Masquerade Part 2: Army of Darkness

[charlie_]

Angus found himself nodding, agreeing with Sonia. "It's... pretty incredible that she won. Even if the lance had some part in it, Marius isn't exactly a pushover. He beat Lanos while I was around, but I stopped watching after my battles for a while. I gave up just before the armoured guy - there's no way this thing..." He pointed at the Short Bow. "was going to get through that armour before he took me down." He sighed, wishing that he'd sent the weapon to get upgraded later, and turned back to Sonia. "Did anyone else beat Marius after I left earlier? I'd be surprised if they did, but..." If Maja had won, then maybe someone else pulling out a victory wouldn't seem particularly far fetched.

[Oersted]

Lanos let the kiss go on for as long as Vriska wanted it to, standing up straight and withdrawing his hands when she pulled away. He found her stuttering to be kind of cute but didn't comment on it it. "I, uh, wouldn't be bothered if you stuck around for a bit." He wondered why he felt even more awkward than before. Maybe it was because he had no idea what came next. Perhaps it was the same for Vriska. "B-Besides, it's not like I need to think about it right now anyway... You can stay if you want." Geez, you'd think that after kissing and telling Vriska I liked her it'd be easy to say I want to spend time with her. Why is it even more awkward to be around her now?

Edited October 29, 2014 by Oersted

[Nanami Touko]

What A Feeling

Elation. That was a word. Enough of one to describe the situation. He felt himself pulling Valha closer, and before he pulled her onto his lap, he let her go. That wouldn't have helped the situation. He broke the kiss, and rested his forehead against hers, smiling. "You're wonderful, Valha... Thank you, for all of this." He chuckled a little, rubbing her shoulder softly. "We can stay here as long as you want. I'll go back to the inn with you whenever you're ready."

Awkward Nation

Vriska nodded and went over to the bed, patting for him to sit next to her. She wasn't planning anything, not this time. She just wanted to sit down or else she felt her legs were going to buckle from how embarrassed she was feeling. "S-So uhm..." Oh, no... I can't think of anything... Vriska grasped at the straws in her mind, searching for something to talk about. Well... There was one thing she wanted to know about. "Can you... Can you tell me about, you and Valha? Not as a couple or anything like that," she quickly blurted out, "but what the deal is with her and you as friends. What she means to you, and all that." There. That's something.

Throne Room

Marius quickly stood and ushered Maja in, as she appeared, taking a seat again on his throne. "Tell me your name, would you? It wouldn't do to never learn the name of the one who bested me... And after that, tell me what it is I can answer for you. I assume that if you've come here to talk, you've got a question or two. By all means, ask!" He leaned onto his knees as he spoke to her, smiling wide.

[Vestige]

"Oh, but the night is still young," he laughed. He had planned on paying for the meal himself, but Alicia had taken it upon herself to do so, and dragged him outside before he even got the chance to object. Ah, well. I suppose there's no point in being stubborn about it. "I can't speak on Troy's behalf, but my dragon's a bit of a free spirit. I don't really keep her anywhere, in so much as I leave her alone to do as she pleases and hope she's still there in the morning," he chuckled. "It's worked out well enough so far, so I'm intent on just letting things be as they are. With any luck, she'll be curled up somewhere near the gate of the city."

[Xinnidy]

First and foremost, Maja looked back at the group of mercenaries she was with prior in the stands. She had something to make sure of. Kadin's not there... he must be close. "Don't worry, I'll call you when it's time." She spoke under her breath, hoping Kadin would hear that.

Entering his box (and finding no other chairs around), she bowed and keep standing, being diagonally-right in front of him. "I'm Maja, Maja Henning." She introduced herself. "I'm... sort of a travelling healer, but I've joined a mercenary guild recently. Thought it was a good idea." ...fully introduced herself. "Right, my question is..."

She spoke more softly then, not knowing what to expect in return. "I need to know about a man named Kadin... Kadin Fahl, and what happened to him."

Kadin struggled to hear, but decided to play cautious regardless. When Maja entered, he stood to her side, still willing himself invisible.

[riariadne]

"Mmm..." Valha pulled herself closer to Ingverd, finding herself crawling onto his lap and wrapping her arms around him, lightly kissing him again. "Tonight's been real nice, Ingverd... thanks for everythin'. Hmm, I'm tired, but this is real comfortable. Maybe you wouldn't mind carryin' me back," she teased.

[algae]

"Did you leave before Vriska went in? She was the only one to make it that far since you left, and the fight didn't last long." Not to make her getting that far in the first place any less impressive, of course. "A few of the others stopped at the armored guy, too," she added. Wonder why. He looks slow, and his armor has to have some weak spot...

[Oersted]

Lanos looked back at the door, as if deep in thought, before shrugging and heading over to the bed, sitting down next to Vriska. He internally sighed at her question, that was one of the things he was going to think about later. He probably should've expected it though if earlier was any indication. And just how far along did she think he was? Last he checked he and Valha were still just friends. "I, uh, think you've got it wrong, me and her, we're just friends." I think. "As for what she means to me... I don't know exactly." He sighed, that probably wasn't what she wanted to hear. "I mean, I admire and trust her with my life but that's all I know for certain right now."

[Nanami Touko]

Whoa...

"Valha, what are you...?" Now it was his turn to blush, as she turned the forwardness back onto him. This is getting a bit dangerous, he mused. "Carry you back, huh? I think I can manage that. Hop on." He didn't think it'd do him any good to stay there with her so close him, so perhaps returning to the inn was for the best. Maybe the boss'd be back, and he could ask her what was going on. He picked Valha up and stood, setting her lightly on her feet and then bending onto one knee. "Whenever you're ready."

Really?

"Is that all? Really?" Vriska couldn't help but be surprised at what he'd told her. She was all over him! Is she just like that with everyone she likes? That'd be so awkward... It was a reassuring, but still confusing thought. "Well, I was just curious about her 'cause I think we got off on the wrong foot... And that's my fault, for getting jealous," she admitted, still red. "You think she'd be alright with me if I apologized? I was kinda... Snotty." You shouldn't have to apologize for tellin' it like it is, but... I don't want to have everyone think I'm that stuck up. Ken already does, and with how much of a jerk he's been lately, I think that's all I need. "Well, uhm... F-Forget about Valha, then, just... Tell me more about you. Like, what you like doing, and stuff. Seems like it'd be important to know."

In For A Walk

"Ohhhh, that means we'll have to walk through the lower rung, at night. You sure you're up to that? It's so scary. Keep me safe~" she teased, starting to walk. The thoughts of soaring through the air were putting any worry she had over a night time thief or mugger starting up on them. Gods, I can't wait... I wonder what it feels like. I wonder if that's how harpies feel... Oh, I just can't wait~!

Name Drop

"Maja, is it? You just joined? And a healer too!? You must be joking! Oh, my poor reputation," he joked with a bit of a sigh. It really did hurt his pride, but he wasn't about to say that. Though, perhaps if Maja had wanted to keep him jovial, she would've refrained from mentioning that name. His mood soured. "How do you know that name, young one?" he asked without any hint of joking in his tone. "You should not know that name. No one should. I don't know how you came to know it, but do your best to forget it, immediately." He sighed again, and this time, his sigh was full of a mix of sorrow and slight disgust.

[charlie_]

"He seemed a lot tougher than the other enemies after him, from what I saw." Angus replied, sighing. "I don't know why they didn't put him last. Wouldn't your magic have been able to take him though?"

Edited October 29, 2014 by SB.

[riariadne]

Valha hummed quietly, climbing onto the elf's back and clinging onto him. "I'm good to go," she told him. "Today was fun... comin' back here didn't end up bein' too bad in the end after all. Tomorrow we can go to the arena 'n stuff, too. I wanna talk to Lanos soon, though... he seemed so out of it earlier. Hopefully his day's been as good as ours, yeah?" She rubbed her head on his shoulder sweetly.

[MRDRHAWK]

Having finished his ham, Kendeall stretched and felt re-energized. Taking one last swig of his vodka, he left some money on the counter for Sara and decided to test his luck at the weapons arena, hoping that he'd fare better than he did in the fist fighting arena. Shouldn't be too difficult, he thought, since everyone seemed to be fighting through the arena well enough.

[Xinnidy]

"I..." Maja was surprised at how Kadin's name affected Marius. What could that mean? Still, she couldn't back down now. "I can't forget about it now, Sir. My life's been about finding the truth about him. It's been like this for about two months." She insisted. "And this is not for me... it's for Kadin himself. Something horrible happened to him-"

"That's enough, Maja." A voice interrupts her speech. Kadin slowly makes himself visible before the two, looking intently at Marius. "Marius Typhus... Do you know who I am?" Kadin says sternly.

[scorri]

Tristram had been watching the others converse, not contributing. They seem to be a good group of people... Father... Mother... This life I've been leading... It's not what you would have wanted for me. You encouraged me to use my talents, to live life to the fullest. Not just cart metal back and forth because it lets me survive. I... I need to stop wishing I could turn back time and start to move forward...

"Can I join your group?" The words were blurted out and even Trist seemed surprised that they had been said. He wasn't 100% sure this was the best idea but... He couldn't help but feel he'd be moving in the right direction by joining up with this group.

[Oersted]

"I think so." He didn't know what Valha thought of him but he was pretty sure it was as a friend, and until he sorted out his feelings that was probably for the best. "Jealous? Jealous over wh-" And then it hit him, she had been jealous over him. They, he and Vriska, were more similar to each other than he realized. "She's not one to hold a grudge over something like that so yeah, you'd probably be fine." You two would probably actually be good friends now that I think about it... Vriska's question brought him out of his thoughts. "Ah, about me...?" Now that he thought about it, Vriska knew much more highly personal stuff than ordinary stuff about him. "Well, now that I think about it, I guess I like fighting for sport. Flying's great, you know I like to read, and I guess all that's left is that I like to watch life happen. Haven't really had a chance to pick up anything else..." After all that he realized he was in the same boat as her. "Hey, how about you tell me about yourself too? I don't know much about you either."

Edited October 30, 2014 by Oersted

[charlie_]

"Huh, what?" Angus was taken aback by the elf's sudden request. "Uh, I don't think there would be a problem, but I'm not exactly the one who gets to decide that." he looked around at Sonia and Quincy, wondering if they would chime in and help. "I can talk to the boss about it though, if you want, but um, why so sudden?" He didn't exactly have a problem with it, but it seemed kind of strange to him that the elf had grown on the idea so quickly. Surely they couldn't have been the first mercenary group he'd encountered, could they?

[Nanami Touko]

Drinking

Makin slouched her way back into the inn, and sat herself on a stool, coiling her tail around it. She sighed. "Sara. Get me a drink. The strongest thing you have. It doesn't matter what, I probably won't get more than a buzz, but... Just do it. Doesn't matterrrrrr." She sank onto the counter, and sighed.

Sara was quite confused, but she placed the strongest alcohol she had on the counter. "Are you sure you'll be fine drinking that? It's absinthe..." She looked worriedly at Makin, but didn't ask what was wrong. After he lounge had been assaulted by the snake woman, she didn't feel like playing counselor, that badly.

Makin took it immediately, and after coughing out the burning in her throat, she slammed the glass down. "Another... Geez, that does hit hard..." Maybe I'll actually get drunk this time... Gods, wouldn't that be nice. How did I never try this before? Burns like fire magic, that's for sure, but... "You know what? Just... Just give me the bottle. We'll see how far I get before my throat decides that it's time to quit."

Sara stared at Makin a moment before taking the entire bottle out and placing it before her. "Don't do anything stupid." She knew arguing with the snake would result in Makin leaning over the counter and taking it for herself, so she didn't bother.

Makin started to drink it, coughing again, and grimacing through the burning. "No promises."

The Return Trip

Ingverd hoisted her up and started walking, leaving the park the way it was, with the lights out. It felt more... Serene that way. "I'm glad. Don't leave for the arena without me, though. And, yeah, I hope his day ended up alright... I still need to talk to him. Apologize, and all of that. I... I do have one question, though, Valha..." He paused his talking to think, and kept on walking.

It seemed like a few moments before he managed to speak again, laughing a bit before he even asked. "Sorry, this... It's probably silly. But... Why me? I mean... You could've just ignored my... Let's called them 'advances', and found someone else. Not like you don't have any other choices." He felt himself blushing, and staring at the road as he walked. "It's a silly question; you don't need to answer if you don't want to. Just, uh... I dunno. Don't really feel I'm deserving of all this. Hah."

Nerd Talk

You did not just ask what I was jealous over. She huffed, but didn't say anything. He seemed a bit naive, most of the time, so perhaps he was being serious. "Alright, good... I hope not." Wouldn't do me much good to get into fights with his best friend. Seriously. Now, those hobbies... They sounded like they fit, to her ears. "Flying was fun. I wish I didn't need wings to do it. But, that'd be impossible. Even with wind magic, I'd only get elevation as long as I was casting... That would drain any mage real fast." At least he likes reading. "Me? Well... I like reading, too. And, I guess..." She thought for a moment. "I like... Standing out. Being able to use my talents for something. Fighting, magic shows, helping people; whatever. Just... Makes me feel useful, and all that." She realized she's rambled for a moment, and giggled awkwardly. "To put it simply, I like using my magic. And... Collecting stuff. I collect... Stuff..." She felt that last one was a bit stupid, so she didn't exactly go into it.

Anger

"What? Your life? Maja, do you even know who you're--" Marius froze in his seat for only a moment as Kadin materialized. The man turned white as a sheet, and without any hesitation, he snatched his sword and jumped up from his throne, swinging it at Kadin, right above Maja's head. To his disappointment, it went through him, but the resulting splatter of man he'd been hoping for didn't occur. Simply some... Ectoplasm, and a swish of air. "Good Gods, what are you!?" He backed up, and stared between them, the guards with him now aiming their weapons at the both of them.

"Are... Are you a ghost? What the Hel could you have unfinished here!?" It was quite obvious that Marius knew who Kadin was, and he was not pleased. Not one bit. "How dare you show your face here again, dead or alive..." Marius grit his teeth, rather upset that he'd never learned how to toss a fireball in his entire life. He could use one, right about now.

[scorri]

Trist started to explain and then paused, realizing the explanation was fairly weird. He shook his head and continued on anyways. "You guys just seem so... different from other groups I've encountered. You all seem to be friendly, and you have some powerful members obviously. You have a ghost traveling with you which by itself makes you interesting enough. And just..." He hesitated, not wanting to go too deep into his past. "It seems like the right path for me right now. I don't... really want to get more into it than that. It's complicated."

[riariadne]

Vlha listened to his question seriously, but smiled when he was done. "It is a silly question," she agreed. "I went with 'em because I like you. I get what you're real askin'... why not Lanos. But both of you are real sweet guys who care a lot about me, 'n I care a lot about both of you. I don't really know how he feels about me right now, but to me, you're both really special, alright? Of course you're deservin'... don't talk yourself down, got it?"

[charlie_]

Angus listened to the elf's reasons, and himself deep in thought too. "Are we really all that different from other groups? I mean, aside from the ghost thing. Can't say I ever saw one of those before I joined up." He'd never really thought about it that way, honestly. He supposed that he must've just gotten used to the group that he'd never noticed it. "And uh, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to. I was just... curious, is all. Sorry." he shrugged slightly, dropping the topic. "Anyway, I'm Angus. I mostly just shoot people, I guess." he chuckled, waiting for the elf to introduce himself.

[scorri]

"Oh, right. I'm Tristram. Can go with Trist for short if you want. And no need to apologize, it's just... not something I like to talk about, that's all. And most the groups I met just... They aren't friendly, they're all business, not really comrades just working together. Maybe I've just run into bad groups but that's what I've seen."

[charlie_]

"Not getting along with the people you work with sounds pretty bad." Angus agreed. "I dunno how common groups like that are, but maybe you just met the wrong ones or something. When you're with people you like, you feel more motivated in order to make sure everyone gets out of it alright. Well, that's how I feel about it, anyway."

[Xinnidy]

"I-- Eek!" Maja was surprised by the sword swing overhead. It could have ended poorly, even with her absurd luck recently. That was... was he holding back all this time?! Somehow, the thought didn't quite surprise Maja.

"Kadin... what's going on?" Maja noticed even the guards were alerted and pointing their weapons at them. This was very daunting. "Please tell me you know what's going on..." Maja was holding her composure, but she felt very desperate.

"..." Kadin was hesitant. Was this man his enemy? Did he have something to do with Kadin's assassination? Had Kadin done something while alive to upset him? "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to ask again, do you know me? Can you at least tell me who I was?"

[Oersted]

"I... wouldn't mind flying you around every once in a while. I-I mean we'd have to make it safer if you wanted anything more than what we did in Ward but..." He was rambling and he didn't even know if Vriska was going to accept his offer so he stopped there for now. He'd figured she liked reading and he could relate to wanting to feel useful but not standing out. He didn't have anything against it, it was just something that he preferred not to do. What she said last intrigued him, just what did she collect? Maybe she'd tell him if he pushed it a little. "You've gotten me intrigued, what do you collect?"

[Vestige]

"Yeah, no worries," he said. He was acting nonchalant, but truthfully, considering he was unarmed, things would get difficult really quick if a group like the one in the morning decided to accost them. Especially considering the clothes they were wearing. They were practically walking around with signs that said "Hey, we have money, come bother us!" They passed through the slums without incident though, somehow. It was one thing to go traveling through the place in the morning with a whole horde of armed companions. But at night, with just one other person? Talk about nerve-wracking.

"And here we are," he finally said, as they exited the city gates. Ophelia was lounging on the side of the road, clearly in the path of any traveler who might want to walk along the path, but of course she cared little for this fact. He took Alicia's hand and led her over to Opehlia, "Hey there girl, and how has my gorgeous dragon been doing?" he said, stroking her along her head. It was hard to see at that time of night, especially against Opehlia's dark scales, but he noticed some dried blood surrounding her maw. "Guess you went out to get your own food huh? Should have saved some for me," he joked. "Oh well, you've had enough fun on your own today. Time to work off that fat!" He hopped onto the saddle, and extended a hand out to Alicia. "Allow me."