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 Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:33 pm
Katya's anticipation of further orders from Master Hania was broken by the sound of tense voices nearby. The squires, near as she could tell, had dispersed into a rough approximation of a very loose skirmish line, although some had paired together in some form or another. This made the patrol less effective, but they were some miles from the cave yet, and probably weren't anticipating contact so soon. They were sufficiently separated, however, that whoever was speaking wasn't exactly in eye contact. The demon took wing from the branch she was perched on and silently flew between branches to the source of the sound. She recognized one of the voices as their resident infiltrator, and quickened her wingbeats to land in a tree overlooking the commotion, expecting a debacle to be unfolding.
To the red demon's surprise, her compatriot was handling the encounter remarkably well. No bloodbath, no severed limbs. A couple of strange pae, adults, that she'd never seen on her scouting mission were confronting the blood angel, and, remarkably, Lailah's weapons were still completely sheathed.
Katya's however, was not.
Her bow was trained on the interlopers, two barbed, steel arrows nocked and aimed menacingly at each of them. She was terrified of the possibility of ending another Pae's life, but her frail will was bolstered by her faith in the Guardians- and her unshakable loyalty to her comrades. By the Guardians' grace, just walk away!
Her arms were slender, but she held the bow drawn, unwavering, trying to clear her mind and be strong.
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Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:59 pm
What ... were those faeries serious?
Nephi sighed softly to himself.
No wonder they were defective.
Still, it seemed Lailah had them handled, and on top of that, Genesis and Harveer had arrived to continue to pressure the fae, who seemed to be no doubt just dense and not really of any true threat. On top of that, Katya arrived, bow already drawn. He would just ... let them deal with them. For the moment, Nephi knew they had a mission they were on, and since they were handling the fae--who might have been some kind of distraction, maybe, to throw them off guard--Nephi would scout ahead, climbing up a tree and attempting to get a better overhead view of the situation.
He rather gracefully moved from one tree to another, attempting to keep his noise minimal so he would not be heard. Out of his satchel, he fished a small spyglass, pulling it out and using it to look at what was ahead on the trail.
It didn't seem they were too far from their goal now, the cave visible up ahead. Of course, there already seemed to be some heretics over there, Nephi making out what looked to be two teenaged earth heretics being chased by a rather overburdened adult heretic. That just made her easier to take down if it was necessary.
Eyes scanned over the rest of the scene, despite the gnawing he felt growing in his throat. What was that horrid feeling, eating at his chest? The more he stood there, the more he felt like sinking into himself, turning around and running back out of the forest back to the safety of the Falassion Healing House. He knew he could not--he could not stand by any longer, and had to put his best foot forward for the Guardians--but it ate at him, and on occasion, he looked behind himself, wondering when it was about time he should turn tail and head back to the others. Whatever was out there, it was probably better faced together.
Still, he needed to see the whole scene first, and so, with a silent gulp, Nephi looked over the rest of the scene, eventually spotting what ... looked to be another heretic, though those antlers were ... very peculiar. What was with a glowing faun? And why was she talking to a shetani and demon? Were they under threat?
He eyed the other faun arriving supiciously, before scanning over the rest of the scene.
The fae were that deeply involved already? Of course.
With a silent snort at the teenaged fae touching her hands to the barrier, unaware of that being where the horrid feeling in his chest was coming from, Nephi took off once again, moving to rejoin the others--though still from the trees--so they could move out.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 9:13 pm
"No apologies needed," offered Texas, softly.
"Frankly, I'm glad I was able to be of any comfort."
Texas knew as well as anyone else that a nice helping of false platitudes felt good at the time, but they certainly didn't do much good in the long run. Usually, Texas just ended up feeling worse, especially when he had gotten his hopes up due to the encouragement the platitudes had given, only to find them dashed without a second thought within days, weeks, months, it would eventually happen... it always had.
He wasn't going to do that to Takeko, especially with a subject so serious.
What she said beyond that was what got his attention the most, though. What did she mean, think she'd be used to it? No one ever really got used to losing someone, but considering in all the time he had known her, he had never seen her lose anything, it was a statement that hit him as odd and he couldn't help but to listen a bit closer as she spoke. They weren't the first? The who was the first?
Texas wanted to ask, and the question was begging to tumble out of his lips, but the moment was gone before he could, the scream reaching his ears as well. It was rather faint--he had nothing like the hearing of Magnus' son or the one who had helped father him--but it was certainly distinct, and it was a bit alarming. So much for the area being peaceful?
With ease, the demon let the angel draw closer, wings fanning out in a protective instinct as she neared. He didn't know, but something causing that kind of scream couldn't necessarily be good. The sense of foreboding that was starting to eat at his spine certainly didn't help that, his mind interpreting it as a sign that there had to be danger close by, making him draw a bit closer and a bit more defense.
"Should we go check it out?"
Texas wanted to get to the bottom of what Takeko had been about to tell him, but he knew that Takeko would never spend the time to focus on herself when someone else might be in danger she could help. He was much the same way.
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Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:06 pm
Letting them leave was the furthest thing from Lailah's mind, given her built up fury, however, her Knightly training was asserting itself and told her that she had more important things to do than to tarry with foolish Fae. She was about to say so, when a swiftly moving blur entered the edge of her vision. Turning towards it, she dropped to one knee without hesitation, already having dismissed the Fae as harmless idiots. "Master Hania!"
Having taken note of the disturbances long ago, the Squires' Fighting instructor, and leader for this mission, had chosen to hold back at first, watching his students in action to see how they dealt with the problem. But, by this point, he'd seen more than enough. His expression was stern, though he hardly looked at his students now, only a brief nod towards Lailah and the others, as his glare rested upon the pair of Fae.
"Lailah, Harveer, Genesis. Your work is done here; you've done well, but there is more important work to be done before the day is through. Continue as you were," he nodded briefly in the direction they'd been traveling, where Katya now waited, covering them with a notched bow. "I shall catch up soon."
Eager to get away from the two Faes before she could give into her darker urges and destroy what praise she had just earned from her favorite instructor, Lailah nodded swiftly and rose, moving off without giving the fools a second glance. She noted Katya's position up in the tree with bow and twin arrows drawn, and gave her a subtle nod of approval before moving by beneath. She'd passed the tree that Katya was in and paused, glancing at a sapling she was about to pass with a focused stare. In a movement too swift to follow as more than a blur, she whipped one blade from its sheath and made a single, smooth slash in the air. The top half of the sapling balanced precariously for a moment, then slowly toppled and fell to the forest floor below. With a deep, cleansing breath, she sighed, forcing the tension from her form with the strike, and now calmly sheathing the blade once more. "Let's go."
Hania only half watched the Squires take their leave, noting that Lailah had surprisingly managed to keep her cool for the most part of her dealings with the Fae, baring that short outburst with that poor sapling...but he was proud of her for lasting that long, considering the circumstances.
He may not remain so calm himself.
"As for you two," the little Avalon fairy darted upwards, hovering in the faces of the two adults so that they couldn't retreat. Less than a foot tall, he somehow managed to radiate authority...power...and anger. "You who claim such loyalty to the Guardians, and yet, do not honor their way or their teachings. You dare to disrespect the Chosen Ones, selected by the Guardians themselves to be trained to fight and save this land from darkness. They will rise to earn and claim their titles through training, trials, and adversity; they are working for all they hope to gain. All in the name of serving the Guardians and the faithful Pae'il of Telrunya."
He couldn't hide his disgust if he wanted to. "To see such disrespect for your future leaders...I'm appalled. If this is what the Isle has come to," he spat, waving a hand in the general direction of the two Fae with a sneer, "then I pray that they're not already too late to save us all. And for both of your sakes, I would pray to the Guardians for their mercy. And perhaps for Lailah's as well, should the angel reach her place of power and remember this day and both of you," he ended on a menacing note.
He stared them over for a minute, thinking to himself, Failures back then...and it seems that things never change. He shook his head, hovering a little higher. "As tempted as I am to have you incarcerated simply for your disrespect and abhorrent behavior, I'm sad to say that I don't have the time nor resources right now. We really do have much more important work to do. I would suggest you take the advice given to you and leave. Do not seek us out again, because I will not tolerate further disrespect to their names. Get out of my sight."
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Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:09 pm
Earthmother flared her cloak open, pushing it back so she could put a hand on her hip, exposing her earned battle scars and merits in the flowering vines adorning her body. She wasn't showing off, but had hoped it'd be intimidating enough they'd not start trouble should their intentions not be of benevolent intent. Hopefully not all modern Pae'il were ignorant to the symbols and tokens of accomplishment.
"Well, there's many unexplored crevices along the Rim (the high cliff wall that marks the border between the mountains and the forest). I believe I seen one just down that way. May have had that gold you were looking for. Have you tried the Falls yet? Sometimes fragments make their way down from the mountains." She motioned North towards Mereth Falls, pointing with her staff. Sending them to a different location was the ideal solution.
However, a familiar face stumbled forward catching her completely off-guard. Faun are gossipy creatures, and while she only just sent word off to the chief and his Circle, that word was simply, 'stay alert, we may need assistance in Loka Nei Forest' with no details on why. "Faroth." she said with an acknowledging nod. "You are out far from the Tree today." She was making small talk, curious why he'd be this far deep in Loka Nei on this of all days, tagging along with a couple of Blood Pae'il. This location was dense with jungle vegetation, with no walking paths because it simply did not get a lot of traffic from the denizens of Telrunya. "You have business with these fine gentlemen?" She knew the youngster (young to her) to be more of the "worldly" type among the faun, and was a friendly sort. She also knew her son was quite fond of the boy, so she had no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary from him.
She needed to find out why today that this specific location was attracting attention. Thara and her had done nothing out of the ordinary that they hadn't done hundreds of times prior. The Guardians.
Maybe having Faroth here would work to her benefit. Though she needed to find a way to relay to him that he needs to keep this little meeting a secret, without the others hearing her.
She chanced a glance over her shoulder at Thara, and noticed the poor girl looked tired. She wondered if perhaps something was wrong in her spell, and instead of repelling Pae, it was attracting them.
((As a note, I'm not tagging specific individuals because everyone who wants to participate in this RP has to read my posts. I'm making them Ornate so they stand out. If you want a specific response from either Earthmother or Thara, please tag me, or I will assume your Pae'il is doing their own thing.
There is a chance that some Pae'il will go unnoticed, but that's okay. The point of this RP is to expose the characters to the first events that will start the war. We're weighing interest and keeping a list of Pae'il present and how they respond to the prompts and conditions. That's all I'll reveal because I'd rather authentic RP then people just doing what they think we want to see.
It's okay for Pae'il to be coming towards the cave, but they shouldn't be going there specifically or knowingly cuz "everyone's going there", or I'm going to start misdirecting Pae to somewhere else.
Cronos does not have knowledge of this exact universe. So anything she claims is from an alternate parallel universe so please take information from her with a grain of salt.))
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 12:29 am
Looking to Aquos, Celestia was mildly impressed by how calmly he seemed to be taking all this: strange talk of other worlds, evil, and family. She herself had been quite thoroughly confused with her first acquaintance of Coronus, and even now she found it difficult to really understand what most of what she said meant. Naturally, her own talk of feelings and spirits must sound just as confusing to anyone not familiar with it, and she felt a bit silly bringing it up. Did using the term give validity to what she did? Was that why she had chosen to use it?
Adressing Luna, she shrugged lightly. "It would appear as such, though perhaps they were also told why they are to be here. That much, I wish to know..." Sighing and shaking her head with another shrug, she looked at Aquos as he offered to escort them. Oh, how ironic? First the ball, now this, certainly nothing could go wrong!
Choosing carefully what to speak, trying to not give anything about her husband's identity away, she couldn't help but make a soft, snide comment under her breath to him. "Because that proved effective for one at the ball..." Nodding once, as if she hadn't said anything, she raised her voice to a normal level, "As you wish; we shall proceed at once in that..." she motioned in the direction of the cave, which she personally had not noticed they were so close to, "...direction." Pausing a moment, she began walking forward, going slowly until they matched her speed, then at a regular pace.
Soon enough, they approached a clearing at the edge of the forest, a very dark, ominous cave looming ahead of them. Was this the source of that horrible feeling in the air? The princess looked around, trying to find someone she recognized in the strange mass of pae that was starting to form. As she noticed a pair of antlers, she immediately headed that way, only getting the attention of the other two faun, choosing to ignore the demon for the moment, as she neared closer. "Do you know why such a feeling fills the air? Or why one might be meant to be here?" The latter question was a reference as to why the spirits might have encouraged her to come this way, in case they might understand.
Strange... The larger female looked very similar to Rais... She couldn't be one Belvah often talked of, could she?(I'm assuming that Celestia has never actually met Earthmother before >>)
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 12:50 am
Sunny Jones had been staying on the side lines watching what was going on. It really did not make much sense but it looked like two pae were guarding the cave though the younger one seemed to be tired may be she could help. The wave of despair that came over her really did not seem to effect her she had always had a few of the dead in despair which sometimes would cause her to have the same feeling. She had learned to tell what were her emotions and what were the emotions that were brought on by other things like curses or the dead.
Getting to her feet she walked out of the foliage and towards the young girl the dead seemed to be ok with this so they were mostly quiet. From her pack she pulled out some dried fruit that was in a bag. "Umm These fruits are good at keeping up your energy. “ she said holding out the bag to the girl “Umm I could also help you defend this place.” she hoped to sound freindly and not suspicious.
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:36 am
((I'll reply with EM after replies from those she spoke to.))
Thara pulled a hand away to wipe her brow. This was exhausting work and she cursed quietly to herself why she couldn't just go full power yet. She knew the reason, she agreed with the reason, but she didn't like it.
When an Angel in a hat approached her with offerings of snacks, her instincts and immediate reaction were not friendly. She scowled. "Get out of here. You shouldn't be here," she snarled, the exhaustion making her crabbier than is usual. "I will let my dragon out to eat you if you don't leave NOW." Thara tried to scare her away.
The nerve of this interloper. What is going on today? How did this Angel know if they were defending anything? Thara could be trying to break in to the cave for all this Angel knew. "If you value your life, you don't want to meet my dragon." Thara could easily force her away, but not with this much energy draining on her system. She broke her connection to the barrier and fell to her knees, panting.
How is she resisting the despair aura? This made the teen highly suspicious. With some effort, she turned to look at Earthmother, noting several Pae'il addressing her now. The Guardians found out.
Panic rose in her gut. If the Guardians' army was coming, this was bad. She was nearly exhausted and Earthmother wasn't exactly in peak fighting condition. Ela could easily be hurt, but she also hoped that even a Guardian loyalist wouldn't hurt a child.
She'd do what she was always meant to do. Defend this cave with her life. She'd go down honorably, doing her duty if they were outmatched by an army.
((Thara is not nice to strangers. sweatdrop It's built-in to her character that she's bitchy, stubborn, and overly protective, and only nice to her friends. ))
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:52 am
Astra looked at the Mellon in front of her and shrunk back a little "Just because someone doesn't agree..." Astra started and then sighed, deciding to say nothing it would just be easier that way "alright sir, got it" she said as she looked over at Nyx "you alright with this as well?" She asked curiously, deciding to talk to her once they had left, the less they knew what she was thinking the better.
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:22 am
The farther East that Azure traveled (and the closer he unknowingly got to the ominous cave), the more Azure was starting to feel despair that he wouldn't find Dyas' cave. Despair wasn't necessarily an unusual feeling for the blue pae. He would stare at every crevice and rock-covered cave entrance, but he knew they weren't it, or even if they were it, there wasn't any chance she lived in it anymore. Azure was almost ready to turn around, he had surely gone the wrong direction, when he saw some commotion going on up ahead. Something about dragons? His ears flicked. Azure had read fairy tales about dragons when he was young, stories filled with magic but they couldn't really exist could they? Azure's sense of wonder and love of magic was intrigued by the thought. The closer he got to the strange pae (Thara) that had made the threats the stronger that the feeling of despair became. He even began to question why he felt that way, was his gut trying to tell him something? Azure could see the opening of a cave behind the strange pae now as he drew even closer. Had this been Dyas cave? Nooo... it didn't seem right. "Is this your cave?" Azure forwardly asked the strange pae, quickly followed by, "You can''t really have a dragon... can you?" Azure's voice sounded solemn, like he had no hope that a dragon could truly exist.
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 2:41 pm
Genesis had her entire focus on the two fae, waiting to see if they would do as she had asked, and didn't notice the Fighting instructor until she saw Lailah move. Genesis head turned, instinctively bowed taking cue from the other female. Her golden eyes jumped up to confirm who it was, she had already assumed it must be Master Hania since he was the only one who would be deserving of their respect. Genesis bit her lip, she knew this side-ramble had just been a distraction from their true mission, but Genesis wished that they hadn't needed to be 'rescued' by their teacher. "Yes sir." Genesis said softly as she returned to a normal stature and followed after Lailah, leaving the fairy to make sure the two fae didn't follow. "Should we halt and reassemble, or press onward towards the cave?" She asked Lailah and the nearby Katya as she looked around them to see if she could spot or hear their other companions. Genesis was conflicted as she felt like they had done enough waiting... but they also needed to do this together.
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:37 pm
As Nephi arrived back, closer to his group, he noticed that Hania had quite ... handily handled the two obnoxious fae. One of them seemed to get the message, at least, no longer acting like idiots to those they should honor. It was good enough for him.
Maybe it was time to get moving.
Catching that Genesis, Katya, and Lailah were grouping together, Nephi hopped down from his perch to join him, using his wings to stabilize himself as he landed. For not necessarily being the strongest of the Squires--spending so long in the Falassion Healing House, there was no way he could have been, right?--he certainly seemed to be rather nimble on his feet, and rather dexterous on top of that, pulling a spyglass out of his satchel once again.
"I advise we get moving. I do not think we will have the cover of being unknown for too much longer." He glanced ahead, pointing in the direction where he had seen the cave. "Something feels very wrong from there. That is likely where the heretics are hiding their weapon. There are many faun over there, one with strange ... glowing orbs on her head."
Was that a more powerful heretic, or was she simply a mutant?
After a moment of silence, the demonic squire found it rather fit to add that there were more than just heretics he had spotted at the scene. "There seems to be a fae with the enemy. I do not know if they are in cahoots."
Nephi was rather proud of the observations he made, and perhaps that showed by the way he stood a bit more confidently than someone who was just running around in tree branches was normally capable of. Still, he seemed confident in his observations, too, especially as he pulled the spyglass out once again and put it up to his eye, as if attempting to peer through the trees.
"We should arrive before we become outnumbered. They may already be aware we are coming." Emphasizing his point couldn't hurt.
Was he excited?
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:49 pm
"Than should we not ask them? Would that not be the best course of action?" Luna protested, still curious as to why they were all here. She had spotted several faunies along the way as well and for once was glad Justmo was too ashamed of his predicament to really come out.
Her attention had been distracted a brief moment and her ears fell deaf to the quiet remark she had given Aquos, though the sudden shift back to a royal voice caught her once again and she shot the pair of them a questioning gaze. But now it seemed they were going closer towards the cave and her sister waisted no time in doing so. "I do hope this wont take long sister dear, I would not like to upset the children." she said, though it was more to herself should she somehow end up being gone forever. She was sure that it would be her the one upset if she wasn't able to get back to her three bundles soon. How motherhood made one change in mysterious ways....
When Celestia led them to a faun that looked similar to Rais, Luna quirked a brow and stopped beside her sister. Justmo had not told her of a she-faun such as this, Luna would have been sure to have remembered. She looked important and spoke powerfully. The dark Princess had to wonder if this was not this land's version of a Princess. But to be covered in vines and scars.... battle Princess? It was all still very curious to her and she glanced around at the others that her sister had met before to study their faces.
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:13 pm
Pelagious gave a loud shriek as the edge of his own weapon was jabbed in his back. Glaring at the leafy wiinged thing, he bent down to pick her up. "Great. Now we;re both stuck with her." he muttered. Tamara had accomplished her mission. Now she could rest. If the blue nymph would ever stop crying. He was seriously starting to soak her. Turning back toward the "fish lady", as her current ride had called her, she gave her a very tremulous smile. "I appreciate all that you have done. May I ask where we are going?" Doomy was currently stooping to collect the small batch of nightshades that had found. It wasn;t until she had shove the last one into her small bag, that she noticed the voices around her. They seemed to be....arguing. Or talking in a very persistant manner. Quietly as she could, she snuck over to the area where the noise had been coming from.
It seemed that a bunch of teenagers were talking with a....mellon!? What in the hell was going on here??
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:39 pm
Leitha growled, smacking Pelagious with the back of her hand. She'd never thought for a second that this would get back to Cadassi.. Hell, even if she did, what was the worst that was going to happen? He'd probably just demand the same treatment.
"Shut it Freak." She snarled, pushing the Spawn and the green winged thing closer to the falls. The naiad could feel her scales drying out. And the roar of the falls... it was almost overwhelming with her thirst. Guardians knew she could use the refreshments from the raging waters. Leitha was almost considering letting them free when she made it to the falls. Almost. She knew better. Spawn and Thing, they weren't going to be going any time soon.
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