Nanami Touko Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) With the battle over, Makin let her guard down, let out a sigh, and turned to face the mage Raith had saved during the fight. "You!" She shot over, and pulled the girl off the ground, right up to her face. A glare bore into Vriska. "You're going to tell me who these people are, why you were helping them, and you're going to do it now, before I think of something to do with you." It seemed she hadn't appreciated Raith's almost suicide run to help someone that had attempted to kill them with a bolt of lightning. "And don't think you're getting off easy, Valha! You're lucky they were just thugs, or I'd be a lot angrier than I am." At least she stole from thieves and bandits instead of actual merchants. I can't imagine what trouble we'd have gotten into if they had been. Meanwhile, Makin stuck in her thoughts, Vriska dangled in sheer terror a good foot off the ground. If she wasn't about to be eaten by a dragon, she was going to get strangled by a snake woman! She looked over at Raith in some desperate attempt to have someone stop the naga, though she was sure he couldn't do much at the moment. "I-I-I... I-I'm just... J-Just a girl, pl-please..." She started to cry. Makin sighed, and set her back on the ground. "I'll ask later, but you will tell me about them. Guess I shouldn't expect much right after a fight like that. Raith," she called over to the man, "you helped her, you take care of her. Hope your dragon doesn't mind carrying two." She slumped in place a little bit, wandering over to a nearby tree. "Just give me a bit to calm myself, alright? You can all...talk amongst yourselves, or whatever." "Geez, boss didn't like that, did she? Can't say I blame her, with you lot riling her up before they ambushed us... Though it was hilarious." Ingverd expected some shout or reprimand from Makin, but she remained silent. Wow, she must really have not liked that fight. Guess I'll shut up for a bit. Edited January 15, 2014 by I have opinions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riariadne Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) "Is that really all they got? I felt like I was just gettin' started," Valha boasted, playing with her feathers a bit. "Eh, whatever. They were kinda jokes, anyway... glad I didn't peck off more than I can chew, or however the sayin' goes 'n all that other stuff. Hey, I don't really know most of you guys, huh? I'm Valha Nix, probably the least timid harpy around. Lanos can show some good moments too, but other than that the whole lot of 'em are a flock of cowards. I could call myself queen of all harpies 'n I don't really think any of 'em would have the guts to say a damn thing about it." She smirked at the thought. "That actually sounds kinda fun... maybe too ambitious, 'n I don't think most of 'em are worth bossing around anyway. They'd still get scared off at the sight of a rabbit. Well, no matter. Who are you guys?" Edited January 16, 2014 by Reinfleche Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestige Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 "Uh, yeah, sure. She's probably lighter than most so Ophelia wont mind too much," he replied to Makin. Truth be told he was slightly taken aback by how forceful Makin had been, but he didn't really press the issue. He walked over to where Vriska was crying to herself and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Hey, hey, that's enough of that, alright? Trust me, Makin must be a hundred--no, a thousand times better than Ertel was. She's just a bit ticked off is all, and understandably so. Honestly I'm surprised she didn't give me a sound thrashing! Once she cools off a bit, just tell her what she needs to know and that'll be that," he said. He then turned to Valha and responded to her boasting, "Well, my name's Raith. Raith Ereld. Just an average mercenary, O' Queen of Harpies. However, it does me great pleasure to be able to stand in your presence," he said. He tipped an imaginary hat and plopped himself on the ground. Man, I'm exhausted... Ophelia had been given free reign to do as she pleased, and was currently flying overhead. "Flexing" her wings as it were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDRHAWK Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 As Kendeall was trying to make heads or tails of the book he'd picked up after that large centaur died, he overheard the conversation that was developing between Valha, Raith & Makin. Sighing, he continued to flip through the book; it was definitely a tome, but, it seemed, not one that he was actually familiar with. Not that he was that good at magic anyway, mind you. "Ugh... dammit. I wonder if there's somebody else in this army who can help me figure this book out..." the axeman sighed as he surveyed his group, hoping that maybe someone would step forth and give him an answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Vriska tried to buck up between sniffles and hiccups, looking up at Raith with her teary eyes. "Y-Y...You m-mean it?" It took her a moment to collect herself, but she was beginning to trust him, so she took his word for it and forced herself to stop crying. She still coughed a few times before she spoke again, and by that time, Raith was sitting on the ground. She sat next to him, but kept a foot between them. "So...have you been working for her for long? She seems really frightening..." ---------- Makin didn't say much, just remarked that the girl had taken a shine to Raith. Whatever keeps her out of trouble. Wish this tree was more comfortable to lean against. She closed her eyes and kept trying her best to calm down. ---------- Ingverd, doing his best to keep away from Makin, had noticed the book that Kendeall had picked up. "Oh, I think that's a light tome," he said, walking himself on over. "You use anima, right? Probably won't be able to read that well. Unless you've got both types of magic under your belt. How impressive would that be? Haha." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestige Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Nah, honestly, it's only been a short while. This is my, and pretty much everyone else's, second job actually. We're supposed to be delivering something to someone, and that was supposed to be it," he said. "Boss probably wasn't expecting to fight off a bunch of thugs on the way there so that's probably gotten her annoyed is all. She's really not that bad." Raith picked at the grass, uprooting each blade in his arms reach one at a time. He leaned over and whispered, "Half a lizard isn't nearly as scary as..." he pointed to the dragon circling above. "But don't tell the boss I said that. I'd rather not have her try to prove me wrong," he chuckled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDRHAWK Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Kendeall sighed as he turned to Ingverd, tome in hand. "That explains it... I was never any good with light magic. Kinda figured that touching a light tome was like getting splashed with holy water and I'd burst into flames the moment I put my hands on it." he joked, flipping the book in his hands. Thinking hard, he wondered if he could sell the tome for a good profit - but something else hit him. "Hey, do you know if anyone here can use Light magic? I don't recall anyone other than myself use a tome at all, but I figured I'd still ask anyway." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riariadne Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Aw, aren't you a charmer? Thanks for bailin' me out earlier, though. Can't say I'm fond of flyin' by dragon, but rather that than fight against one, yeah? You guys aren't bad at all." Distracted by the commotion about the book one of the others was holding, she moved in to look a bit closer. "Huh, they don't seem all that different to me. What's the big deal here?" She scrutinized it momentarily, comparing it to the other one he held. "Got different covers, I guess. Well, I don't really know the first thing about magic other than it hurts, anyway... probably not the best for this sort of thing. Not really sure why I even bothered." Valha shrugged. "How've you been, Ingverd? Don't really wanna bother the boss right now... doesn't seem like anythin' good can come from that." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorri Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Sighing, mostly in relief, Kadin let his lance fade and returned to the rest of the group. "Sorry for running ahead of everyone like that, but I felt that I would be of more use distracting the boss than staying back here. I am rather annoyed that the thief ran away. I wanted to finish him to try and clean up these woods. I'm still not sure why you let those centaurs go." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Oh..." Vriska began to understand why their boss was so mad with her; that taunt she'd done at the start of the fight probably didn't help the situation. She jumped back as Raith leaned in, looking up to where he was pointing and squeaking. "Th-that was mean! You're just a mean old man after all..." She turned away from him and frowned. That wasn't funny at all. That thing almost did eat me... ---------- "Light magic? Here? I doubt that, heavily. We were surprised enough that you and Raith could use magic, let alone just Maja. But hey, hold onto it. Those aren't easy to come by from what I've heard, and if we somehow run into someone who knows how to use light magic, we can give it to them. Sounds good, right? Doubt any vendor would give you much for it, unless they knew what it was. And trust me, the woods might be magical, but we," he pointed at himself, "are not." Oh? What beautiful voice serenades my ears now? Valha had flown over, and was asking how things had gone. "Hey there, gorgeous. Yeah, best to not bother her, right now. Last time I bothered her, when she was like this, she almost choked me. Like, actually. With her tail. It wasn't a pretty sight." And it seemed everyone was turning up now, leaving poor Ingverd to field answers to all questions. The ghost had returned, asking something else. Ingverd could but shrug and sigh. "I guess dragon boy was feeling sorry for them. He helped that girl, maybe he thought he could help some more. Guess he did. I wouldn't worry too much; centaurs really are honorable creatures, even if they work for thieves. If they agree to terms, they almost always keep them. We won't be seeing those two again." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riariadne Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Valha smiled a bit at the flattery. "Good to see you seem just same as ever. Poor you always gettin' shut down by boss, huh? Though, it was probably at least an interestin' sight if not pretty. Hmm, I should think of cleaning up a bit myself, though... depends how far we are." She paused for a moment to preen her feathers a bit. "Where are we goin' anyway? I need to do a bit of catchin' up, probably." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Of course I am. Why would I let something like bandits get me down? I've been working with the scariest thing for years." Though she was right, the boss did shut him down a lot. Not that he minded at this point, she had her good points with her bad points. "Go ahead, but it'll be at least another day before we hit Ward. Why not jump into the river over there if you want to get clean so badly? I'm sure with all the magic floating around the woods that the water's clean. Oh, yeah, Ward, we're going there to deliver a bow to one of Makin's old mercenary pals. Got held up because of someone." He smirked as he spoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestige Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Don't mention it. And hey, who knows, If I end up needing to save your ass a couple more times, you might even get used to riding the dragon," he said with a laugh. He then brought his attention back to Vriska, "Mean?! Me? Oh come on, you're the one who nearly gave me a heart attack when you blasted that thunder magic in front of us earlier. And I'm only in my twenties! Sheesh, here I thought I was entering my prime and kids are telling me I'm old already...man..." he sighed. Couple more years and I'll be in my thirties...Eh, whatever. You're never too old for adventure. Except when you are...Raith thought of his own father for a moment. Swinging a pickax was just about all the adventure he was suited for. When Raith had told him what had happened in the mountains his father nearly had a heart-attack, just from the story. If he was in my place...well, he definitely wouldn't be breathing on this planet, no sir. "Man, how does a girl like you get caught up with guys like that anyway? Even I wouldn't be dumb enough to join up with them, and trust me. I was pretty dumb a couple years ago. I probably still am, but eh, that's besides the point." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riariadne Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Used to it? I dunno about that. Let's start with not hating to think of it and we'll maybe talk," Valha muttered before facing the elf again. "I'm sure it's clean, but I really don't like water too much if I can help it. Know that feelin' when you get water in your feathers and it's just impossible to get out?" She paused for a moment before realizing the ridiculousness of her question. "Oh yeah, I guess you wouldn't... Well it isn't nice! You probably just wanted to see me take a bath, anyway. And hey, those guys were awful! They would've given you a hard time even if I wasn't around, so it pretty much doesn't even matter." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SB. Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Yeah, they weren't that tough." Angus remarked. "Weren't that smart either, picking a fight with a full mercenary group and all. It was nice to have the extra help though. I'm Angus, by the way." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 "I know... I know already, and so do you. I told you why I was here..." She began to tear up again, because she knew she was at fault, but having him reinforce that wasn't making her feel any better. I guess he has a right, huh? He risked his life to save me and I'm just calling him old and mean. She turned herself enough for him to see her face, and mumbled something like an apology, wiping her face on her sleeve. "You should probably go talk to your boss. I know I'd appreciate someone talking to me if I was upset... Like you are. I'm sorry for being such a child. I mean, I know I'm not an adult yet, but..." she didn't really know what to finish that sentence with. ---------- "No, no I wouldn't know that feeling," Ingverd said with a laugh. "Oh no, how did you guess? Guess I won't go further into that, don't want to seem like too much of a creep." He shrugged and chuckled. Maybe one day. "You're probably right, they did seem a bit shit. Admittedly, I'm glad you did that, or they might've just stabbed us in the back while we slept. At least this way we got to kick their asses up front. So thank you, Queen of Harpies," he said, going along with her earlier joke, and giving her a bow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riariadne Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Huh, you're probably already thinkin' about it... I don't think you need to say anythin' more for me to get at least that much." She frowned a bit at the thought. "You should stop thinkin' of that, actually, I don't like it! I guess I can't really tell if you do stop. I dunno. But anyway, I am generally pretty glad with how that went. Wish I could've gotten their leader, though. Don't like the thought of him running around free." She sook her head as Ingverd bowed. "Now I know you're just flattering me! Well, I don't mind, but still..." She turned to the other man approaching her. "Nice to meet you. You seemed strong out there. Glad to have someone like you with us, yeah?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDRHAWK Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Kendeall stood slightly away from the exchange between Angus, Ingverd & Valha - no need to interject himself into their conversation if he had no reason to do so. He decided to take the opportunity of being alone to train, taking his axe and heading into the forest to 'collect firewood', which he could light up with his Fire tome and keep warm. He figured he may as well put it to a more practical approach than roasting people, after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestige Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 "Ah man, don't sweat it. Look, my bad. Ertel seems like he'd be one of those smooth talkers, so I can see how someone like you could get caught up with a guy like him. Being young isn't something you need to apologize for. Trust me, I've done really stupid things. Stupid enough to get me killed, but that's a story for another time, eh?" he said. "Anyhow, lighten up will ya," he gave her a strong pat on the back and stood up. "I'll be back in a bit. Going to go let the boss know that you care about her," he said with a wink. He found Makin leaning against a tree and walked over. "Y'know, this tree isn't really all that comfortable," he said as he tried to find a comfortable spot--to no avail. In the end, he decided to just sit down again. He could see Vriska sitting where he left her, thinking about who knows what. And the rest were talking among themselves. Ken decided to head deeper into the forest, for whatever reason, but Raith didn't bother to question him about it. "So, boss, you seem awfully quiet. Our resident little girl told me to come check up on you, and so, here I am," he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oersted Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 As soon as the battle had ended Lanos had hurried off towards the river to clean his sword off lest his mind wander into dangerous areas, such as how he nearly died over someone he didn't even know. He returned just in time to hear Valha's "Queen of the Harpies" comment. I'd probably object... On the basis that I'd fear what Valha would do with that kind of power. Probably wouldn't do much though. With nothing overly meaningful to contribute to the conversation, Lanos kept silent and sat down on the road; too tired to care that it wasn't that comfortable. At least it kept his mind occupied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riariadne Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Valha perked up a bit, only just noticing her friend sitting not far from here. "Lanos! You did pretty good out there! See, I knew you'd be good at this, you adapted just fine. All that fuss for the last few months for nothin', yeah? Hey, c'mere, we have lots to talk about! How'd you guys do yesterday? Did they pay you well? Where'd Charlie go off to?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Joel reflected on his lack of skill in the skirmish. Most of the others had either played a valuable support role or had done a lot to turn the tide of the battle. He shouldn't expect much from his first real battle, but still... there was one fighter you intrigued him more than the others, though. Joel approached the spirit who was standing off to one side of the group. "I don't think we've been introduced yet. My name is Joel. So, that is an interesting ability you have there." One that would no doubt come in handy later on, he thought to himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oersted Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I won't really say I adapted. I'm on the verge of giving myself a panic attack... Lanos thought yo himself, now wasn't the time to mention something like that. "Thanks," Lanos said, doing his best to shut out his own fear at the moment, "I ,must be better than I thought I was." And then Valha bombarded him with with questions. A day late sure but Lanos had still called it. "Well I'd say we did good against the zombies, though I learned they're more inclined to target you if you have wings. Paid well. Charlie? Well I heard he couldn't take it and decided to stay in the village." "But tell me Valha, how'd you end up all the way out here trying to get me a sword?" Lanos asked. He hoped no one, namely Makin, would mention how worried he'd been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riariadne Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 "Huh? I thought I told you I was stayin' out around here for the night. Don't tell me I forgot," she responded with a bit of confusion, a touch of worry in her tone. "I ended up doin' that, but Ertel and his gang gave me a hard time just a bit after I woke up. Thought they could get away with tryin' to get some money off me, I guess, but I showed 'em, and that led to a chase for a while. Can't believe they thought it'd go well, though... I clearly was a pretty bad target to hold up considerin' I could just fly away, but I took it a little further, I guess. What a mess... sorry for the trouble," she apologized with uncharacteristic sincerity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oersted Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) That would explain why she was out here. At least she had planned to do it beforehand. "Pretty sure you forgot to mention that..." Lanos said, though it was clear he wasn't upset over it. "Well I'm no expert thief but might it have been the jewelry and your ribbion?" Lanos asked when Valha explained why she'd stolen from Ertel. "They don't look like the cheepest of things." Then Valha did something that Lanos didn't expect at all, she apologized. "Well, as Ingverd said it was probably for the best. It's not like anyone was too terribly hurt or died or anything like that." Lanos said in attempt to reassure Valha, seeing her apolgizing like this was almost unsettling considering how she usually was. Edited January 17, 2014 by Oersted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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