Nanami Touko
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It seemed like everything was fine with Roxanne, then, as Tio and Elisa both agreed to her assessment of how best to go forward and how serious the damage was. Roxanne would be fine, and from the looks of things, recover, so there was nothing to worry about, for now. "Lunch? Look how late it is, Roxy. Did something else get knocked loose during the battle?" Alvira couldn't help trying to inject some levity by pointing towards the still setting skyline, the red and purple hues dancing across the few clouds that scattered the sky. "You're right, either way. We'll get something nice to eat once we've thrashed the rest of the Tigers~ You too, Koba. Feel free to pal around with us as long as you want. You're one of us, right?" Alvira winked at him and then started to head towards the gauntlet.
That ability to steal control of Roxanne's conduits was concerning to a degree, but only because of Luthier. Roxanne hadn't been there when they'd fought the man, but his mastery over light magic had been intense. I'll have to warn her later since he managed to survive... I can't imagine, with all we're doing in Islexia, that'll be the last time we see him. Ugh... Next time I see you, Luthier... Gonna shove ice in that smug face of yours...! She stowed those terrible thoughts before they showed on her face, happy to be safe and among friends for the moment.
Okay, maybe going along with these people isn't a good idea. What the fuck is going on? Coral had gotten up and put a hand out in front of Thalia to shield her from what was occurring with this older Kitsune, but things seemed to calm down completely by the end of it all... They looked to Gean for some sort of understanding, but she seemed just as confused as the two of them. "What's...?"
"Nothing's wrong anymore. I promise." Mikoto had things under control completely, a hand coming up to stroke the back of Gean's head as she panicked, cooing some quiet hushes her way. "You must be confused, Thalia, Coral... I will explain things as best as I can. I am... Kise. But I am also not, in the sense that you would best understand... Think of me... As a sort of mask. Humans develop personae when dealing with others and things they find uncomfortable... Kise, saw fit to develop... an entire, other self, but she, we, 'I', am still fully aware of everything going on. 'I' can see through these eyes, and have knowledge of all that occurs while... 'Mikoto' is in control. I'm simply better at dealing with... trouble~ And you've put 'me' into quite the spot of trouble, haven't you, Aegean?" The fox pouted slightly and lightly flicked the mermaid's nose.
"Much less than Renais has, at least... Still, we will have to talk. I have much to explain, in ways that Kise would have been unable to without getting truly frustrated. Until then~" She gracefully slipped out of Aegean's hug and stood, her tails enveloping her for a moment, and when she re-emerged from the sudden fluffy cocoon, her kimono was much more modest, a higher cut v-line, longer, with the leg slit much lower, and most importantly, in a deep violet matching her hair. "Never did enjoy showing as much skin... Too much gives it all away, after all~ Ahem. You had wanted to continue our date, Gean?" She gave Thalia a quick apologetic smile.
"This must still be rather confusing to you, but I promise, she... we, mean well, and I will still aid you with your magic when we get some time to ourselves. It's a promise." She held a hand towards the little fox and extended a pinky, hoping the sudden outburst hadn't ruined things. It was truly a miracle to have met Thalia... She couldn't let Kise's immaturity throw away a potentially continent saving relationship.
Syta stared at that innocent face, unable to help but speak the answer with full honesty. "Because... a pretty kitty like you needs a lovely collar, doesn't she~?" There was a hint of something in her words, something lascivious, but she didn't let it go further, not so openly in public. "But, you can't wear a real collar, out in public, without people thinking weird things... So a cute little choker on your neck, I think would go really well with your look, don't you think? And yes~ We need to get you into lots of dresses and casual clothes... You're always wandering about in your armor or your bodysuit underneath it... I need to truly see how pretty you can be~ You've already shown me how cool you are, after all."
My, my... I see you've finally awoken to your desires. Goodness... You might be as perverted as I am~
... ... Yeah. I might be. I can already see the leash to go along with the collar...
Kisara simply laughed.
"And who are you to say what we can and cannot do? Tch." Talulah narrowed her eyes at the brazen thief, letting her go and dropping her back onto her feet, folding her arms. "This blade is not meant for the faint of heart. Touching it would sap your strength, and if it found you unworthy, your very life. Be careful with your loose hands, little girl... If you aren't smart enough to know where to keep them. At your side." Talulah sighed and turned herself back towards the gauntlet-- "Those two as well...!?" Now, the armored cat and that girl who had run the gauntlet up to Versaris before Ferid, they were getting lovey dovey! "Ugh! I am done here... This is, ludicrous. Do these people truly have nothing better to do!?" With an uncomfortable huff, Talulah left the viewer's area and stormed off down the streets with no real destination in mind.
"Hey, babe, beats me! I'm not on their side. I only get it from like, the perspective of what would happen, that doesn't mean I understand it, not at all! They're all super weirdos if you ask me... Crazy that they want him in charge in the first place, crazier that they'd try to replicate the guy if he was removed! But, that's humans. Way weirder than Lufirians and wayyyyyyyyyyy weirder than monsters-- er, no offense, buddy, you make a mean fish, so you can't be all that bad." Iris winked at Alphonse before shrugging heavily, devouring half of her fish, bones and all.
"Just means we gotta deal with a whooooooooooole buncha folks, but hey, we got this far, we'll deal with them~ No problem. We'll go out swingin' together~" She threw some punches at nothing over the table, smirking with a fishbone sticking out from between her teeth.
"Awww, well isn't that sweet of you to say~ But, I've got incredibly high standards for women, and a hefty preference for men... If you haven't noticed, the Tigers... Well, there's one real good looker, but he's taken, and the rest are all women-- none of them coming close to my strict demands... Alas~ I'll just have to keep waiting for mister perfect to come around. Even Jeremiah didn't fit every criteria, but he really pushed the envelope on others, so I was willing to give him a pass, but, the best ones are always already taken... Hahhh~" She exaggerated a sigh and stretched her back, everything pushing out some in front. "Well, that's life. I'm content enough without, so I'm in no rush."
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Talulah was fuming, for reasons already established, but it didn't lessen her frustration any. She bit at her nails as Jesse returned to speak with her, narrowing her gaze at Versaris as conversations continued. "Brazen... Stupid... How, dare you..." Her face only got more and more red as she grumbled, letting out an almost pained sigh towards the rider's question. "I think, he... Is someone that, will frustrate me, to no end. To be so skilled and yet act... so... S-So... Lasciviously, how, dare he!? In front of so many people, I... Rrhhh! If I hadn't seen how strong he was first hand, I'd have half a mind to storm over there and... and just..." She grabbed her sword-- her normal sword, her finger brushing against Yscavelne's hilt as it did.
Wielder.
Her eyes glanced at the blade, having never heard it speak to her so casually, and that glance caught a hand reaching for the scabbard, clad in red scales. "And to top things off--!" She snatched the offending wrist and rose, dragging the thief up with her, scowling daggers through her reddened cheeks at the woman she'd caught! "We have a thief! One that I have saved from a rather painful fate... And one that had best speak up before I drag her to the city's guards."
"Looks like you're up, so just do your best. I find mages really expect people to flinch and reel back from their funny spells, so just charge right on through it and give 'em a good punch in the face~" Siorel smiled sweetly as Cin walked off to fight, hoping her swift advice would stick, and given how quickly the match was over, it had. It was always a light show with these people, probably expecting the sudden hit and flash of magical prowess to stun their target into letting them get another off, but Cin barrelled right through it and put them down, Siorel clapping and cheering along with the slowly growing crowd for his victory.
"See~! Easy as that! Just don't let off the pressure~" It wasn't easy at all, honestly. Taking that sort of pain and just pushing through it was something you needed to be very confident for, because even if you made it to the mage, if your next hit didn't knock them over, you were point blank for whatever they had next... But this whole adventure has done wonders for confidence all around. Even me, now.
"Yeah, see, what he said!" Iris had lost all thought for a moment when the salmon arrived, staring at it wide eyed and with her full attention, only cluing back into things when Alphonse began speaking of people coming after them for killing Nicolas. "It's this, polite ticks thing, people fight for other people, and even if Nicolas is a piece of garbage, he's got a lot of people under him and they like working under him... So if we got rid of him, there'd be more people mad that he's gone than people that are happy that he's dead, and all that. It's really fucking stupid! But that's how the world is sometimes, I've learned. Just gotta keep smart about things yourself... Plus, there's that whole... Ughhhh what's it called... Power, back room... or whatever... If we got rid of Nicolas, then a bunch of other people would wanna be Nicolas Two! And there might be delicate backroom balances with Hecatia and stuff... Since they're neighbours and all. It's all really really dumb. Humans are fucking stupid sometimes." Iris scoffed and then quick talking, her fish having sat for moments longer than it should have. "Mmfhnfuck, so good..."
"Ahah~ My own performance, no, I don't think so. I can hold my own against the Islexians, but against the Tigers? These people are crazy~ You don't need to know how fighting works to see Versaris put someone like Ferid into the dirt to know that he's not someone you want to go up against... So, don't blame yourself too much, either~ All you need to do is be stronger than the people we're going up against, not your allies. Shouldn't it be heartwarming instead, to know you're surrounded by people this strong? Maybe your pride's taking a beating, but in the end, it's a good thing."
She shrugged and idly spun her staff, gently tapping it against the ground to stop it. "Hahh, meeting Jeremiah... was complete coincidence. Wish it hadn't been... Wish he was single~ but, I was travelling through Hecatia, and couldn't help myself. A whole group of knights were harassing some poor Clouded... Stuck my nose in, got myself beat up, alllllmost got carted off to Artorius, but as luck would have it, the Clouded I'd saved ran off for help... And help sure showed up~" She sighed, almost dreamily, leaning onto her staff as some of it disappeared between... "He's just so cool, isn't he~? His wife must be a lucky woman, truly... He keeps telling me I look just like her when she was younger. Real rude of him to rile me up like that, huh? But he's just that sorta guy. Doesn't realize how smooth he is, when he isn't trying to be... Alas. Maybe, in another world..."
Ferid had managed to run all over the arena, leaving Syta feeling a little unfortunate about her prize, but that was the way the cookie crumbled, sometimes. The next mage to challenge hadn't left much of a dent, not even making it to Lani, giving her more time to pet the dejected cat, doing exactly that as soon as she returned. "It's okay, Lani~ We got plenty of money from this job, right? I can still get you a nice dress without getting it for free... And maybe..." She slowly began to turn Laniva's head to get a good look at her neck, tilting her chin up and then running a finger down it, blushing some with nefarious purpose. "Yes~ A nice dress... and a nice... 'Choker'. Mhmm... I think an accessory like that would suit you wonderfully~ You're always so dressed up in your armor... You need to live a little, let your femininity out some more~ As long as... I'm not making you uncomfortable, trying to push all that on you. Am I, Lani?"
"That a threat? It's too bad you don't scare me... I'm sure you've seen, I'm a lot harder to hurt. So go ahead~ Lash out if it gets too overwhelming. I can take it. I'll take all of it and hug you all the same. You're driving me crazy, after all... And crazy people do crazy things~" Eva leaned in and stole a kiss against Lumina's cheek, letting her go as another person seemed to be challenging the arena. "Do your best-- but remember. Even if you lose, I'll be here to lick your wounds. And other things..." She winked at the girl and let her go off to fight... but it seemed Lumina was doomed by her endurance, once more, despite things going a bit better for her. Eva truly hoped that Lumina wasn't going to let it get to her too badly... She had so many other things going for her, after all. Her looks, her skill with her magic, her determination... She could let her endurance lose a little in the face of everything else.
"Hey~ Good work out there... Went a lot better, this time. Am I already working my magic on you?" Eva winked at her again and grinned real wide, tail wagging happily. "Looks like some of the mages are finally starting to come around... Better watch out. Gonna have a real light show on our hands."
"... Y-You, really are stupid." She felt the heat on her cheeks, unsure of how much they were actually turning red. Snatching the little bow, she fussed with it in her hands before slowly reaching into her hair and tying up a section of her platinum blonde mess with it, leaning hard onto her hand and looking away from him. "You only piss me off when you keep making excuses and beating yourself up... What's done is done. Can't change the past-- wouldn't be here if I could. Gotta live in the present and look at the future... It's all we've got left. That tiger, Natalya whatever, she had every right to shoot you, and she could have, even through me. She didn't, so you have to live with that, no matter what. No matter what your stupid brain tells you... s-stupid..." She could feel her face getting even warmer, sinking against the table and hiding it, groaning some.
"Can't believe you made me do something like that cuz you just... W-Wouldn't, accept words at face value. So dumb... Dammit..."
"Ugh, ew, don't use my last name. We're not siblings..." Hopefully Coral didn't need to explain why saying such a thing was a problem, blushing only faintly.
Kise wasn't paying any attention to all of that. The fox had once again gotten stuck in her mind. Thalia was coming with them, that could only be a good thing... But, why did it make her feel so uneasy? Because it means you've wasted three hundred years-- "Shut up!" She suddenly blurted that out, almost shouting, hands holding her head.
Coral flinched, glancing towards the fox, then Gean. "Is... I-Is she, alright?" She sure didn't look alright, having come from fawning over Thalia to holding herself like she was in pain.
It was all a waste. They yet live. Who are you getting revenge for? They can speak for themselves. They survived. They don't need you playing hero! It was all a huge, wonderful, waste of time, wasn't it, Kise!? "No!? Sh-Shut up! I still... Th... They still haven't, answered for...!" That was right, that was right. Lufiria still stood. She'd heard nothing of its destruction over the last hundreds of years... No one had made them answer for the crimes of their predecessors! That's all that mattered! They still had to pay...
"There's no need to fight among ourselves, I don't want that. I want you to be happy and healthy Kise, I love you and I still have so much I want to learn about you--"
"NO!" Now she was shouting, gritting her fangs and clutching tightly at her head. "I'm not, listening to you! I'm MAD at you! It doesn't matter what you say...!" She shrunk in on herself, taking deep breaths, almost hyperventilating, glancing at Gean-- not helping, only making her more upset, more and more, why didn't they see, why didn't they listen, they didn't even KNOW--
Kise. You're going to hurt yourself... It's okay. I'm still here. Rest, for a time. I will speak with them... That's why I exist, isn't it?
"... Hah... Y-Yes... Yes, that's... That's why, you...!" She let out one final pained gasp and slumped over, slowly rising, and as she did, her light pink hair slowly grew darker and darker, fading to a deep purple, her tails bristling as they changed in color as well, the white tips remaining as the rest shifted.
"Hahhhhh... Such a troublesome child. Honestly... So happy to be free, and as soon as you hit a wall... Tsk. Good evening, Aegean~ My apologies for the sudden outburst." The same face smiled calmly, leaning to rest against a hand, tails idly swaying behind her. "Sometimes I just can't help 'myself'. Always overthinking things... But I'm alright, now~" Her now ruby red eyes narrowed towards the two sat next to her, giggling quietly. "Hopefully I didn't scare you, Thalia... 'I' simply needed a moment to myself."
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"Really!? Yes! I was thinking about asking Tasha-- still might, while we're still around, but I expect her knowledge in lances in practical at best; I imagine she can swing one around without stabbing herself in the foot, but she's not well practiced in them compared to guns and axes..." Even if they didn't have time to practice much, getting the basics down would at least let her wield it... she hoped. It was some, Godly implement, filled with Fomalhaut's power-- she also assumed-- so there was no telling if it would wield like a normal spear, conform to her grip, be wielded through her magic instead... She'd know when she got to it and put her claw on it. I'm on my way, Fomalhaut. Just the Sands between us, now. Be strong, wait for me.
"Sounds like you escaped the worst of it, Roxanne. Just means no playing hero anymore, yeah? And means you need to be more careful, Koba. I wasn't there, so I don't know all the details, but... If Roxanne felt it was serious enough to have to do that, it must've been a rather dire situation. Sometimes we can't avoid trouble-- don't I know it, but always do your best to be more and more vigilant than the last time... Which, is probably an annoying lecture-y thing to hear, so I'm sorry, just... Trying to share some care, and all. Don't want Roxanne's magic to get any more difficult than it already is with her conduits." She offered them both a wry smile, glancing behind them all back at the rest of the celebrations.
"Y'know, Roxanne, if they can't offer a way to fix your circuits, you wanna ditch this talk and hit the town? I got everything I needed resolved-- thank you both again," she quickly bowed towards Tio and Elisa, "so we might as well see what's for drinks, food, maybe hit up that gauntlet that the others set up. Surely some leisurely casting won't tax your circuits... It's probably a good idea to use them lightly to make sure you keep 'stretching' them, in a sense... R-Right, Tio?" She wanted to make sure it was good advice before Roxanne threw herself at what the Tigers had put together.
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"Me? Unpredictable? I beg to differ..." Siorel scoffed some at Cin as he went to fight in the gauntlet once more, almost managing a win against Ferid, but the old wolf was simply too much for him to handle. He'd even managed to get a strike onto Versaris before the man put him into the ground once again, seemingly unstoppable. Wonder if anyone's gonna take the top spot away from him. He's just... So strong, so fast, so focused. Hahh...
Cinaed came back over and spoke philosophical about the purpose of all these celebrations and fights. Siorel wasn't so sure, but it was a good sentiment; nothing to knock. "Maybe you can try again in a few more battles and see if you stack up to him~ You did pretty well, yeah... Which I think goes to show you're much stronger than you think you are, almost taking out the guy that finally caught up to Versaris. My big Cin, so strong~" She slipped up and latched onto his arm, smirking. "And there looks to be another challenger already... You think you're any good against magic? Looks like she's holdin' a tome."
"Mmrrhnghhn... Too tired..." Sylmaria let out a sigh and flopped completely against Miria, getting a full on hug from the offered half one and swiftly passed out, beyond drunk and beyond comforted in the moment, the heat of the early summer air aiding in her swiftly falling asleep. "Mmh... mm, Gio... safe... good..." She mumbled some as slumber took her, tail wagging idly.
"Hoo, boy, these fights are getting serious... I thought this was just for fun?" Luckily, no one had been severely injured yet, Lucretia topping off Ferid a little bit extra to make sure he was okay after Versaris' counter. "Hoofa... Hey there, Alistair~ No worries, I'm keeping just as busy as the rest of you with all this healing. Hahhh... I'm not used to playing solely medic, so it's getting to me some." She idly fanned herself with her hand, tugging at her top a bit. "Summer's coming and I am way too healer for it... The Tigers, though? It's nothing interesting. I was travelling with Jeremiah, and instead of making the next leg of his journey more difficult, I'll be sticking with them~ Felt like they could use more healers, anyway; that Renais girl was getting run around a lot... And I can handle myself in a battle." She winked at him and put her hand on her hip, things shaking all over.
"What about you? Who're you tied to?"
"Mhahh, mut, fyou fink feople wiww cawr when is imporfphan fweeple--" Iris coughed, trying to speak with her mouth full of dried meat, slamming a claw against her chest and chugging some of the drink down-- "WHOA, what the heck is THIS stuff!?" She stared at the drink once she'd had some, hiccuping after, smiling. "That's crazy... I'm gonna have more of that~" She went to drink before she clued in that she was talking about something, setting it down. "Right, before I choked, uhhhhh, you think people will care when it's more important folks? I mean, we've been fighting bandits and under the law types, this Kazran guy is the first big name we've killed. We kill more, don't you think people are gonna start paying more attention? Get all up in arms? Maybe send heavy stuff after us..."
She tore into another chunk of dried meat and then swallowed the rest, almost vibrating in place. "Damn, this stuff's great... Might really eat you out of house and home, mister. You're killin' it with the grub."
Eva had been planning on leaning further and further into the flirt, but when Lumina hit her with such genuine, sweet, sincere words. It put her horny to bed almost immediately, hugging the woman tighter and closer, almost growling into her ear. "How you gonna hit me with that? How're you gonna be so fucking sweet, and cute, and just... Ugh!" She snuggled her so tightly before finally leaning back, huffing. "You're really clam jamming me here, Lumina... Making me wanna be sweet on you instead of horny. Why would you do that? Gosh... Nope, it's too late. I'm not gonna be your friend. I'm gonna be way more, until it sinks into your pretty little head how wonderful you are. Gonna be with you through whatever hangups you've got, the troubles with your sister, with travel, with Islexia... You're not getting rid of me, now~ Look at what you've done?" She smirked and her tail swayed happily, leaning up against her again. "Gonna have to figure out how best to show my appreciation..."
Marigold rolled her eyes, before she grabbed the neck of Kieran's shirt and dragged him down, slapping a kiss onto his lips without a moment's extra hesitation. "Enough with what? You think I'm fuckin' around? Get a clue, Kieran..." Even her undead body managed the faintest red in her cheeks as she walked past him, going to find an empty table to sit down around Lezard's food stand. "Can't believe you're makin' me have to spell it out for you, fuck... Stupid..." She plopped herself down and leaned onto her hand, grumbling quietly...
"... Oh?" He smirked, slowly unbuttoning his top and sliding it off, letting the setting sun glisten along his skin, having finally broken a sweat against Ferid. "Is that better, then? Since you're the one that suggested it, after all... Hahh, it is getting warmer, isn't it? We're approaching July~" He smirked and went about checking the cut to his shirt, acting like taking it off was no problem at all.
"As for your other concern... I simply don't want to fight you, Mira. You seem to be trying to get a rise out of me. The only rise you're going to get from me is between my legs, so feel free to threaten me all you like... I'm happy to let you vent your frustrations against my body if it helps you feel better. I can take a punch. Go ahead~ Get a swing in, darling." He winked at her past his clothes, slowly putting it back on now that he'd inspected the damage. "I'd be happy to let you touch me."
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Eva smirked. "You sure you know what you're agreeing to, hun? We'll talk more in a minute, because I got somethin' to say about your thoughts, but it doesn't look like we're getting a break. Gonna take some stress out on this guy..."
Syta couldn't help herself, but it felt a bit different now, petting Lani's ears, holding her so close... She was so small, so shy, when she was like this. It was such a gap between how she carried herself in combat, such a stark contrast... It made her heart beat fast, seeing this proud warrior brought low by something as simple as affectionate pets. She smiled slowly, hands idly petting and rubbing her ears with reckless abandon. "Yes... I think I know exactly what I'd like to get Lani as a gift for being just, so, cute~" Ohhhh, Syta... This isn't like you... But... Mmmn, I wanted her to toss me aside, show me that strength, but, I... We, won... And now look at her. So demure. So adorable. So soft... A good kitty like her needs a nice collar...
"Hey, I'm not going to try to die... I'd like to live out a long, healthy, happy life with the both of you. I'll do my best to make sure it happens." He wasn't worried about right now. The trouble wasn't right now... Islexia, Nicolas, everything to do with the Escaflowne and Lucille, those troubles weren't what would stop him, or them, or anyone in the Tigers. Lufiria won't accept you as easily as I will, Mira. I'll make them see. I'll make them all see... I can, and will, do this.
"I can't say I've ever thought I deserved to get punched-- not in the face, but... If it'll make you feel better, feel free. I can take it~ And perhaps when you're done letting out all those frustrations, you wouldn't mind getting close and spending some... quality time, together?" He raised his eyebrows at her and smirked, resting his chin against his hand as he sat, hoping for her face to go through the motions of processing that. Mira or Aly, this was still the woman he fell in love with, and her mannerisms hadn't changed~ "Ah... Looks like socking it to me will have to wait. I'll be right back... I have a feeling I'll be participating in this one."
"I wish it didn't reflect me when I wanted it to." She stuck her tongue out at Cinaed and then down at her tail, the appendage wriggling a little almost as if it was in response to their conversation. "Unruly dweeb~ Hahhh... If you're so sure about Versaris, let's see how he does against Ferid. Guess the ol' wolf couldn't hold himself back from testing some of us..." Wonder what he's been up to, honestly. He's... kinda just been following us. Never told me what he was up to when he picked me up, but... If he's still here and no one's upset about it, surely it's a good thing? Hmmm... Curious fella.
It was something of a bloodbath, Ferid running the gauntlet through so many of them, a few of the Tigers and Evangeline getting in solid blows, but the wolf was too much for any of them to handle. Even Versaris, talented as he was, couldn't escape the man's grasp, taking a hefty blow that cut through his defences, finding it in him to return the favor all the same. Brought to panting, Lucretia went about fixing everyone up, Versaris' perfectly neat and clean shirt finally damaged by this ordeal. "Well! Color me surprised... That was quite the strike, Ferid. Still haven't lost, but that does put you in the lead, if you were looking to collect the prize..." Versaris picked himself up and began to head back towards Mira, unsure of why the man wanted to challenge them all, but proud of himself for winning all the same. Just the Evokers and that damn fox above me, it seems... How do I catch up? What has to change? I'm moving as fast as I can... No. No, that's it. That's what has to change. These are not my limits, and I have to stop believing they are. I'm not moving as fast as I can. I can go faster. I must be better...
"Sorry, Mira... Looks like someone else got to punch me first~" He shrugged, before his hand returned to the cut on his close along his side, sighing. "The worst part of combat... These eventually get damaged, one way or another..."
Eva huffed as she wandered back to Lumina's side, feeling brazen, immediately hoisting the woman up and then into her lap, hugging around her stomach and holding her close. "That's better... hahh, now, like I was thinking after you finished beating yourself up. Lumina, who gives a single fuck if you're shit at this kind of fighting? Yeah yeah, blah blah, it's been my life for the past several years, and? It's not your life anymore. Your magic? Is nuts. You lay fuckers out with a flick of your wrist, who cares if you can't take a hit? You know what I think it is? You still think you're alone. Let me remind you," she squeezed her tighter, leaning over her shoulder, "I'm not going anywhere, hun~ You're stuck with this big dumb dragon who's only good at taking punches... How about that~ Someone to get hit for you, so you can do what you're so great at. So lose, today. Take notes on it. Work on yourself. Whatever you need... And know that the next time you fight, it'll be with someone at your side. Don't think for a second you're not as good as everyone else here." Her grip only tightened, needing the comfort as much as she thought Lumina did.
It was no issue crossing the Sands with them, then. Tasha would understand, and if she didn't... Alvira would go through with this anyway. She had to. This was her fate, nothing could change her mind on that. Elisa's research and comments on magic were intriguing, though... "So... you think she's probably telling the truth? Hrmm... I suppose we'll find out once Roxanne gets into that cave and cracks her open... I'd like to be there, but I can't be in two places at once. When you're done, if I don't come back first, bring her to Lufiria. I want to verify her claims in person... One thing at a time."
Elisa's comment on her ability to maintain magic was curious, especially in regards to a spear. "Elisa, magic aside, you're good with lances, yes? Would you be willing to train me when you have free time? There... aren't exactly many wielders in the Tigers, for whatever reason, so it would be difficult to learn from them. I can't fight my way to this spear and then just... Lug it around like a magical paper weight. If I'm going to get it... I want to know how to swing it. Properly. I might be a mage, but I'm not worthless when it comes to weapons, so it shouldn't be difficult to pick the damn thing up... Just a matter of learning the proper form. Is that something you'd be willing to help me with? ... I realize the both of you have gone above and beyond to help me with so much already, so... call me greedy if you like, but I can't think of anyone better to ask. As, for that moment, at castle Serdio?" Alvira pointed at Roxanne. "That was her. No way I can cast light magic like that yet. Do appreciate your confidence in me, though~"
Kise's spell dropped and she quickly scurried over to Thalia's side, leaning into her as she held her cast. Her hands gripped onto the kitsune's wrists, lightly, gently, certainly guiding her, moving her arms in the slightest motions, and as she did... The flux spell began to stabilize ever so slightly, Kise's face lighting up. "Look~! Look, look. With the proper motions, the cast becomes that much stronger... The rest is your imagination, and your magical power. Time will work on the latter... The former will be up to you. I've cast Flux so often that I can imagine the perfect form of it without even thinking~ It simply... happens. But you. You'll have to put every little flicker of your brain to use imagining what it looks like. How it forms. How it holds its shape... Maybe you can imagine it enclosing upon your enemies~ Ehihihihi~ That certainly helps me."
While Kise was once again absconding with Thalia, the other woman was at least trying to be cordial. Coral sighed and turned her way. "Danger isn't a problem. I can handle myself and Thalia isn't a pushover, even if she's being called a runt... If you're going to offer us work so your... girlfriend, doesn't end up stalking us and dragging us back either way, who are we to refuse~?" They smiled wryly and leaned their head into their hand, sighing. "I suppose mercenary work in full is better than wandering the world and fighting arena after arena... Eventually, we'd run out. At least this way we'll get warm beds again~" That seemed to perk up their spirits, smiling properly and sitting up, crossing their legs under their dress. "Once again, it's nice to meet you. My name is Coral Durandal, and as the most beautiful member of your group, please don't ask me to do anything involving heavy lifting or cleaning~ Unless it's cleaning up someone's look. I can handle that." They winked.
"'S long as you can handle me yellin' at you when you get too annoying... Then thas... Fine. Mmrhnnn..." Sylmaria felt the grasp of sleep coming for her as she watched the clouds move slowly across the red and orange sky, stars faintly beginning to appear through the color as night approached. "Mmnn..." Miria had climbed back into the bench, so Sylm let gravity take her, leaning against the ever so slightly taller woman, letting out another sigh. "Is... not gonna be fast. Or, painless... 'm still gonna, try. This is a se-second, chance at life. Gotta take it. Can't squander it... Can't..."
She let out another sigh and closed her eyes, yawning quietly. "So tired... Too many, thoughts... Been tired, for so long..."
"So we're just gonna stick around Islexia and clean up all its problems? Makes me wonder if it's really that easy... Surely, someone could've come along and done it, huh? I mean... I know Big Cat's working for the Evokers on that Queen Lady's orders, but we're still an unaffiliated mercenary group or whatever. That sounds smart so it must be right... Anyway, that means, we're not, like, doing this for any other country? I guess? It tips power away from Islexia, but... Fuck 'em?" She shrugged, unsure if things were more complicated than she was understanding. She swayed and swayed and swayed until she let gravity take her over, scrambling under the table and up in to Ullr's lap, plopping her back against his chest and continuing her swaying.
"Figure someone would've done it by now if it were so simple, but given this Nicolas fella is still alive, getting close to him must be a real trial... but, the Tigers are getting pretty huge. Lotta people. Might be what they call an army? Or a very feisty militia... Either way... If we do stick around here and help clean up Islexia, I hope we get to stick it to Mr. Belrose. Gettin' real tired of being treated like a second class citizen just because I've got a funny tail..."
If you're going to be fighting, you--
Oh! My! Gosh! Look. Listen. Ears open. We're done. I'm never touching a dark tome again, you can stuff trying to put these violent thoughts into my head. I am ON, ULLR'S, LAP, and that is WAY more important than anything you could have to say, so shush, shush! Shoosh! Go away! We're not friends-- never were! I'm not listening! You're so annoying~! Get gone outta my head, la la la~!
...
"Hahhh... Finally." Iris didn't elaborate on what she meant as the food arrived, crawling back under the table into her seat and smiling wide. "It's FREE!? Oh, heck, I'm about to eat this whole place! Get another fish on the grill, please! I can easily put back five, so we're gonna be here for a while~!"
"Mrawrrrhnnn, yeah, we'll take a bottle back to the room later and get lost for a while, we all know what's up~" On a night like this one with all inhibitions lost, whatever they got up to, they certainly wouldn't remember most of it when they were done. It was good that Owen had shown up now, then, Amera about to sit down next to Seila, following her petting, but... she couldn't pass this up. "Behave? Me? Tonight~? Perish the thought... Surely, Lord Owen..."
Amera had hopped up and slunk over towards Owen, slowly walking circles around him, all smiles, "surely, you don't regret sleeping with our good friend Ember, here... Surely she wasn't too hot for you? Too much for you to handle? She certainly seemed quite satisfied when we saw her the next day... Does the little lord, take responsibility, for these sorts of things? Hmmm~? We'll be sticking with the Tigers; they're quite the mercenary group, quite the pack of accepting folks, but... When we're done with things here, when it's all calmed down... Will you still be thinking of her? How it felt? Will you want... Another taste~?" Her tail brushed under his chin as she finished, sticking her tongue out at him and swiftly retreating to Seila's side.
"But, of course, I'll behave! Now~ So sit, sit, come drink, forget about things for one night. The Gods know you need it more than most here, mrahahah~"
Marigold had been about to cajole Kieran over his comments, but the show in front of her was enough to pause her words. "Well. Guess the lord's been up to some fun, at least... And I don't think I'm gonna have to overpower you to do anything-- Kieran, what's this 'bit'? Huh? You just gonna act like you're not enjoying yourself all night? Don't make me force some wine into you, get you to be honest about how you really feel... Or do I have to do something more extreme? You're not that much taller than me. I can reach~" She wiggled her eyebrows and hoped this would be enough to get him to quit being so weird.
-
"What the heck, if she's that strong, is there gonna be anything of Versaris left? Though, I imagine if he feels something like that coming, he's gonna get out of the way... We'll just have to see how she does if she shows up at all~" Siorel smirked and then took a seat next to Cinaed, yawning some. "Geez, though, haven't fought seriously like that for a while... Training with Jeremiah was all trying to hit him while he dodged... having to dodge counters back really put me on edge~ Hahh... Still not good at getting hit. At least the tail doesn't get in the way of knife throwing... Still slides in during the dancing at times~" She smirked and shrugged, wondering if she'd ever get the unruly appendage to fully agree with her.
"How? It's..." It was difficult to explain in terms that Mira would understand-- or so he assumed. Alriana hadn't followed it before, either. "... The two of you, are... Beings created and raised for a purpose. To do someone else's bidding and follow their orders... And you, broke away from that. Whether it was a plan going awry, or a stroke of luck, or, maybe this is all part of Grelbiria's plan and she's going to return with some nasty idea-- whatever the case... Being able to cast aside that fate and live free, is... beautiful. And I know, I'm sure to even people fluent in this language, that doesn't make much sense. To me... it, just is. I was born into a similar life. Every member of the Didarion family is raised to spy, and kill, and be a machine in Lufiria's governmental cogs... When you live your life surrounded by 'family' that pushes you to do the same, become the same, follow the rules... It's, suffocating. If I hadn't met Alriana, I'd still be that cog, spinning to their wants. So I want, to keep her safe. I want to keep you safe, Mira. I want to protect the freedom that fate has seen fit to grant the both of you... If that means I have to fight the world or even people that have cared about me to see it through... I will. I will see this through to a happy ending, or die trying. If it kills me, I'll die doing what I believed in..."
He sighed, he hadn't meant to get so serious about things, but he really wanted Mira to understand... this wasn't some flight of fancy. Her and Alriana, they were the same. Both wronged by the same people and left with this sliver, this chance at existing normally. He wouldn't let anyone that take. Not Grelbiria, not Jeremiah, not Lufiria... It was theirs and he would make sure of it. "Now," he said, smiling and trying to loosen some of that serious air, "I do want to do all of that~ We could even skip the fighting, if you want? Or are you that eager to put a fist in my face, huh?"
-
"Whaaaat? Yer not gonna fuckin', backwash int' the damn bottle... S'fine if there's some spice on the lip, whatever. I'm, so deep in it i's not like I'd taste it, anyway..." Sylm huffed, unable to formulate a proper response to the girl's claims-- not that she would've fared better if she wasn't at all drunk. "Ghhrhn... You're jus'... Dumb. But thas, fine... It's f-fine if yer dumb... Hahhn... I am, happy... Okay?" Sylm glared at her, but she wasn't angry about what was said. "I'm, alive. An', so is Giovanna... An' Kazran's, dead... I'm, plenny happy... Jus'... Can't, get over... Everything so quickly. Ughn..." She flopped against the bench and stared up into that beautiful sky once more.
"I's... just how it is, Miria..." She did what she could to rein in her slurred speech, huffing a little. "You... might have, parts of yerself that yer, unhappy with, stuff y'can... Work on, but... No matter how hh, hard I work, I'm always... gonna be this." A claw reached for the sky and her eyes landed on the black scales as they crept from her skin and into the leathery half of her appendage. "Always... An' i's buried in here. Buried in here that this is bad. I'm... goin' in circles, all I'm... I'm sayin' is that... You can try to help, all you want, but... It won't, work sometimes. Half the time. Most of the time... I's just... How i's gonna be, until I can accept stuff... So... Don't force yourself. That's all."
"Gio, you're such a dweeb sometimes." Krystal rolled her eyes in a rather playful way, sighing. "That's right~ All that beautiful hair, gone, dyed this... I mean, it's pretty too, this lavender, so I guess it's not a downgrade or anything? Side grade? I gotta question the mask though, your face can't be that well known... And wearing a mask is just gonna make people ask questions. Goofy. Hahhh... As long as you're happy, I guess. Right, Sara?" Krystal couldn't stop scratching the receptive wyvern, giggling a bit. "What do I want? What else, Dwight? Fish... It's the best thing they have around here. I guess I could demand some sheep or something, but it's probably imported, on ice, old... Nahhhhhhh, eat fresh. And a nice salad! Of whatever they have, cabbage or something. Gotta fill up without all the fat~ Meanwhile, I, am going to stay here." Krystal collapsed onto the hay next to the wyvern, sighing and closing her eyes. "So cozy... This is the life~"
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaat, you guys can get sick from raw food? I cooked stuff cuz it ended up tasting better, but I mean, if I had to I just ate whatever raw... I can't remember a time that anything I ate made me sick... Geez, that's so unfortunate. I guess I'll have to be the Tigers' official poison tester, ahah~!" Iris chirped her amusement over the concept and went right back to swaying, claws idly patting the seats, looking for stuff to do. Ullr wasn't much of a talker, and the place was bustling, so they wouldn't be getting their food right away... "Mmmmnnmmmmnmmmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmn... What do you think is gonna happen once we're done escorting the titty titans to their envoy? Are we just gonna waddle back to Glacies? We're neck deep in Islexia... Maybe... we should do more while we're here? Can we even? How strong is this Nicolas guy? Hrm. These are usually the big thoughts left to the smart folks... Ah, well, I'm sure Versaris and Natalya know best~"
"Mmm... If you think it's too damaged for you to keep wearing, I would be happy to get you a new one. I'm sure there's someone in Eslcas that knows how to sew a mean dress..." Syta smiled over the thought as Jesse approached, nodding along with Laniva's words. "Y-Yeah. I just felt like I went too hard on her... Was worried I'd actually hurt her, but, Laniva's made of way sterner stuff~ I should've trusted her to take it. Won't make that mistake twice... And I'm sure if there's ever a next time, she's gonna be on her guard way more than today. I don't think I'll ever beat her again... But it was nice, this time~" Syta was all smiled again, hugging herself against the cat, a greedy hand reaching up and scritching her ear. "So cute~ So strong~ My Laniva~" PDA wasn't a problem in her mind, it seemed.
Ughn... I do all that for you and I don't receive so much as a thanks--
Thank you, Kisara, for helping me to be strong. I wouldn't be half what I am without you... Even for something as mundane as this, it means a lot to have you helping at my side. I'm never going to treat you like a weapon, or take you for granted... Promise.
MMrrhhghnn... How am I meant to chide you when you say all of that!? Grhn, go hug your cat, bah!
Eheh~ Happily.
"Oh, you need gold? You can have whatever that Owen fellow gave me for being on the boat or whatever... I've got so much gold in my coffers that I don't know what to do with it all, mhmhmhmhm~" She was certainly somewhat smug about that, reaching into a portal-- a fiery blue portal that had appeared from nowhere, pulling out both a small sack of gold and a fan. She tossed the money Thalia's way and then unfolded the hand fan, idly waving it at herself. "There~ Now you'll both have enough to stay, hmm? Take care of yourselves?"
Coral stared at the sudden offer like they were living in some bizarro world... It wasn't an insignificant amount of gold either, with how much noise it made as it reached Thalia's lap. "Uh... How, much were you given?"
"Ugh, counting coins... I haven't done that in so long... Some, three thousand, ish? Ohhh, I don't know the exact amount; I'm sure it's enough, and that's what matters... I could give you more... Mmmnnn... No, no, best I don't spoil you until you've earned it, hihihi~"
She's just casually giving us three thousand gold...? What the hell? I'm... this woman is crazy. Coral wasn't going to tell Thalia to give it back, sighing to try and make any sense of all of this. "Right... What, exactly do you want to teach her?"
"This." As suddenly as the fan had appeared, in her other, an orb of dark magic, a flux spell, so perfectly and swiftly crafted. She gently pushed the oscillating sphere towards the fox, letting it rest in front of her face. "Cast your own and compare, if you'd like... Control is the hardest part of dark magic. Gravity is a natural force of life, so, exerting your will over it can be quite tricky... I imagine that's why you took to the arena with your axe? Hmm? I can ensure you improve as a kitsune should. Might even sprout another tail, if you're lucky... It would be wonderful to see~"
"I... I see." Strong, smothering, almost desperate to keep us around... She's, far too dangerous, but I feel like she'll bite my head off if I try to deny her. Hahhh... Troublesome.
"Okay, okay~ I'll take the compliment... Just like you will, big guy~" She sighed and idly drew circles in his arm, nodding along about Syta's 'winnings'. "You think someone else can beat her and actually hit Versaris? Jeremiah didn't go easy on me when he was helping me... and if he taught that boy, I can't imagine anyone's just going to walk up and put their weapon into him. I figured the lizard at his side had the best chance, but even she couldn't get past that cat, and Syta blew her shot... Who else do you think has a chance?" She hadn't fought with the Tigers in quite some time, unable to really place who had a chance against Versaris. Even seeing him against Syta, with whatever had empowered her, it was one quick flick of his wrist, then, she was down... He was just, like that, and it seemed like he hadn't lost his edge the entire time they'd been travelling. If anything, it was sharper.
"Scary fella... Glad he's on our side, honestly."
-
"You, dumbass, why didn' you bring some of the glasses!?" Sylm snatched the bottle before Miria could make more of a mess of herself and waste some of it, groaning. "Jus' drink from it, fuck... I'm not sick or anythin'... Yer so... Rrrr..." Sylm stared at the wine before slowly setting it down, staring up at the sky, the beautiful hues of orange and red mixing in her eyes as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. It was a sight she'd thought lost to her, something she'd have to give up, toss aside, throw away-- Owen was meant to die and her with him. "How... How, did I get here...?"
What a question. "Having fun? I shoul' be dead, Miria... An' I'm not... just beating myself up sayin' that. Been... Been livin', twenty one years, hating everything. Myself, my country, my people, your people, the people, hic, I was made to work for... An' is all gone... Woosh. Jus' like that. One life, ends, and everything changes... 's so fucked up." She stuffed the rest of her fish into her mouth and washed it down with another hefty chug of the bottle, eyes glazing over some, mind swimming in the alcohol. It was definitely way too much. "Why d'you care, anyway? You got friends, an', work, folks... y'should go hang out wi' them. Instead yer... wastin' yer first time gettin' drunk on, hic... some, sad dragon. Stupid. Stupid..."
"It's fine, Roxanne... I feel worse about leaving you to deal with this alone after you confided in me, but, this is something I have to do, for myself and for the world. Yes, Tio, I have no issues leaving them for the time being. I'll speak with Tasha, let her know everything... But I can't throw away this chance. Even if all you do is get me through the Sands and I have to figure out everything myself in Ametrine... I'm stronger now. I've got the means to make it happen. I WILL make it happen. For Fomalhaut and myself both... Mercuria went too far, too many times. It's beyond me now and not something that can be ignored."
Hopefully the two women understood. If they didn't, Alvira would find a different way into Lufiria, but she was beyond determined. This was destiny, as far as she was concerned, from the day Fomalhaut responded to her of all people. I will save you. I will do everything to save you.
M had barely gotten a few steps away from the Evokers situation when she was stopped by a small winged fellow, handing her a photo of... Jane. "That bastard must've had this, huh?" She smiled so incredibly wryly, pocketing the photo and holding her daughter tight. "Thanks, kid. You didn't have to get that or even give it back, but... it's appreciated." She hoisted Jane up a little higher so she could get a better sight of everything that was going on once she was finished being shy. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I've got a daughter to spoil. She's been so good, she deserves anything she wants. Let's see if someone can get you something sweet~" M wandered off with perhaps the widest smile she'd sported in years.
"Ohhhh, you're just sayin' that~ Can't take all the credit for myself... I asked Jeremiah to help me get my focus back. Always been handy with knives," she said, effortlessly spinning one out so close to him and then sliding it away without harming a hair on either of their bodies, "but practising with him really helped me get used to fighting and dancing at the same time. Big step up... Hope I can help you all more, now. I've been pretty useless since we hit Islexia... and I needed to change that." She sighed, leaning back just a bit, looking him up and down. "You don't look like you need training, anyway. So what you're struggling against a bunch of the Tigers, they aren't who you gotta fight... And, uh, these kinda places, they don't let you show off that you'd get a free shot in a real fight. It's not like you run up to folks and stuff the fireball into their faces before you get punchy. Don't be so hard on yourself, Cin-- but we can still go check out the bazaar, all the same~ Maybe we'll see miss Syta over there picking out her prize, eheheh..."
Eva had... hoped Lumina wouldn't touch on things again, but the wound was still pretty visible and open. Better to try and dress it than let it bleed everywhere. "I... wish, she'd bowed her head. Apologized. Said anything humble. It's that fucking ego... Like, this is her doing. Like she brought these people together. Last I checked, that Tiger woman is leading these people, and they're here on the Evokers word, helping the Gaffneys. That it's coming to blows with the Belrose family and saving Pashmina? That's a coincidence, but she still acts like... Urgghhhh...!" Eva's tail smashed the ground, huffing. "That Gods damned ego. How can she remain so steadfast? In the face of everything? Running away from Islexia before, only coming back now... She should be groveling and begging all of us to do our best."
She let her anger simmer for a moment longer before tiring out, sighing and leaning into Lumina-- slowly hugging her and pulling her closer again. "You're right. I shouldn't care... She doesn't matter. Saving your sister does. I'll try to keep my mind on track with what's really important, and forget about stuck up mages." She let her go once again and stretched, letting out a groan. "Hope this doesn't last much longerrrrhhhh... Gettin' real tired of having my ass beat~ Can't imagine what you're going through, heheheh... But when this is all over, I'll give you all the comfort you need for getting thrashed. Maybe, privately? Back in your room? I'm not so brazen as to be all over you in public... unlike mister final rung over there. Sheesh, the confidence..."
Sari's gaze grew a bit tighter. "The year is twelve eighteen... but, Mira?" He sat down once more, letting her go and just keeping hold of her hands, holding that look on her. "What's past is past. You can be upset about it; I won't take that away from you. I won't tell you to throw it away, either... When we meet Grelbiria, she's going to have a lot to answer for. But, until then, do what you can to avoid letting your past ruin your present, and your future. You can't remember if you like salmon? We'll go find out. You don't know jewellery? We'll try things on until you see something that you like... You're free. You're not alone. You're not going to get locked back into your cage forever. This isn't your last day awake... I promise. And I do everything I can to make sure those promises never break." He didn't know if Alriana was awake in there, trying to tell her the same, but there had been a few twitches and shifts in her expressions... She was probably in there saying something.
"Tonight is all about what you want. You want to fight me? We'll have a go when this is over, then get you fed, no matter the outcome, let you try on clothes, give you something to care about... It's all on me. Trust me. As much as you can, at least... I've got a lot to make up for."
-
"Mikon?" Kise finally perked up without a snap as Gean put a hand on her, tilting her head in confusion. "It's not rude? She's a runt... She only has two tails. That means she's weak-- I don't mean physically, little one; you swung that axe around like a true beast~ I mean, your magic... It's struggling, and I can help you with it." She finally relented and released the girl, letting her pull herself away, sitting there in her rather revealing qipao, tails swaying, smile beaming. "Unlike your rude little friend, I mean you no harm... Gosh, Kansei, you must've been born in the last few decades... I've been there plenty, but I found nothing. Hawawawa... What a mistake on my part to not return sooner. Gosh. Gosh! How many more of you are there!? If so many are still alive..." What have I been growing so strong for? That thought bounced around her head like a shout in an empty theatre, echoing in her mind, but she finally managed to catch it and crush it. Lufiria still harmed us. Still killed us. Still butchered us. Survivors don't change the facts.
"Hahh... My name is Hikari Kise, but you can call me mom if you'd like~ I'm certainly more than qualified to be your mother... Thalia, was it? Your magic. It's dark magic. We have the same affinity, kihihihi~ Isn't that wonderful? I can teach you anything you want to know about it and would be more than happy to do so... Given you've restored some of my faith in this world with your beautiful little existence, it's the least I can do, right?"
-
From Tio's surprise at Roxanne's information, it seemed as though they would receive an answer... And a confusing one they did, leaving Alvira's mouth ajar for a long moment. "Wait, why hasn't anyone found her yet, then!? You'd think if she's so close so fucking Axios Hall that someone would've wandered into that cave and cracked that crystal... unless, you don't think, they're hiding her there on purpose...?" It was incredibly confusing, Alvira sighing and scratching at her head. "Yes, Elisa, like Roxanne said, she called herself a true dragon, which... If she's as old as she claims and able to contact Roxanne this far away from home... I can only assume she's not lying. For, clarification, I am a dragon, of which I am quite proud," she said with something of a huff, "but... the myths of the true dragons are very, very old, older than the spirits, Galari, the three angels... They're myths that go deeply into the very creation of, my species... So the stories go, dragons used to be giant beasts, walked on all fours, were winged, mighty, breathed fire, ice, thunder, all sorts of elemental powers... And were highly intelligent. But, those are all myths. Stuff written down in scripture like... L-Like Fomalhaut, hah. Haha... I don't know why I'm having such a hard time believing all of this over, him, I just... If we were meant to have been so strong once upon a time, what happened? How did we end up, like this?" She gestured towards herself and sighed.
"If this Miz is telling the truth and she's the last of a species of ancient dragons... Then I owe it to her to help Roxanne find her and set her free. If she's my great ancestor, it's the least I can do... But, that brings me to what I had to ask the two of you about." She took a deep breath and shook her head a bit. "If, after we save this envoy, and resolve things here, you leave to go to Lufiria right away, take me with you. I will do anything you ask, handle any obstacle, make sure not to get in the way... but I have to go to Lufiria. I have to find that spear... and Gods willing I'd like to meet my aunt for the first time. Maybe I'll even be lucky enough to pick up my brother and sister..." She glanced back towards M, still desperately clinging to Jane, her heart tightening in her chest once again. "I started this journey for them. Left them with someone I knew I could trust... And I'm strong enough to go back to them. Go back and face everything attached to my name and my fate... So please." She glanced at Roxanne rather apologetically, knowing that going to Lufiria likely would stop her from helping with Miz.
M slowly rose from the ground with Jane in her arms, a smile finally on her sobbing face. She didn't know what the Evokers and the others were speaking about; she wasn't trying to listen, only looking up once she realized Roxanne was with them. She did her best to hold her smile, resolute in what was to be her life going forward. "Thank you. Thank you all, so much..." There was nothing else she could say, no words would ever thank the Tigers for saving her daughter's life and then her own. Not wanting to intrude further, she bowed slightly and started to walk away with the young spider girl in her arms. "Come on, Jane. Let's go do something fun. Everyone's celebrating~ We should join them. It's okay. It's okay..."
Versaris waved Mira off, genuinely hoping she'd make it to him in the gauntlet. When Syta was the one to do so instead, he was truly stunned for a moment, eyes locked on Lani's form against the ground. Even if the girl was borrowing magic from that fox of hers, to think that she'd survived a blow from Lani's weapon... She was made of sturdier stuff than he'd expected. That wouldn't deter him, as a single swipe from his own magical blade sent her reeling to the ground. "Hahh..."
Mira didn't make it past Lani as well, falling short of defeating the armored menace, barely, sending her stomping back over to the stands while Versaris attended to his weapon. "Already have somewhere in mind. Spied a little pub while everything was being set up. I'm willing to bet the stuff they cook in there beats the street food by a decent margin... Proper fire and all the right seasonings. You like salmon, I'm assuming?"
He smirked, leaning forward some. "As for what to buy you... I think a nice ring would suit you to go along with the necklace, don't you think? Though, I'll have to get another once you're both separated. Can't have you two sharing something that important... I don't know if they'll have something jewelled here, but silver is certainly your color~ What do you think?" He wasn't going to let her off that easily, suddenly standing and pulling her in close for a hug, smiling down at her. "Maybe I should let you pick out your own? Or does the surprise excite you, Mira?" If you think being standoffish is going to stop me, think again... You're just getting cuter.
"Yeah, keep barking little girl, you couldn't get past Lumina, let alone make it to me. Would love to see you break your hands against my guard. Bitch for the bitch any longer and we'll see how long this fun little game stays friendly..." Her tail angrily beat itself against the ground as Syndra stopped her guard dog and finally left, sighing in some form of defeat as Lumina reminded her of time and place. "For a Belrose? Any time and any place... Ugh... If she'd faltered even slightly, bowed her head and apologized, maybe I'd have gone lighter on her, but it's that fucking ego. That confidence. Holding her head high like she even deserves to... Yeah Syndra, you're so cool, you came back here years later with people way stronger than you at your side, now they'll stop your family. Like you never could. Fuck you. Grovel and beg for our aid. You don't deserve respect; you ran away from Nicolas the same as the rest of us did..."
She let her vitriol out in full and finally sighed, shoulders sinking, shaking her head. "She doesn't get it. She'll never get it. Even if she stands alongside us and flings her magic his way... It won't change what they've done. Can't bring myself to smile and act nice. Can't do it. This country's been through enough." Needing it way more than she realized, Eva pulled Lumina into a sudden and tight hug, biting her lip hard to give her some real pain to focus on instead of the emotional turmoil building up inside of her. She wouldn't cry over this. "Sorry. Thanks. Let's get back to what we're supposed to be doing here..."
The fighting didn't help take her mind off of much. While she'd managed to stop the first lizard and that fox from before, she was feeling sorely outmatched the more people showed up. It only hurt because of what the wolf had spouted, trying her damndest to stop Mira as she ran through the arena, still falling short. She collapsed onto the benches reserved for the fighters and leaned against her sword, sighing. "Not gonna ask her for help. Never. Even if it kills me."
Syta was stunned when Lani fell and didn't get back up, watching things through the veil of Kisara's control, which lasted mere minutes, Versaris reminding her and everyone why he was the final rung of the arena. With the fox back in the amulet for now, Syta groaned and picked herself up, swiftly running to Laniva and latching onto her arm, not in excitement, but heavy worry. "Lani! Are you okay!? I, I mean, I'm sure you're okay, you're made of sterner stuff than most, I just... K-Kisara didn't go too hard on you, did she?"
Oh, shush, your cat is fine. You're fine, right?
With Syta clinging onto Laniva so tightly, the amulet was pressing into the cat, letting Kisara speak with the both of them for the moment.
If I made her hit you too hard, you'll just have to get her back later, privately--
Syta let go of the embrace to yank the amulet back and scowl down at it, blushing profusely. "Ugh! You! You damn fox... Urghhh... Y-You, are okay, right, Lani...?"
Siorel sighed as she picked herself up, glad to have made it at least to Evangeline, but... not going further was just a testament to her needing more training. She sauntered her way over to Cinaed as they all dispersed from the rounds ending, smiling up at him. "Hey~ Bet you didn't expect to see me today... Up and about, even her, taking part in something like this?" She propped her hands onto her hips and tilted her head a bit, smiling wide. "Been getting some help with my issues... You think it's paying off, Cin?" She'd managed to defeat him in their little gauntlet of sorts, but it wasn't as though it had been easy to land that hit on him. She was still doing her best to learn from Jeremiah's teachings on knives. Dancing suited her better, anyway. "When this is all over, you wanna hit the town and relax some? You guys did just finish killing, like... The devil, to my understanding."
"Always, huh... Heyyy Lezard! We'll take the usual when you're done with the first timers and the new folks. Don't mind us." She wasn't going to cut on anyone's line, leaning into Kieran some and sighing. "You're super dense if you think I'm gonna get bored, today. Just a complete brick wall. Honestly. Can't believe you... Open your eyes some, huh? You think I'm grabbing your arm because it makes it easier to pull you along?" This time, she slowly wrapped her arms around his and held him close, staring up at him with a cocky, smug, all too confident smile. "We're on a d a t e, tough guy~"
Amera's eyes were locked onto the fish as it got served, following it as it was taken away, nose sniffing at the air. "I'd like some of that, sir! The first dish!" The spicy one was too much for her, but that first one smelled divine, taking her glass and leaning into Seila some as she drank from it. "Ahhhh... This is truly the life. Good food, good drinks, good people, and a warm, cozy atmosphere... And I mean, maybe, buuuuuut..."
Sylmaria snatched the second bottle and her food, huffing and helping Miria walk away without falling over. She was certainly feeling it, but she wasn't stumbling much, at least, managing to stay walking moderately straight. "C-C'mon, Miria, we can, find somewhere to eat..."
"Too slow~ Hahh, first time drinkers... So funny to watch. We should get one more bottle for the three of us anyway, I'm sure we can all put back two and still remember things in the morning... Right?"
Sylmaria pulled Miria away and found a bench to sit down with her, sighing. She'd escaped the situation so quickly because, despite her attempts, being next to a bunch of clouded like that was still a damper on her mood. Stupid... stupid stupid stupid... She didn't go into the food first, immediately popping open the second wine bottle and downing several large gulps of it, finally setting it down and flopping against the bench. "So stupid..." She huffed and glanced at Miria, then her food, realizing most of it was already gone. "Sheesh, you weren' kiddin'... Guess I should, try this 'fore I drink, too mush... Hahh..." She realized they didn't grab anything to eat with, but she was so drunk, the thought of eating with her claws didn't disgust her this time. "Mmhn... Ish good. Good foo'..." It really was, despite her inebriated state, perhaps the best fish she'd put in her mouth.
-
"I refuse to accept him until I can fight him for myself." Talulah was fuming over the brazen display, almost growling, huffing to try and quiet her frustrations. "Make no mistake, Jesse, I did not acquire this weapon from its original owner... The merchant knew nothing of its origin either, leaving me without any means of knowing further what it wants beyond to feed on the mana of the slain. Damnable tool... but needs must, and I must use it all the same." She didn't share the same interest in the shroud as Jesse did, finding it useful armor and a means to tame the blade, nothing more. "Mmm... Looks like the next wave of challengers are approaching."
Stepping up to Lucretia was someone who had been rather hidden away since they'd hit Islexia. Siorel swayed up to the woman in a stunning all white, strapless dress, with sleeves held onto her arms by bands, a hefty contrast to her black scales and yellow spots. She brushed some hair out of her face and twirled a knife out from seemingly nowhere behind her, leaning on one leg as she looked up at the pink and teal haired healer. "Mind getting everyone all together for me? I'm gonna give this a go."
Syta wanted to say more to Cin, but it seemed someone was going to be challenging the arena... This is my moment. I can do this too. "Sorry to cut this off early, but, I'm gonna join her." She ran past the two, over to Lucretia, tome in hand as she unlatched it from the chain that had been carrying it on her belt. "Me too!"
-
Versaris stared back at her boredly, almost rolling his eyes, but it was more than clear that this was coming from a place of severe insecurity. She'd been jaiuled in her own body for years, and the first taste of freedom was being met with perhapy unbelievable acceptance, planning, and a course of action to keep them both alive and well. Still, he meant every word, and if she was going to demand that he prove it with actions, then he would act.
In one fluid motion he put a hand around her waist and slid in close, almost kissing her, staring into her violet eyes and waiting. "Last chance to back out before I prove myself, Mira. Do not doubt that I intend to act on all that has been said of you."
"Wha--" The creation had zero expectations for what the not-elf would do to try to prove himself to her. It felt like she had blinked and within that second his arm was wrapped around her waist and his nose was brushing against her own. She could feel his breath on her face. Her eyes were wide, until they narrowed with him holding himself just shy of any actual 'action'. "G... Get out of my face. Words are worthless." Caught off her footing, the only option left to her was to dig her heels in. "If you were going to do something you would have done it already."
"I was only being courteous, you know?" Her scowl didn't scare him any, pressing forward into a kiss, and holding her and it for a long tender moment, finally letting her go and running his fingers up along her shirt and her spine, still holding her close. "And if you require another, feel free to come and get it. I will not falter in my path forward... No matter what."
"My armor? If I knew anything about it, I would tell you. All I know is that it comes from the blade," she grasped the hilt of it, the armor flashing and encapsulating her as it had during her rounds. She struggled a moment to get her hand off of Yscavelne, the weapon barking for blood as always, but having not drawn it today, she was able to sever her connection with moderate ease. The armor remained, glorious violet hues reflecting the setting sun. "My blade reacted to Miria all the same, demanding I fight her... It wanted her blood, but I denied its purpose. That's all I know of this armor and anything related to it... If yours are similar, then they must surely have an origin. Find it, and much will be revealed... As for the Yscavelne, why it contains a 'shroud' is beyond me. I did not inherit this blade, nor am I its caretaker... I stumbled upon a 'cursed weapon' in a market in Karavel. The shopkeeper had been using it to kill prospective buyers, as the blade demands much of the wielder when drawn... The average traveller would be consumed completely. I can only imagine that was why he was so afraid when I drew the weapon and was not slain on the spot..."
She sighed and ran a hand across the sheathe, feeling the pulse of the 'demon' inside, desperately reaching for her, unable to find purchase. "It is a mysterious tool, but I will take anything to become stronger, no matter how dangerous. If it does not kill me, I can, and will, use it... So I must see how that elf fights--" She'd slowly turned her head to look at Jesse as they spoke, only now turning back to see Versaris kissing the lizard beside him!? Her face grew flush, almost pure red, both in embarrassment from spotting something so intimate and in great frustration! "How can he be so complacent!? Is he that confident!? Fie on this mockery... He sits at the end behind that great warrior and engages in s-such... Such, lascivious acts in broad daylight! Ugh! Someone must put him in his place!"
Eva growled as Syndra rebuked her intimidation without remark, folding her arms and keeping herself put next to Lumina. "Self important bitch." She huffed and let them talk, unable to put her hatred of the Belrose family aside. They're all the damn same. They'll just do whatever with whoever to get what they want. I won't trust you. I don't care of Pashmina helped you, you've got their name, their blood, and until I see you personally killing your brothers without hesitation, you won't get a pass from me. The arena isn't a battlefield. Lots of things can be covered up as an accident, Syndra... Or perhaps you get caught out of place and I 'didn't see you were in trouble'? Act confident. Act cocky. You'll get yours if you step a single toe out of line.
"It's not like we need your help, anyway. You stick to what your people are best as doing: stabbing others in the back. Give us a good show when it comes time to putting a spear of ice through brother dearest, eh?" She couldn't help herself from her barbed comments, knowing full well what this family had done to Islexia, to Pashmina, to everyone of her kind that lived here in constant and utter fear. Despicable...
"Coral... Why would she think they were all dead? Thalia even had a father, before they... mmm. Kansei has not been the kindest country as of late, but if she had a father, he had to come from somewhere. If you ask me, your girlfriend simply hasn't looked hard enough."
Coral received a glare from Kise for their words, but with the fox so completely enamoured with Thalia, a glare as cold as ice was all they received, Coral doing their best to glare back, faltering some at the pressure the woman gave off. What in the world...
"Whatever. Could you take a moment to get her off of my friend? If she'll even listen to you..."
"Whhha, th-that's, different! Hey... That's, so not fair... Rrhhnn... I'm... You're... Sh-Shut up. I's different." Sylmaria had no real coherent argument to deny Miria's words, the girl stumbling plenty already. Sylmaria wasn't finding it that hard to keep her balance steady, but maybe the constant swaying her tail was doing as aiding in keeping her centred. "Iiiiiiii'm gonna take on the arena... Nuffin' you can do t'stop me. Rrh. Gotta, wanna, see what these powers can do... Whoa! Hey!" Miria nearly fell over, almost taking Sylmaria with her, managing to get the girl standing as a few others walked up to them. The mage and her... friends.
Sylmaria managed not to scowl, taking a step to the side with Miria in tow, helping her stay steady. "We're, jus'... Waiting for food, is all. An' more wine. Maybe. Dunno... haf to ask him if i's okay if we have more..."
"Awhhhh, Ullr~ I like you too! That doesn't mean you gotta buy me anything, silly."
You should get him to buy you something to aid your--
Quiet, you. I'm busy! And done listening to you. Shoo, shoo. I'm on a date~
Iris once again battered the voice in her head away, kicking her feet some as the man at the pub explained their seating arrangement. "You got it, mister~! We'll take two of whatever the house recommends, for drinks, and any dried meat you've got on hand for an hors d'oeuvre~" She'd always wanted to use those words. She had no idea what the meant, but it was always there in the sacred texts during the restaurant scene, and then things panned to under the table, with their legs starting to--
"Oh, right, this means I gotta get down." Iris quickly hopped off of Ullr's shoulders and ran on all fours into the pub, crawling under the table and up into the seat before finally sitting still-- as still as Iris could, swaying left to right, her tail swaying in opposite momentum behind her. Left, right, for her, right, left, for it. "This is a real fancy place! I hope the fish is good. I'm so used to it raw, I can't imagine it tasting better cooked... I mean, Miria really likes 'em campfired, something about a pair of sites and stomach troubles, buuuuut... Tasted better raw, I tell ya. No stomach troubles either; I dunno what she was on about." Little did Iris know, her makeup as a creation was preventing her from discovering the terrible side effects of worms. "Hopefully the pan seared fried bar food kinda fish makes it taste great."
"You tryin' to convince me or you with that? Content to wallow up there alone, pft. You wouldn't have called for me if you were, idiot!" Marigold laughed as Kieran really tried to play it all off, smirking wider as he claimed able to keep up with her. "And I don't feel pain at all. Think you can outlast me, Kieran~?" He finally pulled ahead, Mari latching onto his arm like they were a funny little couple on a date, walking alongside him. "Take me away to Lezard's fish stand, then~" They both knew where it was, but she would play the part for fun.
Though, it seemed as though they'd be waiting some time, a congregation of people already waiting for fish... and, drink, from the sounds of Miria and Sylmaria? "Look at them go. Young 'uns getting drunk for the first time... A beautiful sight~"
-
"MroWHOA, you really slept with Owen!?" Amera wasn't quiet about it, leaning into Ember as Seila dragged her along, giving her some hefty wide eyes of shock and awe. "You gonna make that permanent? I mean... He's gotta stay here, so I guess not, but WOW, I can't believe he agreed to that... Mostly, cuz, y'know, obligations and duties and busyness during the planning of attacking Kazran, but... I mean, hey, good for you, girl~!" Amera wasn't the least bit bothered, perhaps a bit disappointed that Ember couldn't keep it going. Long distance with lords seemed like an awful idea, given how quickly and often they'd be moving along. She'd need someone in their little mercenary group to get with.
"Heyyyyy, you're way worse than I am when you're drink... Speaking of, looks like we've got a few faces getting warmed up. Heyyyy~! Miria!" It was Amera's turn to drag, yanking Seila, and thus Ember, towards the usually golden girl, and her funny white haired friend...? "Getting worked up, are ya? Buddy here got good wine? Maybe some ale? Mead? I could use something sweet to get drunk on..."
"Ahhh, ahah, I-I guess that was a bit weird to suggest, uhm... S, Sorry." She apologized and threw the idea away swiftly, but only because of Laniva's reaction... it was still on her mind, Syta unable to fully repress the idea of getting so effortlessly handled by the cat.
Pervert~
Shut up, like you aren't.
So you admit it, Syta?
Yes... I can't help how being around Laniva makes me feel. She's just... so cool. So strong. I wanna get thrown around by her... Hahhh, if that makes me a pervert, so be it~
My, my... It seems it's terminal. Maybe you should go ahead with the fighting anyway?
Syta didn't amuse Kisara further, giving Cin a small wave. "Hey, Cin. You did great too, but, looks like you got unlucky a few times... I think it just goes to show how tough folks are in the Tigers, though! I mean, and those two new folks, whoever they are... Still, it's good to know that we've all got such strong allies to rely on, yeah? Makes you feel safe. Lani's really good at that."
"Ahhh, chirp more... My beautiful little runt... You're so weak but you're real. You're real...! I can't believe it... Hahhnnn~" Kise melted into her embrace of Thalia, slowly petting her and nuzzling against her further, eyes finally turning up towards Coral and reality. "What? I thought the rest of my kind was dead. I will not apologize for being this overjoyed upon finding one... What's your name, little one?"
"It's Thalia, and can you let her go alrea--"
"Silence, elf. Thalia... Beautiful. Where are you from? Where have you been hiding all these years...? Lufiria? You must've been. I've been everywhere else, but I've never... I can't have been that unlucky. That's impossible, ahah... Ahahah... I truly can't believe you're real, even holding you in my arms, it's... It's all so much," she hiccuped, and there went the tears, holding Thalia even tighter, hopefully not enough to hurt her. "You're not all gooooone...! Ahhghnnhn... Three centuries, for revenge, when all I had to do was l-look harderrrhn, hhhnn..." She did her best not to sob fully, but it was an overwhelming emotion, this feeling of family, of peace, of home. Truly an impossible moment, so many things swirling within her. "I'm going to brush your hair, and help you with your magic, and fix up your tails, and take care of you. You're so weak. So weak... You have to be kept safe."
Coral huffed, rather offended by this woman, but... even they could tell, they weren't someone to be messed with, despite the mess she currently was. "I guess you belong to her now, Thalia. Better speak up if you want otherwise."
"Uhhh, honestly, I don't have any idea where they're going? Something about going after some envoy to the west of here? I dunno. I'll just do my job and stay out of the spotlight. Not really an 'all eyes on me', kinda gal, and the less work I have to do, the better-- Except for this, Sara is lovely-- Dwiiiiiiight~" Krystal sang his name out, brushing Sara really hard before nodding, leaning on the lizard. "Of course she is! She's the best behaved little beastie around, isn't she, aren't you Sara, good girl, good girl~" She furnished her compliments with scritches and rubs, the wyvern continuing its low purr. "You not gonna go enjoy the festivities, Dwight? Plenty of food, drink and cheer... Maybe you feel awkward and all, given everything, but you chose right in the end and no one's going to burn you at the stake. Live a little~ And before you ask me why I'm not, it's wayyyyyy too much effort. Someone should just bring the festival food to me while I relax on a lovely couch... I should go find a lovely couch~"
"Hwhat?" Sylm stared at Miria for a moment before scrunching her brows, confused. "Wha'd'you mean poorly? Huh?" She wasn't sure what Miria was going on about, downing the third glass of wine and elbowing the girl, finally putting her claws on her hips. "You were doing great, weren't you? What's up? Why're you saying that? And you're alive, right? Anyone 'at did poorly's in the ground right now... Don't, go sayin' that, geez. Stupid." She huffed, realizing that the woozy had gotten worse, taking a second to breathe and stabilize herself so she didn't fall over... And, the wine was gone. "Ohhhwhoa... It's all gone... When did... Huhwhaaa..." She didn't realize they'd drank it that fast, blinking several times as she stared at it. "Shoul' we ask him for more...?"
She wasn't sure how this stuff worked, or how much was meant to be had at once... "You should ask him, if we, should-- hic-- ask him, whoa, what the fuck was that...? Uhhhnn, anyway, if you just wanna, watch that's, f-fine. I'll give 'em a show of my magic and they'll get what's comin' to 'em~"
-
"Y-Yeah... I'm, surprised its so nice. Is this why people drink?" That feeling of warmth was steadily spreading through her, holding her glass over to Miria to have another drink, gently sipping this one this time. This must be why everyone in town is having such a good time... My mind's already starting to feel a little fuzzy. It feels... good. It's a pleasant kind of woozy, though... Haha~ She smiled a little, glancing around the stand for the man, the smell of fish slowly wafting towards her. "Mmmn... We, should go take on that arena, thingy... You guys are all so strong. I wanna see if I can stand up against that... Keep my place, an' all. I know you're all, too nice to kick me out for nothing, but... I wanna help, and... Even if I hate this body, it's strong. So I should, see how strong it really is... R-Right?"
She looked to Miria for reassurance, slowly glancing down at her glass, realizing it was empty again. "Uh, can I have another...?"
She was going to be a tricky one. "Ahahah... Of course I mean it. Before, I'd spoken out of turn... I failed to understand everything; I'm far from perfect... Actions always were worth more than words, though. If you won't believe me when I say it, I'll just have to show you-- and of course I'm a little perverted with you. I've been all over that body... You might not be Aly, but I can't just snap my fingers and stop looking at 'you' that way. Give me a bit to change gears if it bothers you." He was sure that Mira wasn't just putting on an act... He had certainly said some terrible things, both out of frustration and a lack of full understanding. He could only take them back and prove his sincerity with time, and if she didn't want to play along right away, no point in forcing it.
"You going to give it a shot, then? You know who to speak with. The pink haired woman over there with, the uh... Staff. Ahem." Lucretia remained an obstacle to observe... it was as if everything jiggled on purpose. She did still wink at him when their eyes met. She's a menace. A rather familiar menace... Still need to speak to Jeremiah about that. "She'll round us all up, and if you get past Laniva... you can try to put me down. I look forward to having you jump on me-- whoops... Still adjusting. My apologies, Mira."
-
The man swiftly returned with... an entire bottle of fancy red wine. Sylm would've been shocked by that, were she not still frozen by the shock of sudden contact, only finally freeing herself from Miria's little hug to stare down the alcohol. "Uh... Y-Yeah... Drinks, whole bottle, first time... Good idea." She, almost on autopilot, reached over to the bottle and poured herself a glass, then staring down into it, unsure of the deep red liquid. It smelled of grapes, fermentation, some spices she couldn't place... and it was strong. Just a taste...
Strong, certainly. There was something off-putting about it instantly, but it quickly mellowed into a something good, the flavor settling, the sensation hitting her quite foreign, but far from bad. "Whoa." That was the only way she could describe it, quickly going in for the rest of the small glass she'd poured herself.
"Hey, I only got one as well. These folks are real tough... Hmm." Further talks were stifled for a moment as Ryfia, Alistair, and the Blue haired menace made themselves known to talk for a moment. Eva had planned on staying quiet, but talk of 'oweing' Pashmina made her eye twitch, putting herself between Syndra and Lumina, leaning down over the blue haired woman. "What's your fuckin' game, Belrose? You know how much shit Pashmina has been going through because of your siblings? Your family? Showing your face now of all times and acting all chummy... I don't buy it. I helped your retainers because I saw a Clouded in trouble. Had nothing to do with you, likely never will... Feh." She was enjoying her time with Lumina too much to get any angrier, taking a step away towards the light mage, letting out a sigh. "Fuckin' Belrose family..."
"First you call out for me, now I've gotta decide the night? Damn, Kieran, really put a girl to work... Yes, food is fine, and first, because I'm gonna walk you through Eslcas until your legs ache and your brain is full... Gonna run you ragged, Kieran~" She tugged him down and down, finally out of the castle doors, then and only then, letting him go enough to walk on his own.
"And you get to share it all in the presence of yours truly~ The most fervent and everlasting of Lord Owen's retainers... And I've got nice hair, I guess." She scoffed and leaned into him some, her bodysuit hiding very little of that body she didn't care all that much for. Which, was a discredit to herself, and her absolutely amazing thighs, squeezing against the fabric with every new step. "Thinkin' fish... How's fish sound?"
-
Coral huffed, sheathing their knife under their dress, shrugging. "You've got eyes, don't you? Walk around and look." They sighed, unable to both fathom where this fox had come from, or what her desire was, beyond, well, Thalia in her entirety. Speaking of, the girl had frozen completely, staring off at nothing. "Hello? Thalia? Are you in there?" Coral waved a hand in front of their face, the kitsune smothering her either not wanting to, or being completely unable to notice Coral in front of her. "Hahhhh..."
Talulah had been going over her duels ever since sitting down, eyes still locked onto Versaris. How can someone so, carefree, be so strong...? What has he been through to get there? Rrrhghhn... That damn cat... I was so close. I must see him fight. I must! Someone had to beat that creature. Her concentration was broken by Jesse, though her gaze did not falter. "You may speak freely, if that is what you wish. My time is completely taken, though, as I will be staying here until this makeshift arena closes. If you can achieve what you need with only words, by all means... But I refuse to miss a single minute of combat here. I have too much to learn." And she hadn't learned enough, beyond armor being quite the effective stopper of regular blades. And she's wearing less than she was during the assault on Kazran's fort... Terrifying. Defeat her. Defeat her and reveal that man's secrets to me.
"This Sara is much better than yours." Krystal stuck her tongue out at Giovanna for a moment, grabbing a brush and going about scraping it against the underside scales on the beast. It seemed the Kastille was going to go about changing her identity down to the smallest details, even if it would take time... It made sense, given her connection to Kazran as his tactician, and she'd harmed plenty of other families out there, though, never in person. It made the appearance change a bit weird, if Krystal was being honest about it, but, maybe the woman wanted to turn a whole new leaf around, appearance included.
"What am I going to do? I'm gonna stick around with these mercenaries, like, are you kidding me? Hoooooly, crap, they're CRAZY! All I gotta do is touch some backs, arms, flirt a little, wave a staff around, and I get people to protect me that are even stronger than KAZRAN? Yeah. I'm going with them, like, geez. Couldn't ask for better protection, and they're pro Clouded too? Mwah. Chef's fucking kiss. They're, perfect... So I just need to make myself useful, maybe get in bed with one of the stronger ones, if they aren't all fucking each other already... I'll figure it out~"
Iris held onto Ullr with her claws in his hair, making sure not to tug. "Good meat... Iiiii dunno if you're gonna find much of that around here. I did some explorin' while you folks were killing that slime. Lots of fish!! Makes sense, cuz, they're on the water and all, but WHOA, they've got a whole fishmarket here, like sheesh! It smelled like the ocean, and there were a lot I recognized, and a lot I didn't... Like some, weird white thing with a bunch of arms! It's probably tasty, though... You up for fish, Ullr? Not sick of it from all our travels, I hope? I know we do a lot of foraging when we're on the move and fishing is real easy, between you, me, Miria, Laniva when she thinks no one is looking and she acts like a real cat and catches them with her mouth..."
Iris rattled off some names as they walked into town, getting PLENTY of stares for being this, pinked haired, white thing, riding on top of an extra fluffy wolf man. "I... Have decided. Ullr... It is your mission to find me... SALMON. So juicy, so tasty~ Raw or cooked... Little salt, ah~! Sublime. You'll love it too! And it's low in fat so you can stuff your face with a bunch if you aren't satisfied right away... You game?" She leaned over his head and smiled, poking his nose. "You don't gotta buy me anything, y'know? I mean, unless you like, REALLY wanna, but I'm nice and happy with everything I've got. Friends, family, you~ So don't feel the need to or nothin'... but I mean... I guess jewelry is kinda pretty... BUT, BUY, for you, first. Okay? Got it? Ullr?"
Mira was certainly different from Aly... Especially with how defenseless she was acting. "Trying to entice me, are you?" He didn't explain what he meant by that, stretching his arms up. "It's a good show... Mmmm, let's think, then... If you manage to beat me in the arena, I will buy you whatever you want in town, Mira. How's that? Whatever catches your eye, even if it's expensive... Or I'll wait on you with regards to food for the rest of the night. Whatever you'd like." Either she was very good about playing nice, or she was only so angry because she'd been locked away for so long, finally getting to be herself with that newfound freedom.
"You shouldn't be surprised that I care, though. I've already told you, I care for you plenty. Both of you. I'm not here to monitor you... I am truly trying to figure out what it is you want, what you'll enjoy... I'm not looking to replace Alriana, but I'd be glad to make the both of you as happy as I can manage. I wasn't talking past you when I said I'd be a hero for you." He winked at her, some real affection attached to the expression. She was certainly cute, in her own way, and with the same body... It was difficult to separate some of his feelings for Alriana from her. "But first! You have to win. That means getting past Laniva, and she's going to rock anyone's world... Even yours. If you're so confident, why don't you give it your best shot? I'll cheer you on."
-
Can You Control The Beast Inside?
SpoilerAs soon as they were able to pull away from the crowd that had gathered around the boat Alriana was quick to pull Versaris to their shared room at Castle Esclas, not speaking a word to the not-elf other than “We need to talk,” before they were securely behind the doors to their room. Yet, the words she wanted to say still didn’t come easily, staring at Versaris, unable to utter the conclusion she’d already reached by herself. It felt like an eternity of silence, an eternity of staring up at Versaris’ concerned expression, before she was able to speak.
“...She got out. Kise and I fought on the ship, and she got out. And…” She couldn’t continue, averting her gaze. They’d promised each other they’d be safe, that they wouldn’t take risks, and she’d been the one to break her word. It hurt, more than any wound ever had.
Versaris wasn’t initially against getting dragged away from all of the merriment, but he grew increasingly concerned as Aly refused to say a single word. He’d kept trying to coax her into saying anything, even teasing her a little, but she was like a stone wall. By the time they were alone, he was greatly concerned, trying to watch her expression for anything that would give away… something, but still, nothing, for minutes, until she’d finally spoken.
“She… Alright… Why, did you fight with Kise in the first place?” That fucking fox. “And, you’re okay, so I guess… someone took care of things. Okay… Aly, I’m… A little disappointed, but I’m not upset. You’re alright, you’re, in control… So, what’s wrong? You pulled me away, so there has to be more to it. What has you worried?” Blaming her or getting angry wouldn’t solve anything. He was more upset at Kise, confident that she was the one that started things. If she wasn’t so powerful I’d do something about this. Bitch… Ugh, not now, Versaris. “You have to tell me, Aly. Silence won’t solve this.”
Alriana flinched as Versaris’ made clear his disappointment; once she had declared herself immune to words, but as she grew and learned more she had begun to realize that they could wound just as easily as her daggers. She kept her gaze off of his, unable to look up into his emerald eyes. She focused on his first question, it was easier to talk about. “Heard her talking about Luthier, how he was her prey. But, we have to kill him. Told her that, she told me that I’m not the original, that She wants her body back, and challenged me to a fight. Wasn’t scared like with Jeremiah so accepted. Then she started it immediately, up on the sails. She got a hit in, then… She took control. Watched, as body fought Kise. Was winning, until wasn’t.” The memory was vivid, understandably so as the actual event had occurred within the past hour, but Alriana knew it was something that would be seared into her memory for a very long time.
“Then…” She trailed off, gaze even more downcast. The ‘truth’ she’d arrived at was hanging over her head, causing her chest to ache as she fought speaking the words into being. “Then, Renais came up, I, body, She, attacked Renais as she healed me, her. Didn’t more than scratch, but, still attacked Renais. Couldn’t, couldn’t stop… I…” There had been slips in the past, moments in battles where she had lost control, but never once had she raised a murderous hand to any of the Tigers. “I’m, dangerous.” Her voice cracked, then shattered into a whisper. “Jeremiah, was right.”
“So it was that damn fox’s fault…” He was still frustrated that Aly had accepted such a duel in the first place, but there was nothing to be done about it now. The rest was the more alarming part… Whoever was inside Aly lashed out at Renais as she attempted to heal her to put her away again. What came next, Versaris didn’t want at all, hugging Alriana tightly and suddenly. “You’re not. Dangerous. That’s not you. That’ll never be you… Kise coaxing you into a fight, you probably agreed because you thought it would be… simple. Just a test. I can’t imagine that fox wanted anything less than to see if she could harm you, genuinely. She’s changed… But you’re still you, Aly. The fact that you’re even upset about this is proof enough that you’re you. Isn’t it?” He was sure of it, slowly releasing the hug to try and turn her face to look at him, smiling a bit.
“You’re alive. You’re here. You’re okay. It means that this isn’t you, and it isn’t going to control you so easily… Are you… Worried, about taking part in the gauntlet they’re organizing, because of this?” That would be the only reason, surely… The only immediate reason. “Of course, I imagine you’re scared, and I’m not dismissing that. We’re going to find a way to fix this. I’m never giving up on you… And, if it scares you enough that you’re worried about hurting the others, I don’t mind at all if you sit out, you know? I don’t think anyone would…” He wished that he had more than this. Some magic solution to pull whatever it was inside her, out, but… If even the Evokers and Jeremiah haven’t thought of something, what am I supposed to do? Nothing here. Nothing so far in remote Islexia… Maybe there’s something in Lufiria, if they don’t try to kill her on sight. Hahhhhh… Frustrating. I need to do more.
She didn’t resist his hug, but neither did she return it, standing in his embrace with her gaze locked to the floor. She couldn’t accept his reassurance so easily, not with what Kise had said. The reality the fox had unceremoniously forced her to come into contact with couldn’t be brushed aside, not when there had been no reason to lie. She let him turn her face up to his, but there was no smile to greet him; Alriana didn’t know it, but she was on the verge of tears, the sorrowful droplets welling up in the corner of her eyes as Versaris hit her underlying worry on the head. “I… I don’t want to hurt the Tigers. Don’t know if fighting will let Her out. Can’t take risk. Not unless…” She trailed off, the thought momentarily shelved, unwilling to consider it with what she needed to say still unspoken.
The seeds of doubt had taken root in the creation, Kise’s words festered like an untreated wound. Alriana’s doubt was not in Versaris’ promise, but in herself and if ‘fixing’ her would actually entail what they wanted it to. “How… How do I know am still me? I, I not even the original! Body, Hers. Feel Her emotions, sometimes can’t tell difference from own. Line, blurring ever since Luthier made Her wake up…” The dam finally broke, tears streaking down her face with unparalleled speed due to her hydrophobic skin. “What if fixing ‘me’, gets rid of me?”
So it’s this serious… Words won’t fix this, then. Not from me… I don’t know enough. About what this entails, about how it feels, about what to do… “Alriana.” He got down on one knee to meet her eye level better, gently taking her hands. “I think… you’re, right to be worried. I think you’re right to be upset. I believe that you’re you, but, that’s not enough. I believe, that if you were meant to be her… Your mother wouldn’t have left you with Natalya, as you. It simply… doesn’t make sense. But. It doesn’t matter what I believe. You’re upset. We should speak with someone that knows more about magic and perhaps knows more about these sorts of things. Would you be willing to come see Tio with me? Tell her what happened and what’s been going on?” He squeezed her hands and held strong to his smile, hard as it was. “I’m sure she’s much smarter than me when it comes to some of the aspects of this… Maybe she has answers that even Jeremiah wouldn’t have. Maybe even a solution… And… no matter what, if ‘fixing’ you means that you disappear, we’ll find another way. Some method to split you two, even…”
He bit back a sigh, swallowing hard to force it down. He wanted to smile. He wanted to be strong and be there for her. “It’s not like I don’t feel for this, other you, that’s trapped inside. She’s aggressive, she lashes out, but she’s also been trapped in a prison of someone else’s making for who knows how long… Anyone would be upset. However… That doesn’t give her the right to remove you. To get rid of you. I don’t care if she’s the original, you are here, you feel, you exist, and you matter… And if she can’t be patient enough to let us figure things out, she can stay in the back of your mind for all I care.”
Alriana’s tears slowly came to a halt, sniffling as he finished speaking. She wanted to accept his belief in her but, as the not-elf himself said, it wasn’t enough for her to believe in herself, not enough for her to be willing to fight the Tigers without some sort of failsafe. She wanted that failsafe to be Versaris himself, and absolutely not Kise, but if he was taking her to see Tio then maybe it would be safe for her to test if he was enough to ensure she didn’t hurt the other Tigers in a worst case scenario. “Y, Yes, we can go see Tio. We, probably should have before, but both have been busy.” Splitting me from you… What a hopelessly idyllic idea. Where will the extra body come from? Get Grelbiria to make it? Hah. Ridiculous…
Normally she ‘slept’ when there was no immediate danger to her body, but she had tasted freedom for a precious few moments so recently and the failure had been in a bad mood since. The best thing about her was that she typically enjoyed doing nothing for long periods of time, no excitement to interrupt her ‘dream’ and drag her into the hell of being a passenger in her own body. But with how upset the bitch of a fox had made Alriana, it was impossible for it to not spill into herself, preventing any hope of ‘sleep’ while she was riding the high of her freedom. Not to mention that passing thought the failure had begun to entertain; if she went through with that, well, she wouldn’t say no.
Alriana did her best to ignore the disdain she felt from her Other, choosing to believe in the solution Versaris had proposed, no matter how impractical it was. She had experienced what her Other had for an infinitesimal amount of time in comparison, but the feeling of being an observer in her own body was one she didn’t want to experience again, even if she would have to if she was going to put Versaris to the test. She wiped what little remained of her tears from her eyes, squeezing Versaris’ hands back tight. “Let’s, go see Tio.”
“Right. I'm sure she'll have some idea of what to do.” He stood back up and forced that smile to keep going. There was little chance she could tell he was pushing himself, and he truly hated having to lie so boldly, but he was struggling with his own faith in Tio knowing anything. Maybe she'd have some idea, once she had the full picture, but… It's such an impossibly rare situation, how could she? It's better than doing nothing, but… Ahhhhh, I need to crush this anxiety! Nothing will come from worrying. Act. Act!
He took Alriana along to find their evoker associate, spotting her training, of all things, on the targets from before. “Can't say I'd expected you to be practicing, but I suppose even people as skilled as you need to make sure to stay in top form. Despite that, can we borrow you… for, perhaps, a time?” He glanced down at Aly. “She has something she needs to explain to you, and once she has, we need to know if there's anything you can do about it…”
Wave of the hand, all of the crystals behaved exactly as they should have, following her lead. A simple spell was really that was necessary; magic built on itself, an intimate understanding of the base spell meant everything afterwards would be that much easier. She closed her eyes, and focused on the connection between herself and her crystals, only to hear footsteps behind her, and then Versaris’s voice called out to her. She turned to see both him, and Alriana though, Alriana was looking unusually anxious. Alriana, as long as she’d known her, tended to be unreadable, more stoic… but now, it was a bit easier to see that something pressing was on her mind.
“Magic is much like anything else, and with how long Elisa and I weren’t able to do terribly much, I need to take time to get back into the swing of things…” Tio then raised an eyebrow, looking at Alriana and then back to Versaris, “I’m not doing anything for the time being, so, of course. What exactly do you need from me?” She offered Alriana a small smile, not entirely sure what Alriana would be asking of her in particular. Swear to the stars if this is another god voice…
As they approached the training grounds and Tio came into view Alriana felt a sudden spike of anxiety, unsure if it was her’s or her Other’s. The Other didn’t speak to make it easy to discern and, while she’d only ever felt anxious towards Versaris, she could understand why she would feel towards herself. She didn’t know that it was written all over her face, thinking she was holding her normal stoic expression as she cast her gaze upwards to Tio. “There’s, another me, inside me.”
There was no point in trying to skirt the issue, not with what she was planning to ask Tio to do shortly. “She’s been there since Luthier. Or, She woke up because of Luthier. Jeremiah confirmed while at compound. Need to know if you know anything about. Or anything about separating me, her… Us. Kise said She’s the original. That she wants Her body back. Know it true after Kise gave Her chance to take control. Know She feels like that.” She kept her Other’s feelings about separating them from Tio as well. Doubt… didn’t need to be felt by anyone but herself.
“That's… the gist of things, yes. It's not like we expect you to be an expert on, creation biology and magical make up, but… You're the strongest mage we know, well studied, smart, and if anyone can figure out anything… it's you.” It has to be you. Versaris’ facade slipped a little, the urgency in his voice apparent.
“And, to be clear… I'm, against trying to erase either of them. If it's this, other one’s body, then we move Aly into a new one and they both get their chances at life. I'd much rather that, than anyone… disappearing. As upset as I am that they're trying to force Aly out of the way… they didn't, choose this. Grelbiria, for whatever reason, put two, living, thinking, fully cognizant personalities inside of her. They both deserve the chance to live.”
Tio blinked. On the one hand, it wasn’t another god’s voice. That was a blessing at least. On the other, it was an entirely different voice. “...Another you? Inside of you?” Tio paused for a moment, and recalled what Iris had said to her. Back when the Tigers had gone to root out the underground. She said that she had heard a voice in her head, urging her to do terrible things with her dark magic. She had also said that Alriana had her own voice. “...Oh dear.” Tio waved her hand, and her crystals all came back to her, floating behind her in a circle. Versaris’s voice gave things away on his end for a moment, concern, desperation–neither of which were written on his face like they had been with Alriana.
“Alright… Where to start then…? I have heard of things like this before. It’s extremely uncommon to the point where most studied mages would say it’s impossible, but, there are records of it. Two existences inhabiting the same body… usually it’s something that doesn’t last very long–the very mechanism through which something like this happens usually means that one personality will eventually overcome the other.” Tio leaned her head into her cheek, “Separating two separate existences like that… Well, it has to be possible, that much I can say for certain.” Tio pointed at Aly, “If Aly had been like you or I, Versaris, I’d be far less confident of that… but Alriana is a created existence. If she’s not the original, or even if she was… the fact that both of them are still entangled, to the point that Alriana knows that the other exists and vice versa… it’s not implausible that there’s a way to separate them. What that would be though… that’s not my area of study, and I know too little about this to give anything concrete.” Perhaps Kisara has an idea… she bound her existence to that amulet. Perhaps there’s a way to recreate that in reverse… difficult, but not impossible… we’d need someone with an absurd amount of skill to pull that off…
“There is, of course, what you already cordoned off: destroying the other one. But I’d need to know much more if I were to try to do anything about that directly… Loathe as I am to admit, my expertise can only stretch so far.”
So even Tio wasn’t sure of a method that would allow her two selves to be separated, just confidence that it was theoretically possible. “That better than what Jeremiah said. He said mostly same thing, that one of us shouldn’t be alive, or that if She got stronger than she would start to overwrite me. Don’t know, how true that is, but it what he said. She definitely more awake than normal right now, at least.” She glanced between Versaris and Tio, knowing that at least the not-elf wouldn’t like what she was going to suggest next.
“If don’t know way to separate us, then, if going to fight against Tigers, need to know that someone can stop Her. Want that person be you, Versaris.” She did her best to give him an encouraging look, her expression steeling with resolve after. “Won’t, allow body to hurt the Tigers. That means, you have to fight Her and win, if going to be in gauntlet with you. She ‘won’ against Kise without her magic. Will let her out, to see you can win. And if can’t, Tio’s around to make sure nothing happens.”
Tio's answers were better than nothing, even if they were almost literally that. She was sure it had to be possible because Alriana had been created through magic, rather than born naturally. A small bit of comfort for the suggestion that was about to come next. “...What?” Versaris lost his smile, staring down at Aly with great concern. “I, what? Aly, no. We've no idea how dangerous it could be to cede control to her. What if she doesn't go away once you do? What if it makes it easier for her to take it? What if you start disappearing the longer you're locked in there? No. That's way too dangerous.” ... And I'm… I'm not confident I could stop her, now. Before, sure… but with how strong you've gotten, how quickly you've improved… I… He looked away from her with a sudden glare of incredible frustration, then shutting his eyes and sighing.
“If you think this is truly for the best…” She'd likely been thinking about this all day. Everyone was preparing for the festival and she'd been eating at herself, worried sick, ever since they'd landed. Trying to fight her further on this… would probably make her feel so much worse. “I'll do what I can.”
“If she doesn’t go away, then knock me out, it always worked before.” She wouldn’t allow herself to be swayed, keeping her resolved gaze squarely on Versaris. She needed to know, for her own piece of mind, before she would so much as throw a punch at anyone aside from Kise and Versaris. “If that was case, She would already be gone. She’s been ‘asleep’ for at least a year.”
She watched as he turned away, knowing that she was asking far more than she ever had from him. Knew that he wanted to do nothing to do with what she was asking. He’d masked his pain, his concern, and his fear when he’d turned back to her and given her his answer, but she knew better than to just accept his expression. “Don’t know if this is for the best, Versaris. Might be making a big mistake, might be doing exactly what you’re afraid of. But, I need to know that I’m not too dangerous for the Tigers.”
“Yeah… I know you do. But. I don't want to hurt you. Either of you… So I'm going to try and talk with her first, if you're fine with that.” Hopefully this could be resolved with words. It would be difficult, given all the rage built up in there… but he had to try.
“So Jeremiah thought the same…” That lent more credence that she was onto something, but it was going to be some time before she was sure of a course of action. The same could not be said for Alriana, who immediately suggested releasing whatever was inside of her, and for someone, preferably Versaris, to be able to stop her. “Wait, hold on a–” Versaris was well ahead of her, expressing all of the very real possibilities. Tio quickly understood that she wasn’t going to have much input beyond doing what was being asked of her; this was between Versaris and Alriana, and she was only to step in if things were to get too out of hand. It occurred to Tio that she’d never really seen Alriana fight, she’d been on the field of battle with her, but she’d never seen the creation take a life.
Once things were all resolved, and it seemed as if they were going to go through with Alriana’s request, Tio shook her head and sighed, “I have to say that I don’t like this at all. But… I’m sure that Versaris likes this even less than I do. And so…” Tio held out her hand, and conjured an ornate looking staff. “I’ll be ready if things go south.”
“Thank you, Versaris. Thank you, Tio.” Truly, she had no idea if she could even do what she was suggesting, but part of her, perhaps her Other, just knew she could. She closed her eyes, focusing on the presence inside her, reaching out for Her for the first time ever. I’m here. I won’t say no to what you’re trying to do but you really should listen to him. I’m far greedier than you could ever imagine. It felt like she was falling into slumber, even though she was wide awake, her awareness dimming until it was entirely subsumed by her Other.
Her eyes blinked open, red replaced with a deep violet, the lines along her body pulsing that same violet. She couldn’t believe that Alriana had been so worried about her that she would willinging hand control of her body back to her under any circumstances. A grin took to her face as she looked over at Versaris, hand already reaching for her dagger. “Hello, Sari…” She’d overheard everything of course, knowing what had been set up for her. Tio was here, so there was no point in defying Alriana’s plan. “You said you were going to talk, so get talking.”
Sari watched with a more than moderate amount of fear, as Alriana’s body changed to reflect the takeover. “... Yeah. Let’s talk.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose… “Can I have a name, first? I don’t expect you’ll want me to call you Alriana… And beyond getting your body back, I’d like to know what it is that you want.” He finally looked at her, trying to figure out what the grin meant, if anything. “If you’ve been hearing everything… I’d, like to figure out how to have you both alive and happy. So… how far are you willing to work with us?”
“It’s Mira. That’s my name.” That was by far the easier of the trio of questions the not-elf had asked her. Her brow furrowed, her grin faded, and her tail began to roll in agitation as she thought about the second question asked of her. A minute passed, then two, the look on her face growing more dire as more time passed. Finally, she opened her mouth with a growl. “Look, I don’t know, okay!? I’ve spent all my limited time just trying to get control of my damn body back!” Her tail flicked along the ground, stirring up the dust of the training grounds. “And it’s nice of you to want that for me… Us. But the person you need the help from the most couldn’t give less of a shit about me, especially not to the extent of making either of us a body. So even if I do cooperate, what you’re pursuing might as well be some fool’s idyllic dream.”
“Then call me a fool. Look at me.” He got down and close again, taking her hand and squeezing it tight, not going to let go even if she tried to pull away. “I don’t care what Jeremiah wants. Do you understand me? He could wish for you all to perish and for him to never have to think about it again. I will fight him at every turn if that comes to be, so this isn’t about him. This is about you, Mira, you, Alriana, and I, and how we make this work. You deserve to live. So does she. You both deserve the life ahead of you, so please.” He did his best to hold her there. “Work with us.”
“Oi…!” She let out a growl as Sari closed the distance and took her hand, glaring as she tried to flinch away out of his hold. She froze as he started speaking, like an Islexian in a manastorm, the glare fading into a look of disbelief as the not-elf completely misunderstood who she was referring to. “Hah. Hahahaha…!” She didn’t mean to laugh in his face, but she couldn’t resist the laughter, not that there was any mirth to be found in it, only defeatism. “I’m not talking about Jeremiah, Sari. Who do you think we need to make a new body for one of us? Who would know how to transfer a living being to a new body? Jeremiah wouldn’t know the first about that.”
She stared him in the face, deadly serious. “I’m talking about that bitch Grelbiria.”
“Then we find someone else.” He didn’t falter in the face of her emotions or her claims, it didn’t matter who did it. “You’re made of magic. That means someone else can figure it out. You’re not some impossible spell with one key, even if it takes a while. I’m not asking you to lock yourself away and wait for more years… Just… work with us. I’m sure, if you and Aly talk to each other in there you can… share.” He didn’t like it, but it was the most fair outcome, even if Mira argued for more time in charge for all the years she’d already been locked away. “I don’t want you dead or gone, so cut the nihilism, cut the denials, cut the lack of faith. Work, with, me. I want you to live.”
“I appreciate your determination, Sari, but you’ve let yourself fall into the f… Alriana’s misunderstanding of how serious this actually is. Jeremiah was right. Now that I’m ‘awake’, eventually, one of us will overwrite the other.” She huffed, shifting her weight onto one of her feet. “And since this is my body, everytime I take control it becomes more and more of my body. You were right, it was a mistake for her to let me out, but now it can’t be undone. If you truly want both of us to be able to live, you don’t have years. You might not even have a year, especially if she keeps getting into situations where I have to come out to make sure my body doesn’t die.”
She sighed, staring at him. “Sure, we can talk to each other, but sharing?” She growled, not liking the idea of her already short time having to be shared with the failure. But, more importantly than that, ”Intentionally sharing will just decrease the time that either of us have. Alriana is still the dominant one, somehow. So…” She growled louder, glaring, not believing she was actually going to help the failure. “Any time given to me is just going to accelerate myself becoming the dominant person, which means when we run out of time she’ll be the one being overwrote.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. We never would’ve been able to talk if she hadn’t… And I’m learning plenty.” He stood up and let go of her hands, running one over his face and taking a deep breath. “Okay. So, we just solve this within the year, if we don’t have a full one. Problem solved.” He sighed. “There’s nothing that worrying will do to solve it. We go back to Lufiria once we find the Evokers’ missing envoy… That is, if you’re willing to come along with me and do that. You’ve still not said as much… Are you willing to work with us, Mira? Because I don’t want to force this. You’ve suffered enough, and Aly is already plenty scared… So I’m… really hoping you’re willing to play along and try to find, something.”
Tio kept close watch over the proceedings, staff in one hand, crystals at her back, more surprised that whatever Alriana had done, worked. The ‘Aly’ in front of her, was an entirely different person, spoke differently, acted differently… felt differently. The woman’s magical signature was similar, but different at the same time. A reasonable sign that they could be separated in the future, but the question still remains how… Versaris was adamant in trying to get the second existence, Mira, to work with them on a plan to figure out how to separate the pair. So far, things hadn’t come to blows, but there was always time for things to go sour.
Hmm… Will Lufiria even assist them? Given Jeremiah’s interaction, and what I’m aware of…
“We’ll see if it is one or not.” She’d effectively been around Versaris just as long as Alriana had, even if it was only recently that she came into conscious awareness of the not-elf. She knew he wasn’t typically a man of blind optimism, but she also knew that he deeply loved her other, in so much as she knew he had declared as much. Much like Alriana, her understanding of the actual emotion was yet to be actualized.
She folded her arms and leaned back some as she stared at Versaris. His insistence that she cooperate was annoying but she knew he wasn't going to let up until she gave her answer. She knew what answer the failure wanted, she knew what answer the nearby evoker wanted to hear, and she knew what Versaris wanted to hear. She growled, her tail flicking. “It’s not like I have much of a choice. Even if I say no, all you have to do is make sure Alriana stays in control and you can go anywhere you want.”
“I’m asking because you deserve as much. If you said no… Well, unless you were a danger to the rest of the tigers, I guess… I would just have to accept it. I’m… not, comfortable with a lot of this. Not comfortable with deciding your future for you, not comfortable with Alriana disappearing, not comfortable with keeping you locked up… but it’s… your body, and someone else did this to you. So if you say, no… Then you say no. I’m glad you’re willing to consider it, but… mmm.” He sighed and he wasn’t sure what else to say. It was just a terrible situation for everyone involved… “I guess… that’s all, then. I’m not going to force you to hand things back to Alriana… Thanks, for discussing things.” He sighed, again, but it was much sadder, looking away from them both. “We’ll figure this out. We will.”
“You sure have changed your tune from the first time we ‘met’ Sari… What was it? You said something about deleting me?” She couldn’t help but mock him some, trading his feelings for some needed stress relief. “It’s not unwelcome, your kindness, but are you sure you have enough to share between me and her? Can you handle the weight of both of our fates?”
She huffed, moving behind him but not reaching out to touch him. “I’ll cooperate, no harm to the Tigers or whatever. But if something happens that puts me in control of my body, I want to be left alone to enjoy my fleeting freedom.”
“When I thought you were just the worst aspects of Alriana, yes. I wanted you gone. I wanted you to disappear… but I know better, now. I know that you aren’t some specter of her creation. You think and feel the same as she does.” He shook his head, not running away from his mistakes.
“Yes. I can.” He’d forced his feelings back once again, he wasn’t going to cry here, not over this, not when there was still a chance. “I’m not going to stop unless it kills me. I’m not strong enough. I don’t know enough. I haven’t done enough… And that’s okay. I’m young. I have time. I have people to help me.” He turned to face her and stared down at her, unfaltering, knowing this was the path he wanted to walk, no matter what. “I will become a hero for you. You don’t have to believe me; you can even laugh at me. I won’t stop moving forward.”
“At least you can be honest…” She let out a quiet huff, arms still folded, as she watched his back. She met his gaze as he turned to look at her, faltering some under the intensity of his stare. She stared at him as he finished his declaration, unsure how to take what he’d said. “A hero for a true Creation like me. Jeremiah would turn pale at the thought.” She couldn’t help but laugh, the ridiculousness of everything Versaris had just said too much. “Alriana deserves your devotion, but if you’ll offer it to me then,” a dangerous smirk took to her face, “I’ll take as much as I please.” It would do to make him squirm some…
“Jeremiah can turn pale as a sheet for all I care. I know who I love.” He sighed, unsure how to deal with this lizard… She was similar to Aly in some ways, but clearly more… lurid, in a way. Like she was unafraid of the limits Aly imposed upon herself as far as discussions or groups went. “My apologies, Tio… It, seems this could be solved with just words. Next will be actions. When you and Elisa return to Lufiria, please take us with you… I’ve got connections in the capital, so I won’t need you to vouch for me, or help us get into contact with who I need to speak to. Just, mm… Yeah. Sorry.”
Tio had long since put her staff away, though the crystals were still floating behind her. There was some point at which she wondered if she should even be here at all; some moments were best left between the immediate players. One thing was for sure, Versaris was dead serious–it was hard to imagine that he was anything but serious with what he was saying. He didn’t bare his emotions often, if at all, so to see them now was both surprising, and a confirmation. Tio sighed, “You don’t need to apologize for me doing nothing. I’m quite fond of the idea, honestly.” She chuckled, and then looked at him, “It will be very difficult to justify taking you both to Lufiria. For one, there’s the immediate issue of her being a creation–I can’t imagine that a lot of people will be very happy about you walking into Lufiria with one by your side. Second, and more important to me, that would increase our group making travel across the sands that much more difficult. I’m sure that Elisa and I can handle that, but… it certainly does add a lot of risk.”
“They can take it up with my family. My father wouldn’t let anything happen to me without his say, so I don’t quite care who takes issue with them being at my side. I’m still a Didarion, and that makes me one of the most important people in Lufiria’s government.” He didn’t like playing his family as a card, but it was true, and he’d use it if he had to. “As for the Sands… I have the knowledge, but not the experience. It can’t be worse than getting splattered against the tile by an aura spell, and Mira is a magical creature, I can only assume she’d be more suited to the Sands by her make than most would be… If any of that assuages some concerns.”
No hesitation for even a moment, huh? Tio shook her head, and sighed, “Admittedly, it doesn’t, really. But, by this point, I know better than to try and argue you down from this–I did just watch you argue with Aly’s other self, and somehow talk her down. I will correct you on one thing though, specifically because Mira is a magical creature, the sands will affect her more, not less. The only real protection that any of us have is through healing magic, which, unless I’m not privy to something, neither Aly or this Mira have. Either way, if you’re absolutely sure… I’ll have to speak with Elisa, we might have to rely on a unique spell of ours to make sure that we all cross just fine… as it would be Elisa and I, and yourself and Mira at a minimum. But if we make it across… Perhaps using your family name will make it significantly easier in tandem with ours to get to where we need to be.”
“Well, excuse me…” He almost scoffed at her comment, managing to smile some. It did make more sense when she explained he was completely wrong about the Sands, but at least his family name held weight. “I’ll do everything that I can with the relations I have. If Jeremiah has returned by then, both him and my father will vouch for me, and… As, furiously displeased as Serena would be to see, Mira, or Aly, she would vouch for me as well. I would, just… Have to tell a little white lie about who I’m traveling with. Hahh… The worst part is that she’d be one of the best people to get a handle on this… And one of the few that I can’t figure out how I could possibly convince.”
Tio waved her hand, and the crystals behind her flashed, before disappearing themselves, “That’s good at least, though, this is the second time that I’m hearing that name, Serena. Aegean mentioned her to me, the Grand Cleric of Lufiria, and the architect of her necklace. Though, she didn’t mention that she would be particularly difficult to convince on this… Why is she so difficult to convince here, if you’ve managed to at least bring Jeremiah to your side on this?”
Versaris sighed… “Her and her friend's children were, attacked by creations. They managed to fight them off, but… While it was just work for Jeremiah, for Serena… It's, very personal. I'm sure she'll understand, Aly, Mira, they aren't mindless beasts, but… The fear and anger will still be there. It'll be an uphill battle.”
Tio clicked her tongue, “That… would do that.” Tio was well aware of how protective people could get over their children, and considering what was being expressed, asking her to assist him with beings who had tried to harm her, her children and those of her close friends would be an incredibly rough sell. “This really is a rather unique situation. Though, if she is like what Aegean expressed to me, perhaps it’s possible to get her to help–she’d be far more assistance than I or Elisa are capable of. But… this also poses a different problem, I think… Because you mentioned the children of a close friend. Do… we know who that friend was?”
Mira’s eyes went wide as Versaris let that line fly, unconsciously taking a step back from the not-elf as she tried to process what he’d just said. There was no chance that he was speaking at her when he’d said that. However quickly her being out had been accepted, Alriana was still very much present, still the dominant owner of her body. There was no way that Versaris’ love extended to her just because the two of them shared a body. Her fist clenched, a spark of jealousy was lit, towards the interloper who–
How would you know? “Wha–” The failure had been present the entire time, witness to everything, but chose now of all times to speak up. You know how he is. He might. She paused, glaring at the ground in place of having an Alriana to stare at until her expression eventually softened. “...Then he’s a fool.” She could feel how pleased Alriana was with this development, a stark contrast to the torrent of self-loathing that had brought this about in the first place. She glanced back at the not-elf, who appeared to have started discussing what would happen once the Evokers moved onto the second part of their mission.
“The Wastes, huh.” Was how she chose to barge into the tailend of their conversation. “When I was taken to Glacies we went by boat, maybe because of what you said. Don’t know the first thing about them either. Other than that they exist.” She crossed her arms, staring at Tio as she debated answering her question. “Jeremiah said it was Rosaria, which is the worst case scenario for Sari’s little master plan.” She left it at that, knowing that she didn’t want to get within at least a ten-mile radius of the woman.
“... Yes, it’s as Mira says. The other was Rosaria, who will very hopefully be extremely busy. I can’t imagine she’ll have any way to help with this, so we can… just ignore her, and not interact with her in any way. Problem solved… And if she makes her presence known, well. Only thing to do is explain things, but, that’s a then problem, not a now problem. The most pressing now problem is,” he turned to Mira, leaning over a little, “are you staying like that today? Or am I getting Aly back?”
“Oh.” That was a name that Tio knew for sure. There weren’t many, but Rosaria was one of them. Queen Iseria had mentioned it time and time again. “Concerning. Very concerning.” It wasn’t often that Versaris’s response was effectively, ‘Pray that we don’t see her,’ but if Iseria had warned about her, and Versaris was concerned, then it was best to start learning how to pray herself. “In that case… I guess Elisa and I might have to back up the request ourselves as well. Hopefully something from the Evokers of Glacies should smooth things out a little in the worst case scenario.”
Tio then looked over at ‘Aly’. “That is the question of the hour, isn’t it? You really are an entirely different person… even your magic signature is different, not by much, but it is… Not surprising that you traveled by boat–traveling the sands is just asking for trouble, many have tried, and the number of revenants within grows each year. Most don’t make it across, it’s a ghastly place. Saps all living things of their mana far past what would be safe for any of us, until it kills you.” Tio shook her head, “But that’s something to worry about in the future, Versaris’s question is more pressing… Can you do the same as Aly did, or…?”
She didn’t have anything else constructive to add to the Rosaria talk so she didn’t, instead sighing and grumbling as both turned to her with the inevitable question regarding Alriana. She was tempted to turn away, to refuse to answer, but being hostile this far in would only result in countermeasures being taken against her. “I can.” She answered Tio first. “The fact she was able to do it is really just a sign of how bad it is for her. How close she is to being overtaken by me.” It would be a lie to say she wasn’t glad about that, but she knew better than to rub it in their faces.
She turned to Versaris, an indescribable blending of emotions welling up within her as she stared into his eyes. Rather than answer, she posed her own question, her voice tired. “Do I actually have a choice?” She glanced over at the Evoker, the woman had put her staff and crystals away, but between the two of them there was no way she was getting through them if they decided her ‘turn’ was over.
He figured this was coming… and he didn’t have it in him to be harsh about it. “Yes. You do… I just, worry, since you keep going on about Aly being the one with more of a time limit… but I don’t think a day will do anything terrible. Just… talk to her, while she’s in there, and… try to get along. If this all works out, you’ll be sisters. It would be better if you got along.” He figured there would be several days like this, ones where he’d have to seriously stow his concerns, hoping that Aly would be fine, but… if he wanted to be fair to both of them, it was all he could do.
The sincerity of his answer took her edge off, tensed muscles relaxing as her stare softened. “I’m hardly an expert on how overwriting each other works, but if it was based on time ‘awake’... I’d be nothing more than the violence woven into our being at this point. The act of me taking control is the problem… Probably. If it keeps happening then one day I’ll be the one waking up in the morning.” She didn’t know if she was right. She didn’t care if he believed her as long as it gave him pause. Anything was fair game if it meant that she got to exist in more than just the heat of battle while on the verge of death.
“If it’s actually my choice, then no, you don’t get her back today.” She laid it at his feet, waiting for his reaction, already anticipating rejection or an objection. If not from the not-elf, then certainly from the Evoker.
“... Okay. Enjoy your day, then.” Versaris turned back to Tio, shrugging. “I guess that’ll be all… I’ve got an arena to attend to, and the festival isn’t going to wait for us all to begin.” He began to walk off, pausing for a moment, “if you want to see the festival for yourself, Mira, feel free. Just don’t attack anyone, or try to pretend to be Aly. Not that you have to explain it to everyone, but, I don’t want you to cause problems just for the sake of it. Alright?”
“Haah…” Tio had her own thoughts about kind of just, allowing what apparently the ‘violence woven into their being,’ just wandering around the festival. Versaris gave his answer, and Tio could only shrug, “I don’t feel comfortable allowing this, but I have to defer to Versaris on this–he knows the both of you better than I do, and if he feels that things can be fine, then I can trust in that…” She could only hope that she wasn’t going to have to deal with this herself. “I do think that it will be better for the moment, if you avoid explaining all of this to everyone–no telling exactly how the others will react, and the last thing anyone needs tonight are any problems.
Tio shook her head, “If that’s all, then–oh.” Tio turned back to Versaris, “Right, I almost forgot. I finished your request. Harder than I expected, but I’ve never really worked with something like this before. I’ll give it to you in the morning, since you have the arena to manage.” Tio then looked back at Mira, “I will have to be more direct than Versaris is, however. I am following his lead on the matter, but if you cause problems, I will have to take my own precautions. I would like to believe in Versaris’s belief in you, so please don’t squander it.”
“Rrrrr…” Mira couldn’t mask her annoyance as both of them immediately assumed she’d go and make trouble as soon as she was out of sight. She didn’t even know what she wanted to do, but kicking a hornet’s nest like they were expecting her to wasn’t high on her list of priorities. “If you’re so worried about what I’m going to do then why don’t you show me around, mister ‘hero’.” She huffed, putting her arms on her side. “You were probably going to take Alriana out on a date, right? Well, she can still see and hear you.”
“That’s wonderful to know, Tio. I’ll see you in the morning about it, then… Just in case and all. Hahh… And I suppose you’ll want me to take you on that date instead, yes?” He looked back at Mira once again, shaking his head .”Fine. But I’m fulfilling my obligation to the arena we’ve set up, first. Maybe watching some fighting will be interesting to you… Need to try and figure out where you and Aly differ.”
“What, got a problem if it’s me?” She huffed and folded her arms, her tail flicking behind her. “Maybe I’ll run the arena then, give people a real show to watch…” With one final huff she was moving up to join him, leaving Tio behind. She had no idea what they had briefly talked about, but she doubted she’d get an answer. “Let’s go then, Hero~”
Versaris stifled a yawn, watching people fight up to Laniva, and fail against the cat. She was strong, plenty, and Syta was happy to see her do so well... but Sari was at the end for a reason. Such a large blade was beyond simple to dodge, so she wouldn't have posed a challenge to him. It did make things a little boring, having to wait until someone could defeat her, just to stretch his muscles and get some practice in. "Not going to make any forward progress like this..." Still, he'd agreed to it, and he wouldn't abandon it without a replacement willing to take over. It seemed as though Mira had noticed his feelings, slinking up beside him and whispering about running things instead. "You're free to try. You might be surprised by Laniva, though. She's strong, and you're not as quick on your feet as I am." He wouldn't have minded it, getting to stretch himself against her. Aly was a difficult opponent and Mira knew their body better, willing to go to full lengths to make use of it. "Not enjoying the show? It's nice to see them having fun fighting, instead of fighting for their lives..."
-
Talulah returned herself to the viewers area, huffing quietly. She'd expected this to be a challenge, but she hadn't expected to run into a wall before that man. The cat woman, Laniva, had proven herself to be much more effective than she'd ever thought, so tough despite the dress, and so strong. Such a large sword, anyone would figure it would swing slowly, but she wielded it like any other blade. A weapon that massive getting tossed about like the average iron blade, truly a terror... "Hopefully someone can make it to him. I need to see him fight... I must."
Eva huffed, brushing off her wounds after Lucretia went around fixing everyone up. It seemed they were going to get a small break, no more challengers lining up as of now. "The Tigers sure are strong... At least I stopped one, but, God, damn." She slowly made her way over to Lumina, giving her shoulder a fistbump. "You got one, hun. Though, it doesn't seem like you're made for arena fighting... You'd do way better on the field of battle with someone next to you to make sure you didn't get charged like that. Then you follow up with your magic and bam~ No one survives." Eva stretched, yawning some. "But, you can figure out how to go about the next rounds... I guess this thing is open for the next few hours."
"LANIVA~!" Syta dashed out of the stands and threw herself at the cat, colliding into a hug with the biggest grin in the world. "You're SO, COOL! You stopped them all! And you looked AMAZING doing it! Oh, my, GOSH, I'm so damn proud of you~!" She squeezed her extra tight and squeed, finally letting her go, almost bouncing in place. "I'm gonna keep watching until this is all settled... I'm rooting for you, Lani! Every time~ I can't believe how cool you are, gosh... I might have to give this a go and see if I can make it to you... Just so you can toss me aside~ Hahhh~" She sighed perhaps too idyllically, blushing heavily.
Coral made it past the riffraff, of course, finally getting stopped by that damn cat with the club of a sword. It was just as barbaric as Thalia's fighting style, but with its length, Coral's attempt at jumping back and out of the way fell flat, barely managing to get their arm in the way so when they were sent rolling, their dress wasn't touched. They laid there for a second, sighing, staring up at the sky. "This is not the life." With a hefty groan, they'd collected themselves and went back to sitting, pulling out a brush and going after their dress, trying to get the dust and dirt off of it. "What a mess... Ugh... Thalia, you did fairly well, but considering how terrible that cat is, I don't expect we'll be winning this little exhibition... Hahhh... I suppose it's good that this is a festival of sorts... It should be easy to get a decent meal for cheap, but... No restocking on our supplies."
"Is that so~?" A sultry and perhaps excited voice sounded out from right behind Coral and Thalia, the former turning with a dagger drawn.
"Wh-When did you...?" They hadn't heard anything, quite alarmed that someone could sneak up on both of them so readily.
"Right now~! I just couldn't help myself." Kise reached out and snatched Thalia, pulling the girl onto her lap, and cuddling tight against her. "It's so rare," impossibly so, "to meet someone of my race~! Even if she is a little runt, I can tell, I can tell I can tell I can tell~ That magic flowing through you... You're a kitsune, just like me. But, how? Ahhh, I thought you were all dead and gone... yet, here you are, warm, breathing, two wonderful tails... You're so weak, so small... Ahhh..." She almost started crying as she smothered Thalia with hugs and affection, leaving Coral quite baffled, slowly putting away their knife, unsure of what to do or say.
Krystal nearly jumped as Giovanna started speaking, having fully lost herself in wyvern care. She was wearing some baggy pants, sheer, over a similar but clearly different set of black dancer attire, a white, sheer shawl hanging off of her shoulders. It wasn't much more coverage than Kazran had afforded her, but it was coverage she'd chosen, so it didn't bother her in the slightest. "Gosh, Giovanna, what do you want? And what's with the getup? That's all besides the point, anyway, Sara is a good girl and even if Dwight did some stupid things, she doesn't share her daddy's sins and shouldn't be mistreated for it. Isn't that right Saraaaaa~?" Krystal rubbed her hands along the wyvern's chin, some contented purring leaving the creature. "Even he's... not, that bad. Just misdirected, and if we went around killing everyone, there'd be nothing of Islexia left. I did some bad things under Kazran's orders and I'm still around... So he should get a second chance as well."
Iris was practically crawling all over Ullr, spinning around him and then around on the ground near him, finally ending up on his back, pushing herself up to riding on his shoulders so she could get a better view of everything. "Wooooowwwwwww..." She couldn't believe places could put on celebrations like this... Everyone was singing, drinking, eating, dancing, enjoying themselves, it was happiness and excitement everywhere. "Take me, anywhere! I don't care where we go, as long as I get to take part in all of this! Woo~! Away, steed; giddyup, Ullr!"
"Oh, my Gawd, you're such a sad sack. Come on." Marigold latched onto his arm and started dragging him towards the stairs to leave. "I can at least enjoy the food even if I can't get drunk, and it means I can watch over you to make sure you don't do anything stupid when you're done putting like, eight back. Alright? Don't have the right, sheesh... You helped on the ship, you turned over a new leaf, come on already. How long are you gonna beat yourself up for something well resolved? It's over, Kieran. The underground scattered, the Tigers were all fine, and Kazran's a corpse-- and not one that still moves, either," she joked, cracking a grin. "So get over it! No more feeling sorry for yourself! None of it! I won't have it." She kept dragging him along, heading down the stairs.
"R-Right! Thank you... Ah..." Sylm slowly turned redder and redder, realizing what she'd just done and requested, shrinking into herself and hiding her face behind her claws. "Oh, Gods, what am I doing...? I, I shouldn't, be demanding drinks, I... but, hhhh... I've, never drank before, what am I doing...?" She mumbled her frustrations and whined a little, her whip tail going a mile a minute behind her. "Hahhh... It's too late now... I can't just tell him to t-take it back. Have to drink it. All..."
-
The fox bristled at Gean's mention of Renais wanting to eat with them, narrowing her eyes. She decided to focus on the rest. "Depends on what you want to know... I've been alive for over three hundred years. I have many stories. You would have to pick a subject, an interest, perhaps a place... You'd have to be much more specific, Gean~" Kise followed after her, still idly looking about the place, one of her tails snatching a grilled fish on a stick as they walked past a cart offering food. It was all free, right? At least they know how to cook rather well... I can't help myself around fish.
As soon as Aegean opened the door to Renais, Kise stopped in the doorway, huffed, and swiftly turned around, walking away from the place of merchandise. "I'll be wandering into the middle of town. Feel free to come and find me when you're done, Aegean." She didn't want to face Renais right now, not after everything on the boat. Couldn't even give me a maybe... Work together to figure it out, what can you accomplish? You couldn't even save yourself from Luthier... Ugh... She huffed and snatched the rest of her fish off that stick, tossing it away, a small portal absorbing it before it hit the ground. She was above littering.
And then-- "What...!?" She froze. A sensation. An impossible sensation. "No. That's... This is a lie. This cannot be. How...? How could it...!?" She suddenly took off running, dashing towards the centre of town, frantic and furious in her need to see--
"... H-How..." She poked in through the crowd gathering around the circle that had been made in the middle of Eslcas, eyes focused not on the fighting that was about to begin... but the woman waiting in the challenger's section. Blonde hair, fox ears... But that, feeling. That magic. It was unmistakable. It was impossible, but it was... and her tails. Two, tails. "It can't... It, c-can't be... Hahh...!" She fell to her knees and covered her face, having to force herself to calm, else she would've dashed through everything to get close to her. Wait until the rounds are over. Wait. Just wait. This could be a trick. A lie. Some weird fetish. Your feelings could be wrong. Her magic could be similar, but not the same. Wait... Wait...
-
"Mmm... Food and enjoying ourselves. I'll do my best to accommodate." It felt... off, to not be so angry at everything. She had to find her footing in this new world, taking a deep breath and steeling herself to at least manage not pissing Miria off. I'll try to manage doing that much, at least. Sylmaria told herself that, but she found her anxiety growing as they left the castle walls. The castle contained the Tigers, Owen, Cassandra, Giovanna... Maybe some maids, butlers and staff, but it didn't contain... Civilians. People. Merriment... Joy and gaiety, things that she severely lacked a method to absorb and put back out into the world. "Mmm, it's... It's, loud." Insightful commentary... "It... does smell good around here, at least. Yes."
Despite the sudden and quick nature of this festival, people had managed to put up several stalls of food, handing it out to the festival goers. Drinks were being passed around, people were so... pleased. "We... did this." That, was the moment she needed. Suddenly, the awkward feeling inside her melted away. This wasn't people celebrating for nothing. For fun. For pleasure... They were celebrating freedom, freedom from an oppression they thought they would always feel. They're all, just like me. Hah. Haha... Why would any of them think less of you? Or be upset you're here? You wanted this just as badly as they did... So badly you turned on kin and country for it. Hah... I'm so, damn, foolish.
"Give me your best fish and your strongest drink," she demanded as she approached the encounter, a slight redness on her face. "I want... I want, to get wasted! Join in the fun! Have a great time! So get me started, as best as you can! ... P-Please."
Talulah suddenly stood, walking herself, sword tightly in hand, towards the challengers' end of the fighting space. She was prepared, mentally and physically, for what was about to come. Placing herself in wait for the first rung of the gauntlet to step up and she eyed the mage that had just been mouthing off her records to Versaris, wondering if she was all she was cracked up to be. "We shall see."
Versaris squinted, looking deep into Lumina, when-- "Oh! So you are! Goodness, it's been a time... I didn't even recognize you, hah. You're right, you couldn't hold a candle to me, but I do remember Miria being especially upset that day... We'll see if you rested on your laurels or if you continued training. Magic needs practice just as much as muscles do, I'm sure." He was making small talk and banter, but his eyes kept drifting away from the rest of them, glancing towards Alriana, sitting in the viewing area. She... had elected not to join them in this, much as he wanted to fight back to back with her. I can't, blame her... So I just, need to do everything I can not to focus on it.
"And good to see you here as well, Jesse. Make sure that armour's tight! Looks like Talulah over there isn't going to let any of us have an easy time... Wouldn't want to lose your balance because of a loose plate, yes?" He patted her on the back, before, "oh, right, and feel free to mount your horse if it helps. Not a lot of room to manoeuvre around here, but enough for those that know their way around a mount." Speaking of starting soon... "Seems so, Laniva... nice dress." He smirked, heavily. "Looks like you're up, Lumina. Give it the best you've got."
Eva couldn't help a shrug. "For now. If they were fully in control, their boss wouldn't have almost died, eh? Smells like Islexia's starting to fall apart, and we're gonna spearhead it. We'll save your sister, put a sword through Nicolas, make the country a better place. Everybody wins? So make sure you do too, yeah? You said it yourself. Two years. Put all that practice to work~"
Coral idly crossed a leg under their dress, smiling calmly. "There will be no competition, Thalia, darling. I will win as I always do and then we'll enjoy what delicacies a seaside castle town like this has to offer~ Only enough to recuperate from the exercise, though. Can't go pigging out just because there's something of a festival going on... I wonder what they're celebrating? Hm." They shrugged, eagerly waiting for the first matches to begin. "You can go ahead of me, by the way. I want to see how much you've improved~ Give me a good showing, won't you? Even if it's with that axe of yours... Really, are you sure you can't start to learn the sword again? Axes are just, so... Barbaric."
Amera was already halfway into a fish on a stick, the food idly hanging from her mouth, hand taken prisoner by Seila, listening intently to the witch's offer of having a few drinks. "Mfnmfink vat whhbdlt... Mhrahhn!" She quickly forced the rest of the fish into her mouth with her tongue and spat out the stick, huffing. "I think that wouldn't be a bad idea at all! It's a festival! We killed that bastard, we should celebrate about it! Right? Right??" She doubletook swiftly between Ember and Seila, tugging herself closer to the mage and giggling. "Besides... We, have to be on the watch, for, you, to, get, a mmmmmman~ Right, Ember?" Amera wiggled her eyebrows up at the hellhound, not forgetting part of the woman's initial goal when they'd left. Women just didn't satisfy her right.
"There's GOTTA be someone around here that's brave enough to take on your heat, and if you're a little, less... ssssssstiff, in the response, maaaaaybe it'll go more swimmingly? Hmmm? What say ya? Get a few drinks in ya and see how much it livens you up?"
There was nothing but silence and wind as Kieran spoke out to where Marigold might've been, nothing responding to his words... until-- "Not over there, no." She slowly lifted out from his own shadow, invading his personal space as swiftly as possible, pressing a finger against his chest-- for a moment, until she grabbed his shirt and tugged him down a few inches to her height. "Why are you here?" She raised an eyebrow at him, shaking him a little before letting him go. "You get emotional and want to brood? Ehhh? You should be down there with the rest of them celebrating and shit. Me? I would, but I can't get drunk. Shit sucks. Imagine drinking ale and all you get is something bitter, none of the fun. Blegh... Mead's alright, I guess. Sweet, little taste of honey, but still... Anyway. You? I bet your five foot ass gets drunk in seconds, so?"
She took a small step back to give him some space, hands on her hips. "Why are you here? Feeling sorry for your dumb ass?"
-
"I suppose I am," she stiffly replied to Miria's sudden comment on her beauty, stepping outside of the room. "And I suppose it would not do to stay wrapped up in that room the entire time... I cannot promise to be an entertaining partner to view a festival with, but, if you wish for me to accompany you, I shall." She paused, then turned back into the room, picking up her sword and its belt, tying it around her waist, before putting a claw on the hilt and rejoining Miria in the hallway. "Lead on, then... What would you like to do first?"
She had no idea how these were supposed to work... Was it all free for them? Since they'd saved the place? All the food and drink and merriment... She wasn't sure. Hopefully Miria would be a good guide for these things. If it's even right for me to... Stop it, Sylmaria. You came here with the initial intention of harming Owen, yes... but you never did, and you even fought back against Kazran. It's... it's okay. You don't have to be the star. The hero. The focus... but you're allowed to celebrate all the same. You are allowed... She fought a sigh out and tried her best to quiet the upsetting thoughts that continued to plague her.
-
Kise's mind was anywhere else than this festival. It was all so pointless. Kazran had been nothing but a beast given a place to play, and now that he had been put down as expected... They cheered, despite the true threat being on the horizon all the same. It was so... tiresome. Humans were so easily pleased by the things right in front of them. "Hahh..." As much as she wished to retire and brood over her discussion with the two, Gean had demanded they go out together and see the festival... a not all together terrible feeling, being wanted so desperately by Aegean. It seemed as though things had sunk in for her... Maybe not better than Renais, but that remained to be seen.
"I am not a general vendor, so I feel no sense of competition. These unfortunate peasants would likely be unable to afford any of my wares... I suppose seeing their items isn't a terrible waste of my time. Feel free to lead me along, Gean." She hadn't held Gean's hand back yet, but slowly she closed her claw around the mermaid's hand, holding on and feel a faint warmth reach her cheeks. Accursed emotions... Had they been any others, I would have torn them to shreds for denying me... but I cannot deny feeling this way, hahh... Terrible.
"Mmmm? Oh, hello there~ Yes, just sit down here with our other competitors... Miss Talulah got here first, so you'll have to wait your turn, but it shouldn't be that much of a wait. The fighters are just getting themselves ready~" Lucretia stepped aside to give them room to sit, Talulah still focused, staring off at nothing as she readied herself for combat.
"And us?" That same high, feminine, smooth as silk voice came out from behind Syndra and Ryfia, a head of long, long, luxurious purple hair peaked out at Lucretia, their bright and beautiful smile staring up at the woman. "We were here first, my compatriot and I..." They turned towards the fluffy set of platinum blonde ears behind them, ushering her forward. "My friend Thalia and I. Coral Durandal, by the by. We'd like to take part in this little fighting challenge of yours... What is the prize, if I might inquire?"
"Oh. Hello... I didn't notice you there. Uhm. Well, it's not all that important what order people go in... The prize is for who does the best-- which isn't gold, by the by, our apologies, but~! The challenger that performs the best against the gauntlet gets to take one item from the bazaar free of charge. How's that~?" Lucretia winked at... Him? Her? Them? Them.
"Hmm... That, is a bit disappointing, but a reward is a reward. If the two of you wish to go first, by all means." Coral curtsied with their dress, neatly taking a seat on the prepared benches.
-
"Thalia, do keep up. Looks like we arrived at the perfect time." A voice as smooth as silk and as high as any idol's rung out in the direction of the large and fluffy pair of ears behind them. "We need to fight whatever arena these people have and recuperate our purses, or we'll be eating very, very light tonight... So even if you're tried from all the walking, don't lag behind."
Coral walked through the streets of Eslcas, dress bouncing ever so gently, eyes looking about for-- "Ahah~" They smirked, doing a small spin to stare at the fox behind them, walking backwards without missing a single step. "It looks rather unprofessional, but there seems to be a gathering of fighters in the centre of town~ Shall we introduce ourselves?"
Said gathering was a large amount of the Tigers who had set up an impromptu gauntlet of sorts. Cinaed, Laniva, Versaris, Jesse one of Syndra's vassals, and the two women that had told the Tigers of their needs in regards to the blonde one's sister. Versaris glanced towards the incoming pair, Coral and Thalia, and the elf they'd picked up, Talulah, seemingly ready to jump at all of them. "Ladies, you going to be up for all this? I'm sure you're competent fighters, but this is more about stamina than skill..."
Eva looked at Versaris like he'd said something incredibly dull, rolled her eyes, and turned her attention back to Lumina. "Can you believe these guys? THEY killed Kazran? And they can't even judge a book right? You know exactly what you're doing, geez... Guy's good at swinging a sword around and it makes him so cocky..." She sighed and then reached out and ruffled Lumina's hair. "But, they did kill Kazran, which means they'll be strong enough to save your sister. Ain't that great news, hun?" She grinned from ear to ear, stretching out the arm that wasn't messing with Lumina. "Figure I can give all these twerps a run for it as well... I'll make sure to guard the gates if they knock you over. Feel free to lean on me if you get tired, babe. I'm good for it."
Talulah fidgeted with her hand on her sword. Things were still getting set up, and she wished to begin. Any chance to get stronger, any chance to learn something... Especially that man with the silver hair. His attitude was carefree, but he'd gone toe to toe with Kazran without breaking a sweat. "He's a demon," she mumbled, getting more and more excited. "I must fight him."
"Alriiiiight~! All challengers, please line up over here~!" The Tigers new pink haired cleric was standing to the side next to a set of benches, leading all the challengers in. Talulah finally relented her staring at Versaris and moved over, taking a seat. "First come first serve and then we'll go down the line... I'll make sure to keep everyone topped up, but don't go too hard, okay? This is just for fun! No fights to the death-- I will step in if people get too serious."
One final face joined the fighters on the other side of the space, the large circle that the citizens had prepared for these exhibitions. Laniva, shoved towards the others of the gauntlet, by a very, very pleased looking Syta. "You look great, hun! You'll knock them silly and look wonderful doing it~ I'll make sure to watch, do your best!" Before the cat could complain, Syta was already jogging over towards the viewing stand where a group had formed of Eslcas civilians, ready to see their saviours put their skills to show. Ahhh, I can't believe she hid that dress for so long... It looks so wonderful on her. Not to mention... her embarrassed face is beautiful. Oh, Laniva...~
"Hahhh... They said they'd be in the park, looking after that Jane girl. Probably aren't bothering them..." Alvira idly mused as she walked towards the Evokers with Roxanne at her side, going over all of what they'd learned. Someone had tried to kill Nicolas. SUCKS that they failed. Do better next time. That did explain why Kazran's fort wasn't suddenly overflowing with reinforcements... Jeremiah was strong, but also, one man. He couldn't hold off battalions by himself. They'd just go around him, and eventually make it to the Tigers... Must be hell turmoil over there. Good~ Let them squirm about it for a bit before we're sent in. We killed a warlord, and this will achieve the Evokers' goals. We can do this, and then I will go to Lufiria to kill a God... Hah. Hah, geez...
"Wait, is that...?"
Everything felt like static. The cheering, the celebration, it was all noise in one ear and out the other. M walked in a daze, guided along by members of the Tigers, heading towards the place she'd been told her daughter would be. Her only reason to continue... Her footsteps were heavy, her boots filled felt like lead. She kept walking, eyes staring at nothing... until... "... Jane."
Sure enough. As promised. As Roxanne had said... The child, coddled in the arms of a blue, snake woman, resting against her under a tree in the park surrounded by Eslcas' walls... "Jane." Her voice got louder, her steps lighter, the color slowly returning to her world as she continued forward.
Miredy's gaze slowly turned towards the woman as she spoke Jane's name, seeing the pain and surprise on her face, almost gasping. "Jane. Jane, wake up. I think you'll be quite happy to do so..."
Jane had gotten comfortable, finding it easier and easier to be with Miredy, and even Miss Tio. She had a similar softness that reminded her of her mother. But for now, snuggled into Miredy's arms, she dreamt of that familiar smile looking down at her, the soft clicking and clacking of metal as she took apart her gun, cleaned it, and popped everything back together as if it had never been broken. It had been so long, it felt like, looking up and seeing her mother's eyes--Miss Tio and Miredy were incredibly kind, but there was something different with her. It was happier times when she could just watch her mother take apart the gun, and put it back together again.
Then, for the first time, the dream spoke. It was her mother's voice. Not once before had it done that, not even when she wished so hard for it to be so. Then, gentle jostling, where was that coming from? There was no one around her in the dream, and her mother, still focused on the gun beneath her hadn't turned. Then, her eyes slid open. The night sky was different, and...
"...Momma?"
Jane blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes. As everything came into focus, she only got clearer, crisper. Jane shook her head, wiped her eyes, but she was still there. It was... it was her. Then everything became blurry again.
"Momma... Momma! Momma!"
Jane hopped up, out of Miredy's arms, and barreled right into M's legs, holding tight to M, hands squeezing, making sure that this was not a dream that she was going to wake up from and have her hopes dashed.
"Momma! Momma! It's... It's, It's you, right, please! Momma!"
Jane looked up at M, tears already streaking down her face.
"It's... It's you, right?"
M crumpled, falling to her knees beside Jane before wrapping the girl in the tightest, softest, most caring hug. "Jane! Jane...! My girl... My baby, baby girl, you're okay...! You're okay... Ahhhhhghhh...!" Something of a choked cry left her as she almost buried the spider girl against her, a hand so softly running into her hair, tears flowing like a stream, the weight, the emotions, the pain that everyone had been through...
"Yeah," her hoarse voice responded, "it's me. It's momma... I'm right here. I'm okay. You're, okay... I'll never leave you, ever again." It hadn't been her fault that Jane had been taken, but it felt like a personal failing nonetheless. "Never again... My baby... Ahhh, Jane..."
Alvira felt something in her twitch as she watched the scene. Jealousy? Envy? It was a touching, painful moment, but... ... Ah. You... won't ever have that. That's why... The Evokers were sat off to the side, Alvira taking a wide berth around the mother and daughter moment, not wanting to interrupt them by any means. "Guess we really did some good, huh, Tio?" She gave the woman something of a wry smile, before stepping to the side and giving Roxanne the floor. "Unfortunately for you and Elisa, we have some, uh... News."
As soon as the crowding began, the cheers, the spotlights on them all, Sylm became incredibly uncomfortable, escaping to the rooms that Owen and Cassandra had provided for them. She stole away some hot water and soap, going about cleaning herself, her hair, her dress... She removed the bandages from her legs. As always, her scales had healed. They never failed to heal. She truly hated it before, but now... A part of her was glad that she hadn't caused permanent damage.
She cleaned herself of the blood, washing her hair, letting her dress soak in the water as she could. Most of the blood on her clothes was her own... It wasn't any surprise, fighting like that, but the white dress had seen better days. With a combination of the soap, the warm water, some mundane household magic and some effort scrubbing, she'd gotten most of it out... She'd have to find new things to wear, though. "Mm..." It was one of the last things she had from home. There were no good memories of her life there, but it was... home. "Can't walk around bloodied, though. Unsanitary... This will do for tonight, but... Things will need to be purchased."
She set about drying herself and her clothes off, finally finishing off her hair and putting the dress back on, fixing things, making sure she wasn't caught on it anywhere with how tenacious her wire of a tail could be at times... Then she caught her reflection in a puddle of the water on the stone floor. All that fear and anxiety. All that fighting and pain... For now, it was all gone. She was still tired, yes... But she was, safe. Without baggage. Surrounded by kind and good people. "Hahh..." She ran a hand through her hair once more, the smooth and velvety strands falling idly against her back. "Cursed with beauty, in a sense. In the eye of the beholder, I suppose... Hm?" A knock at the door-- "Miria?"
She approached the door and hesitated a moment, before slowly opening it, glancing up, ever so slightly, at the girl. "Yes? Did you need something? ... ... I am, sorry for leaving you on the boat, if I might... offer that. I will try my best to hold such comments... until I can remove them from my thoughts entirely."
-
"That's right!" Cass jumped to her brother's side, raising his hand into the air, "Kazran's fuckin' dead! Charred beyond belief! A corpse in his own damn castle! Rejoice! Throw a Gods damned festival for all I care! Celebrate~!" Cass was far less formal than her brother, already getting some people cheering at her provocative words, grinning ear to ear as she smiled at Owen. "What say we throw a feast for these tired mercenaries? Line the streets with our butchers' best! Give them the heroes welcome that they all deserve..."
Versaris scoffed at Natalya's suggestion, the crowd growing larger as they approached. "If they're expecting an enemy ambush, they're in for one happy surprise." He slowly followed along with everyone else, finally giving Natalya's back a push as Owen took the floor and gave them the recognition they all deserved. "Well? Go on. These are your men (well, mostly women). Your mercenaries... And they just saved an entire part of a country from desolation and destruction. Surely their fearless leader has some words for the people?"
Sylmaria ended up giving into her feelings and hugging Giovanna, squeezing her tightly as the ship finally docked. "Thank you... I promise that I won't let you regret this. I promise." With the risk of her dear friend disappearing slowly fading into nothing, Sylmaria turned to the growing crowd, the miniature speeches, the cheers and the claims. "Hah... This is what it's supposed to feel like. Isn't it? When you do something good... What a wonderful display. I suppose... even if I don't feel like much of a savior, we should, partake in the festivities? If there even are any...? Can, she really claim something like that and have it be ready? What a wild and raucous woman..." Whether or not Cassandra's demands for a feast and festival would be met, it was still wonderful to see...
Faith in the Spirits Arc 1: To Align the Stars
in Roleplay
Posted · Edited by Nanami Touko
Siorel clapped along with the rest of the crowd as their mystery visitor to the arena was defeated by the dragon, proving that he wasn't just a stepping stone in the gauntlet. "See, you can totally do it~! Even against the folks around here, not just those Islexian blockheads." She wiggled her brows and crossed her legs over the other way to get more comfortable, nodding along. "Some free time would be pretty nice, so I guess they're waiting until the sun goes down fully before sending everyone on their way? It's getting real late, but it's also closing in on summer, so it'll still be bright enough for a few moments. Guessing you wanna... have a little date, when you're done here? Some late night hanging out~?" She smirked heavily, and then, a certain sheep made her presence well known. "Guess that answers your question on more challengers... Do your best~"
Alvira couldn't help but cover her face, in slight embarrassment of Roxanne's giant announcement, but it was cute in its own way, so she was smiling behind the facepalm. "Geez, Roxanne... Alright, Koba, take a seat somewhere. We'll be next after her... You can go ahead before me." Alvira was thinking about who she was meant to be fighting here, wondering if watching would give her some insight into how things went before she had to take her shot. And there's Versaris at the end of it... Whose sick, twisted joke was it to rope him into this? Honestly... What a terrifying combatant. I get bewildered watching him fight on OUR side. Going up against him? Wugh... I'm gonna have to give it my all.
"Alright... focus. Watch. Take in everything you can from Roxanne's run... Hahh, hoo boy... Getting nervous, all of a sudden."
Lumina had lost again, but returned in brighter-- literally-- spirits, Eva's grin widening as she let out a laugh, immediately putting an arm around her. "I'm impossible~? You're the woman that keeps putting stops to my advances... By being way, way too cute~" She'd been about to put the moves on her as someone interrupted them, the masked woman that had just been stopped by Cinaed. "Who's asking?" Eva went into guard dog mode immediately, standing her full height and putting herself in front of Lumina, eyes scowling down at the masked woman before them. "Hopefully you're just coming to let her know how nice it was to go a round with her..."
As the arena hustle and bustle continued, someone kicked their legs up from the viewer's seats, smiling and tossing aside their now finished cup. Their clothes, if the shreds could be called clothes, draped in haphazard strips of cloth and leather all over her body, seemingly on purpose, but with enough chaos to make it unclear whether they were designed that way or shredded for aesthetic effect. "Drinks here are pretty nice. So are the fighters... Was getting my kicks just watching, but I'm itching to throw fists, now... That one with the greatsword, yeah. That's my mark. See how well that slab of metal holds up against my body..." She sat up, things shaking, raising her bandaged arm and cracking her knuckles underneath all the wrappings. "Just gotta make sure my body holds together~"
"Curious, huh... Mmm, it's a long list. Taller than me, at least a foot. Big, strong. Can pick me up, preferably with one hand, but I'm not gonna be too fussy about that one. Deep voice. Loves me~, for more than just the tits. I get it, they're a focal point, and I'm not ashamed of them, but there's the rest of me too~" She smirked and stretched for some emphasis. "Hahh... Willing to travel with me. Not one for getting tied down, not while I'm still so young... Jeremiah misses some of those marks, but he's just so wonderful, I cut him some slack. I'm flexible~ As for women... Someone just as big as I am, with all the previous features, if possible~ The leader, Natalya, hot, damn, what a woman... That dragon doesn't know how lucky she is~"
"I, h-hey! I was trying to go about it plenty of other ways, your blockhead just wouldn't, get it! Rrghhh..." Lezard came by with some food, almost taking her mind off of things, before commenting on the both of them-- "BOTH of us!? What do you mean I'm-- I don't-- that's not possible, old man!" She grew redder, as red as she was going to get, matching the average blush of someone else, denying the possibility that it was even happening in the first place. "Gods, dammit, the both of you... E-Eat your damn, fish, and... And we can go anywhere else. Rrrhgn... Mmn, at... at least it's good. Can still taste food... Hahhnnh, Dammmiiiit... I'll get you for this, Kieran. Mark my words." She squinted his way past the red on her cheeks, already thinking up ways to make sure he was the ONLY lightbulb between them.