Ursali
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Posts posted by Ursali
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As Nessraya approached yet again, interfering with her line of sight on the winged boy and her tome, Xetketh's eyestalks extended to look past Nessraya and keep all eight of her auxiliary eyes on the boy. Never one to hide her displeasure, her main eye settled into a slight scowl as she stared at the woman once again, narrowing as more and more disappointing details reached her ears. She dared not speak for Miz of her empire, her attachment had always been to Miz more so than the empire itself, but that history had nary a mention of her was almost as infuriating as it was insulting. "...Oh course that bitch Hecate would have tried to have my name scrubbed from history, but what were my apprentices doing letting their master's name go uncredited!? Useless, the lot of them..."
She huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "Only two centuries? What sort of dark age befell the world while we were sealed!? If the year you've spouted off is accurate, then we've been sealed for well near seven-hundred years! What have you lot done with the place!? The magic is so thin even someone who can absorb and convert it as well as I can't even manage a meagre flux!" Though she knew the woman in front of her couldn't have been responsible for what she was laying at her feet, the odds were that her ancestors were at least marginally involved and that was good enough for her.
Sollowy had draped herself over Thessy's shoulders now that the pair had stopped hugging each other in relief, idly floating behind the Demon King like a cape as she liked to do so often. The elf with the interesting sword, probably the least weird out of everyone that they'd found down here now that the fairy thought about it for more than a second, had approached hoping to speak with Thesephine. The fairy was content enough with her lover being safe and sound, so, as long as Ilvira didn't mind a second set of ears listening in on whatever she wanted to talk about, the fairy had no problem with her.
Ember had set herself in the complete opposite side of the room from the red devil and her henchman. As much as she wanted to put on a strong facade, the event of the devil's unsealing would likely haunt her into her nightmares, not to mention the waking hours. She shuddered a little just recalling it.
Tundyssa sighed as she leaned against one of the non-crumbling walls of the throne room. Only just now were they making it to the rest of the group with how slow Tenna had to go after wearing herself out using her magic. Why she couldn't have just used her staff was beyond the dragon. Might as well get this over with now. What did you want, Requiem? She mentally called out to the cursed blade, attempting to stir it from whatever it did outside of combat. You sounded different, towards the end there... What did you want?
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Versaris had told her stand down, but Alriana wasn't having any of it. If this Rustal wannabe was intimidated by her than all the better. As he began to talk down to and lobby threats at Tasha she continued to glower at him, her 'hair' raising up like the fur of an angry cat. Then, everything happened at once. The man ordered everything searched and Versaris stepped forward and nearly robbed him of his arm, elsewhere it sounded like the others had started fighting. Then, in the midst of everything, Sixteen appeared behind enemy lines to attack one of the knights holding the clouded. Then, while she was trying to focus on her sister, Versaris ran up to hug and additionally place a kiss on top of her head. "Wha..." He was gone even faster than he'd hugged her, missing the forming blush on her face as she felt a warmth on her cheeks. Wh, What was that about...?
By the time she exited the momentary daze the knights had formed up on the bridge; some of the others had already moved to intercept them. One final, worrying, note as she moved into her position was how eager her sister seemed to be to kill. She was the one with the invasive violent thoughts was she not? Or had Sixteen already accepted them and that was why she had said she didn't have them? "Mrhhg... Not the time for thoughts..." She muttered to herself.
Aly to 11,8.
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Though still unwilling to engage at all with the group, Xetketh noticed a particularly familiar magic coming from the boy near the fox. Once he pulled out the tome she was all but certain of what it was, one of her Gespenst tomes, but she was unwilling to move closer to talk to him and try and retrieve what was hers. Instead, all nine of her eyes came to rest on him and the tome in his hands; staring intently without making any other noise.
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"Miz, I..." She returned the red terror's hug, holding her tight against her body as Miz began to sniffle and cry. Though her body was fast to reciprocate the comfort Miz sought, her brain was lagging far behind. She wasn't remotely used to comforting other beings, let alone Miz herself. Finally, she constructed the words she wanted to say. "It's okay, Miz. I'm here, I'm alive... My magic's gone too, you're not alone in that either. I'm so relieved you're alright Miz..."
As the third wheel arrived and began to spout off questions all eight of Xetketh's eyestalks turned to glare at the woman while her main eye remained focused on Miz. She opened her mouth to shut down the woman for daring to disrespect Miz, but the red terror herself beat her to it. "If you want your answers, you will address her as such, and myself as Xetketh before you think to address me as Xety; that is a privelidge only she can have." She was nearly growling at Nessraya, in no mood for such impudence from someone so ignorant. "She is the Empress of Ishtaria and I her Direct Advisor. You may also refer to me as the Founder of Dark Magic if it helps one such as you better place our rightful spot in history. You can ask that medusa over there about the wretch of a human."
As the rest of this ramshackle group eventually made their way into the throne room Xetketh had positioned herself and Miz on the outskirts. She was none too pleased that Hecate had managed to avoid death at their hands, nor did she want anyone approaching Miz while the both of them were effectively defenseless.
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"Mhm. Will do." Alriana had given Versaris a nod as he advised her to have caution with these knights, dagger drawn and held in reverse and flat against her wrist as she followed along behind him. She could almost taste it in the air, this knight Versaris was talking to was just like Rustal; just yet to be put in his place enough to lose his mind. She refrained from growling at him for the sake of the conversation the two men were having, but the disgust on her face wasn't so easily hidden. Not with the feelings even the smallest thought of Rustal provoked within her. At least the knight was just as loose lipped as Rustal was; probably not the only shared trait between the two men. She didn't know the significance of the names being tossed around, save for the Evokers of course, but the knight seemed particularly put off by the name Celine...
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What Is Love, Lizard Don't Bite Me
SpoilerIngverd sighed as he sat outside, letting his hair rest, untied, drying off in the heat and the gentle wind of the slowly starting evening hours. He’d said a lot, perhaps too much, but even with all he’d said he’d heard the why at the end of Aly’s line of questioning. He figured that was it, then. She didn’t get what this was or why he even liked her. He’d just have to face that with a smile and let things go down as they would… It at least would help him decide things much more easily going forward.
Alriana exited the baths somewhat reluctantly, but she couldn’t linger in there forever even if she and her sister weren’t vulnerable to wrinkling. Sixteen had left ahead of her, citing a curiosity for their room arrangements, so she knew she’d better be going as well. The gentle breeze as she stepped outside was nice, though she hadn’t expected to see Ingverd still around to enjoy it as well. Given how he’d retreated in the baths she’d thought him long gone, yet here he was. She still had questions about love, about his feelings for her; she’d only ended up going in circles trying to understand things herself in the baths. She approached him, standing a few feet away. “Hello.”
"... Hey. Hey, Aly." Ingverd managed a small smile, but he could feel a tension in the air between them. Maybe it was only him, but he could feel it. Looking at her was suddenly very difficult. "Let's, uhm. We should find somewhere to sit and talk. I think… Maybe there's a bench around town, or… Something." There might have been people at the wagons, so going there wasn't a given. "Sorry for confusing you with everything I said… I did, mean it all, though." He got up and started to walk, brushing some of his hair out of his face. "So whatever you want to ask… Go for it."
“Mhmm.” She agreed enough with what he was saying to voice her approval, following along as he set out for a place with a small amount of privacy. There was no reason to wait with her questions, still unknowing enough to not care about who overheard. “Why do you feel that way about me? Desire to be intimate with me? We have not known each other for long. Certainly not long enough to be family.”
“Eh, haha… Family. That’s something that comes later…” He ran a hand into his hair and sighed, staring up at the sky for a second. “Being intimate with someone isn’t… Meant to become family, Alriana. I don’t know who raised you, but… I guess they didn’t explain this all too well.” There was a bench nearby, as he’d hoped, bringing himself to it and sitting down, petting the spot next to him in the hope she’d at least sit down.
“It’s about… Closeness. Intimate gestures. Hugging, kissing… Wanting to be with and take care of that person. You say we haven’t known each other long enough for that… But I disagree. You’ve told me plenty about your life… Your thoughts, this… Inherent freedom your life owns that I can’t help finding beautiful even if I’m a little jealous. Not to mention that you’re far and beyond attractive… As a woman. Even if your teeth scare me just a little bit~”
He hoped that would bring a little brevity to things. Aly could smile, she’d even laughed before. She understood that much. “So… Yeah. Yeah, I’d like to get closer to you. Know more. Do more. Does that mean family? Maybe down the line… These things never start there. We have to see if we like each other enough to last that long, after all… And I know that I annoy you plenty with how I like to put on airs. So I’m… I’m, doing my best to stop, being ‘Ingverd’, around you. Doing my best to be Versaris…”
“Grelbiria didn’t tell me much about love, she was satisfied so long as I remained docile. She smiled a lot and pet my head, but never explained anything.” She stared at the seat he invited her to take, as if weighing her options, but still took it without much delay. She stared up at him as he, she assumed, gave his reasoning for why he desired to become intimate with her. Immediately, and somewhat worryingly, her mind jumped to doubt his claim of knowing her well enough to justify his feelings. Would he still feel the same if he knew what I think about everyday? Sixteen knows more than he does and I met her today…
“Mrrhh…” She shook her head, a small growl accompanying it. The self and general doubt was new and not appreciated in the slightest. Just, focus on something else… “What does it mean to be attractive? Why does it matter that it’s as a woman?” His attempt at brevity was, unfortunately, stonewalled by Alriana’s own ignorance. “Not the only one scared by my teeth. Would be more weird if you weren’t.”
“…You still haven’t told me why you feel this way towards me, unless that ties into the freedom my life has, and whatever being attractive means.“ A small huff left the lizard, growing frustrated. Not at Ingverd, or rather Versaris, but at how difficult it was to try to tackle all of this head on like she’d done back in Eibar.
“Attractiveness… It’s, just… Why your body… There’s no polite way to say this, why it turns me on. Makes my heart race. Gets me excited. Your curves, your eyes, your teeth sometimes, even if I’m afraid… Your tail, and everything that it means…” He felt himself getting redder as he spoke. “L-Look, it’s… A lot of attractiveness is physical, but it’s your personality too. You’re blunt and unafraid to speak your mind. You get mad easily, but I just see that as you being honest. Not trying to hide how you feel… It’s… I like it, alright? Sue me…” He sighed, shaking his head.
“As a woman, I just… Mean… Are you not? Are you actually a man? Something in between? That doesn’t matter to me… Hmph… Maybe you don’t think it’s enough, but I really value that freedom. I told you before, that I’m tied down… And it’s to my family.” He swallowed hard, leg starting to shake, a nervousness entering him. “They’re… A family of spies and assassins, Alriana. Heh, Gods, I’ve not told anyone that shouldn’t know about this, aahhh… I’ve been trained to kill ever since I was small. It’s… It’s starting to weigh on me. My teacher, Jeremiah, despite his work being very similar to mine… He has a wife and a family of his own. Call me sentimental, but I really… I want, that. I want that sort of happy and content life.”
He took her hand, giving it a little squeeze, finally looking at her. He wasn’t confident, for once. “Maybe I’m jumping some gun, Alriana, but I… I really, want to believe in the feelings I experience when I see you. When I talk to you. When you tell me more about yourself. I want to believe that there’s something here for us… If you think I’m wrong then… Just, say so. But I think you’re beautiful. I think your freedom is beautiful. I want to share it with you, if you’ll have me… Aly.”
“I excite you?” She wanted to tack on a ‘why’ there, even though he had gone on to list her physical qualities, and her personality, as a reason. She just failed to understand why the reasons he listed were enough to excite him. She was just herself, and she only thought of herself as boring. “Why does saying this make you embarrassed? Why is this embarrassing?” Was stating how you were feeling something to be embarrassed about? Should she be feeling embarrassed for being so open with her feelings? If she was, she didn’t care. Stuttering and tripping over words wasn’t for her.
He had missed the meaning of her other question, though Alriana lacked the understanding to explain what she had been asking without merely repeating the question. “Pretty sure I’m woman,” she huffed at him, even as his nervousness started to show. “Why are you telling me then…?” She didn’t expect an answer to that question, merely giving voice to it rather than let it sit in her head.
She stared up at him as her took her hand, matching his look with her usual stoic face. “Have you for what? A lover? A date? I still don’t know what you want from me.” Alriana was slowly becoming annoyed that Versaris was acting on a lot more knowledge than she had, but she was doing her best to hide it since he was being genuine with her. “You should start over, and explain what you want and what you’re doing so I can understand better.”
"I…" He hadn't quite expected it to go this way, but Alriana was anything else but normal, so maybe he should have. He leaned back and stared off again, trying to piece together how to put this. "Mmm… Okay… Let's, start with the first why, okay. I'm telling you because, you wanted me to before. I was too afraid to, but… I want out of that life. If I'm going to get out of it and live something closer to a normal life, I should just start being honest with you now, instead of having it come up when it's outside of my control. Does that make sense?" It did to him, but there was no guarantee it would transfer.
"As… For what I want– I know you don't get why this is embarrassing, but you're really killing me here…" He hid his face behind his free hand for a moment and sighed into it, leaning his head back further and starting straight up. "All of the above? One at a time? Yes, I'd like to date you. I'd like that to turn into lovers, and everything else past that… hoo, geez…" He could feel how red his face was getting, only surviving in the knowledge that no one else was hearing him right now.
"Is… There anything else you want me to clarify, Aly? Ask me now, because if I stop talking so openly, I might not start again. Gods…"
“Mhhm. It does.” She understood that at least, even if she hadn’t expected an answer to that ‘why’. Why it mattered when she found out was less clear, but it had been information she wanted to know so she wasn’t going to worry about it. Though, his talk of honesty made her wonder if she should tell him about her thoughts. Would that make him reconsider his feelings? Would he want to know now instead of later when it happened outside her control? Before she could decide he was back to explaining.
“All of them? Is that how lovers happens? You go on dates?” Slowly she felt she was beginning to understand how all of this was supposed to work. Maybe after she read that book Sixteen wanted her to, she would understand it entirely. “If you want to go on a date, we can try. It’s just spending time together, right?” She stared at him, thinking about her earlier consideration. “No more questions, for now… Should I tell you a secret, since you told me yours?”
"Wait, you will? Really!?" He had to hold back the urge to hug her, at least for now, not wanting to surprise her with anything she might not have understood again. "That's… That's part of it, yes. There's a little more to dates, but…" He'd explain if he had to. It could wait for now, as Aly seemed to have something important on her mind.
"I, I mean, sure… If you're comfortable telling me. It's not like a, I tell you now you owe me, sort of thing, so if you don't want to…" He couldn't resist the urge completely, leaning a little closer and letting go of her hand so he could bring it up and pet her hair a little, hoping the gesture wouldn't be too forthcoming. She'd been fine with it before…
“Loud.” Was her only complaint as Versaris raised his voice in excitement. She wasn’t sure why it was worth getting excited over, but he seemed happy and not as nervous at least. “It’s not that. More like how you said. Better to tell you now instead of later when you find out without telling.” She looked up at him, accepting the head petting as she always had before.
“I am a creation. Sixteen told me.” That was easy, but it wasn’t the part of herself she was worried about. “I have violent thoughts all the time, even if I don’t want to. They’re just there if I don’t distract myself. I’ve had them about the Tigers, about you.” She stared up at him, into his eyes. “Do you still feel the same knowing that?”
He listened, knowing not to interrupt with Aly opening up like this. It was a little difficult to believe at face value, but she wasn't one for jokes… He let his smile drop just a little, but didn't hesitate this time, as he leaned in for a hug, squeezing her tight. Maybe she wouldn't understand it, but he could only express attempts at comfort in ways he knew.
"The fact that you're telling me means you don't want to act on them, right?" He pulled back enough to see her, still holding that smile. "If you were listening to them, that would be one thing. Having them and fighting them tells me you don't want them… Which means you're a good person, Aly. You don't want to hurt the people you care about… Though I must admit, I'm a little surprised you didn't listen to your urges against me. Just a little. I know how annoying I can get."
A bit of a chuckle, he sat back up again, still petting her. "If you were made… That means these thoughts were made with you, right? Since, not even psychopaths have these urges all the time… Which means there might be a way to take them out of you. If we found something like that, would you want them gone?"
Alriana tensed up with the hug but slowly relaxed into it, eyes a little wide as she stared past his shoulder. The hug was warm, almost secure. Not uncomfortable. As his face came back into view she was back to staring into his eyes, almost not believing him to accept her so willingly. A small growl at his attempt at brevity, her tail flicking behind her. “You not worth breaking laws over.” She leaned back into the bench as she was let go, taking some small comfort in the familiar action of having her hair pet. “Mhhm… Want them gone. Not pleasant to think about them. Don’t want to do those things to Tigers or you.”
"Then we do our best to find a way to get them out of your head. Simple, right? It might not be easy to figure out, but it's worth doing… Was that your only concern, Aly?" Maybe that was just the lead up to whatever secret she really had. That wasn't all that much…
“Maybe Grelbiria can help…” That was the only idea she had. If anyone could do it, it was the woman who made and raised her. “That was it. I don’t do much so I don’t get secrets.”
“Then… Yeah. Yeah, I still feel the same way about you. In fact, I feel even stronger about you now, Aly. Something is challenging that freedom of yours. How could I possibly sit here and leave you like that? No, now, more than ever, I want to be with you. Do everything I can to help you live any life you want to. I hope you can accept that…”
“Mhhm…” Though she still wasn’t entirely certain about the details, this seemed like it was mostly a good thing. Time would tell.
There was a lot that Ingverd wanted to do with her. A lot he wanted to say, but with how things had gone, the silence now wasn’t so bad. He finally broke it with a small sigh, resting against her a little bit. “How about… The next big city that we find, we… Just, go shopping. Just the two of us. Food, clothes, whatever you like… And we see how much we enjoy that. It’ll be a good test if, things will work out… Don’t you think?”
“Mmm, that sounds like a good test. Is that a test date, then? Also, who pays for shopping?” Though she didn’t want to sound like she was unwilling to pay, she wanted to save the money she’d made solely for finding gear or on equipment to keep herself alive. Shopping was a luxury that she rarely indulged in, hence her near identical wardrobe.
“It’s a real date, Aly. Hmhm… I just mean as a test to see if we like each other that much. Rather, if you like me. That’s sort of what dates are. Two interested parties doing little tests to see if they like each other enough to become lovers… And I’ll pay. I’m the one asking you out, after all.” With another pet on her head, he finally got up, stretching a little. “Well! That was productive~ Let’s not leave everyone waiting though, yes? We still have to get rooms at the inn sorted out… Want to share, tonight~?” He was going to do his best to be less of the personae he’d established, but he couldn’t help himself completely.
“I don’t dislike you.” Was what the lizard was willing to give him. Her feelings had shifted towards the positive once he had started being genuine with her, though today had shifted them into uncertainty. What did she feel for Ingverd? She’d said he was annoying earlier, but there was certainly more there; a lot of it she didn’t understand. She stood as he stood, once again staring up at him. “Those jokes are still annoying.” With that she was off to the inn expecting him to follow.
"Heh… Who says I'm joking?" It certainly was… A feeling. He'd thrown everything against the wall to see if it would stick, but the answer had come out uncertain. Only time would tell, now… Given how long this trip was, as least, they'd have plenty of that. I can't imagine this is how Jeremiah's relationship went, but I'm not complaining. Just have to do my best…
After her talk with Ingverd, Alriana had wondered around the town looking for a weapon shop with the man himself in tow. Unfortunately for the ever combat oriented lizard, the town only had a traditional magic shop within it. Feeling somewhat unsatisfied, she had curled up on a shaded bench and ended up taking an impromptu nap while Ingverd had gone to the inn to figure out room situations. She was awoken by the sounds of the knight's horses and the seized wagons as they entered the square, stretching out to her full length and pushing Ingverd into the handrest on his side of the bench. "Mhhm, sorry." She offered as she sat up, shaking her head. "What's going on? Why the noise?"
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Sollowy to 15, 29.
"Hhhhh, fuck..." Ember let out an uncharacteristic whine as she slowly rose to her feet. Never in her years had the Helhound ever run across something as terrifying as that red terror. The magic was gone now, had been gone ever since the woman had shrunk, but it was only now that Ember's legs stopped shaking enough for her to struggle to her feet. "Gods, lesson learned. Not touching anything in ancient ruins again..."
Ember to 10, 33.
"I don't owe you anything you damned bitch!" Xetketh spat at Hecate, glare still on every single eye as she ignored the miniscule medusa for the moment. "If you can't remember anything, then all the better! You can die cursing your own ignorance!" Though she talked big, she could do little more than continue to glower at the woman on the throne. Whatever had happened to her had robbed her of even the simplest Flux spell. Though, perhaps she didn't even need to raise a hand against the woman. The medusa wasn't loyal to Hecate, even willing to dispose of her if it meant freedom. She could use this. She turned ever so slightly to give the medusa the attention of her main eye while her stalks continued to glare at Hecate.
"To keep everything short in the interest of finishing before her," the venom on that word was almost tangible, "constructs overwhelm us, she's responsible for sealing my master, Miz'Githon, and myself for her own, selfish, gain..." Out of the corner of her eye she saw an attempted fireball fizzle out before it hit the throne. A few of her stalks shifted off from Hecate to follow the trajectory of it to see a red heap in a very familiar dress on the floor. A flurry of emotions swelled within her, relief, hope, worry, and refueled rage towards Hecate, all of which was visible on various eyestalks. She so very badly wanted to rush over to Miz, but she could at least do her best to turn these outsiders against her first. "Ahem. I can't speak to anything after I was sealed, but this is likely the prison where she moved us to after the act; it's not familiar to me in the least. Killing her will almost certainly take out her constructs which, if it doesn't free us altogether, will allow for an effortless escape. Now, if you'll excuse me, my master is waiting."
Her self-serving story and hypothesis given, Xetketh rushed towards Miz without regard for any of the others present. "Miz!" She shouted as she neared the heap of her that was on the ground, forgetting her full title in her relief as she stopped just in front of the red terror. "You're..." She stopped herself midsentence. The fox was right, the magic she'd felt earlier was all but gone. Miz even looked like she'd shrunk, somehow. She didn't want to say Miz was alright, not when she was so clearly distressed. "I'm here, Miz."
Xetketh to 21, 24.
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"What's that supposed to mean?" Alriana's eyebrow twitched at being called an idiot. Her foot moved to get under and roll her sister back into the water, but she sat up before the lizard could dunk her sister. "Already hugged once... Touch me where? He already touches my head a lot." Alriana's ignorance only made the big deal Sixteen was making this out to be that much more confusing. She hadn't the knowledge to know the commitment attached to being lovers, nor the expectations Ingverd would have going forward. For lack of anything else to base her understanding on, she viewed it like she did familial love: something that just happened and became a normal part of life. "But why do you blush? What does it mean to blush? I still don't understand why you're treating this like a big deal, Sixteen.
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"Why?" Came her forever curious response to Ingverd's admission of his feelings for her. She didn't fully grasp the weight of admission she'd forced Ingverd into making, more so having been moving along with the ideas Sixteen had given her and being bolstered by Ingverd's struggling responses. She was yet to truly process everything though, with his walking away, she doubted she'd get an immediate answer to her final question or anymore she'd have later. She was slightly tempted to peak over the wall to catch a glimpse of Ingverd's face given this was a new side to him; however, Grelbiria's teachings of indecency held much more sway over her. She glanced down at Sixteen now that Ingverd was gone, noticing the tint in her cheeks.
"Are you okay Sixteen? Your face is weird." Somewhere along the way it seemed like Sixteen had been affected the same way Ingverd had. Was she not understanding something? Ingverd just wanted to be intimate with her, whatever that entailed. Dates and kissing at the very least, but the only weird one was the latter. She still didn't know why that was what he wanted from her.
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Alriana fell silent as Ingverd answered her first question. Not gobsmacked by a sudden realization, but thinking about everything the not really half-elf and her sister had said. Sixteen thinks Ingverd likes me, that's why he says those weird things. He only says weird things when we're alone, not counting this time... And he thinks about me a lot, by his own admission. Why is he thinking about me so much? I don't think about him a lot... Is it because he wants to spend time with me? If that's true does he want to do more? "Do you want to date me Ingverd? Is that why you say weird things all the time?"
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"Why pressing lips together an expression of love? Sounds weird." Though the lizard didn't have to knowledge to know it, that had probably come off as harsher than she intended. "But what makes it dating? Because it's more intimate? How do you know when something is a date or spending time with a friend?" Though her questions were fueled by her own natural curiosity, hearing Ingverd squirm from the other side of the wall certainly added to how willing she was to ask him questions. "Hmm, more questions... Sixteen said I should ask you more things, so I will. Do you think about me a lot? She says you probably do."
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"Why wouldn't I be serious?" She asked with a tilt of her head, not that Ingverd could see it. At least he continued on to answer the question without further prodding. The first half sounded exactly like what Sixteen had described love as, but the latter half actually yielded results even he slipped in a question of his own. "Talking about love with Sixteen. She said to ask you since we only know about familial love. But, what is kissing and going on dates?" Alriana had formed another tail seat now that an actual conversation was happening. "And why is it a lot to answer? It's just love we're talking about."
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"Sunken tower?" Tundyssa repeated aloud, perhaps sounding a bit like a fool to this mysterious woman. Is that where we ended up? But why and how does she know that? I don't remember there being any mention of a ruler in this place either... It was beyond suspicious, and not just because the source of the information was a human. She may as well have been speaking nonsense, as far as the dragon was concerned. However, before she could give voice to those suspicions the being that had been lying in a heap in the hall began to whir back to life. The woman was eager to dispatch it; a temporary ally, at least.
Tundyssa to 3,12, kill
facilityconstruct. -
"Familial love..." Alriana repeated, not really understanding the concept of love any better than where she'd started. The fact that there were multiple types of love that apparently meant different things just made her hate the language even more for not bothering to separate the meanings into words. "I suppose that is one good point. Even some of the Tiger's are afraid of my teeth..." Sixteen's idea of asking the man made sense, he was clearly the most knowledgeable one among them, even if he was separated by a wall. "What should I ask him then?"
"Well... Whatever's on your mind, I suppose! Just depends on what you're thinking about, Aly..."
"Mhhr..." That wasn't the answer she'd wanted to her question, flicking her tail to splash some water at her sister as she rose out of the baths and approached the dividing wall. She lifted herself up with her tail just enough so that she couldn't see over the edge, Grelbiria's lesson about naked indecency not leaving her mind. "Ingverd! What is love about?" She asked over the wall.
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"He has a weird way of showing it, then..." Alriana huffed, but continued to listen to her sister's theories. "Is love what my feelings for Grelbiria are? Is that what she felt for me, too, then? Is that the love that's different than lovers? Or is that what lovers are?" She didn't understand and she was starting to go into thinking loops about love and lovers. She shook her head, as if that would help her clear her head. Maybe if she focused on something else... "I don't think about anyone a lot, Sixteen. Remember what I said back in the wagon? Those thoughts stop me from thinking about anyone for too long. But even if I didn't have them, I don't think about him a lot. Maybe sometimes, but not a lot." She sighed and leaned back in her tail chair, sitting at an angle with her head just barely out of the water. "Why would he be thinking about me a lot for, anyway? I don't understand him..."
-
"Mhhm... Sorry too." Alriana apologized as she slowly sat back down in the water, resuming her position in her tail chair. She didn't know why she apologized, but it felt like it was the right thing to do even if she was yet to understand it. Sixteen took the opportunity to change the subject to something less sensitive and far more annoying, the half-elf, actually he wasn't even that apparently, in the men's side of the baths. "He's annoying." Came her swift, almost ingrained, answer. Then a sigh, and a huff. "He's not terrible to be around when he's being genuine, but that's not often. He at least respects boundaries I set, even if he keeps saying weird things all the time." Another huff and a shake of her head. She didn't understand him, nor his aims. "Romance? Love? What are those?" Sixteen had made quite the assumption about her sister and what she knew, though she wasn't incorrect about the Tigers. "The Tigers are my home, at least until this mission is done. Maybe longer."
-
She couldn't answer her sister's questioning of her lack of chest size. Not for lack of want, but for lack of any meaningful knowledge. Maybe whoever created her, this Del, didn't think Sixteen having a chest more in line with typical females was important? But that was but one possible solution to the question and Alriana didn't want to open up the possibility to discuss all of them over something she didn't really think was important. So instead she remained silent, though not for long.
"Don't say that." The reply was instant, Alriana rising to her feet in one swift motion to protest the claim. There was an unusual intensity behind her stoic voice, but she wasn't quite snapping at her sister. The suddenness of the surge in emotion surprised her, blinking once, then twice. She didn't have any excuses to why what Sixteen said shouldn't be true, nor was she about to try to make any, but she still didn't want to hear any, nor do any of her own, speculation of whether or not Grelbiria was still alive.
-
"What's not healthy?" She asked with a head tilt, not understanding her sister. "My tail can support me just fine." She could only guess that she had been talking about her positioning in the water. As her sister sat up straight she rolled herself so that she was sitting upright as well, though still being suspended by her tail. Sixteen didn't give her a chance to interject with an answer to any of her questions until the very end, now pouting about an issue the lizard didn't understand. "Prettier? What do you mean?" Things like physical attraction and being physically appealing were not things the lizard knew; Grelbiria hadn't taught her nor had her reading ever touched upon the topics. "And my feet aren't normal, either. Never seen someone with feet like mine." She let out a small huff, raising a foot out of the water to show off its unique structure. "Though, I don't know what you mean by pointing at my chest. It's just my chest. The other girls' chests look like this too."
She leaned back some and stared up at the sky again, thinking. "Grelbiria was supposed to being me to the Tiger, but she was gone on the day of. Just a note telling me to take my armor and go on without her, so I've been here since. I haven't thought about doing anything else really. But we're supposed to be paid a lot of money for this mission, enough to do whatever we want." She turned her gaze back towards her sister, a resolute look on her face. "I was going to use it to try to find Grelbiria. I want to see her again."
-
Xetketh held back a growl, eyestalks glaring back at Asami as she moved into the throne room proper. What the fox had said was true, but she refused to believe anything until she was able actually see and talk with Miz. Though, moving into the throne room presented it's own problem as her many eyes saw past the medusa and the beastman to see a familiar someone on the throne. Her fists clenched, glaring death at the different yet unmistakably same woman. "You have quite some nerve to still be alive, Hecate! It wasn't enough to seal us, but you had to follow us into the future as well!?" The only thing stopping the beholder from throwing herself at the woman was her complete lack of spellcasting ability. All she could do was glower at the woman in her helplessness.
Xetketh to 24,17, mald.
Sollowy continued to follow after Nisha and Ren, letting out a small gasp at the sight of the destruction that had been wrought against the prison. Others were around, but no sigh of Thesephine anywhere. All she could do was hope that she hadn't been anywhere near where the blasts had hit.
Sollowy to 6,28.
Tundyssa had, to be entirely honest, been ignoring the unknown human that had come down the hall; however, with both the beings now dead and Tenna on her way to the north, she couldn't completely ignore what was said. "The ruler of Ishtaria?" She asked as she caught up with the woman and Tenna. "Is that where we are? Ishtaria?" Had the dragon not still had Requiem in her hand, and the situation more relaxed, she would've scratched her chin in thought. "Anyway, even if the ruler's about, my sister's still here somewhere and I'm not leaving until I find her. Even if I have to cross the ruler to do so."
Tundyssa to 5,7.
Still shaken by her experience with the red terror, Ember holds.
-
"Mhhm..." Alriana still didn't have much of her energy, responding to her somehow still hyper sister with agreeing noises as she washed herself off. Wonder what she wants to ask, she's the knowledgeable one... True to the promise her agreeable grunts had made the lizard joined her sister in the main bath shortly. She shivered as went straight to total submersion, only surfacing once she felt adequately cooled from the water. She laid on her back, floating on the surface of the water. Or, at least, it appeared that way. Actually floating would've meant her limbs weren't slack, but they were; the true thing keeping her up was her tail. She took a moment to just chill, staring up at the sky. Somehow, in this context, it was truly relaxing rather than mind-numbing.
She turned her head to look at her sister after a moment. "What was it you wanted to ask?"
-
Alriana didn't even give Ingverd a verbal response, instead just huffing and walking just a tad faster. Maybe if you stopped being smug forever I'd be willing to indulge these weird requests... While Ingverd chatted with the new bunny, Alriana watched Sixteen grow increasingly uncomfortable under the sun, even moreso than she was. She could've probably stopped her before she rushed in, but the heat had left her with zero motivation to exert herself in anyway. Speaking of, watching the bunny communicate with Ingverd was giving her ideas on how she could do away with the curse of this cumbersome language entirely... Hmm... No. That's too inconvenient for something so petty.
"I'm joining her... Don't follow." She knew Ingverd need not be told that, but after his weird comment she felt the need to poke at him a little. Entering the baths herself Sixteen was already undressed and washing off before entering the bath, something she was surprised her sister knew to do. She joined her after disrobing herself, even if their bodies didn't really get that dirty. "Mhmm. Even just this much better than outside..."
-
"He does that a lot," Alriana answered her sister with no regard for subtlety. "I don't know why he does it, but it's annoying when he does because being smug is annoying." What little filter Alriana had in the first place had been turned off by the heat, as well her caring about committing to one of low or high effort speaking. As Ingverd switched back to genuine she raised her eyebrows slightly, surprised that he was so self-conscious about being exposed. Maybe she should do that whenever he got on her nerves... "Either you or me... He's more tolerable like this though."
As the innkeeper explained where the baths were the lizard attention was suddenly rapt, nearly moving for the door before the bunny girl got her last question out. She paused and took a moment to think before she answered. "From Glacies. Mercenaries." That was where the Tiger's home base was, and, at least currently, the Tiger's were the lizard's home. Question answered she moved back to stand by the door, ready to leave and clearly impatient.
-
"Oh, deciding to help me? I assure you, I'm not the one you need to assuage~"
Xetketh to 33,16.
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Sollowy to 4,20, trade the iron bow back for the greatbow.
Faith in the Spirits Arc 1: To Align the Stars
in Roleplay
Posted
Unlike the crows, the enemies casters weren't eager to take her bait. A bit disappointing, but at least one of the axemen had approached to attempt to hit Gean.
Aly to 11,10 dagger the fighter.