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 Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:10 am
keiyani Before Rivek had a chance to respond, she had been approached by a small child. Keiyani's eyes widened with curiosity. What in the world was a child doing in a pub so late at night?
"Well hello there" she responded. "Are you lost today?" Lawrence Jackson "Nah, this ain't worth it..." the man thought to himself, taking another step back "Easier drunks in the square."
"Ok, ok, I'm movin'. Still kid," paused as he turned to walk back to the street, "you should watch yerself." The man strolled back down towards the main lane. WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"Nothing's ever as simple as 'I simply don't like you,' now is it?" He laughed. "Because, in my mind, if we all just admitted to that, there might be a lot less persecution going around these days. I've certainly had enough 'superior race' bullcrap. Welcome to Serendipity - no superior races here, because everyone is pretty much last of their kind."
"Pardon my crass language," he shrugged. "But by all rules and reason - of which there are very little here -, I call myself human is because that's what it certainly looks like between my legs."
Aw s**t. He noticed the young girl who had suddenly appeared near them. Wonderful. Caught talking about his genitals by a pre-pubescent.
"Well," he looked at her. "One of these things doesn't quite belong in a bar."Blade Kuroda "Sure, whatever," mumbled Shun as he relaxed again now that the guy was gone. Letting out a breath, he settled back down to try and recover his strength. He kept his weapon out in the mean time in case more trouble decided to show its ugly face. keiyani She laughed heartily at the 'superior race' comment. "Trust me, I am confident in my abilities and natural strength that comes from my dragon blood, however, experience has taught me that even the most brutal of carnivores have their own weaknesses. So quell your worries about me having a superiority complex" she added in, pointedly.
Her eyes widened at this remark, already having acknowledged the little girl's presence. Suppressing the urge to laugh aloud at Rivek's expression, she passed her scaly hand in front of her face, blocking view of the smile now spread across her features. "Yes, I suppose I am quite human as well if a species is simply identified by reproductive organs" lifting her hands openly, shaking her head at how the conversation had just evolved.
Turning her attention to the girl again, she smiled. "Rivek has a point," she agreed. "What are you doing in such an unruly place at a time where you ought to be safe in bed?" _striped__wolf_
Demon stayed silent, afraid that if he spoke his words would be twisted to make him appear kinder. He had an image to uphold!
Lita frowned a bit at what the older woman had said.
"Lose composure?" Lita echoed, not fully knowing how to use the word.
"Hm, your crew isn't here yellin' for ya to do things. So don't answer to them." Lita said simply. Demon decided to jump in.
"Your human duty is to be true to yourself, is it not?" Demon said hoping to get Amelia to question herself.
"'nd for your friend Victoria. You are here and they aren't. You'll have to wait until you see them again, yeah?" Lita said seriously. Demon growled.
"Do not take us as forceful," He began stiffly, "But from our place you learn to hide your body in fear of it being hurt. You don't hide your emotions. That is how many demons grab hold, the humans don't let their emotions show and it's easier for my kin to use them against them. When you lose your composure, it gives my kin less to work with. And from our original encounter, I assume you wouldn't like the rest of my kin. They are nearly so kind." Demon said simply. It always confused him how humans were stubborn and refused to bluntly do things.
"For the madness, there was a guy who was super mad! He would babble and curse, but he was still kind. He never raised his voice or his gun. He told stories when he went mad, they never made sense, but they were fun." Lita said trying to make Amelia feel like everything was good.
Lita pulled her hat down.
"I donno how." She said quietly. Demon laughed mockingly.
"It's best she didn't, she has no real grace unless it's fueled by fear." He said truthfully. Lita blushed from behind her mask.LadyMatrona
Mandy scrunched up her face at the last few comments made between the man and woman. This was quite a conversation she had just walked into. The man was clearly embarrassed when he noticed her but really? gross. Oh well. what else could she have expected coming into a place like this.
"This is totally a 'nice place'!" The other laughed. "I knew it would be fun! Maybe we really are humans. You should tell them that!" Mandy imagined the other rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically at her own comments. She palmed her face in embarrassment.
"Umm," Mandy started, trying to suppress the others laughter and her own awkwardness. "I just figured it was better to go here then to walk around by myself."
"And I don't know if I'm technically lost." she said, scratching at her head as she tried to change the subject. "I don't exactly know where I'd be going here anyway. So I figured I'd just come make friends."
"This was the first place I saw." she lied.
OOC: I tried so hard to draw her expression for this one. XD I couldn't quite get it but I may end up editing my post with a new picture later.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"Ah, ehr," he fumbled, still obviously embarrassed. "Would you like something to eat? I would feel awful giving someone your age something to drink, though. After all, I already owe this fine lady a meal. I should introduce you guys, shouldn't I? I am Rivek Ailinar, emissary to the permanently dreaming, and this is.... well... uh, I never got your name, did I?"keiyani "It's Keiyani" she stated quickly, to avoid any awkward feeling that Rivek may have felt. She had already informed him of her name, but since then the little game had taken place, and she wasn't surprised he had forgotten. "It appears that the man who was sitting in this seat" she pointed to her right toward a vacated stool "has got up and left. Despite first appearances, Rivek has proved to be quite a gentleman" she informed her, grinned toward Rivek. "So what is your name?" Finoewae 
Teagan was mystified by the paper, its writing, and even the pen that she would use to sign the document. She was like a child again, being mesmerized by the ripples in a pond. She reached out her right hand slowly to retrieve the pen. She glanced at her fingers, and was reminded that her ring was missing. It made her wince thinking about it, but she continued on and gripped the pen firmly, ready to sign.
"Where do I sign Mr. Fletcher?" She said, emotionless. Her hand gently dipped the pen into the ink well as she kept her eyes locked onto his, starting to notice his odd smile.LadyMatrona
"Thank you!" Mandy smiled happily at Rivek, her stomach growling loudly at the thought of food. She hadn't known were to eat or how to buy anything since she got here. Earlier that morning the other Mandy had picked an apple off a guy on the street but something about apples just didn't make them very filling. "I don't need a fancy drink or anything." Mandy added. "Even water sounds super amazing right now!"
Mandy gazed up at the tall bar stool sitting on top a raised platform. The seat itself was already a few inches above her head from where she stood. "Unreasonably short." she thought to herself, searching the stood for any kind of handle. The cross bars at the bass would be good enough. The last thing she wanted to do was to make these complete strangers feel obligated to baby her. Stepping up onto the platform and then onto the cross bar, Mandy pulled herself quickly up by the seat.
"My name is Mandy" She answered politely, smiling at Keiyani who now felt closer to eye level. She squirmed a bit until she sat comfortably in her seat. "It's really nice to meet you." She said, turning back to Rivek.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek smiled as the girl hopped on the chair. He didn't like children in particular, but he appreciated a certain level of precociousness. He put a silver coin on the table. "What would you care to eat, ladies?"Johnathan Fletcher "Please sign right after the "X", if you would. This is an employee contract. It details," he pointed to several places in the document with fluid, delicate motion, "among other legal nonsense, acceptance of our confidentiality rules, terms of service, contract minumum-which is three-" he glanced up at her, "as well as the benefits of working for us. We may have a three contract minumum," he dipped his head modestly, "but few few terminate employment after that. In addition to your pay, room and board will be provided here, to ease the hassle of delivering contracts.*" He settled back into his chair placidly, waiting to answer any other questions Teagan may have had. keiyani Keiyani tapped at her chin thoughtfully with her unaltered hand. "Some fresh pork or a heavy portion of beef sounds delicious right about now." She nodded as if sure of her decision. "You will be eating something as well, Rivek, I hope?" LadyMatrona
Mandy looked down, admiring the silver coin as she thought. "Some kind of meat sounds good..." she muttered softly to herself.
"Oh!" She said excitedly, now looking back at Rivek. Her bright eyes growing bigger. "Do they have mashed potatoes here?" Mmm. she smiled widely. Mashed potatoes where her favorite back at home. Mandy wondered if they was even grown in this area. ...where ever it was. She had no idea, considering that she had just seemed to appear here from out of no where.
"Are you from here?" She asked Rivek. He seemed to at ease here. Though Keiyani did as well. "Or are you?" She asked turning to face both of them at once. "Or did you guys just get here like me?"WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"Dunno," he replied to the girl. Well, small children have simple tastes. "Let's ask."
He leaned over the bar. "Do you have mashed potatoes for the little one here? And - let's see - whatever roast you deem most flavorful for the lady in green."
He paused for a sec - this would certainly be on his employers dime, and suffice to say, death gods tended to be sufficiently wealthy. "If you have it, a venison steak for myself. Preferably whatever is less cooked than rare. The bloodier, the better."
The barkeeper nodded despite his odd facial expression from Rivek's request. But he had seen other things - this was the crossroads of planes after all.
Rivek turned back to the girl. "I'll say, for me at least, I've been around."keiyani "Ooh, that sounds lovely." Before the bartender was able to leave, Keiyani called after him. "If you don't mind" she glanced at Rivek, "I will have a duplicate of what he ordered, rather than the roast. Oh," she paused, "and, if it's too much trouble, you don't need to cook my order." The bartender nodded oddly, perhaps even more put off than when Rivek had made his order. Despite his reaction, he headed to the backroom, saying it would be no trouble either way.
A wide sharp-toothed smile spread across Keiyani's face. "For what ever reason, I was under the impression that it would be improper to request such a meal, but that sounds most appetizing out of any food item we have discussed thus far. I hope you don't mind." She was looking in Rivek's direction, trying to spot any changes in his expression. She then remembered the little girl and her question from earlier. Hopefully she wouldn't be too put out by the appearance of the food when it arrived.
"I just got here" she remarked, albeit, a little to energetically. The thought of a decent meal after such a long while made her giddy. "No idea what happened prior to my arriving here, though. Not a bad place though" she smiled, looking around at the surroundings. Kiddo Seanchain Seist listened to Lurp's account with an expression of somber concern. He stared at the ground when she was finished, to give her the privacy to compose herself without his eyes on her.
"I am sorry for your seperation from Will," he said softly, "and for the manner in which you died. I have never thought kindly upon mages that fight with fire. There are... gentler... ways to kill someone if it comes to that and there is no reason not to use them. Do you know if scrying works from here? It might be a way to see him again, just to verify if he is okay..."
Seist trailed off as well, looking up at the man that was approaching. He tensed, his hands seemingly limp at his side but the cloak obscured that they were hovering close to his weapons.
"By the twins," Seist swore gently in disbelief, "Now I know I'm no longer in my own world. People in tavern brawls are polite. What sort of place is this?" And the priest gave the man a charming smile. "I'm afraid I can't help you my friend, as I am a newcomer to this place and know no one. I simply bothered those two because they were unfortunate enough to make eye contact. I don't believe I even found out their names. I'm sure they'll be fine though, and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for that snake. It didn't bite anyone, did it?" Garath The man shook his head. "No, strangest thing. The lady fainted, and the damn thing slid off the table to the floor and went through the crowd. Guy next ta me nearly chopped his own foot off going for the thing, but by the time people got their feet moving, it was gone." He stretched his leg. "Name's Garath, by the way." The man offered a hand. Kiddo Seanchain Seist smiled thinly at the man and gingerly held out a hand to shake.
"Margrave Seist," he replied, "Tell me, have you been here long?" Garath "Been here long? Yeah, you might say I'm a native," Garath replied. The man's eyes flicked every so often to the front and back of the tavern, seeming to be watching for something. Kiddo Seanchain "Than I suppose I have to ask," Seist said, "Has anyone ever returned to their homeworld?"
He wasn't really paying attention to the man for an answer, however, and instead looked sideways towards the tavern, keeping his attention seemingly focused on the man. He gently reached out with his magic, trying to get a feel for who else might have their attention focused on himself, Lurp, or Garath. Or if someone was readying magic to use against them. Years of traveling and... other things... had instilled in Seist a healthy paranoia.
Garath "Well, it's hard to say... growing up, I'd heard of a great wizard who was said to have blinked out of here; but most everyone told the story with a different name, so who knows," the man shrugged. "But, I'd better get going. It's been nice chatting with you, Mr. Margrave." The man waved and turned to head out the front door. Finoewae
After he explained the details, Teagan promptly signed the document, and looked back up at him, excited to start her new job.
"It sounds perfect," she remarked, "I'm ready to start immediately if you wish. I have no-" she stopped herself, blushing. "What I mean to say is, my luggage is very limited so I won't be needing any time 'settling' into my new room. Just let me know when you need me to start and I'm happy to oblige." She nodded to him at this statement and flashed a smile as well.
This is what I like. Business.LadyMatrona
Mandy studied the woman's smile. "What an odd request" she thought, noticing the woman's sharp teeth. Now that she was looking for it, there were many strange things about this woman that she had missed at first glance. The woman had what appeared to be scales instead of skin on one arm and long nails more like claws.
Forgetting about the mashed potatoes, Mandy recalled the conversation from a few minutes ago. "Humans?" She started. "How can that be?" She muttered quietly to herself. These two where the first humans she had ever met, but from her conversations earlier that night, these people didn’t look like what she had imagined up to be a ‘human’.
"That arm makes her look more like an animal." The other commented as Mandy observed the woman. "And that guy has wings. Is this what human's look like? I don't think so." She scoffed.
"Yeah, and the demon guy said we look like humans." Mandy said quietly, looking off to the side and sounded rather puzzled.
Suddenly realizing that she'd been talking, Mandy started back at the two adults. Having just answered her question, their eyes where on her. "Umm," she started. How do you make half a conversation with yourself sound natural? "You guys said you're humans right?" She continued. "I didn't know humans had wings."Johnathan Fletcher Teagan signed her name in ink as red as the rest of the document, and after she finished, Mr. Fletcher held up the document to look at her signature. "Teagan Isla Byrne, what a beautiful name. My dear, you will have to forgive me, I somehow heard Amanda when you introduced yourself earlier, my mistake," the man said, slipping the contract into his desk. "Well Ms. Byrne, now that that is all settled, why don't we discuss your first contract?" He passed the paper over to her. Finoewae
"Thank you," she replied, blushing. "And no, you heard correctly. I have been in business before and I found it vital to never give your name away to just anyone. Giving your name is like giving a large amount of trust. There are people who know how to find out everything about you with just a name. I hope you'll forgive me but you'll notice that I also keep a firm practice of being honest on paper. A contract is a contract, and I honor them. You've earned enough of my trust to know my name and my intentions in business, so there's no need to hide such information now."
She took a breath, hoping that the news of her deception wouldn't anger him. She would hope most businessmen would be used to things like this- aliases, signs of good faith, motions to ensure safety.
"In any case I assure you I meant no harm, but only a precaution. But you have my written word now, so let me know what it is I can do for you, Mr. Fletcher.Johnathan Fletcher "Good, I am glad to hear it, and don't worry; I know it can be dangerous out there." He was silent for a moment, looking thoughtfully at her. "As for the contract, it is relatively simple. Yesterday, there was a disturbance involving the Machina and the sky guard, and some magic was cast. A fiendish lady is thought to be involved, as she leapt at the man moments before he was cloaked in darkness. If you could locate her, or at least information on her whereabouts..." He motioned to the contract in her hand. "The specifics are detailed within the request. If you have any questions, please direct them to Samantha, she will be able to help you." He pulled another tasseled cord that was attached to the wall. "Samantha will also be leading you to your room. Have a nice day. Ms. Byrne." The man smiled his strange smile, and after only a few moments, the white-haired lady appeared at the door, smiling.
"If you would please follow me?" She asked, motioning with her hand down the hallway. Finoewae
Teagan nodded briefly and stood up to follow Samantha.
"Good day, Mr. Fletcher. It was a pleasure." She shook his hand firmly and kept a slight smile on her face.
The Machina... haha, he must have confidence in me to give me such an involving mission already!
She turned to the woman as she followed her to her new room. "Samantha, nice to meet you. Well I was told that if I had questions I could come to you. I suppose I should first ask you for a map of the area, if that's available." she chuckled nervously. Hope I don't sound too foolish...
"And I suppose I'd like to know now- when I retrieve the information required of me, do I report to Mr. Fletcher directly, or to you?"Samantha, Mr. Fletcher's Assistant "Very nice to meet you as well!" the young woman replied as she led Teagan down several hallways. As she walked, Teagan felt a little lightheaded, but not alarmingly so. "Yes, I will retrieve a map for you shortly, as I introduce you to your room! And yes, deliver information to me, though sometimes Mr. Fletcher comes to discuss cases with expiscores himself afterward." She stopped in front of a doorway, and stepping aside, motioned for Teagan to turn the handle with a beaming smile on her face. Finoewae
She's so...infectiously cheery... what a strange girl...
Teagan gave a polite smile back and opened the door to her new room. Her jaw nearly dropped. She was certain that in a city like this, there may be nicer rooms and buildings. But not much nicer- because the sight of her room was overwhelming.
Bright, subtle-patterned wall paper on the walls, sprinkled with framed fine art. The bed was the largest she'd even seen in her life- sky blue sheets and comforter, plush pillows, all contained in a wooden frame that had a very ornate, carved headboard. Beside it was a small nightstand with a bright yellow lamp,with a drawer underneath for storing small books and paper. Opposite the bed was a large, dark wood armoire. It was beautifully craved with plenty of space, not like Teagan would need most of it. Farthest from the door was a small round glass table, and two chairs that allowed for a nice view out the window.
The window was large, and through it Teagan could see what she believed to be nearly the entire city. It really did look beautiful from this high up, but it was a bit disconcerting, considering her job now was to walk through it endlessly to find things. Suddenly the charms of the city weren't so repulsive to her, for by now she'd ignored her thoughts of death and Purgatory. If this be a dream or reality, if she'd died or merely been drugged and dragged out to a foreign city, it was no matter. She now was employed, and somewhat under Mr. Fletcher's protection as well.
After about a half hour of settling in, she decided to embark on her first job. She wondered what Johnathan meant by this "magic" he'd mentioned. Magic was just trickery. Surely the eyewitnesses were mistaken. But the mention of a dangerous female didn't sound strange to her at all, not with her previous line of work. She made her way down the hall, then down the long spiral stairs, back to the lobby and out the door, but not before giving a polite nod to Samantha at the desk and retrieving her map. Once outside, she came back to the fountain in the town square. It might be a slow start there but there was someone she might catch to ask about this incident, and she felt certain he'd know.
Always having to search and run into people I would otherwise most avoid. Damn you, Blakely...LadyFox Lurp latched on to Seist's words with hope. Could it be? Was it possible that she could at least see Will? Before she can decide where she stands between skepticism (at both Seist's offer of help and the chance of scrying even working on this plane) and trust, they are interrupted by another stranger.
Lurp's ears flatten and tip down again, not only in distrust this time, but anger. How dare he! Lurp all but growls at the man, and casts him the most vicious look she can manage. But "Gareth" doesn't even notice. It's like she's invisible! Lurp wants to walk away from the conversation she is no longer a part of, but the possibility that Seist had offered her kept her rooted in place. Finoewae
Teagan continued to watch by the plaza fountain until dark. There was the usual crowd- the oddly emotionless regulars wearing strange clothing, hurrying to their destinations and ignoring her, and then the few even stranger looking people staggering around as if they'd been hit in the face with a wooden plank. No sign of Blakely, but she began to wonder if she'd ever see him again. After all, she'd run away, before even finding out who he was or why he was at the plaza in the first place. Maybe he would literally never return here.
She shook her head, embarrassed she'd even think of him more than once. There were other people to meet here, after all! Maybe if she bought an outfit similar to the locals she could be more persuasive and get closer to them. Sometimes first impressions are everything. She glanced over and for the first time, noticed the large sign.
'WorldSpanners' Inn.... what the hell... when did THAT get there.
Teagan thought back to her first moments in the plaza. Well, it made sense she wouldn't notice much. She'd gone through a bit of a breakdown at the beginning. But this was perfect! If there was once place to gather local gossip, it would be there. There was clearly a lively bar inside, and a bar means intoxication, and intoxication means secrets! At least she could use this as a starting point for her search.
She made her way swiftly to the inn, and quietly took a seat in the corner. She didn't exactly want the attention of the bartender or the innkeeper. She hadn't been paid yet.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"You talking to yourself, kid? It's not a particularly healthy sign." Realizing that Keiyani had changed her order, he calculated he must have underpaid and threw down a couple more copper coins.
But he bowed. "Human is as human does. Maybe a little more talented than most, and maybe mixed in with some sort of feathered creature, maybe been through quite a bit normal humans don't.... but human just the same. All in all, I think it's a pretty amorphous term, don't you?" Keiyani Keiyani laughed quietly when she realized the girl was talking to herself. It was cute, in her mind, and she didn't consider it terribly unhealthy as she sometimes gave herself pep talks- but then, she generally didn't say it in a public setting. She blushed when she noticed Rivek putting some more change down on the counter. "Th-thank you" she bowed.
"I suppose I have human attributes" Keiyani shrugged, turning back toward the child. "From my point of view, however, neither he" she pointed to her side to Rivek "or I, are human. But, I digress." She laughed again. "In reference to your other statement, when you were speaking to yourself, I agree with whom ever this 'demon guy' is and what he said concerning your appearance. You certainly look human to me. I'm surprised you don't seem to consider yourself as one." LadyMatrona
Mandy blushed in embarrassment. She had been so distracted by her thoughts that she must have spoken to the other louder then she had meant to. Thankfully, neither Keiyani or Rivek seemed to find it too troublesome.
Mandy considered Keiyani's comment for a while before making one of her own. "They think I'm a human too?" She thought to herself, this time focusing enough to keep it in her head rather then vocalize it.
"What's with you asking so much about humans anyway?" The other huffed angrily. "I thought you were going to find out about white eyes. They don't even exist at home!"
"You recognize the term human too" Mandy thought. the other couldn't hear Mandy's thoughts so this couldn't be a conversation between them. She would like it to be, but both Keiyani and Rivek would notice now, even if she did speak quietly. "How come that sounds so familiar?" Mandy questioned herself silently, "and why is she getting all mad about it again?" Mandy wished she could ask, but decided it would be best not to. She would just have to ask Keiyani and Rivek everything and listen for the others response.
"Actually," Mandy started, looking up at the two adults, "I don't really know what a human is. 'Cuz I've never seen one before." Mandy paused for a moment. What could she say to get more information out of the other Mandy? "We don't have any human's were we're from. But we..." Mandy stopped herself on the world, realizing her mistake. "For some reason it sounds familiar to me." She finished quickly, trying to cover for her poor word choice.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
He sighed and frowned playfully, "Miss Keiyani, I find it rather rude -on the verge of appalling, I might add - that a seemingly well-bred individual like you would so brush aside the word of a modestly respectful gentleman like me. I would think that, if I insisted I were human, you would be so kind as to take my word for it."
He folded his wings behind his back letting them fade away into thin air, "If you so desperately need visual aid to believe me, then I suppose I will oblige."
He turned to Mandy, "Well, if you have questions about humans - I suppose, you could just ask. But I don't know how much good that will do you here. This is Serendipity, and ordinary human beings are few and far between."keiyani "Your wings were not the only reason I figured you aren't truly human." She smirked. "At least of the humans I have met, they would gag at the mere thought of such a raw dish touching their palate." She pointed to the blood saturated slab of venison that had just been placed in front of him. The bartender then placed her's and the girl's dish down in front of them. "But as our earlier conversation went," she reminded, "perhaps we simply refer to our species differently from our respective worlds. So I'll take your word, that you consider yourself to be human."
"One of my closest, erm," she hesitated "comrades, looks very much like you, only larger because he's an adult" Keiyani explained, looking back at Mandy. "Clearly, you're a female, and there is a difference there, but you have fair skin, only four limbs," she shot a sideways glance at Rivek. "Your anatomy is that of a normal human child, so I'd say unless you all of a sudden sprout wings, horns, a tail even, you could be classified as a human" she smiled. LadyMatrona
"Pale skin and four limbs make a human? Nope. Pretty sure that would be a Dwarf or an Elf." The other said curtly.
Mandy felt similarly about the comment but resisted saying anything about it. However she did agree with the idea that humans are different depending on the world. And Rivek was right, this was probably a pointless conversation to have here.
"Well, I don't think I'm a human." Mandy concluded. "I'm pretty sure I'm just a mix of all the other races on my world. Everyone calls people like me a 'runt' something. There are only Elves, Demons, and Dwarves on my world so a runt will always be a runt version of one of those. Most of the time it's easy to tell which because they still kind of look like their race. I'm a runt Elf because that's what my mom and dad are, but most people think I'm a runt Dwarf because I'm so little."
"What is it like where you're from?" Mandy asked, trying to direct the conversation away from herself. Admittedly, she really didn't know if she was a human or not, and the more people talked about it, the more she wondered if she could be. But the whole idea was making her uncomfortable and she wanted to talk about something else.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"I've met some humans before with pretty dark skin."
"In my world, being a runt just means you're small - but we don't seem to have races the same way you do. I take the word might have a different context on yours?" Rivek asked Mandy.
"In my world - we don't have dwarves, elves, or such things. Oddly enough, those were words I learned here when I met people of those - I suppose the proper term would be species. Where I come from, it's just people from different countries. And in that sense, I am a half-breed."
keiyani "I, for one, have no idea what you mean by 'elf' or 'dwarf', unless you are in fact one, then I have a little understanding as to what they are. Something closely related to humans I imagine" she shrugged, looking back to the plate in front of her.
The conversation was interesting enough, but the fresh meat now distracted Keiyani's attention away from it. She picked up a knife and fork assuming, that since she was in a populated establishment, it would be better to eat civilly rather than pull it apart with her hands or teeth. Cutting hurredly at the meal, she took a small portion to her mouth, chewing it quickly. She let out a sigh of satisfaction, pausing to savor the taste, then proceeded to eat in a similar fashion.
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:12 am
LadyMatrona
"What I'm used to, is that 'runt' is a mean word. People call you that when they think something is wrong with you because you don't exactly like the race you say you are." Mandy said, turning to the plate in front of her. "But is doesn't really make sense to me." she shrugged, "'Cuz everybody looks a little different."
"We also have big countries where I'm from. I've never been to any of the other ones that I didn't live in, but I know that there are some where only Elves or only Demons and stuff live in. The biggest one is called Zetayin. That's were all the rich Demon's live. I only know about that one because that's where King Zeth lives and he's the most powerful man in the world."
"But I lived in a place where there were all different kinds of people. And it's different from Zetayin because nobody cared if you were a perfect Demon or a perfect Elf or whatever." Mandy stared at her fork or potatoes sadly. Why anyone would think that you had to be a perfect race just didn't seem fair.
Realizing that she had probably bored her new friend Mandy looked up again. "Do you have stuff like that?" She asked Rivek. "Places where everybody can live and people don't care if you're different?"RADI0 Mouse  𝖆 𝖒 𝖊 𝖑 𝖎 𝖆
Amelia gave another barking laugh. "No hiding emotions in your world, eh? A much different place, indeed. In mine, I've been trained to not show emotion - there are those who would use that against you, much as those in your world would use one like me."
"And as much as my... friend... Victoria..." The woman trailed off, staring into the star-lit sky. "I can't just forget about her or put her out of my mind. She's the reason I'm alive, the reason I still fight... I'm responsible for her." She looked to Lita, serious behind her mask. "Please understand this, I'm the only one able to protect her. That's why I must return home at some point - I've heard of professors in my homeland working on strange devices to turn back time and, if this island can fly without steamengines or propulsor jets, then it's entirely possible I might be able to return in time to stop the rebellion and plot that threaten her life."
And s**t. You've bloody gone and told her. Amelia swallowed, then turned back to face forward and, after a moment's awkward pause, sighed.
"But you're right, neither she, nor my crew, are around to bother me - and even if they were, I know in the least that my First Mate and doctor would be rather hard on me to amuse myself... If we do get out of here, Lita, I had best have some sort of story for them, or they'll just laugh me into next month."
She laughed lightly at Demon's assertion that Lita wasn't quite gracious and stood, re-extending her hand. "Ha ha, it's fine, Demon. If it weren't for the fact that my crew gets into a dancing mood when we hit the grog, I wouldn't be graceful in dance myself. Come, I'll teach you."_striped__wolf_
Lita frowned from behind her mask. When it was put bluntly like that, both their worlds were cruel in their own right.
Lita was quiet as she tried to absorb what Amelia had said. Lita had no idea what a rebellion or a jet or what a professor were, but Amelia was determined. It also struck Demon that Lita and Amelia's goals were similar. Lita trying to find her brother and Amelia trying to find Victoria. Demon let out a silent sigh and waited to see how Stupid would make this awkward.
Lita let out a sigh and looked to the sky.
"Well then, go home." Lita said simply, almost harshly.
"This place can't be for forever, yeah? Just talk to the person and ask really nicely. If it's that good of a reason to go home, they should let you...I think!" Lita said not taking her eyes off the sky. She didn't want to lose Amelia, but she was pretty sure that they would both be okay in the end.
Lita didn't entirely understand what Amelia meant, but she didn't think it mattered. Lita looked at Amelia who was now standing with shocked eyes. She took the out stretched hand shyly.
"I hope you don't regret this, Girl!" Demon said with a soft chuckle. People were beginning to get close again and it would be no good for them to hear a voice with no body.RADI0 Mouse 𝖆 𝖒 𝖊 𝖑 𝖎 𝖆
If only it were so simple... Amelia thought as she took Lita's hand - but as much as the girl's innocence was beginning to grate on her nerves, the captain held fast in her belief to stick with the girl. If she was right and whoever it was who ran this place could send her back home, then that'd be fine. Maybe she could negotiate the return of them both... Or all three, maybe? She still wasn't certain what Demon qualified as.
The two moved to the edge of the crowd and Amelia started to show Lita how to dance. It was challenging, trying to teach the waltz to a girl who stood close to her waist...
"I'm sure I won't regret this, Demon." She said, focusing on Lita's small feet. "Step, step, good!" She looked back up to Lita and smiled. "Trust me, if I can teach a crew of drunken pirates to dance, I can teach you, ha ha!"_striped__wolf_
Lita's head spun. Dancing was really tricky and she was doing all she could not to step on Amelia's feet. Demon watched with amusement.
Demon stayed quiet.
Lita smiled.
"I wish I was a better dance partner, I bet you're a good dancer!" Lita said as she began to stumble.
"Step...step." Lita whispered. She looked up to see a dark shape from behind the group of people. She silently cursed her height, she couldn't tell if it was an alleyway or a building, but she was curious about it. She squinted but still couldn't tell.
"Amelia? What's that?" Lita asked quietly as she pointed to the shape.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"Well, where I come from, I'd say it's not a great thing to be short. It's not awful, but it's not great."
He smiled. It doesn't really make sense to me. Everyone's a little different. Wisdom from the mouths of children. Too bad he was an adult.
"Well, when you grow up - things aren't so nice." he sighed. "People tend to think they're right a lot of the time. Or they just don't like things that are... different. I'm guilty of it a lot of them time - but I acknowledge it, so I guess that's the first step. Even if we're all humans - not elves, dwarves, demons, whathaveyou - people still have their own thoughts about what you should be. Which sometimes replaces their thoughts on what you actually are."
Sometimes, if he really wanted to indulge his animal side, he would have gone at it with his hands. It was a guilty pleasure. However, not wanting to make a mess of himself in front of public, he took the cutlery off the table and twirled the knife between his fingers. It was poorly made: little weight, a rusty blade, and a beaten wooden handle. But it would do.
He cut into the steak. The blood seeping on the pewter plate made his mouth water. He put the first neatly diced cube on his tongue and chewed. Mediocre, but acceptable. "Damn," he muttered. "This is at least a day old."_striped__wolf_
Lita nodded and followed. She noticed Amelia reached for the rapier and blinked.
'Huh? Is someone gonna fight us?' Lita thought, Demon snorted from within her.
' I doubt it, but remember, Stupid. She comes from a different world than us.' Demon explained, Lita nodded.
Lita stretched to her tiptoes.
"I see him!" she said, her mask siding with her movement. She moved it back into place as Demon spoke.
"Girl." He said softly directly to her ears, "I say we wait for him to move, to see if her will." Demon said firmly. He let out a soft noise of irritation.
"Girl, this is an important thing you must remember. Not many know of her being my vessel. We shall keep it that way, yes? No talking to me unless I show myself." Demon said quietly, he also formed a paw of smoke and slashed it over Amelia's rapier. It moved as if a weak child had touched it.
"You can rely on her if you need. She is not helpless, just naive and clueless." Demon said softly as if he was talking to a child younger than Lita.Keiyani
"Mmm, no kidding?" Keiyani responded, swallowing hastily. "I dare say mine is from this afternoon. Would you rather have some of this?" she asked, sliding the plate a little in his direction. She laughed lightly. "Perhaps someone back there isn't so good at rotating their stock" she winked. "How are your potatoes?" she addressed the girl.Finoewae
It was so comfortable in the corner of the bar, so quiet and dark, that Teagan actually fell asleep. She had a dream about kneeling before a crystal clear lake, and lapping up the crisp cold water from it as birds flew overhead, chirping.
She gasped and suddenly puled herself from her dream as she realized the crisp lake water was her own puddle of drool forming on the table. Her eyes darted around anxiously as she wiped it clean with her sleeves.
No one saw that. No one saw that...
There was distant chatter in the bar now but she couldn't quite see who was speaking. Here head and vision were still a bit foggy from waking up in such haste.LadyMatrona
"Mmm. Super good!" Mandy smiled cheerfully. As Rivek had been speaking to her, Mandy had taken the opportunity to polish off half the plate. Initially she had intended to show her best manners, but after just one long awaited bite she had lost all her inhibitions. Now it was all she could do to smile and speak as politely as she could despite the fact that she still had food in her mouth.
Managing to swallow and resisting the urge to refill her mouth immediately, Mandy turned her face up toward her friends again. "So you both are kind of animal humans then right?" she asked innocently, feeling around for any kind of napkin before she decided to wipe her mouth with her short sleeve. "That's way you guys like such raw meat huh?
Keiyani had seemed distracted and possibly a little crazy looking since her food had arrived. Rivek had also seemed eager to dig into his plate although he was doing a much better job of retaining his manners then Mandy was. That must be something that comes along with being an adult. Mandy would like to be that way, but she felt it would be nearly impossible until after she had finished off her plate.WoefulInfinity
| Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek motioned Keiyani's offer away. "No, ma'sm, this is my treat for you. I won't be taking a better course away from a lady when it is my gift to you. After all, we had a deal."
"You're smart, kid," he said to Mandy. "That would be the closest to what I am. As to what type - well, you've got three guesses. But you've already seen my biggest hint already. If you get it right, maybe I'll buy you dessert. Get it wrong and, well, how about you tell me a story?"Cartagia  After a quick dispatch with Zarael, Lias was feeling pretty pissed off, and hungry. He was not a man prone to letting himself go without, but the idea of walking this pathetic place in search of food was hardly appealing either. Still it was not like he had much choice...
Every step he had to take further served to darken his mood but, much to his luck, the Worldspanner's Inn was not so far from where he had transported himself from the rooftop. He strode inside, a striking cleancut and tallstanding figure of a man, and turned his nose.
"What commoner's place is this?" he said loudly, but still approached the bar to find a food list, shoving rudely into whoever was sitting nearest him; it just happened to be a small child, a girl, but he seemed either not to notice or to care as he browsed the menu with a critical eye.Keiyani "Ooop!" Keiyani got up startlingly. "Pardon me." Without a moments notice, she darted off her stool in the direction of the washroom. Finoewae
Teagan's eyes adjusted and finally her mind was awake as well. Now it sounded even busier in here. She crept from her corner table, to a booth two tables down. Now she could get a clear view of the people talking- they hadn't seen her yet hopefully.
At first glance it seemed like a family...how strange for a family to be here. But there was the child, and a..loving mother and father? They didn't look anything like each other. Species wise.
The little girl actually looked like any girl, and boy was she enjoying her food. That was always a good sign- maybe Teagan would eat well tonight after all. The woman sitting by her though- green hair and strange colored eyes. They weren't gray, they were brighter than that. Finally the man...he looked human...but...not entirely. And something was very strange about him. It was the way he sat and spoke and carried himself.
For the first time, Teagan could no longer ignore reality- no matter where she was, she was going to have to accept that beings other than humans occupied this strange city. There was no way in Heaven or Hades they were completely human, Unless this was a strange costume festival, like she'd seen back home sometimes. But she had a feeling the former was true.
*gulp*
It was hard to even take brief glances over to them now. They weren't completely human- were they dangerous? Would she be killed instantly for being human?
No...they wouldn't.. Mr Fletcher and Blakely weren't being eyed violently...
She continued to pretend to be reading something other than her current mission papers, taking occasional glances over at the crowd. Then Suddenly, another human-looking man sat close by the group as well. This would not do at all. She couldn't just ask for information amidst a large group, especially with a child involved! What kind of bar WAS this??Blade Kuroda Though he was still biding his time and resting where he was, Shun was thinking that it might be safe for him to get moving again soon. He'd just have to make sure not to exert himself too much once he got back up to his feet.
While he waited, he heard a couple voices from the end of the alleyway. Turning, he saw the outline of two figures there, though he couldn't see them too well from where he was. It appeared that one was either a child or just a person of short stature.
Frowning, he just watched them carefully for the time being, unsure if they were just passing by or what. LadyMatrona
"Sure." Mandy answered Rivek. Distracted by Keiyani's sudden disappearance, Mandy watched her run of toward the bathrooms looking a little panicked. "Yeah! That sounds like fun!" Mandy repeated more energetically, smiling back at Rivek. "I love games!"
"Hmm... three guesses..." Mandy muttered to herself thoughtfully. "I'm thinking I can't get away with just saying 'a bird' right? Ummm... how about an eagle?" Mandy asked excitedly. Eagles had big wings.
As Mandy speak, a man from within the room came up behind her, pushing her rather roughly as he approached the counter next to her. Mandy would have fallen off her stool but grabbed at the counter to steady herself. Looking quickly up at the man, Mandy pulled her plate closer to her and Rivek so it wouldn't get spilled. She looked away again quickly. The man looked rather rude and she didn't want to make him mad.
"Jerk!" the other called out. "Tell him off you idiot!"
"I'm six." Mandy responded under her breath. She decided to ignore it, remember that she was in a bar after all and that she had expected this.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek blinked a few times in surprise at Keiyani's sudden departure for the bathroom, but he shrugged and kept on eating.
"No, 'bird' doesn't cut it," he laughed. "Eagle is close, but not quite. You have two guesses left."
As he said that, a man came up behind them, nearly pushing Mandy over. He was dressed in very nice clothing. Too nice. How intriguing.
Rivek set his silverware on his plate, denoting he wasn't finished. Then, he dabbed his libs with the corner of one of his bandages. He didn't manage to score a napkin from the innkeeper.
He stood up, moved directly behind the invasive stranger, and tapped him on the shoulder, "My, my, are we impatient. But perhaps not so busy as to afford the young lady an apology."Finoewae
Teagan looked over quickly at the sudden commotion. Had a man really just bumped into the little girl? Her father looked angry as hell....
This might develop into a fun little bar fight.
Now she had no problems just staring at the group. For now they were all staring at the newest addition to it, he looked angry, hungry, and completely oblivious to the fact he'd just barged into a young child.Cartagia Lias had just about mentally selected the finest thing on the menu - eel pie - for his lunch when someone touched him. He wheeled round to face his assailant, a man just a touch taller than he was himself, and covered in disgusting scars; no one as ugly and marked as he was could have any kind of power as far as Lias was concerned. He sneered at the man.
"Who do you think you are talking too?" he said, taking in Rivek's appearance, clearly and obviously looking down at him. "I suggest you afford me a little more respect or I can happily add a few more scars your...collection." To emphasis the point he knocked the girl's plate onto the floor. Kiddo Seanchain Seist watched the man leave, a slight frown tugging at the edges of his mouth.
"Mr. Margrave?" he said dourly, "Really? How ignorant. Doesn't seem like the type to be concerned about the welfare of others, either. Quite odd."
Then he shrugged and turned his attention back to Lurp, smiling as he did. His hands were no longer shrouded in his cloak, close to his weapons.
"Now, we were discussing our respective deaths, weren't we? Only point of similarity I can see is we died at the hand of a mage, and in my case, he slit my throat with a knife so magic wasn't even the direct cause. Not much to go on, hmm? Unfinished tasks... perhaps. But that would only make sense if there was a way to return or influence our homeworlds. What are your thoughts?"
WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek smiled when the man spoke about his scar collections. Clever insult, but not as endearing as 'Feathers.'
"I believe I am talking to a very well-dressed man who just pushed over a girl far less than a quarter of his age. So I suppose, I should afford due respect for your clothing."
He did a sweeping bow.Finoewae Teagan watched as the angry man talked back to the girl's..father? In an even more threatening tone. It was odd though, the man didn't claim her as his daughter just then, and Teagan assumed most fathers would. Maybe they were unrelated after all. In any case, someone was going to get their a** beat. She was rooting for the angrier man, he had some spunk.
This is exciting! She giggled to herself. LadyMatrona
"No!" Mandy cried to herself. The beautiful food! "Well that was mean." She thought, looking down sadly at the spoiled food on the floor.
"Are you kidding?!" The other burst out. "Get him!"
"No. I can't." Mandy affirmed quietly, trying her best not to be upset. She had nearly finished it all anyway. And besides, she was full.
"Did you hear what he just said?!?"
"Yes. But we don't know who he is." Mandy whispered, perhaps a little louder now. "I know what you're trying to do. I'm not getting mad. I don't care."
"You were just playing that game with your new friend. Now this guy's going to ruin it." The other taunted. "He's obviously looking for a fight. Are you really ok with just letting him push you around?"
"I'm not going to fight." Mandy thought to herself, trying to ignore the other.Finoewae
The little scuffle quieted down and Teagan went back to spying on everyone more subtly. In a stroke of extreme fortune, she found what she believe to be a reasonable amount of currency, stuck between the seat and backing of her booth. The money looked rather strange but, it fit the environment at least. Maybe she could finally order a meal now.
She didn't see a bartender or waiter out at the moment though, and as her stomach rumbled she desperately hoped for new strangers to come into the bar. Looking forward to strangers- today had twisted things completely around for her after all.DXSciz It seemed the man hadn't wanted to leave the conversation alone. Because after just a few steps, he had decided to asked a question on the topic. Though it really just confused John Tyler's inner thoughts. It was pushed aside though. What was best was just not to think on any of this. There was too much to take in already. That didn't mean John Tyler wasn't willing to discuss the topic. But he kept walking as he talked. "Nothing personally." It was just something you heard about as rumors. "Never met anyone with psychic abilities. No Garcan at least." It could have been possible, perhaps, for the enemy, the Arians, to have those powers. They were certainly smart enough and had 'larger' brains. But could one develop psychic powers through increased brain activity? To him, it seemed possible. "Not even gods have that power though..." At least, none of his gods. It could have been possible for other gods to have them...but no god he had heard of and none he knew of had such an ability. If he had never come into contact with such an ability, he couldn't say much on it. All he could speak from was rumors, myths, and supernatural stories. LadyFox "We need more examples than just our 2 deaths. That could be difficult. People seem reluctant to discuss it." Lurp pondered a moment. "Im good at gathering information and I suppose we aren't going anywhere anytime soon... Where are you staying?" Kiddo Seanchain "I don't have a place to stay yet," Seist admitted, "I suppose anywhere will do though. I should have the money for something nice, assuming barter works around here. I certainly hope it does. I'm not above working, but it's not something I want to have to resort to. Do you have a home yet, or are you still a drifter?" RADI0 Mouse 𝖆 𝖒 𝖊 𝖑 𝖎 𝖆
Amelia had to control herself strongly not to jump at Demon's swipe at her rapier. But she took the hint and dropped her hand.
"Sorry, just force of habit - I don't like dark alleyways, too many bad experiences." She said, but she took Lita's hands again and restarted the waltz. "You're right, let's just dance and see what happens. Op!" She stepped quickly to avoid Lita's feet. "Sorry - we'll try to dance, at least, ha ha!"
"And, Demon." Amelia's tone was serious, but her eyes were smiling behind her mask. "Secrets with me are never broken."rhyn crenham "I suppose it was a long shot" Rhyn sheepishly admitted, scratching the back of his head. Wait, what had he said just before that? It was quieter, closer to a whisper. Dismissing the thoughts, he was able to focus enough to catch the last portion of what he had said. "What do you mean by 'too much to take in'?" Rhyn replied, raising an eyebrow. He paused, studying the Gargan's movements and listening for changes in the inflections of his voice, as the man's back was still facing him. DXSciz The way the smaller man spoke, one would think he had no clue about such a power. Which is what confused John Tyler. Nothing fit together as it should. When it seemed he was near to getting some answers, the floor of what seemed like facts was pulled from beneath his feet. One could go crazy here. Maybe that was his problem? Maybe he was loosing it. Maybe...
He had to have been because Rhyn asked him about something that he had never said. This man acted like he knew nothing about psychic abilities but he was speaking as if he had them. John Tyler stopped suddenly and turned on the man. "I never said that..." His eyes narrowed and he looked the smaller, properly dressed man over. The man looked Arian. Maybe he was. Maybe he had such psychic abilities. It could be possible. John Tyler didn't care for Arians. To say he hated them would have been too harsh, but he was weary and didn't trust them. They were known by Garcans to be untrustworthy, lazy, and liars. As his eyes scanned this man near him, he contemplated the concept. Could he really be Arian? No one here looked familiar and he considered that they might be other races. (He had never seen a Garcan, Arian, or Chain Islander with wings or tails.) "Either you happen to be thinking on the same path as I or you are reading my mind." John Tyler didn't like the idea of the latter but he had little to hide so it wasn't as eerie to him as some might be. Then again, his mind couldn't grasp much right now either.
If his mind had been more clear, the thought of someone reading his thoughts would have immediately brought up his defenses. He didn't like sharing his past...or talking about it... rhyn crenham "No, I am not Arian..." He had only ever heard usage of that name in ancient Earth history. Wait, he hadn't said that? It sounded just like his voice. "You..." he stuttered "I heard you... more specifically, your voice, say that..." He was now quite perplexed and it was clear to anyone looking at his face. He placed a palm on his forehead, trying to quell the few voices of surprise that had suddenly arisen. They were getting noisy, but it wasn't nearly as chaotic as he had experienced, and certainly not even comparable to those screams. Those screams... There were more important things to focus on right now. Had he really heard what the Garcan was thinking? He waited for the man's response. DXSciz He placed a palm on his forehead, trying to quell the few voices of surprise that had suddenly arisen. They were getting noisy, but it wasn't nearly as chaotic as he had experienced, and certainly not even comparable to those screams. Those screams... There were more important things to focus on right now. Had he really heard what the Garcan was thinking? He waited for the man's response.
"See? You did it again." John Tyler stated as if showing the man the correct answer to a math problem. His right arm raised and he pointed at this properly dressed man. Why was this happening to him? Why couldn't he have just died in peace and went somewhere else. This place....well it wasn't the Heaven Plane, he could tell that. Least, he hoped it wasn't. So however he got here, he was wanting more and more to leave. Especially with all of this 'excitement'. And now this man was reading his thoughts and didn't even realize it.
"I never said you reminded me of an Arian. I thought it. And I never said you were crazy or that there was too much going on. I thought it." His voice stressed the explanation of 'thought' as if saying it more slowly and clearly would somehow make this man realize there was something strange going on here.
Somehow, seeing the confusion on the other man's face made him feel better about how strange this entire night was growing. It was as if John Tyler wasn't the only one in the dark here. But something caught his eye and drew his attention to it. The palm on the man's head. This small gesture took his thoughts back to the 'headaches'. Perhaps this man did indeed have psychic abilities....Curious. But with only little rumors here and there of such psychic powers and no real way to be sure, the 'headaches' could have easily been just that. Headaches. John Tyler sighed at this dilemma. But as with Lamia, he had no real reason to mistrust this man, who's name he would eventually remember ask, so he would give the benefit of the doubt till proven otherwise. Though with this man, John Tyler had yet to have any doubt against him. "How have you never noticed this before?" Came from his mouth suddenly. If all of this was headed down the logical route it seemed to be headed, then that was an excellent question. rhyn crenham "Thought it." Rhyn stood there with an expression of being dumbfounded. As he went to speak, he went slack-jawed again. How was he supposed to respond to this claim. He seriously doubted that the Garcan would jest him, he didn't seem to have spoken much up until this point. Why would he waste such rare words on a joke?
His thoughts returned to the question posed. Had he noticed this before? He couldn't say he had... Well, the only thing that was remotely close, he supposed, was on a couple of occasions, he had somehow known exactly what someone was going to say right before they said it. "I have-" he stopped short. "Only twice. Perhaps three times" he shrugged. It was if a voice had said what the person was going to say before it was said. "A voice..." he muttered. "The voices?" he inquired more audibly to no one in particular. He looked at the Garcan, his face seemed to express weariness. "I apologize if I have troubled you. I hadn't the slightest of intentions to do so." _striped__wolf_
As they began to dance again, Lita let her mind wander.
'Hey, Demon? If we do find my brother, will we still be friends?' Lita thought to him curiously. He refused to answer, he never explained that she would die if they found him. Sometimes both souls would keep existing, but mostly the human soul would get over powered and cease to be.
'Why ask?' he thought to her.
'I donno. She said she had bad experiences and it made me think that if we found Levi would that be a bad experience for me?'
Demon took the option to ignore her and give an approving noise to Amelia. He didn't want to know what would happen. To be truthful with himself his plan was too keep them going in circles and never find her brother, selfish on his part, but what did he care? He was a demon after all.
"Amelia?" Lita asked looking up curiously, "How many different dances can you dance?"DXSciz "Yeah." There wasn't any hint of amusement in his voice. Not that he was annoyed, but not having dealt with anything similar, it wasn't exactly making him feel comfortable with the scenario. Quite frankly, it was tiring. Relaxing would have been a joy right now. God would it have been. The captain needed a rest. Maybe getting to this inn Lamia and the newcomer had entered would give him a chance. The thoughts of the inn were enough to make him ready to just accept this day and forget about it.
Strange. But what the smaller man told him made sense. It hadn't occurred to him before, but people with super human abilities must discover them along the way. Much like one discovers they have a talent for cooking, art, or killing. It seemed that this man had about as much clue on if he could read minds as John Tyler currently had on the subject. Still, he listened to the details. Only three times? He hadn't any idea how old the man was, but only three times seemed so little if he really could read other's minds. But what did he know, John Tyler had not the ability to do anything of the sort.
"This whole day troubles me." The statement came quite bluntly and his usual frown proved his disapproval of this night he had experienced. But realizing it sounded as if he found an annoyance in the properly dressed man, he tacked on, "So no worries." just to be on the safe side. Sure the experience was tiring, but this man had done nothing to John Tyler and he didn't mind his company. The Garcan was fairly friendly when he was in his element and while his frown never really left, he was sociable enough most normal days.
John Tyler turned to continue walking again. Maybe the two who had entered the building a while ago weren't waiting too much on John Tyler and this man. This man. That reminded him. The heavy steps of his stopped for a moment as he turned only slightly to half-face the man. "I keep forgetting to ask you your name..." It sounded like a bit of a random statement but he decided it best now since he remembered it and it seemed a fine place to add on the question. "My name's Johnathan Tyler. Most of my soldiers just call me Captain Tyler. But you can call me John Tyler." Offering his first name to a stranger was odd for his people, but accompanied by his last name made it less of an intimate offer and more of a professional one. However, seeing as this man was clearly not Garcan, he would not be insulted by being called John or something. He was aware others did not share his cultural norms and would mean no insult by exchanging first names. rhyn crenham Rhyn cringed slightly at the man's response. He hadn't intended to be the cause of any of the uncomfortable feelings for anyone tonight. But he had upset the little girl, and now seemed to have become quite wearisome to the Garcan. He was tired as well, that was certain. The pounding in his head now felt dull. Perhaps it would be more sound to continue this conversation in the morning, after a good night's sleep- provided he could find a place of retreat that was quieter than anywhere he had been since he had arrived here. It felt like a hopeless endeavor, but it was worth an effort he surmised.
"John Tyler," he repeated, a little more relaxed when the tone of the Garcan's voice lifted slightly. John seemed stern, but he didn't sense any hostility from him. After the events that had unfolded over the course of the past few hours, Rhyn supposed, he could very well be a decent, civilized person who was just as uncertain about this new place as he himself was. The fact that he hadn't reacted terribly upset or violently at any time during the night set Rhyn's mind more at ease. "I am Rhyn Crenham. It's a pleasure to learn your name" he bowed. "Shall we make for the inn" he suggested. "I imagine a good rest would prove to be quite needed."
Blade Kuroda From what he could hear, the two weren't about to be causing any trouble. He heard something about dancing, which was of little interest to himself. Well that was a relief. Even so, he didn't put his guard down completely as he slowly pushed himself up to his feet. Shun glanced over his dagger, then sheathed it and took in a deep breath. There was no sudden lightheadedness from standing up, which was a good sign.
He began to make his way out of the alley to see if Lamia was anywhere near by, though he wasn't sure if she was going to be returning anyway. Soon after he began to walk, however, he felt a wave of dizziness hit him, causing his steps to stagger before he paused to place a hand to his head.
"Dammit.." he grumbled to himself. Even if he had just eaten before the bite, he supposed something sweet would have been good to take in.
Kimaya 
Alaana
She was just walking along the street like it was any other day - although it was no street she had ever been down before that didn't seem to be something worth worrying over. The skies were just beginning to lighten slightly; a soft hazy gray-blue with a hint of electricity that seemed eager to play, but perhaps just a little too sleepy at that moment.
A soft, muted click-click came with each step of her heeled shoes on the glistening, irridescent cobble, somehow reaching her ears with all of the surrounding noise. Alaana coud not remember how she had come upon the broad avenue she was traveling down now but she didn't dwell on that detail overly long.
Nor did it bother her that there were strange lights and fantastical buildings, that the clouds seemed almost to pass through her path, so thick in some points it was like a wall, barely revealing the ghostly shapes of other strangers making their own way; that there was no consistency to the clothing cut and style or to the variety of forms that the people took, and that her own very ordinary appearance was actually not so ordinary compared to many of the others she passed.
It wasn't that she didn't realize these things, just that it wasn't very interesting to spend time trying to puzzle out. She was here now, and headed somewhere - even though she hadn't quite decided what that somewhere was, Alaana was confident that she would know it when she saw it. DXSciz As the man spoke, John Tyler decided to continue walking again. Soon they would be in the inn and with the pale woman and her friend. Perhaps it had been best this went the way it had. A bit of information, and more questions, were now with him. Hopefully, he'd get more answers about this place before the night was through. Or tomorrow. His mind didn't wish to think on tomorrow...it would be best to just focus on this whole endeavor one day at a time.
Most people wouldn't consider Garcans civilized due to their warring ways. But the only people they had really dealt with were the Arians. The two didn't see eye-to-eye. Probably due to the fact the Garcans were always invading the Arians. But when one sat down with a Garcan, they weren't barbarians. John Tyler was far more mellow than most Garcans as well. Which made dealing with him a little easier.
Hearing the name, his natural habit was to call the man Crenham. And he probably would do so until corrected. "At least easier." The captain commented on learning the other's name. A pleasure; well they would have to see. But it certainly was easier in the very least. Now John Tyler had a name to call the properly dressed man. "Yeah..." He trailed off a slight bit as he thought about it. "Rest would be nice." His thoughts swirled on the day's events. The demon man, the floating girl, and this possible psychic. Entering this inn and possibly finding some place to sit for a little bit, hopefully in peace and quiet, would do wonders. I swear, this day can't get any weirder Lilith. Lilith Tyler was his wife and sometimes, he found peace in speaking to her in his mind. Though it was a comment he knew would get no answer, it helped to take the swirling contents of his thoughts and flush them. Pushing the night to the back of his mind would settle his uneasiness of this place. Not that he trusted it, but being on edge wouldn't get any more answers than being calm would.
Rhyn spoke so professionally too. It was strange to hear him speak. Not that he spoke oddly, but that his word choice was that of a higher intellect. John Tyler felt it safe to consider the man an intelligent person. That was a subconscious note he made of the man's personality. It seemed important of his character and it might come in handy to go ahead and assume it. keiyani "Pardon me sir." She had returned only moments earlier, and was addressing the young man in rather expensive looking apparel. Must be a noble, she gathered, based on his clothing and elitist attitude. His social standing had to be high. "Is it not more becoming, for one of such a prestigious class as you clearly appear, to be an exemplar of finer manners than those which you have just demonstrated?" She asked this with utmost propriety. Despite appearances denoted by her current clothing, Keiyani was of royalty, and was well versed in the ways of higher society. Finoewae
Unfortunately, with the big awkward crowd at the WorldSpanners Inn, Teagan's mission had been put on hold. Mainly it was the presence of the little girl that prevented her from asking around, about the incident Mr. Fletcher assigned her to.
On the plus side, the money she'd found tucked within the cushion of the seat bought her a biscuit and a shot of gin. As much as she'd been with the drinking crowd before, keeping her liquor wasn't her specialty. She was buzzed the instant she drank it. She nibbled on the biscuit slowly afterward. It was a bit dry but she'd never complain at a time like this. It was quiet now...and her mind drifted to unpleasant memories.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She thought about the day a strange man came to her door in the old village. The day she was told her brother, Jonathan, died. They never did find a body, and the whole situation reeked. But nevertheless, weeks later her mother and sister were done with grieving for him. How could they? Jonathan was the best brother anyone could ask for. He followed his interests and dreams, he held his beliefs, but he never looked down on Teagan for holding her own, even if they would disagree. They rarely did though- Teagan liked to think of Jonathan as more her twin than her older brother. She idolized him, followed him and did her best to help him live out his own dreams of becoming a writer.
She had just turned 20 when Jonathan disappeared, and when he did, suddenly she realized how trapped she'd felt her entire life. It was more than just the confines or her village... it was the inability to reach for the same goals Jonathan could reach for, as a woman. Teagan herself aspired to be a poet, maybe even a philosopher one day, but while her brother was praised for going out and seeking a career, she was scolded and mocked.
So in an attempt to escape that life, but also keep her family's needs in mind, she departed from home and made way for England- against her mother and sister's wishes. She would send back money to them, to support them. They'd see- she'd make something of herself out there.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A flood of more recent memories came and Teagan audibly groaned to even think of them. They tortured her.
This is what it's like...to completely fail in every endeavor I've ever had.Cartagia Lias laughed.
"The 'respect' of a man such as you means less than nothing to me," he replied. "As for the hurt feelings of a child, enlighten me as to why someone like I should care about that? I have more important matters than to worry about...offending a few pathetic people." RADI0 Mouse 𝖆 𝖒 𝖊 𝖑 𝖎 𝖆
"Different dances...?" Amelia cocked her head slightly as she thought back. "Well, if you count drunken stomping... Two." She smiled, continuing to dance. "Though I suppose, depending on who's drunk and how much they've drank, even the drunken stomping can be several different dances... I know a few of my crew from the Orient have some rather interesting looking dances I've never been able to mimic - but my friends who've come from the Africas certainly do the most interesting dances."
Thinking back on her crew, drunk out of all their minds and able to relax enough to dance, Amelia smiled. I hope those idiots are doing well... But her fond memories were interrupted by the sight of the man in the alleyway stumbling out, a hand over his face.
She lightly squeezed Lita's hands. "Looks like that man from the alleyway isn't faring too well right now, you alright with helping him?"_striped__wolf_ Lita nodded at the explanation.
"Wow. They must be really good." She said in awe. This dance was even hard for her, just imagining one with faster steps made her head swim.
Lita looked to the man and nodded. She took a few steps to him, pulling Amelia's hands with her before turning back.
"I'm okay with helping him if you are!" She said cheerfully. Blade Kuroda Closing his eyes for a moment, Shun was trying to get his bearings so he wouldn't outright topple over. Grimacing, he felt his mind slowly clearing. Letting out breath, he slowly brought his hand away from his head, glancing down the alley to see the two figures staring at him.
With a sort of frown, he watched them for a moment or so, then slowly continued to walk, taking more of his time than he did a few moments ago. WoefulInfinity 
| Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek laughed and put his right arm around the other man's shoulder, close enough he was sure the stranger could smell the last remnants of gin on his breath. He was used to being dismissed. It proved quite useful, really. Or in the case, it might just prove simply amusing.
"Oh, no, no, no, sire. Or should I say - my lord. Or even, quite possibly - your majesty. I am but a minor peon in the scheme of the world, and I offer no merit worth mentioning. It is all right and good and certainly - absolutely demanded - that a man of stature as high as your own would brush me aside."
Rivek could feel the tension - probably cause by arrogant indignation - through the other man's shirt. Perhaps he should be a little more careful. He'd found there was no underestimating in this plane.
"However, as for the child - I am merely looking out for you. Should you have hurt her in the mighty sweep of your shoving, you would look awful amongst these ruffians. Although I know you have no care what we think, just think of how unbecoming it would have been to yourself! You are a noble! And what had you sprayed your amazing gown with those dirty, hogwash potatoes. We should all understand just how far above us you are."
He rubbed the corner of the other man's embroidered coat.
"I am so grateful, though - that you would keep my lowly feelings in mind and be so kind as to even speak to me given your highest of high stature. Let me buy you a drink."
He reached his left hand into his bag - one finger on his pocketbook, the other on his shears. Just in case, you know.rhyn crenham As the two made their way through the entrance, it was apparent that despite the hour, things were still rather lively. Sighing inwardly Rhyn turned to face John. "Perhaps..." he scratched at the back of his neck, "I'm sure you can find accommodation here for the night, seeing as how many people are still awake at such an impractical hour. As for me" he looked to the door "I think I'll find a quieter place to sleep. I'm a terribly light sleeper" he forced a laugh, as he was rather disheartened. "And I'm simply exhausted" he finished. "It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, John Tyler." He bowed sincerely.
LadyMatrona
Thank goodness for Rivek. Mandy had nearly lost it with that last comment from the snobby man. Now she could hardly keep from laughing out loud. She liked him. And it was nice of him to stick of for her like this.
Mandy tried her hardest not to laugh out loud but to at least keep laughing in side. She was definitely still upset with the man but that joke had been a good distraction when she needed it the most.
"You know their gonna fight soon." the other reminded her, trying again. "And you're kind of the reason for this whole thing anyway. Even if you don't want to fight you're going to have to." The other sounded impatient and probably annoyed at Rivek's remark. Had she been in control, she would have laughed her head off, but it wasn't funny to her if she was still stuck inside because of it.Cartagia When the man touched Lias, he would have pushed him away, if not the utter astonishment that he dared to do so; he let him talk, not imune to the amount of sarcasm loaded within it. It was only when he moved to place a hand in his pocket that Lias moved to push the man off him.
"How dare you touch me," he narrowed his eyes. "I am the Demonmaster Lias of Ethereal, I am the most powerful of my people in the world, and I will not be touched or spoken to like that by you." He spoke with a cool but dangerous edge, his voice softening as his irritation rose and, to punctuate his statement, he flicked his hand and in the corner of the room someone's pant leg caught fire; Lias smirked. DXSciz Looked as though the two would be splitting up now. It was good he had a moment to collect some information on this man then. He would log it in the back of his mind. As for rest, it sounded nice. Even more so now that they had entered the inn.
John Tyler looked around as Rhyn spoke. It was understandable that he wish for a different place to sleep. Perosnally, the captain was not a light sleeper. Not that sounds didn't wake him up, but he was used to that of a battlefield. So as long as the sound didn't seem 'important' it would rose the man from his slumber. Though, seeing as this place was so strange, he would most likely be stirred by every noise.
"Understandable." He spoke softer as he turned to look at Rhyn. He would not keep this man and he had his own goals for now. So he would stick with them. "Pleasure here as well Crenham." The Garcan would not stop Rhyn or hold him any longer than he had to.
His eyes scanned the inn once more in order to find Lamia and that man she had been with. Luna_et_Noctis In the back alley, Lamia had finished counting out her coin. Steeling herself, she slipped into the building and quickly crept over to where her landlord had been sitting. Fortunately, he was still there. The light-haired gentleman's seat was empty, and pulling up the hood of her cloak, she took it. Jalaheg and his friends turned in drunken confusion over to her, but seeing her face, they relaxed. "Ah, La-" the large old man started loudly.
"I can't be long Jally, I have a problem," Lamia cut him off quickly, reaching over to touch his arm. "I have to go. Could you pay my bill for me? I got the gorashilig plate. Thanks."
She pushed the bag of silver towards him as she slipped out of the seat and moved quickly back to the alley door.
Reaching it, she scanned the inn, looking for Seist or the man that had stabbed her earlier. Her eyes lingering on Mandy for a moment, she deliberated risking going over to speak with her, but decided she would try later. Especially as two men stood glaring at each other next to her.
She noticed the Margrave locked in conversation with someone else, then locked eyes on John Tyler. She stared at him for a second, then held her finger to her lips, and motioned for him to follow her out the back as she stepped outside. rhyn crenham Exiting the establishment, Rhyn had failed to notice the green haired girl who had only been a few meters away. He wiped at his face, trying to will away the tiredness he felt starting to overwhelm him. Looking around he figured it was less than safe, or peaceful for that matter to sleep in the street. Looking up he noted that many of the roofs, at least in this section of the town appeared to have flatter sections contained in their design. He wandered away down the street, looking down corridors for easy access; barrels, crates, drain pipes, anything.
He came to a somewhat more narrow gap than the others he had passed, between two buildings. A few barrels stacked side by side, with two set on top. The roof of the further establishment came low, about a meters space from the top of the stacked barrels and the edge of the roof. He quickly scanned the area for any suspicious activity. Seeing none, he proceeded to climb the barrels. Despite his uncharacteristic clumsiness, he somehow managed to work his way up to the top of the barrels which, upon approaching them, found they were approximately four feet tall, as a single barrel came up to his waist. Lifting himself over the last obstacle, he scrambled up, finding a flat section tucked behind the foremost peak of the roof.
The shingled surface was dusted with a thin layer of dirt and a handful of leaves. he had slept in worse conditions though. It was a shame he didn't have a bedroll with him. It was a warm night, he figured, stripping his long coat, he folded it neatly to use as a pillow. As he situated himself into the most comfortable position he could discover on the bumpy shingles, he took a moment to admire the starry sky. It was only moments after his head hit the makeshift pillow when he fell asleep. DXSciz John Tyler didn't see the woman anywhere in here and so he walked across the open room avoiding bumping into anything or anyone. It was more lively than he would have expected. But then again, he was assuming no one would be awake now either.
Perhaps he had been wrong about the building that the two had entered. Or perhaps they had retired already. Since he hadn't caught glimpse of her yet, he decided to have a seat at an open table. However, as he approached the table, he noticed something. Movement. John Tyler didn't think anything of it at first, but when he looked toward the area that he'd seen it, there was Lamia. His brow furrowed, not from seeing her, but from the gesture she made. Odd that she was motion him to follow her while gesturing to be quiet. But he wouldn't attempt to draw attention to himself.
As her finger suggested, he continued his path, but passed the table and headed her direction. If he acted as if nothing was wrong, no one should notice him. Not that he was sure why he needed to be quiet, but he found it best to ask questions after following directions. It helped avoid danger the most this way.
Soon he was out the back door as well. Maybe then he could ask her why he was to be quiet. keiyani Tsk, men. One track minds, especially when adrenaline was part of the mix. But to completely ignore, or miss for that matter, the fact that she had said anything? How to draw attention away from the fight, or perhaps move it outside before it got out of hand.
"Pardon me gentlemen," placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Perhaps if this already heated chat is about to escalate, might I recommend to move it outside of the establishment?" Keeping placement on both males, she turned her attention to Mandy. "Hey," she smiled, you might want to distance yourself." WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek drew back his arm, but stayed uncomfortably close to Lias. The man seemed unarmed...
"My greatest, most sincere, infinite apologies. I am but a title-less servant. Demon-master, eh? Does that mean you are a summoner? Or does that title mean something different in your country. Don't take my opinion for it, but it sounds much, much, much, better than 'king'."
Wonderful. Some sort of fire magic. That was - in his opinion, from personal experience - the worst kind. He'd rather eat his meat raw than deal with an open flame. His hand twitched a little, but he concentrated on keeping his discomfort off his face.
"Let us forget this. I am sure the girl has no need for an apology. Children cry all the time. They should be yelled at. It makes them stronger."
His sword was still at his side, and well, fists didn't need to be drawn. So, he took out his pocketbook.
"Innkeeper - I'd like a glass of vodka. Yes, a glass - not a shot. Highest proof you have - and fill it completely, if you please."
"Only the finest for your majesty." The innkeeper set the glass in front of the table. Rivek took it in hand. "Cheers!"
He slid the glass towards Lias, but as he did - he caught the glass along a knot in the bar, effectively knocking it over and soaking Lias's front.Vilhelmina 
Alkhar gave Rebecca a meaning look.
"Well, I guess there's that expression; 'Don't kill the messenger', but..." He shrugged.
"Honestly, someone needs to make up for this!"
With a little smile, almost as if attempting to apologize for his behaviour, he added
"I'll buy you one in return?" He coughed. "Assuming I have any money, that is."
Somewhat taken by surprise by Rebecca's sudden change of tone, Alkhar found himself actually listening to her and stood up. After all, it did feel like he was supposed to be going somewhere.
"All right, all..."
Then, he stopped. What had he left behind? It felt like there was something important, something he wasn't quite able to recall... but why? He shook his head.
"Really, a parrot of all things... No, there was something. Or someone, I guess I was on some kind of mission or..."
Alkhar shrugged. He just didn't seem to remember more than that at this time.
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:13 am
LadyMatrona
Mandy jumped at the sudden yelp from across the room. A woman in the corner was suddenly on fire!
She was swinging at his leg frantically trying to put it out. Mandy spun around to see the rude man smirking in his direction. Had he done that?! It seemed he had but how?
"You seen enough?" The other asked impatiently.
"I ... uh..." Mandy stuttered, still in shock from the flames. She looked up and noticed that Keiyani had come back and was standing close to the men, trying to break them up. They were both too upset to pay her any attention. "I.. " she tried to start again. "You should go." She warned Keiyani. Rivek had just dumped a drink on the angry guy and they were sure to break out fighting any second. The other was right, she had seen enough.
Mandy's eyes flickered into a milky white. Angry time. And it was about time too.
"Don't be reckless!" the other pleaded, possibly regretting her dissension.
"Too late. I already am." Mandy laughed. She looked up again at Keiyani. "I'm not going anywhere." She grinned, standing on the stool to reach the eye level of the two men. "Fancy boy here wants a fight."Jalil  It wasn't just any man at a glance who got the brunt of Lias's careless whims. Sadye was sitting there peacefully waiting for Meilin to say something when suddenly her leg...was on fire?!
 She screamed and was indeed trying to pat it out. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!!!!!"
After a few wild moments she finally got the fire to die down by ripping most of that pant leg off, but she only took one breath of relief before her still flared anger kicked in. It was easy to pinpoint the source of her discomfort. Without a word she grabbed the closest bottle off the bar ignoring the protests of its owner and chucked it...straight at Lias' forehead. Someone was about to see the dead book first hand if she had her way.~~Scheduled RP Session~~ LadyMatrona
Mandy dropped sloppily onto one of the near by tables. "Victory!" She cheered to herself as she watched the brawl come to a close. "Things like that should happen all the time." she laughed. Mandy had been mad and even a little stressed by all that commotion, but she was far to distracted by her own awesomeness to remember any of that.
"We where lucky." The other sighed. She had stayed quite during the fight. She didn't want her to do anything reckless, but she didn't want to distract her either.
"Luck?" Mandy laughed again, sounding as if she had gotten drunk from all the adrenaline. "That was a flawless execution of my majesty!" She boasted. "You could learn a thing or two from me you know."
Watching the last of the gang leave Mandy laid back on the table. Being small was convenient sometimes. She fit perfectly. Maybe I'll sleep here tonight." she thought out loud, looking through the gaping hole where the ceiling used to be. "I've never slept out under the stars before."_striped__wolf_
Lita sighed not really knowing what to do now. She could go and thank the other girl in person or go find Amelia and make sure she was okay.
'What should we do, Demon?' She asked as she re-hid her pistol in her pocket.
'I have no idea, Stupid. Wait for something to happen I guess.' Demon said as he made her nails and teeth normal again. Lita just frowned from behind her mask.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"I hope you ladies enjoy your meal."
With that, he swung the table around, knocking it into the oven fire. He knew he only had a few seconds before it burst into flame, so put his wings away and used it to boost himself up the chimney.
He took a deep breath and climbed as fast as he could, brick over brick, to the roof. Pulling out his wings again, he floated his soot-covered self back down to the ground. He coughed, hacking repeatedly until he spit blood onto the grass.
More than enough action for one day.Finoewae
The night before, Serendipity had erupted in tactical and political chaos. Teagan was unaware of the importance of the races in this city, and so far she hadn't even gathered that there was a true war going on. When the battle ships would come, she suspected that this land was just more war like than most, and it was normal for pirates to pillage a town weekly, to keep the locals submissive to them.
Not one for being in the middle of confrontation, Teagan had actually slipped out the bar an hour before a huge ship had crashed into it, and its customers terrorized by pirates. Back in her room, she watched as the sky lit up with ammunition, and smelled of gunpowder and blood. Gaining the protection of Mr. Fletcher had certainly been a wise choice- who knows where she'd be if not here, high up about the danger below.
She couldn't grasp what the pirates- if that's what they were- had been looking for. It was strange to bust into a lowly bar. Someone hiding in there must have been special! Which actually didn't surprise Teagan much, considering how strange everyone had looked there. Who knows, perhaps they had all been royalty, or political criminals, laying low in a city far away from their own. But going over the countless possibilities made her head hurt, and she lay down in bed to rest. Suddenly it hit her.
I saw...I saw a woman!!! That woman- she had wings, and she shouted as if she was leading....oh my god. That was my target- I mean, the person to find- that was her! It must be, she caused a ruckus identical to the one Mr. Fletcher told me of before!!
She bolted up from her bed and took out some paper and a quill pen. Soon the details of everything she saw and heard were neatly organized on them. Hopefully this report would be enough, despite missing the gossip of the locals on the matter.
Ah, ******** it, I can always go down tomorrow and ask around. This is better now- it's all fresh in their minds. I must find especially those that I saw in the bar.
She grinned to herself and finally lay back down. Tonight had been more productive than she'd ever dreamed. A deep sleep overcame her until the next morning, when the caws of scavenger birds woke her. She bathed, dressed, and headed back into the plaza, hoping that the daylight offered her a bit more safety.Lori Annalynn 
Reed watched the man carefully as he walked, knowing that there was much more going on under the surface than Reed could see. And when he finally responded with the simple, "She's my wife," Reed turned away. The heartfelt words struck a deep chord, bringing melancholy thoughts to the redhead's mind. He had never been married, but his parents had. And separated . . . because of him. It was the only regret that haunted him—the only regret he could do nothing to change.
"I'm sorry." Reed stopped walking, turned to face the man—and in his eyes there was an honest sympathy. His words were quiet and simple. "I'm truly sorry." Reed had no doubt this man loved his wife: it was in the way he spoke of her and, even more so, in the things he didn't say.
The exalted longed to do something for him—but this was not a problem he could fix. Married or not, this man was dead, and from that there was no going back. But . . . He hesitated, fiddling with the purple pendant around his neck for a moment before looking up again. "I can take a message for you. If you'd like. For her." Delivering messages from dead loved ones was nothing new for him, anyway. And it was something he could do for this man, something that might help. "To let her know you're not gone," he finished softly.Kiddo Seanchain Seist dreamed. In his dreams, he was bound, hands behind his back, his weapons stripped away, and branded on his chest was a rune that severed him from his magic. They had finally caught him, his title meant nothing, his priesthood meant nothing, and they were taking him to the gallows...
Seist turned in his dreams, gasping. He dreamed again, this time of a dragon that towered over him, pinning him to the ground with one foreleg. Its other hand was curled inwards, cradling the drops of blood that clung to the dragon's claw. It was whispering, words of ancient magic devised long before he was born - when war between the races raged - and Seist cried out in fear and agony as his will was torn from him and he was enslaved...
And Seist woke with a sharp, soft, cry. He lay on his back, eyes closed, and they burned with pain that prevented him from opening them right away. Instead, he groaned and lay still, waiting for the last vestiges of his dream to fade. Sweat had beaded up on his face and slipped into where his scars had reopened and it stung terribly. He supposed the nightmares could have been worse. And the pain throbbing in his eyes and head told him that he had indeed been able to channel the divine magic, as the god's power always came with a reminder from the goddess that it should be wielded with great discretion.
"Is someone there?" he asked hoarsely, still not ready to open his eyes. WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek rolled onto his back and gave a couple more heaving coughs. He wanted every last bit of ash out of his body before he kept going. Goddamn. He didn't even feel that familiar wrenching feeling of his battered innards and scarred limbs slowly righting themselves.
Oh, right. He hadn't actually helped anybody. Then again, escaping alive seemed like a feat in itself.
Scrabbling up to his hands and knees, he spat black blood onto the ground. The grass where it landed shriveled. Toxic as ever, I see.
Lungs now clear, he stood up to survey the damage. In retrospect, blowing up the kitchen wasn't nearly as bad as crashing an airship into the rest of the inn.
He heard a muffled voice coming from over some rubble and found a man with a very interesting haircut and interesting markings under his eyes. Clearly an Outsider.
"Need a hand, traveler?" Finoewae
Teagan studied the movements of the locals closely. They ignored her anyway so she didn't feel very creepy, watching them bustle around. They seemed to be a people used to chaos, almost to the point where nothing could phase them. But they still wouldn't want to cause any more than needed. Perhaps that's why most of them ignored people like her- people who by appearance were obviously different, in so many ways.
She didn't try to approach them- she needed more time to study the culture here. The last thing she needed was a confrontation that lead to her being burned at the stake, or whatever form of mob torture these people were into.
She did however, browse the various shops outlining the edges of the grand plaza. Many of the stands were just trinkets, fortune tellers, antiques, and snacks. Things common at any bazaar. The food was particularly interesting. Some of it was easily recognizable- potatoes, vegetables, nuts, spices... but then there was the odd looking fruit. And some of the spices now that she thought about it. The smells were brand new to her nose, almost intoxicating.
No sign of any of the original bar crowd yet. Mainly she wondered about that winged man. He seemed rather intelligent and somewhat courteous, and that was exactly the type of witness she needed to interrogate.Kiddo Seanchain Seist focused on the voice, trying to take stock of his surroundings as best he could. Still outside, apparently. How long had he been unconscious?
"I believe so," Seist replied drly, "Is it still daylight out? And I'll have you know that if you plan on doing untoward things to my person or robbing me... blind... I am a powerful mage and will set your liver on fire. While it is still inside your body. Just a warning." WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek put his wings away. Better to look as much as he could like an ordinary man.
"How testy. I have no part of my body with which I could do unrowards things to you. And I am well-off enough that I don't intend on robbing you. But just a fair warning for you - my liver's already on fire. With gin. My lungs now, they are more literally on fire."
He knealt down next to the man, not willing to touch him just yet. He reached into his bag and pulled out a roll of bandages. He waved it in the mage's
"It doesn't look much like daylight anymore to me. But going back to that robbing thing... I don't take money, persay, but I do accept donations."
He had racked up quite a tab. He'd take anything he could get at this point.Kiddo Seanchain
Seist was silent for a moment.
"That sounds uncomfortable," he finally said, "I don't think I shall feel sorry for myself any more. I will only have to say 'it could be worse, my lungs could be on fire too.' Let me try opening my eyes then if it's not daylight."
The priest levered himself into a sitting position, groaning at how sore he was as he did so. Then he tried opening his eyes. There was a brief flash of red and white, like fire, and then he gave a soft cry and shut them again, digging the palms of his hands into the top of the cheekbone and hissing in pain.
"Not yet," he said uncomfortably, "I'll be blind a bit longer it seems. The goddess does this, you see, to remind us of humility. And personally, I think also to discourage us from calling on the twin's power too often. They're gods, but they're not like Lahmear who has temples on every damned street corner..."
He trailed off, absently checking his belongings with his hands to ensure everything was sound. It was apparent from the ease in which he did it that he was familiar with being deprived of sight on occasion, but his movements were still somewhat awkward and he did not dare try to stand on his own yet.
"Guide me somewhere safe," Seist said grimly, "and we'll see about that donation."Finoewae
Teagan traveled a bit down each of the alleyways off the main plaza circle, looking for clues about the events of last night. She found various debris and trash, but nothing worth stuff in her bag to show to Johnathan later. However, as she was returning towards the center again, she now saw her wing-man and a new stranger, sitting on the pavement. It was starting to get dark, so as she got closer she hid and crept slowly and quietly. Sometimes the best answers come form the question you let someone else ask.
She now stood behind one of the merchant tents, which had already closed up shop for the night. She could here some of the conversation but not much. Something about being on fire and donations. It also appeared that they were moving away from their spot soon. She couldn't resist now- she'd have to follow these two.Sadye 
Sadye had managed to escape with the crowd, but soddin' hells! First that berk who needed his lips stitched who she'd finally gotten agitated enough with to confront, then that damn dazzler setting her pant leg on fire, and now the whole bloody tavern was gone to rubble! Where was she supposed to sleep now!?
She supposed she could take that Meilin up on his offer, but she'd lost track of him in all the ruckus and had no clue where his kip was. Maybe she could catch up to the girl from Dal'kania, Danique. She might know of somewhere Sadye could crash.
For now, Sadye just wanted to be anywhere but that tavern. She wouldn't have cared if Her Serenity herself showed up in front of her at this point. She was worn, raged, burned, and bruised. The crowd she was limping along with was dispersing, but right now she wanted to be near people. People meant safety, and safety was Sadye's number one concern. She paused and settled down against a wall near a few others (Rivek, Seist, and Lurp too?), but stayed to herself for the moment not wanting to interrupt. She just wanted the safety of numbers.Devaena  Devaena appeared moments after the airship crash on a nearby rooftop with a view of the Worldspanners Inn and the sound of several pounds of falling debris that had been taken along with her crashing to the rooftop around her. For a long moment she lay there, how long she couldn't say, but finally with a groan she rolled over onto her back and immediately winced. Her wings which had been folded as a cloak around her had only just begun to heal from her 'arrival' to Serendipity, and now they were wounded again. Devaena had not had enough time to take on her true form in the chaos and so had pulled her wings around her, and then the first piece of debris from the crash had slammed into her along with that choking cloud of dust. She cursed the frail mortal form she wore once again. How these glorified apes who barely even realized when they were licking the toe of the multiverse had ever become a sentient and in some prime worlds dominant species was beyond her, but over all the forms she had disguised herself in through the millenia of her life it was the human one that was most readily and widely accepted. It was enough to baffle the powers themselves.
Still, she'd had to show glimpses of her true self not once but twice now in order to stay in one piece without revealing exactly what she was. Perhaps it would be better, but on the other hand it would limit her. Few would approach a fiend, and most were wary of those who appeared to be of the blood of Dev's kind, but it might be worth the risk. Besides, it might assuage any questions people likely would have about how she had survived not only dragon's fire, but an airship crashing into her as well.
It was settled then, for now. Devaena made her way down the side of the building using the bricks and uneven places on the wall for hand and footholds. Her wings needed time to recoup, so no flying or gliding for now. Once on the ground she brushed as much dirt off her as she could and redid the leather thong holding her hair back. She was sure she still looked rough, bruised perhaps even scraped, but for now it would have to do. Making sure her greatsword was securely strapped to her back, she made her way to the bazaar to find out what was going on now.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"Some twins. Guessing they're gods. Blind, eh? Now that's my worst fear in all honesty." A fear he had lived and woken up from.
He took the man's left arm, placed it on his own right, and stood slowly so the other man could follow him. "I have bandages if you need them. I'm decent at binding if I do say so myself. If you have need, just ask."
"Just as I'd help you out for free, too - just thought I'd ask," he laughed.
"Two injured men carrying each other to safety. How charming. The name's Rivek. Rivek Ailinar, incinerator of kitchens and master escape artist."
Kiddo Seanchain "Interesting title," Seist remarked, "Can't say mine is nearly as entertaining. Margrave Seist Loringar of Kas Kain, priest of Dues and Frain. And it'd make more sense if you knew more about them... Dues is the god of knowledge and his sister, Frain, the goddess of wisdom. The two of them are the patrons of magic. Frain, fearing her brother would abuse his power, took her own eyes and gave them to him, so that he would see not only with his own, but also with the sight of wisdom as well. We call her the goddess of restraint. Some believe that this blindness isn't something she does intentionally to us, but a byproduct of channeling the divine magic - we become the twins, albeit briefly, and in doing so adopt her blindness."
He shook himself gently.
"There I am, lecturing," he murmured, "How did you fare during this... attack? Is this sort of thing common?" He paused. "For that matter, where are you taking me?" WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"I'm interested in hearing more. Keep lecturing. I'm a collectector of stories, myself. A collector of adventures. As for jsut then.... well, that was - quite an adventure."
"That said," He laughed. "Roast human being isn't my favorite dish."
"Why would I help you? You don't believe I'm just a kind-hearted person. Or maybe, I'm just bored."
He scratched his bandaged leg.Kiddo Seanchain
"An adventure that I don't understand a bit of," Seist said bitterly, "They looked like Fallen Bound, but unless I'm mistaken there are no Bounds here, for which I am very, very thankful. I don't think I would have fared so well if they had dragons backing them up. Still, so many questions... they just fled, didn't they? I did not think they were losing to the point of retreat, but I am still very ignorant about this world. So many questions..."
Seist sighed.
"I'm not used to people helping out of generosity. Out of respect for my priesthood, yes. Or because I am a Margrave and it is their duty... or because they're afraid of the very same title... when you collect duties and roles you find that very few people deal with you without other motives. And truth be told, I rarely get to deal with the good and honest of society. My vows lead me elsewhere." His voice went hard for a moment.
"So how did you blow up a kitchen, anyway?"Finoewae She continued to follow the pair as they talked, but nothing interesting came up in conversation yet. The general "getting to know you" jabber that Teagan hated so much. The insincere politeness, the nervous chuckles, the talk of exploding kitchens? Well maybe the last part was amusing.
Still unsure of where they were headed, she kept a safe distance. She just had to talk to that winged man! Hopefully that would happen sooner than never- because without the insight of at least one local, her report to Mr. Fletcher might as well be worthless. LadyFox
"Nnnnnnng!" Lurp couldn't articulate her frustration, but she turned as bid and ran in the opposite direction from the fighting and chaos. It was good that Seist didn't watch her go, because Lurp had no intention of helping anyone else. She just wanted to put as much distance between herself and danger as she could. It was instinct, really. She was already dead, but though she had considered re-death as a possible solution to getting out of here, she wasn't ready to go down that path yet. Every synapse in her body was urging her to run. She briefly wished that she could take her favored form, a giant storm wolf and run farther and faster than this frail form ever could, but there were people present, and she wasn't ready to blow her cover unless she absolutely had to. So instead she ran as fast and as far as this pair of legs could carry her, leaving the chaos and destruction further and further behind her...
**********
After thins had quieted down, a mottled brown and grey dog slunk up and down dark alleyways and through side-yards, making its cautious way to what was left of the Worldspanners inn. No one paid any mind to one more street mutt when there was so much debris to clear, loved ones to find, or wounds to heal, and Lurp made it back to where she had left Seist, unharassed.
Even as her feet carried her back, her mind was locked in argument.
I shouldn't be going back, I should just lay low until EVERYTHING is cleared and calm and I know what's going on.
But Seist asked me to come back for him.
Why the hell should I care! Who is he to me? I just met him!
He saved my life, I owe him.
Accidentally, by stopping to talk to me, which he did to satisfy his OWN curiosity.
And he tried to protect me from the debris and would have protected me from those women if need be. I owe him.
How can I be sure he would have. He is a MAN. I own no man ANYTHING.
Will would want me to help him.
The last thought settled the argument. Damnit damnit damnit!!! Lurp thought and the mutt doubled it's pace, weaving in and out of the crowds until the inn was in view. Then it was time to find an alley where the darkness was too thick to penetrate with normal human vision. She hid behind a rubbish bin there and changed into the form she'd been in earlier that day, but with mussed hair and dirt smudges on her hands and face. Now she LOOKED like she belonged amid these crowds.
She made her way out of the alley and towards where she had last seen Seist, helping the downed man. He wasn't there.
"Seist?" she called, hating the attention it might draw to her. It was then she realized she had never given him her own name... She started to move in a gradually growing circle around where she had last seen him, when she spotted him, Hanging on the arm of a figure covered in bandages. Recognition dawned quickly.
"Rivek!" she called. "Seist!"WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
Rivek hoped his eyes had faded back to blue by now. His heart rate had gone back to normal.
He shrugged, "I don't think they merely upped and ran. I saw a few of those burly wenches go down. The Inn was somehow luckily populated by a series of psychic children and adept swordswomen."
"Me, on the other hand," he grinned. It was a bit odd, having to explain what he'd just done. It was a little like being caught red-handed. "I don't fight, persay. I'm just a fellow trying to survive. No tricks like that up my sleeve. I just do a little quick-thinking on my feet. Think of me like a cook with a recipe for disaster: cooking oil, potatoes, vodka, a kitchen table... and fire."
He patted the weapon at his side. "This sword? Just for show."
Not exactly true. The sword and the mask at his side were just as much a part of him as his wings and thus, not things to be carelessly thrown into battle.
"I hope your - priestly? - upbringing doesn't mean you're a total cad. Or that you'll think I'm a total cad. Nay, I bet you're not a cad - just a spoiled brat." That was his experiences with priests. "Your duties won't help you here. 'Margrave' is just a word to me, and I am certainly not the good and honest of society."
He reached into his bag to check if his wallet was still there. They'd have to find a place to stop eventually. Huh, he still had the forks he nabbed. Maybe they'd come in handy.
"You, on the other hand, need to explain to me what a Fallen Bound is."
Rivek turned as he heard a voice call out behind him. "Ah, Lily of the Furry Ears. Good to see you alive. Had quite a scuffle there, I see?"
He paused to wave, almost forgetting the man on his arm. "Oops! Sorry, mate."LadyFox Lurp waved. "More like AVOIDING scuffles. This" She pointed to the dirt "Is the result of debris and a couple of face plants when I tried to get out of the way too fast. What about you?" She nodded in his direction, closing the distance between them. WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"Does it count if I say I tried to avoid scuffles? It ended in some wonderfully dashing heroics, if I should say so myself. And by dashing heroics, I mean idiotic scrabbling. I'm just glad vodka catches fire."
He smirked, pulling out one of the forks. "I got a souvenir." LadyFox The skin under Lurp's eye twitched at the mention of fire, but she didn't say anything but: "It sounds like there is quite a story behind that. I would love to hear you tell it someday." Lurp grinned stupidly. "I'm glad the idiotic scrabbling was successful. I'd hate to hear that a not-friend of mine got hurt." It was idiotic to smile at all. Why should she be relieved that Rivek and Seist were (well in Seist's case mostly} alright? Whether she should or not though, she was. "Some damned harpy is going to have to eat with her hands now I suppose." Ensia 
Pursuing Sylith through the sky, Pahkakino conjured his flame to heat the air around him, giving his wings better lift. His thirteenth child flew in desperation away from the patriarch he betrayed.
"Traitor! Kinslayer!! MURDERER!!" Pahkakino bellowed, reaching out and snaring the younger demon's foot in his claws. Biting into the flesh, the sharp nails extending with the enraged demon's will.
In a turn of instinct, Sylith turned and locked his claws in Pahkakino's wings, "You are weak! Your disgusting white eyes! You are no demon! You're the traitor!" He yelled back, baring his fangs and striking like a snake for his father's throat.
With a scream of heartache, Pahkakino brought his wings close, fouling Sylith's wings as well. Locked together, falling in a rain of their own blood, the two demons fought to keep the other's fangs from finding purchase in flesh.
As the axel of commerce came into view, both males broke away from each other, soaring back into the dark sky. Pahkakino was panting heavily, a gash in his shoulder bleeding heavily. Several tears ran through his wings, but his lilly white eyes were hard and cold as they stared down the younger demon.
Sylith was a mess of blood, one obsidian horn had been snapped at the roots. His pale blue hair was streaked with blood, but his fangs and claws were dark with the life-blood of his sire.
"You may be my father, but I'm still a 13th born, Pahkakino!" Sylith spat, charging forward, claws and fangs bared. As he neared the red-skinned demon, electricity crackled along his form, sealing shut the massive wounds. "I have more power and energy than you could ever have old one!!" His red eyes glittered with manic power.
Pahkakino held his ground as the lightning coursed through the night sky towards him. In a blinding flash, the crackling white energy hit the elder demon. Sylith cackled in victory, waiting for his father to fall.
"You may be a thirteenth..." Pahkakino's voice was low, and his eyes began to glow, outshining even the lightning that fought to touch his skin. "But I am still your father." Searing white fire exploded off the red demon's skin, sending Sylith's attack to the scattered stars. "And you will pay for murdering your sister!"
Pushing his torn wings to carry him forward, the red demon again locked claws with his son. Sylith's mind was an open book to him, each action, each thought displayed effortlessly before Pahkakino's eyes. Sylith's retorts and threats were lost to the patriarch's ears as they fought through the air, lightning shooting off and fire flaring.
Sylith reached out and took hold again of Pahkakino's shoulder, aiming to bite again.
"Foolish child." Pahkakino whispered, using his tail to break the offending arm. Taking the chance, the red demon reached forward, and sank his fangs into Sylith's throat.
'My son. My precious child. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.' he thought, letting the words and feelings flow into the thirteenth child's mind. As Sylith's body went limp, tears coursed down Pahkakino's face, mingling with the blood. Holding his son's body, the dead-yet-reborn white-eyed demon howled in misery and pain.Jenannen Avery didn’t have to wonder why the celestial would be sorry to hear he had a wife. He thinks I’m dead, Avery thought bitterly. So we’re back to that, a mental sigh.
Though his companion had once again halted their progress towards the town to look at him, Avery did not turn to meet his gaze. Peripherally he caught sight of the celestial fingering a pendant, but wonder was quickly replaced with indignation at the celestial’s words.
“I see no reason to send a message with you, I’m going to figure out where I am and I’m going to get back to her!” The words came out more sharply than the celestial’s reply warranted, but Avery was angry. He had approached the celestial for information on his whereabouts and instead he was assailed with words of his death. Avery strode resolvedly toward the town. Jalil
 The commotion above her head caught her attention and Devaena tilted her head upward. Two demons fought above her. It looked like the entire multiverse was going mad in this place. Then again, demons would be demons. Their own inborn natures led them to infight and bicker. They usually lacked the subtlety or patience of the baatezu and they certainly lacked the finesse of the 'loths. As the red skinned demon made the killing blow Devaena clapped slowly, a hollow, passionless, and perhaps even in his grief mocking rhythm. She waited for the sound to catch his attention, for him to realize someone had seen his performance so she could gauge his reaction. She had not even seen him crying yet, perhaps it was better for the both of them. However she could tell something was off. He hadn't bloody tore his opponent to shreds or gathered some gruesome trophy of his victory from the corpse. Now Devaena was curious. "An enemy falls?" she finally said aloud.WoefulInfinity | Rivek Ailinar |
"One day. It's a good one." It was good to see her smile. "I'll tell it when there's a good lot of food in front of us."
Rivek raised an eyebrow, "I thought harpies don't have hands." Finoewae
Teagan suddenly jumped as a woman ran past her, calling to the men she was following.
Lord, another one!? I'm never going to get this report done...
She crept towards the group faster, closing in the distance on them. The new woman in the group sounded upset. Maybe she'd say something of value about the invasion last night. It was hard to hear though, because as misfortune might have it, a flock of gulls flew over head for three agonizing minutes, surely to torture Teagan.
"Christ..." she muttered. "This job is getting completely ridiculous."Cartagia Rebecca gave Alkhar a puzzled look.
"Someone?" she said, and moved to help him as he stood, adding; "Rather than wasting money on drink, I suggest we find some place you can rest and allow the...injury to heal." If he felt he needed she would allow him to rest some of his weight on her shoulder as she helped him along, towards whatever the nearest place with spare rooms was.
"Then maybe I will buy you another drink," she relented slightly. She just needed to focus on what was happening right now, not think about the past...about what she'd left behind... Ensia
Twitching at the words from below, Pahkakino grit his teeth, and called up his fire once more. He had seen creatures here that resembled demons, and he would not have his son, traitor though he was, become a meal for another. Holding the corpse close, the grieving demon waited until the last scrap of bone had been reduced to a soft ash before turning to the speaker.
From his place in the sky, Pahkakino could only tell it was a woman. As he descended to the ground of the island once more, not bothering to wipe away his tears, the demon shook his head. "Yes, and no. He was an enemy in that he killed his family, but he was also my child."
Taking a deep breath, willing his energy to flow through his body to heal his wounds, Pahkakino could feel the drain of the fight, and his instinct to survive growled loudly in his head. "Who are you?" he asked the female. She smelled sort of like a demon, but he was in no mood for a puzzle.
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