and wife constantly and frustratedly pestered those mysterious, seemingly all-knowing twin consultants of theirs for more information. After hearing enough, time and again, that they regrettably couldn't give them further explanation because time paradoxes and whatnot, they defaulted to constant reassurance that he was going to be alright.
"Ch-chief?" the field agent uttered, breaking the moment of silence in which Sheena was lost in her thoughts.
But she spoke no further. Bare feet and an extremely casual appearance be damned, she bolted out of the house and through the streets toward the infirmary.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 7:56 pm
Max shrugs and shakes her head at Azriel.
"You know. There's you...the hot one...the...really angry one...and I guess the other one is that guy you let into your mind or something. But I bet you already knew that part. You wanted to know what exactly I saw and how...well..."
She moves her face closer to Azriel's and stares directly into her eyes as her grin widens.
"What do you see?"
Suddenly, her left eye's iris begins to glow bright blue with black lines splitting the iris into four sections. All at once, the iris begins to spin rapidly as a very faint whirring sound can be heard.
~~~
Rhone slowly stands up and smiles at Sheena as he notices Azriel's wing as well.
"I appreciate your help. Oh, and Zelos wan-"
He is suddenly cut off by the field agent and is unable to say anything before Sheena rushes out the door. After waiting a few seconds, he turns his head to the nervous scout.
"Can you deliver something to Sheena for me?"
He hands the scout an ornate-looking envelope that smells like entirely too much cologne.
"Don't know why all the fancy embroidery for a letter with two words written on it, but I digress... Tell her Zelos wants to talk and give her that."
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Fedora Warrior Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 11:18 pm
"...The hot one?" Oscuro looked surprised at first, then grinned saucily as she put one hand on her chin, the other on her hip and leaned forward with an expression of intrigue. "Ooh, I like her."
"...The very angry one...?" Resting her fists on her hips and tilting her head, Chiaro intensely creased her brow and made a frown so sharp it almost looked like an upside-down U. That was not so much a look of resentment for her, just one of great confusion.
With folded arms, Eloysio made a bit of a casual lean back. His world of origin may be a technologically advanced one, but it wasn't that much so during the time he was alive over four thousand years ago. "She seems to be able to see you in detail without being in here. Impressive," he remarked, nodding admittedly.
For a few moments, all Azriel could bring herself to do was a consecutive line of funny confused expressions. She began with both her eyes narrowed, then her blue eye remaining narrowed while her green eye widened, then both her eyes narrowing again because she scrunched her nose.
"What....what IS that? Why do you have....a pinwheel? inside your eye? somehow?"
~~~
"..." As the scout took the letter into his hands, he made a weird look at the smell of it. That former Chosen of Tethe'alla. He did not understand what the Chief could ever see in him, but that was a matter beyond his business. "...Understood, sir."
He proceeded out of the house to deliver the letter, and then intended to deliver the good news to Lloyd and Colette afterward, since they seemed to be in town and shared as much concern for the young Wilder.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:36 pm
Seeing Sheena rush out to the infirmary a look of concern formed on Kai's face, Lilith looked over at him and sighed and the undead man
"For now it's none of our business, until it's made into our business" Lilith shrugged.
~
Christopher was placed on a futon in the infirmary, his breathing starting to steady and calm.
He was in ragged burlap clothing and his red hair was long and unkept. It was as clear as day that he was no longer human, almost looking like a beastman mixed with an elf; his now elf-like ears had tufts of red fur near the tips, his hands were bound with foreign looking metal shackles which kept his now large clawed hands, and he also had a long red tail.
His skin had scars, some surgical and some likely caused by weapons and some wounds fresh likely from monsters and the boy fleeing from his pursuers.
A metal collar was around his neck with a cracked stone in the middle. and scratches on it, likely from the boy trying to claw it off.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:22 am
A soaking wet man clad in a cloth ninja mask walked back to the table with Lloyd and the others. He clumsily sat down backwards (shivering mid-step), with his legs facing away from the table. He pulled the mask up to his forehead, revealing (as if it wasn't obvious) Eduardo. He took a moment to catch his breath. "I'm back! Check this out!"
Eduardo had just missed Azriel at Toyama, and he didn't have any luck finding what he was looking for. However, his trip was not entirely fruitless.
"I think they were hiding the ninja ponchos from me, but don't panic." He crossed his legs, pointing to his elevated foot to display the product of his trip: a pair of Water Spiders, boots made to walk on water. "They're hella expensive and take some practice," as his soaked clothing from his single jaunt under the nearby river demonstrated, "but this could be the beginning of something amazing."
In truth, he had spent most of his spare Gald on these and the mask, but it didn't occur to him that they might not be worth it. It did occur to him, however, that Lloyd had just mentioned turning in for the night. "...Oh. Right, timing."
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 8:28 pm
"Heh. That would explain why you have the same unique scent as Colette's. Guess that makes you a rare breed, Lloyd." Sirea said with a small smile. "Not everyone would have angel blood in their veins."
Rin laughed a little. "Shows that you've earned your wings, eh?" He said with a wink. "I'm curious...has anyone ever poked yours or Colette's wings?"
"What is up with you and poking wings?" Sirea asked as she glanced over at Rin.
"Come on, am I actually the only one curious about the wings? I mean, Colette's wings are glowy and pretty. Azriel's got unique mix-matched wings, and they're pretty neat too."
"Curiosity kills the cat, you know."
"Not this cat." Rin said with a wink then glanced over to Lloyd when he mentioned that his background was a long story best saved for another time. "You know what they say, 'The best is always saved for last'. It was then the feline werefolk had noticed Eduardo had returned. "Welcome back, Ed!" He said before grinning at the sight of the new boots the dragon werefolk got. "Gotta say, you got some guts to try it out, let alone get wet."
Sirea blinked for a moment when Hunter mentioned about figuring out which rooftop would be comfortable. "You don't sleep indoors at all?" She asked.
Colette smiled and nodded in agreement to Lloyd's suggestion on turning in for the night. "It sure does, doesn't it?" As she stood up from her seat, she glanced through a window to see Sheena rush to the infirmary. Kai and Lilith both had noticed as well. A look of concern had formed as she glanced over to Lloyd. "Maybe we should check on her, Lloyd."
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Fedora Warrior Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2016 1:29 am
With the scout gone, Rhone starts to pay more attention to what's going on outside the door to the house. He steps up near the doorway and stops, listening to the conversation. He crosses his arms and manages to hear Azriel's question, making his ears perk up.
Oh? Looks like Max is being more forward with her secrets than she used to be. Let's see how this plays out...
He quietly moves to the side of the doorway. Not completely hidden, but mostly out of sight, at least.
~~~
Max's iris continues spinning inside her eye as she explains herself to Azriel, her expression unchanging throughout.
"Salvaged desian tech. Improved by yours truly. I lost the real one a long time ago and this seemed a more than suitable replacement."
The iris stops spinning and returns to its normal color, matching up again with her real eye. She sighs and shakes her head.
"You maybe wanna...let go of me now? I get it, you've got secrets. So do I. Let's just say my eye isn't the only part of myself I've lost."
She slowly takes the glove off her left hand, revealing a hand of gleaming metal, shaped mostly like the real thing. She slowly places her metal hand on Azriel's and squeezes a little, softening her expression and her tone.
"You're different, I understand. That's alright. You're among friends, here."
~~~
Hunter grins at Sirea before looking up at the ceiling.
"Unless it's storming or something I'm always outside on a roof. It lets me be closer to the stars. Besides, who's gonna bother me when I'm somewhere people hardly look?"
He levels his gaze back at Sirea and scratches his head.
"I like the stars, y'know? They're a much more soothing sight than a wood or stone ceiling..."
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Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2016 10:07 pm
Azriel slowly released her grip, and expression returned to being deadpan neutral as she stared at what Max had chosen to reveal of herself. She could not even begin to grasp the slightest bit Max's knowledge of advanced technology, but at least the core point she was trying to get across made it through.
Still, someone wasn't going to let things off that lightly.
Azriel's gaze traveled back up from Max's metal hand and straight into her eyes. She closed her own for a second and when she opened them again, both irises were bright red. Her expression remained unchanged, aside from seeming to become a little firm. Her face also began to literally emit a soft glow.
"Just...understand as well that we did not appreciate the scare. She's been having one too many mercenary problems lately, all of them mysteriously happening to come equipped with the false knowledge that she is vessel to a demon. It only makes sense that she's developed a degree of paranoia, does it not?"
Azriel's eyes closed once more, and the glow in her face died down. Opening back up, they were back to being green and blue. She also turned a bit red as she took on a nervous grin.
sweatdrop "UuuuUUUuuuUUMMM...wow. It's very, very rare that Chiaro ever takes the initiative to surface like that. Er, well, in casual circumstances like these anyway. But....um. Yeah! I get it, now."
~~~
Oscuro threw a snarky smirk in Chiaro's direction. "Pffft. Was the mother hen twying to be all thweatening? C'mon, fat lot that's gonna do. Pretty sure it's gonna take more to faze someone like that." ;P
The latter threw back a dry but subdued stare. "Nothing of the sort. I simply wanted to get a point across myself."
Eloysio placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a soft, reassuring smile. "Chiaro...."
There was a moment of silence before the angel-like being turned her gaze downward pensively and sighed. "I know. And I know how these feelings of unease I have can be...unreasonable. But I can't...I just can't help being unable to shake my reservations about placing trust. Not after the Malachai incident."
Oscuro fell dead silent and cast her glance sideways while mouthing an "...oh right."
Eloysio blinked at what Chiaro admitted to, but his expression didn't change. In some ways it both was and wasn't surprising how that memory carried across thousands of years. "I don't blame you and it's not really a wrong kind of feeling to have either. Ironically, it's something that can only begin to heal by opening up more. Like I had just learned, it's impossible to foresee every little outcome. All that can be done from there is to resign to that idea and let things go where they may."
~~~
Lloyd appeared thoughtful at Rin's question about his wings. "The only one who's been able to touch our wings was our son, when he was still a small child. Our wings don't exactly feel like an extra body part, though. I don't know how to explain it any better, but when they're touched, it feels like someone's touching our very soul. It doesn't hurt, and I don't feel like 'uncomfortable' is the right word either, but it's just...weird. For that reason, we prefer the wing-touching down to a minimum." ^_^;;
He then also smiled warmly upon hearing about Hunter's preference for sleeping on roofs. "That's the most perfect reason for sleeping outside I've ever heard. I have a fondness for the stars too. It's all thanks to my dad. Kratos, I mean."
He was about to make a remark on Eduardo's find when he too caught sight of Sheena out the window, sprinting through the streets. That look of desperation his friend wore was one he'd seen all too frequently within the last couple of decades. He looked back to Colette and replied, "I agree. I wonder what came up..."
It was then that the scout had finally made his way to them. "Lord Lloyd. Lady Colette. The young Wilder had been found in the forest just a few moments ago. He's in the infirmary now, if you wish to visit him."
Lloyd bolted up from his seat, eyes widening. "Christopher?! Holy--- Colette, we've definitely got to see him now." Looking to the others, he briefly explained, "Long story short, Christopher's Sheena's son. He'd been missing for about 24 years and there hasn't been a day that gone by without worrying about him. We'll catch you guys later, alright?" He then nodded at Colette and took her by the hand, bringing her to follow the scout to the village infirmary.
~~~
Sheena had been sitting beside Christopher's futon hiding quiet sobs behind her hands, tears falling profusely from her eyes. Her heart swelled in relief and joy at finally having her son back. There were features about him that were dramatically different, but she didn't care. He had returned to her, and that was all that mattered. Zelos' letter rested on a nearby table for later viewing.
After wiping her face with the sleeve of her bathrobe, she took a more careful look upon him. As she gazed at his scars and wounds, an indignant sort of anger began to burn in her chest. "Who could have done this to you? Why?" she whispered under her breath, furrowing her brow. She brought her hands to rest upon the shackles that were keeping his wrists together. Looking behind her at an assistant standing by, she commanded, "Get me some seal tags and ink."
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:34 pm
"So touching your wings is like touching your soul? Wow." Rin said as he was picturing it in his mind. He then laughed a bit. "Well, seems I'll have to admire them from afar then if it makes you feel better."
Sirea couldn't help but smile from hearing Hunter's answer. "That I can agree with. What's not to like about the stars? They're like shiny jewels stuck up in the sky where you can't reach them, yet still admire them from where you are." Her ears then twitched when Lloyd mentioned about his fondness for the stars. "Seems you and your angel father have good tastes. For me, it's not just the stars I look forward to every night. I also find the moon quite soothing as well, especially during when it's full. Not because I'm a werefolk. It's just something about the moon that's soothing...yet mysterious."
Rin was about to speak when he and Sirea both noticed the scout that had arrived and informed Lloyd and Colette about someone who was just found and taken to the infirmary.
Colette's eyes widen from hearing the new. "Christopher? You've found him?" The blonde Chosen was relieved that the young Wilder was finally found at last, yet there was still that feeling of concern for Christopher's well-being.
Rin's eyes widen when Lloyd explained as to who Christopher was. "Missing for 24 years!?" eek "Gadzooks, man!"
Colette gave a nod back to Lloyd as he took her by the hand and went with him to follow the scout to the infirmary.
After watching the couple make their leave with the scout, Rin looked back to the others. "Should we go with them?"
Sirea shook her head. "It's best that this Christopher should be around those closest to him. If he's been missing for so long, it would do him good to see familiar faces." She said with a frown. "That and it's best for us to give Sheena and the others their space for the time being."
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 7:07 pm
Max crosses her arms and gives a slight nod.
"Vessel for a demon, huh? You ever ask Rhone about his exsphere?"
Before she can continue, a voice calls from behind her, cutting her off.
"Max, that's enough."
She quickly spins around to see Rhone emerging from the doorway behind her.
"Wha- Were you spying on us?"
"Yes."
Rhone's rather blunt answer takes Max aback for a moment before she leans forward and balls her hands into fists.
"You IDIOT! You can't just skulk around and eavesdrop on private conversations!"
"You knew I was in the house. You let me into the house."
"That doesn't mean-"
Rhone crosses his arms and mischievously smiles at Max.
"You're embarrassed because I caught you being warm to someone instead of aloof, aren't you?"
"What? N-No, I-"
Max looks down at the ground for a moment before shoving Rhone over and quickly stomping past Azriel, face bright red and muttering obscenities under her breath.
~~~
Hunter's expression turns serious after the scout, Lloyd, and Colette leave the room.
"If they found him in bad enough shape that they rushed him to the infirmary, either nature beat him down or something else did. If there's something more dangerous out there, it might try to reach him here."
He slowly stands up and hefts his blade over his shoulder before walking towards the door. Once there, he looks over his shoulder to address the rest of the group.
"I'm going to see if the gate guards need any extra muscle tonight. The stars can wait."
He continues walking through the door and towards the front gate, conjuring his armor as he advances.
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Fedora Warrior Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 9:51 pm
Azriel mouthed a small "o" at Max's remark, but before she could go on to utter much of anything,they both were cut off by Rhone. She paid silently attention to their exchange with an awkward feeling (though she couldn't help a quiet "Pfffftt..." at the retort Rhone gave to Max's accusation), then blinked bewilderedly as she stormed away.
Looking back to Rhone, she finally managed to get out, "Soooooo....what were you guys doing here?" o:
She didn't really mind that Rhone had eavesdropped. She wasn't aware the conversation was that private.
~~~
Lloyd, with Colette, had finally reached Mizuho's infirmary and inquired where they were keeping Christopher. They walked in just in time to find Sheena applying a seal tag to the shackles on Christopher's wrists, causing them to gently crumble away.
Lloyd's mouth went slightly agape as he got a good look at Christopher. It wasn't just the physical changes and injuries that caught him by surprise, it was also that for the most part, he didn't look a day older since the time he disappeared 24 years ago.
He knelt beside Sheena. "Thank goodness...he's finally back. But man...what happened to him?"
Keeping her gaze focused on her son, she replied, "That I don't know yet. We'll see if he's willing to tell all once he wakes up. I can imagine...he must be traumatized, though..." At those last words, she clenched her fists where they rested upon her lap, still burning with the desire to give her son's offenders the taste of a mother's rage.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 3:08 pm
"Well, falling into the river once now beats falling into the river a lot in the long run." Eduardo listened eagerly to the talk of wing-touching. He almost felt like he was missing out, despite his own part-time access to more physical wings.
However, as the conversation took a more shocking turn, he gradually looked more and more concerned. He sat in silence as Lloyd and Colette left for the infirmary, coming to his feet when Hunter left. Putting his regular shoes back on, Ed headed for the door himself. "I think I'll, uh, turn in too."
Without further comment, he left the building, making his way to the infirmary. He produced a thin camping blanket from his backpack, wrapping it around his shoulders like the poncho that he had sought earlier. He set his backpack on the ground a few feet from the door, then leaned against the wall next to it. If he heard any of the conversation within, he didn't process it. He just stood silently.
24 years apart... Don't even try it, nature and/or something else. Nothing's going to separate them again just yet. Not man, beast, or anything in between.
Soon, he slid down the side of the building into a slumped half-sitting position, falling into a light sleep. "Don't even try it..."
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 5:55 pm
"How horrible... to be apart from your child for so long, but at least they are finally reunited." Kai said with some relief in his tone.
"the real mystery is where the guy was all that time, but I'm sure we'll be filled in once the guy has recovered".
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 2:53 pm
As she and Lloyd had walked into the infirmary in time to find Sheena applying the seal tag to Christopher's shackles, Colette's expression shared the same surprise as Lloyd's upon closer examination on Christopher's condition. Walking over to Sheena, she gently placed a hand on her friend's shoulder in comfort. "He'll tell us when he's well-rested and ready to talk." Colette said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rin glanced over to Hunter when he mentioned about whatever cause of Christopher might try to reach him here in Mizuho. "I sure hope not...though if something does happen, I'm ready for it." He said with a grin before he watched Hunter walked toward the door. "You do that." His ears then twitched from hearing Eduardo. "I'm heading that way as well. Might as well take a nice cat nap while I have the chance. We may not always get an opportunity to get nice meals like this." With that, the feline werefolk made his way out of the building after Eduardo did. He decided to turn in at the inn.
Sirea gave a slight nod in acknowledgement to Eduardo, Rin, and Hunter when they made their leave. Her gaze then shifted over to Kai and Lilith as she overheard their conversation. "Not just where he's been, there's also the question as to what his captors wanted and why." She said. She was certain that this Christopher wouldn't just disappear from getting lost somewhere for so long. Least she didn't think so anyways.
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Fedora Warrior Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 7:21 pm
Rhone crosses his arms on the ground as he slowly floats back up to his feet before shrugging at Azriel.
"Who, me? Why certainly not breaking into the chief's house so I could ask her about where one could perform forbidden magic. Of course not. That would just be silly."
He closes his eyes and flashes Azriel a wry smile before continuing.
"Apparently in the northwest area of the town is a large stone dais Sheena used to practice her summoning. There's a large gate opening leading to it, so it shouldn't be hard to spot."
He crosses his arms again while looking down at the ground.
"I'm going to head there now and get a feel for the mana in the area. You're about to cast a complicated spell you have no experience with. Getting the soul into the body is going to be all you, but if you need help creating the vessel for the soul...you know...the body itself..."
He meets Azriel's gaze again with a grim expression.
"I've...done it a few times. I can help keep the spell stable. Keep ambient magic from harming you or anyone else."
Finally, he turns away and begins walking towards the northeast section of town before stopping and looking over his shoulder.
"This spell will take more out of you than anything you've ever done. Get whatever rest you require and prepare yourself mentally as best you can. I'll wait at the dais. We'll begin whenever you're ready. All of you."
With that, Rhone continues walking away, his pace and body language suggesting senses of purpose and determination.
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