Masquerade Part 2.2: Klaatu, Barada... Necktie

[eclipse]

I wish everyone would shut up so that I can sleep, Meredith thought to herself. The new gal wasn't shy about her affections for Makin, which grated on straitlaced Meredith's nerves. Guess I'll continue to look like a tapestry or something, and watch from a distance.

[Juliette]

Heather found herself accompanied by Vesta soon enough at her small post. "Hello there. I was thinking of keeping watch, but..." She gestured at the door with her free hand. "It seems there is no need. We look to be stuck here for the night. Whether that's a blessing and means we escape more combat, or a curse that will keep us trapped, I don't know, as delightful as it would be to find out it's the former. What do you suppose we do?"

[Sandalphon]

Vesta was thankful that the boss hadn't responded to her little outburst. She was interrupted from her busy schedule of silently fuming by the voice of the girl who accompanied her to the door.

"Oh, 'lo there..." she responded, startled by the sudden intrusion into her thoughts, "that door does look pretty heavy 'n all but... well, I'm not gonna lie, I ain't sure about usin' the word 'safe' in any context in regards ta this place. It gives me th' heebie jeebies." She shuddered a little, casting her eyes to the thick iron door. It seemed strong enough to keep anything horrible lurking on the other side out, but she couldn't help but think that maybe it was also keeping them all in as well. "I say we don't leave our guard down for a minute, after all, them beasties we were dealin' with on our way here have to have sprouted out from somewhere an' I can't help feelin' like this place has somethin' to do with that entire mess."

[Xinnidy]

"Ah..." Kadin's expression turned gloom as Makin explained Maja's predicament. The details did not sink immediately, but as Kadin turned to observe Maja it hit harder that she'd gotten some... curse, from the tundra; No doubt by the same mind who's sent the undead to chase them. "Right, I'll take care of her, Makin." Kadin reached his arm out to Maja, patiently waiting for the shaken girl to respond.

Maja was still distraught at the revelation; she was scared of what that would imply to her. Her mind raced through the possibilities. Lina's tales implied how the bloodthirst would take over her, and to Maja that was all but validated; between the fever, nausea and the peculiar hunger that kicked in, Maja felt like she had very little control of herself. She looked up to see Kadin's extended arm and flinched. "...Kadin." Maja was able to acknowledge Kadin call. Acting mostly on thoughtless reaction, Maja grabbed onto Kadin's arm, lifted by his strength and standing up properly.

"Come, let's get some rest. That's enough of a night for you." Kadin wrapped his arms over Maja's shoulder, taking her out of the scene, figuring her to need some personal time for all the current events. Maja did not reply or look up as they walked towards the wagon, to add some concern to Kadin.

[spoiler=To sleep, hopefully.]

"Excuse me, Isabelle?" Kadin regarded as soon as he left the group, Maja still by his side. It was only by the time he got to the wagon that he saw Isabelle had already set up most sleeping bags around outside the cart, with her already asleep inside it. "Tch. So much for that." Kadin spoke under his breath, hoping he could convince Isabelle to let Maja in the cart, even if only at the far back. It would be better for Maja, and probably for the others too. "Sorry, I guess you'll have to sleep out here. I can take your bag further from the cart if you want."

"...Huh?" Maja finally turned her head up, staring at Kadin. "...Oh. I... I don't know. What if I wake up again and..." The thought made Maja shiver, looking back down. Last time she tried to sleep, she woke up abruptly and barely felt in control of herself, the curse kicking in. Maja hoped that was the worst of it, but after the literal bloodthirst kicked in during the fight with the undead, she was too scared to be sure she'd still awake under her own control. "Kadin... I, I don't know how much time I have. What if I'm not going to be myself when I wake up?" Maja stared back at him, "Can... the guy who made that potion must be here, that woman said so. I have to find him, I can't sleep. I'm going to get worse. Kadin, I need to talk to him, he's got to have the antido--"

A finger hovered over her lips, followed by a soft shush. begging Maja to calm down. "Maja, I understand this is really serious, but... no one here is ready to face the man behind all this right now. We're far too worn out. What if you went out there and got caught? Would you have any chance to return to normal then?" Kadin left the questions sink through a moment of silence, then embraced Maja in a hug. "You will be fine, Maja. We will figure this out. You, I, and everybody here. We are here to deal with the people that did this to you, at this point. Have some faith..." Kadin whispered, hoping to give Maja some comfort.

"K-Kadin... Ah!" Maja teared up, returning the embrace; she'd gotten her words caught between her sobbing, pressing against Kadin. "I-I just... what if that's it for me? What if I'm not going to wake up... o-or if I lose myself and... and end up harming you?" Maja did her best to try to control her sobbing, taking a moment to wipe off her tears. "I feel... like this is it for me. It's the worst feeling. What have I even done with my life? I-I'm not meant to...!" Maja's words were broken by her sobbing again, and she buried her head against Kadin.

"Maja, calm down. I need you to trust me." Kadin spoke softly, trying his best to stay strong for Maja, despite his fatigue. "We will get to the end of this, you will be with us. We'll find out how to fix it, and we'll be back out of the tundra as soon as we're done. You, with everyone." He reached his hand to the back of Maja's head, massaging her scalp, "Please, trust me. I won't let you fall to this misfortune, I swear by Him."

Maja had no response that time, hugging Kadin tighter and permeating the silence.

Moments passed, and the hug broke up. Kadin picked up two of the sleeping bags and placed them further from the group, near the stairs. Kadin watched as Maja slipped in and tried to get some sleep, sitting on top of the bag he'd taken for himself. Kadin waited patiently, looking to the group to see if the commotions were settling down as Maja tried to sleep, he could only watch and hope. Once Maja finally gave in to her exhaustion, Kadin moved to kiss her forehead, wishing the girl a calm night of sleep. Giving one last look to the rest of the mercenaries, Kadin followed suit and went to sleep at last.

[Juliette]

"Yes, perhaps 'blessing' was a bit too hopeful of a term," Heather agreed. "That said, we do seem to have earned ourselves something of a respite. Of course, we should still be careful, but losing sleep over it could also be dangerous, should we be less alert during battle when we wake. A compromise might be the wisest course of action here."

The archer picked up one of the sleeping bags, setting it by the stairs. "We can stay more ready this way while still getting some good shut-eye, perhaps. They're over by the wagon, if you want to join me... Isabelle laid them out." Her part said, Heather put her equipment to the side and situated herself comfortably in the bag before drifting off.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Juliette

[eclipse]

"Someone's gotta be some sort of watch," Meredith said sleepily, as she grabbed the first sleeping bag she could get her hands on. "So I'll be over here." She found a spot that looked to be comfortable and a bit off to the side, and fell asleep.

[SB.]

Angus was expecting... uh, after the room with Lina, he wasn't sure what exactly. But the room they entered seemed rather plain - just a spear and a chest stood in the corner. He expected that it would be locked, but it actually came open fairly easily.

Too easily, in fact.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it. A dart flew from the inside of the chest and pierced his left sleeve. "Shiiiit." He shook his arm around and tried to pull the dart out, realising only afterwards that it might not have been the best idea. From what he saw, there was a bunch of medicine in the chest, which made the situation kind of ironic.

---

Sonia was just glad there wasn't another talking box or some other, equally unreasonable thing. Unless the chest was going to get up and try to eat them like something out of a cheap adventure novel, it looked like there was nothing there but treasure.

She turned her attention to a lance that almost looked new. Or at least, not nearly old enough to be unusable. Which would probably have strange if not for everything else that had happened in the last day or so (Had it been more than a day? Who could tell). She decided that whoever put it there would probably not miss it, and if they did, they should have thought of that before hiding it in a cursed castle.

She didn't hear the dart, but she did hear Angus's reaction to it. "What was that? Some kind of trap?" Of course there would be traps. "Are you okay?"

---

"There was a dart that came out of the chest." he explained, pointing towards his sleeve. "It... stings a bit, but I think it'll be alright?" He wasn't super sure, but the healers seemed to be occupied.

"Maybe you should get the next one." he suggested. "Uh, because you probably have a better chance of spotting it." he added hastily. He wasn't trying to use her as a shield or anything.

"Okay, but keep an eye on it." Even if the healers were busy (or cannibalistic, as the case may be), they still had that medicine.

The lock on the eastern door was somewhat more complicated than the others, which probably should have been a red flag in itself. Which she only barely picked up on. "Er... You might want to step back a bit, I'm not sure what could happen here."

Sure enough, the lock clicked, but she still wasn't sure if it was trapped or not. She slowly pushed it open (finally mentally prepared to accept the role of Meat Shield), and... Nothing. No darts, no cloud of poison, no oversized spikes, just some strange device that was fairly easy to ignore. And, perhaps more importantly, another chest that, after a quick examination, didn't seem to be trapped in any way. "This one should be safe."

"I'll take your word for it." he replied, still looking around the room in case there was some kind of trick he missed. "I guess we can just open it." He couldn't find anything (and more importantly Sonia didn't spot anything) so maybe this room was actually clear.

Surprisingly, the chest was safe and (unfortunately) mostly empty. "Just a gem and... whatever this thing is," she said, looking over the transient curse. "Something magical? It doesn't seem to be dangerous..." No more dangerous than anything else in there, at least. Which wasn't saying much. "I guess Isabelle might know more about it?"

"Yeah, or maybe Vri-" Oh. In all the chaos, he'd kind of forgotten all about Vriska. Ken too, for that matter. "Let's just look at the last room." Hopefully Sonia would just let the subject drop, he didn't really want to think about it.

"R-right. The last room."

Sonia wasn't entirely sure what was going on with the lock on the last door, but it seemed to unlock like any other. In spite of that, she felt more uneasy about opening it than she had about the others, whether because of that reminder of those two, or the proximity to the Box Room, or just the possibility of more traps. After careful examination, she determined that the room only contained a book. "It should be safe now. I didn't see anything else."

"Well, that's... good?" It was kind of disappointing, but at least it wasn't trying to kill them. "What's the book for, anyway?"

"Looks like it's about that cube." Good as the timing was, it seemed like they couldn't avoid dealing with the thing any longer.

"I see. So they found a demon thing, stuffed them in a box and then wrote a book about it?" He tried to laugh it off, but it was weird. Really weird. And kind of unnerving.

"Well, when you put it that way..." A being of untold power and probably unspeakable evil, and someone was able to put it in a box. The book would be a good read, if nothing else.

"...We should probably go back." Hopefully the others had figured out whatever they were gonna do with Lina, and Angus could get his hand looked at.

"That should be all of it, right? Unless there's some other room we missed?"

"I don't think so." Angus shrugged. "Maybe there's something in a wall or something, but..." That wasn't exactly likely.

"If there's anything like that, we should probably wait for the others. There's no telling how far it could go." That didn't stop her from looking, of course; considering everything else in there it was unlikely that there weren't more secret passages. In the end, she found nothing. "If there's anything else, I can't find it."

"Well, let's hope you're right." Angus sighed. "Have we got everything? I'm gonna go back."

Sonia checked the items one last time, "That should be everything, yes. Thanks for the help."

"Don't worry about it." Angus shrugged, walking back towards the others. She'd done most of the hard work anyway, all Angus had managed to do was fuck over his hand.

[Nanami Touko]

Ingverd groaned, shook his head, crossed his arms and collapsed back against the nearby wall. After a short moment, he waved a hand, sighing. "Sorry... I'm a bit high strung, right now. Lotta stuff has happened that you wouldn't know about, so another surprise was just... The straw that broke the naga's back, y'know?" He pushed back off the wall, taking a glance out into the main room, and then back to the conversation. "Looks like everyone's settling down to sleep, or checking out the other rooms. Considering no one's screamed yet, we should be fine. I'm... Gonna go to sleep too. Those terms don't mean anything to me, so I'll leave it to you, boss." Ingverd slipped out of the room, not wanting to talk much, anymore. He snagged himself a sleeping bag from the cart, tried his best not to disturb anyone, and settled down nearby to Valha and Lanos, not wanting to disturb their moment either. Tomorrow will be better... Probably.

Makin let Ingverd talk and say his piece, meanwhile thinking hard on the terms. She'd heard Tenebrae before, definitely. Some... God of strife, or something. Which would make her some sort of demon? Maybe Ingverd's comment wasn't far off. But Ungeist was a term lost on her. Maybe some library in Felson had a book on them. Whatever they were, she claimed not to mean either of them any harm. That was good enough, right now, for Makin. She did her best to ignore the... Gestures, though. She's even more stacked than I am... She shook her head. "Alright then, Lina... We'll get you some proper clothes in the morning, and then we can figure this castle out. Will you help us against whoever's running this horror show?" Well, she said help, but Makin had little idea of what Lina could actually do. She'd have to find out in the morning. "I'm sleeping, either way. You're free to join us, there's plenty of bags... Hope you sleep well, having finally gotten out of there, Lina."

Makin slithered off, trying to find-- "Ah, Raith..." She hesitated for a moment, creeping up to him, before gently placing her hand on his chest. "You... Wanna go to sleep? I wouldn't mind the extra heat." She smiled a bit, and then backed off some. "I'll be in the corner, so... Feel free to join me, or not. Either's fine. I know that, uhm... Things are sort of dire, right now, so I'd understand if you want some space. See you in the morning." That said, Makin picked up a blanket instead of a bag, and curled up in the corner, placing it over herself. Maybe some sleep would do her good.

[Ether]

"Of course. I have more reason to want him gone than any of you do, anyway." Lina replied, as Makin slithered off, looking around the area herself. It was bloody cold, was what it was. And this farcically thin excuse for a dress wasn't helping matters, any. It was Lina'a natural instinct to wander over to the covered wagon, though she noted the young vampire girl laying on the stairs, as she was about to enter. Poor girl really didn't seem ready for any of this, huh...? Taking a moment to bend down and ruffle Maja's hair, giving her a light kiss on the forehead, hoping to impart some good dreams on the girl. Lina could tell at a touch how strong her natural magicks were... she might have trouble getting through that, but maybe a bit of positive would slip through...

Speaking of positive, that was the end of such things, as soon as Lina stepped into the wagon proper. A lone elf was sleeping in the wagon, curled up in a sleeping bag, practically radiating disdain and negativity. By the Gods, this girl was practically a battery, Lina could already feel her strength increasing just being near this one. It was more than enough to settle that, as Lina snuck her way into the elf's sleeping bag, cuddled herself up against the sleeping elf for warmth, and dozed off herself. This was nice~

Edited February 1, 2016 by Satin. Dark Lord of Fabric

[riariadne]

Sleep did not come easy for Valha.

No, while she had closed her eyes, she was still listening intently. And she didn't like what she'd heard, for the most part. Servant of a god... that's not right at all. No, I don't like her, not one bit! The little harpy restrained herself from growling. No, she can't fool me... she's up to no good, I'm sure of it! If the boss doesn't get it, then I'll just have to keep an eye on her myself. Other conversations didn't catch her interest as much, and she began to genuinely drift off until Ingverd laid down near her. "Ingverd," she spoke up quietly. "We... you and me need to talk. Tomorrow, okay?" She once again reached out, poking his nose gently and smiling after what felt like a long time of being angry. "Sleep well, you guys..."

[scorri]

Trist nodded. "It's all just... Ugh. I mean, I signed up for adventure, to see new things, but this is just... Well, I guess Makin knows best but still. Nothing here makes me feel ok and, well..." He sighed and looked out over the group. "Aaaand almost everyone is asleep already. Ah well. You get your stuff all together. I'll keep first watch I guess."

[Vestige]

"Ah, uh... yeah, I'll be there in a minute... or two," he mumbled. He found it hard to say no, given the circumstances. Seemed like it would have been the other way around, but survival wasn't certain, and if they didn't make it out, he didn't want to die feeling bitter about things. That said, he wasn't in any rush to doze off just yet, so he made his way over to Ophelia to pass some time.

Ophelia was curled up by her lonesome, quite a ways away from the rest of the group. No doubt it was less out of consideration for the others, and more so just not wanting to be disturbed herself. He glossed his fingers along her scales, and felt a cold wave wash over them. She was quick to respond, snarling, and swatting at him with her tail. An expression of draconic affection, as he'd come to conclude. "Oh quiet, you. You think you're going to scare me after I got a look at those monsters outside? Hel, need I remind you that I've looked into the jaws of a wyvern, into the jaws of death?" he teased. Ophelia ceased her theatrics at once, and decided that ignoring him would be the fastest way of getting him to leave. But as she had come to learn time and time again, with Raith, everything was an exercise of patience.

He spent some time talking to her, reminiscing about days long past, and talking about plans for the future. "Hey, you have any brothers or sisters? I did. I told you about her, right? She would have liked you a lot, y'know," he said. "Here's an idea. If we're ever in the area, you can have a family reunion and tell them all about the stuff you've seen," he joked. He never studied in-depth what dragon familial structure might be like. Did dragons live by themselves, or did they live in communities? Did Ophelia even have siblings to begin with? What about her parents? Were they still alive? "Now that I think about it, your parents must have been something else. Elite dragon warriors by the looks of it. You should introduce me to them sometime." Ophelia snorted at that. "You're right, actually, that's a horrible idea. They'd probably eat me..."

"Well, send them my regards. I'll be taking my leave now, your majesty," he said, petting her head. He quietly made his way back to the wagon and grabbed himself a sleeping bag. Not the most comfortable of sleeping arrangements, but it beat sleeping on the stone floor--or in a saddle for that matter. He found Makin tucked away in the corner of the room. She'd been through a lot. They all had, but her especially. One of her subordinates perished en route, and another deserted them, likely meeting the same fate. Couple that with the added emotional stress she was going through, no thanks to himself of course and then top that off with the magic she was haphazardly slinging around now, and it was a wonder how she was still functional. "Crazy... " he muttered. He stripped himself of his armor, and laid down next to her. Aren't we all, though.

[Oersted]

It had taken the last scraps of Lanos' self-restraint, along with the fact that he'd already climbed into his sleeping bag, to not take up Vesta's threat there and then. Instead, he'd let out something akin to a primal growl and tried to block out all other noise as he struggled to get comfortable in the sleeping bag, even more steamed than before. Around the time when he finally began to settle into his sleeping bag, Valha joined him on the ground; he didn't have a response for her other than mumbling something unintelligible and rolling over to face the wall, falling asleep a moment or two later.

[algae]

By the time they finished looting, most of the party was either asleep or at each other's throats, so Sonia decided that they probably wouldn't mind if she just quietly dropped the portion she was carrying off and then brought it up in the morning. There wasn't really any reason to interrupt their rest (or get involved in a fight), and besides, this meant that they'd wake up to treasure (And more importantly, the knowledge that people didn't explode themselves or their surroundings in the search for said treasure). She left everything except the book by the wagon and grabbed a sleeping bag, relocating to a part of the room with ample light. Sleep would probably come eventually, but whatever was in the book was far more appealing than trying to do so this close to several traps. Even if they were disarmed.

[Nanami Touko]

"Talk, huh?" Ingverd mused back, nodding absently, and rolling over. But what to talk about, I wonder... Maybe she's still mad at me over stealing her cube. I guess we'll see...

"You sure? Alright, then... Wake me up if you need a swap." With her own bag in hand, and everyone else seeming to have gotten their own already, Alicia hopped in and did her best to doze off.

"Raith...?" a groggy Makin mumbled as she felt weight against her, calmly peeking her eyes over to see him. She smiled, and gently wrapped herself up next to him, making sure to not squeeze anything or rest her weight on him. "G'night..." At least the snake would sleep pleasantly.

The night passed easily for the mercenaries, nothing disturbing their slumber. It was oddly quiet in the castle, despite the earlier goings on. Whether this meant something was coming for them, in slow preparation, or that there really was no threat, would remain to be seen.

Either way, for most of them, a good rest was welcome. Ingverd especially, waking up the next morning with far less stress and no aching limbs, yawned and stretched himself, sitting up in his bag. The bag hadn't provided much comfort against the stone floor, but it had certainly been better than sleeping directly on the stone. "Seems I'm up first..." And he was. Isabelle had yet to discover her surprise, and Makin was still coiled up around Raith. Alicia was snoring lightly, and he couldn't see anyone else awake. "Well... Guess I'll check on things, then." He stretched more as he stood, taking a moment to himself, and finally walked on over to the stairs. The door at the top was still closed, there was nothing coming down them... It was eerie. "I guess it's better than monsters... But it makes me wonder where they all are." He wandered back over, near the birds, deciding to just rest his body whilst waiting for Valha to wake up. She did say she wanted to talk about something.

Makin, meanwhile, had shuffled around in her sleep, torso pressed up against Raith's in a slumbering hug, tail cradled gently against his legs, sapping all the warmth she could. With a half asleep, half dreaming smile on her face, she gently started biting at his ear. She yawned, gave the biting a rest, and relaxed back against him.

[riariadne]

... What did I do wrong?

The remnants of haunting dreams clung to Valha as she stirred more slowly than usual. She hesitated to open her eyes and face the day, but slowly did so. She dragged herself out of the sleeping bag, stretching her wings and flying in a circle before sitting once again, but this time right next to Ingverd, spotting him. "Looks like for once, I'm not the early bird," she observed. "Well, earliest, anyway... some people would just sleep forever if you let 'em. Regardless, good mornin' to you, Ingverd." She leaned on her claws, glancing around them. There were no signs of disturbance, but she still couldn't help but frown a bit when she spotted Lina.

"I don't trust her. Nothin' good comes from somethin' like this, I know it," the harpy spoke adamantly. "Stupid box... if I can't figure it out, it's useless. Just some sorta magic treasure chest that doesn't make any sense. Of all things, the sword is what I like the most. What a total joke this is!" She procured the three items- blade, box, and necklace- setting the box and sword aside, before showing the jewelry to him. "I don't think this suits me very much at all, if there isn't somethin' more to it, anyway. Maybe Sonia would like it as thanks or somethin'..." Even if I'm not very glad with the results. "I've been thinkin' about changin' up a bit how I look when we get back to somewhere less horrible 'n frozen, but that's not here or there very much. I don't know. There's lots of things I don't know."

She sighed, gathering her belongings together again. "It's... not what I was hopin' for. It's magical, but... I don't understand why it's for me, unless I gotta wait even longer to try figurin' it all out. 'N that's frustratin'... this is what I got worked up about, excited for?" She punched at the air in her fury, before letting her claw fall again, looking at Ingverd. "Why don't you trust me to be do things myself? I'm no child, Ingverd. You can't do everythin' that gives me the slightest challenge for me." Valha spun the cube around in the same pattern he had, knowing it wouldn't do anything but feeling slightly validated for it. "Maybe I'm not the best at puzzles, 'n I haven't gotten started on reading yet. But you don't get better when someone wrenches it from right in front of you to do things for you, either."

The little harpy poked at him accusingly. "What do you want from me, Ingverd? Sometimes you're encouragin' when I try somethin' new, but other times it feels like you think I need help gettin' dressed. Well... maybe that's a bad example. I'm sure most of the time you'd be pleased to mess with my clothes anyway, but still! There's a difference between helpin' me when I need it 'n actin' like I'm helpless, yeah?" She shook her head before leaning it on his shoulder. "I still like you, of course... I just don't like feelin' powerless. These last few days have been tough on everyone as it is, so it's all statin' to get overwhelmin'. What's a little bird to do?"

[Juliette]

Heather's sleep was rather peaceful- she was surprised most others were not up, as she had felt she'd rested quite well. She scanned the area around her, pleased to see her comrades safe and the door she'd tried to stay alert to by sleeping by it remained shut. The only others she noticed awake were Valha and Ingverd, but she opted not to interrupt what seemed to be a personal moment. Not much to do... She stood herself up and opted to ready her equipment, preparing herself for the day and sitting watch by the stairs until enough others were awake to do anything productive.

[Vestige]

For once, Raith was among the earliest to wake up. Upon waking, the first thing he noticed was that Makin had made it a point to take full advantage of his proximity. She had migrated from sleeping "next" to him, to quite literally sleeping next to him. Elsewhere, he could hear some people shuffling about, and whispering among themselves. It was lucky that they hadn't been attacked during the night, all things considered. It would have been the best time to surprise them, but the night had passed by without much trouble. And that was the thing that troubled him the most. Why hadn't they been attacked at night? Surely the "lord" of the castle wasn't just being a great guy and extending his courtesy to his wayward guests. He must have spent the night planning, and that didn't bode well for the mercenaries.

He sighed. It wasn't a question of "if" so much as "when". If it hadn't happened last night, and it wasn't happening now, then the only possibility was that it was going to happen later. And on that note, he figured it'd be best to just deal with things as they came. No point getting anxious about things and then screwing up in the actual battle. He closed his eyes again and tried to make the most of whatever quiet time they still had left. Besides, he wasn't going to be going anywhere with Makin wrapped around him as she was--not without waking her at least. She needed the rest though, and he didn't have anything particularly important that needed doing anyhow.

[Xinnidy]

Maja awoke abruptly, once more, body quickly shifting to lift herself. This time, however, Maja did not feel cold or exhausted. It was a dreamless sleep, but after the past day, that was all that could be asked for. With a relieved sigh, Maja laid her back against the sleeping bag once more, taking a few more moments of the little comfort it provided. At the sound of others waking up, Maja crawled out of her sleeping bag, looking around, but finding less people up than expected. Even Kadin was... wait... "Hey, Kadin? Good morning?" Maja spoke softly and lightly poked him.

No quicker would Kadin open his eyes, and turn his head, to greet Maja as if he'd already been awake. "Good morning." Kadin managed a smile, "Did you sleep fine? I couldn't hear you so much as shift in your sleep, have I slept in?" Kadin was still struggling with the act of sleeping, all things considered. Whilst Kadin no longer felt time pass the same whether his physical body slept or not, he would feel alert enough to rise from sleep by most noises, self-awareness still quite high despite torpor. It wasn't bad, however, considering Kadin intentionally kept Maja and the stairs close to his sleeping spot. That'd mean he could react immediately if something happened.

"Ah, no. I mean, yes. I slept fine. Somehow." Maja still felt relieved that her emotions from the last day felt more under control. Perhaps a good night of sleep really could do the trick...? "Oh. I think everybody's starting to wake up..." Maja noted, catching Heather preparing herself so soon, "Huh. I should get ready now, too."

"Hmm, I don't have a lot to prepare, I'll keep resting my body for now." Kadin replied. In his mind, he had a point; not many weapons were as convenient as his ghostly lance, so for all effects he was already armed. "Just be careful not to wake the others."

"Alright, don't take too long, though!--" Maja almost slipped to her normal tone by nature, but caught her mistake and covered her mouth by the end of her sentence. Standing up, Maja rolled her sleeping bag and picked up most of the items she'd left by. Getting a head start, Maja went to the wagon to drop her bag, taking rather slow steps as she went in, not to disturb anybody else. Maja quickly dropped the sleeping bag on a corner of the wagon, and turned back to leave just as sneakily... or would, but a sight surprised her enough to stop in her tracks.

"Uhhh... uh?" Isabelle was sleeping, and the conspicuous woman from yesternight was sharing her bed, keeping herself rather close to the elf. Did they even talk before? Maja recalled Isabelle went to sleep rather early, making the scene look even more off. Is she... did she do something to Isabelle while we were asleep? Uh oh. That could be dangerous. "Uh, hey, Isabelle, or, uh..." Come on, recall her name --right! "Lina, hey, there's a free sleeping bag here..." She lightly rocked the horned woman.

[Oersted]

Lanos had been blessed with a dreamless sleep; however, he still managed to wake up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag. The peaceful sleep had definitely improved his overall mood, but he was still agitated. Whether it was over earlier this morning or something else entirely was put on the back burner for later. Now, he heard footsteps and voices, meaning some of the others were already up and the returning to sleep probably wouldn't get him much more rest. Especially if Vesta woke up and found something to scream at; Him save him if that happened. With a yawn, he slowly sat up only to go right into slumping forward. He rubbed his eyes. Maybe it'd just be better to just give up while he was ahead and go back to sleep?

Edited February 7, 2016 by Oersted

[Nanami Touko]

Without her pillow moving, Makin managed to enjoy a few more minutes of sleep, though the rustling and chatter eventually got the best of her. With another yawn, she blinked herself awake-- at least half awake, and realized where she was. "Ah... Sorry, Raith. I didn't mean to, but... Well, here I am..." She backed off of him, letting her tail unwrap and only leaving her head resting against his chest. "We're all here, so... I guess we managed to survive the night. Nothing's happened yet, right?"

"Mhh... What is it, Maja?" came the elf's groggy response. She rolled over a bit and jammed her elbow into Lina, immediately going from groggy and sleepy, to wide awake and less than pleased. With a start, she jumped straight out of her sleeping bag, staring wide eyed at the demoness, then back between Maja, almost, allllmost blushing. She managed to contain herself. "What-- what are you doing in here? What is she doing in here? I did not-- we, did not... Grrr..." The last thing Isabelle needed was someone hanging around, pushing her buttons. "Maja, not a word of this... I was alone when I went to sleep, and I will not deal with this sort of thing whilst we're fighting monsters to the death."

About to weigh in on his thoughts on the contents of Valha's cube and Lina's trustworthiness, the harpy voiced what he thought might have been on the table. He couldn't help but sigh, though he tried to smile through it. He wasn't frustrated, no. He understood her being upset, and he was fine with it. He let her finish before he gathered his thoughts. "What do I want from you..." He repeated her question, looking up at the ceiling, but mostly off into space. "You're right to be upset. I acted selfishly, through my frustration. With all that's happened, another mystical, magical, random event was too much to deal with. And I wanted it done as soon as possible, so I could sleep... But I should have let you have it. You've been waiting for it, after all." He looked back down, and then at her.

"It's... Hard, for me. To not step in. You're strong, but you're small. You're brave, but you're hasty. You're always ready to help, but sometimes, you get in over your head... So I don't know where to draw my line on how much I'm supposed to help you. You're always free to tell me, any time, and tell me when I make a mistake. Like now, of course. And I'll accept it... I'm not trying to excuse myself, more... Just, explain what's going on in my head."

With another sigh, and a less forced smile, Ingverd reached a hand into his pocket, fumbling around with something. "But, what do I want from you? Heh... I was going to keep this and wait on it, for at least another year, or so. See if we were still together, see if we still liked each other. Get it fitted with something pretty-- I know you like those sorts of things... But with how things are going, I don't know if we're going to live to see tomorrow. It would kill me to have not even tried; to have just let it wait until we were dead... So... I'd rather say it now, and see what happens, then wait for the smallest maybe." With a step back, he got down on one knee, and pulled a small ring out of his pocket. It was nothing fancy, save for the magic it held. He mentally chided himself for not getting something to fit onto it, but he hadn't expected much of all this.

"Valha Nix, the most loud, brave, and beautiful woman I've ever met... Can you find it within yourself, to marry this fool of an elf?"

[Ether]

With the scrambling and talking and other such ruckus about the wagon, Lina arose, sitting up with a yawn, lifting her arms into a stretch as she did so, a notable.. bounce, to her. Arching her back as she sat up further into her morning stretch, the demoness eventually brought her arms down, crossing them beneath her chest as she let out a contented sigh, before looking up at Maja and Isabelle with a light, mischievous smile.

"Good morning~ Mmm, it's nice and warm in here, unlike that cold, cold cave and stone walls~" Lina noted, gently patting the bit of the sleeping bag that Isabelle had been occupying, her lingering body heat still there. The succubus couldn't help but let her grin widen, watching the elf flounder about. Yes, oh yes, between the wonderfully hateful aura about this woman the night before, and her reactions now... ahh, the strife felt good to Lina's heart.

[riariadne]

Valha listened quietly to what Ingverd had to say. He's right, was all she could help but think of some of his words. Sometimes I do get way ahead of myself, 'n maybe I'd be in a worse spot than if we didn't help. He did save me from Ertel back then...

Still, she couldn't help but gasp when the elf kneeled before her and procured a ring. "Ingverd!" Her heart fluttered at the thought, and she kneeled to be right up next to him- or at least as tall as she could make herself next to him, looking into his eyes. "I-I don't know what to say." She took the ring, removing her others to place it on first, and adjusting the others around it. "I think... I think I like this. Something I could get used to, with you." The harpy softly hummed, leaning forward to put her claws on his shoulders. Finally, somethin' nice to happen in this dumb place...

[Vestige]

And here you are... "Well I haven't taken attendance," he said, "but everything seems pretty calm, and no one has said anything so I guess all's well for now," he yawned. "So what's the plan, now that we're here? Actually, what are we even supposed to be looking for anyway? I can't exactly recall," he admitted. They had better find something that would make the journey "worth it". If they went back empty handed he'd have a sour taste in his mouth, given everything they'd been through. A couple of trinkets and a... woman stuck in a box weren't exactly what he would call worth it. Trinkets you could find almost anywhere, and women in boxes... well... if you found a big enough box then surely it would just be a matter of convincing someone to sit in there for a bit. Maybe it wouldn't be a demon woman in that box, but it'd be close enough.

[SB.]

It took a while for sleep to come for Angus that night, no thanks to the dart trap, but morning had to come eventually. Or was it even morning? Time seemed to have escaped the archer over the last day or so, with their late night trek towards the cave.

In a way he supposed they'd been fairly lucky to have not been seen. Or maybe the monsters were just really bad at tracking them. He sat up, ignoring the stinging pain in his wrist (which had at the very least lessened overnight), and looked around. At this point, it didn't matter if they'd been lucky or not. They'd made it.

Angus was still trying to decide if he was happy or not about that. Exploring new places, finding new things and all of that was really interesting, sure, but this place still put him on edge. He didn't really have much to say now, either, so he just started to gather his things in preperation for the upper floors. Hopefully his wrist wouldn't damage his aim too badly...