Balcerzak Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 Wasteland Woes Spoiler Susan had ended up in a cart full of people she didn't know. On the one hand that was for the best, it gave her a lot of time to process the events that had unfolded, and try to piece things back together. On the other hand, these draining wastes sucked to suffer through alone and isolated. It was even worse than the thinness of the world these days in general, and she felt like she was dying. She might even have, if someone hadn't forced her to drink a mana potion that she hadn't been aware had even existed, much less been stocked up for just such purpose of prevention. Precautions obviously discussed among the original group, yet the assumptions and presumptions hadn't trickled down to her awareness. The group's choice to constantly be on the move hadn't made it any easier, either. Aside from the occasional break for the horses, the wagon wheels were constantly rolling. Susan hadn't been asked to take the reins, at least, so she hadn't really bothered to pay attention to how the drivers were handling it. But it wasn't great as a passenger, proper rest was hard to find. At least they'd leave this ruined patch of earth all the sooner for it. That said, when they finally did stomp for a proper camp, Susan jumped on the opportunity to stretch her legs, to find a piece of solid earth that didn't move beneath her and sit for awhile, and... well that was mostly it, really. It was still the wastes, there was no scenery, nothing to do. Well, no, there was still something she needed to do. Someone she needed to speak with. And preferably alone this time. So she watched, and she waited, and she gathered her feelings and tried to be ready to say what needed to be said, or answer what might possibly be asked. And so it ended up not being right away when the opportunity presented, but probably closer to twenty minutes after Lucille was alone in her tent that Susan approached, stood outside the entrance flap, and spoke up. "If you're not busy we need to..." No, that was coming off too strong, rephrase it. "I would like to talk, hopefully get on the same page..." Wait, she probably can't recognize just by voice alone, yet, we've hardly met. "This is Susan." Lucille found herself reading one of her mother's letters again. For the second evening in a row, she poured over the words wishing her well, and reassuring Lucille that she was alright. That was what she needed right now, after her talks with Ayane and Bladen, and particularly after everything that happened in the labyrinth. It had happened a couple time so far since joining this group. Lucille had felt and noticed similarities between Nessraya and her mother, and then... there was Susan from the labyrinth. She hadn't really been paying attention to much back then; Susan's hug had put Lucille's anxiety to near unmanageable levels, and she was panicking until Seilan, Nisha, and the fox woman came into defuse the situation. Once Lucille could get a good look, and a feeling for Susan, she couldn't help but notice similarities. They weren't quite the same as Nessraya's, but they were present. What made this one all the more confusing was the idea that Susan had mistaken her for her sister, calling her Cosette. The confused woman was displaced in time--if what the fox woman said was true--but for her to have such a strong reaction and belief... was there something more here? Lucille popped her head up as she heard a voice outside her tent. She didn't fully recognize it, but it sounded like Susan's voice. What are the odds of this? First, the request felt like a command, and then was immediately edited with confirmation that the voice did belong to the displaced mage. Her anxiety was now starting to mount, but it was held at bay by Lucille's curiosity. She could brave it to figure out exactly what was going on, and she felt like she had to apologize for threatening her back then. Panicked as she may have been, it still didn't make it reasonable to be threatening people who weren't truly threatening her. "S-Susan?" Lucille took a deep breath, "Y-You, can, come in. G-Getting, uh, on the same page does sound... like a good idea." Lucille stashed the letter, before turning herself towards the opening of the tent. At the acceptance of her request, even though the invitation extended did not seem to be an eager one, Susan pushed herself in past the flap, hunched over until she cleared the threshold and entered the tent proper where she could straighten up some. Lucille was seated on one side of her mattress, stowing some loose sheet of paper or another into an envelope, before turning to face her. As their gazes met, the uncanny resemblance once again struck Susan hard, like a warhammer to the side of the skull, and she couldn't help but break line of sight, turning her head to the side. Moving deeper into the tent, she stepped past her sister's doppleganger--one stride, two strides--then took a seat of her own on the far side of the mattress. Seated, side-by-side, with ample separation, perhaps she would better be able to handle this? Laying her hands to rest on her knees, she interlocked her fingers, the bare ones of her good hand nestling between the gloved replacements on the ever present reminder of her other. In the spirit of vulnerability with which she came, she allowed her mouth to twist a bit downward, and a wistful sigh escape her lips. Then a deep breath in, and a light shake of her head and she opened with, "We've had some time now to think, each of us, and there's many questions on both sides to be sure. Would you like the first go at asking, or should I begin?" There was still a bit of that unspoken fear, that Lucille would simply refuse to deal with her entirely, would cut off any chance at a budding relationship wholesale, demand she leave and never speak to her again. But. She'd gotten this far. Why give the woman the opportunity to slam the door in her face directly, by asking 'Do you mind? Does my curiosity bother you? Is it troublesome, for me to seek some sort of attachment here?' If a deepening uncomfortable silence didn't prompt Lucille to ask anything, Susan steeled herself to push past those and ask something else--something less vulnerable, something of more substance--to ask her something directly. She had no shortage of targets to work with, after all. Susan entered, and Lucille immediately felt her pulse quicken. The woman striding towards the other side of the bed was a complete unknown, aside from her name, the fact that she was from an era almost seven hundred years ago, and that she believed, mistakenly, that Lucille had been her sister, Cosette. The similarities between Susan, and her own mother, how they felt to her was unnerving. But because it was unnerving meant that it might of had some sort of merit. Lucille pulled her gloved arm behind her, and took a series of breaths before turning to look at Susan in earnest. "I, I think... it would be better for you to explain. I have too many questions... and not a good idea of where to really begin." The closeness with which Susan did make Lucille shrink herself a bit. There was so much that could be said here, and Lucille had no idea how to prepare herself for any of it. Though, the manner in which Susan spoke, the sigh, the interlocking of fingers, even the shift in speech seemed to tell Lucille that Susan was feeling much the same way. Which was helping in the short term of things. Both of them walking into a miasma of unknowns with only their shared reservations linking the two together as they prepared to take the plunge; Lucille into the potential of ancient familial relations, and Susan into a world seven hundred years removed from her own. Well, not unexpected. Lucille wanted answers but had no clue on how to start narrowing down the field, so she asked for basically a blanket recounting of everything. Susan grit her teeth, nodded, then began. "I... just one request. I'm willing to tell you, because I still see you as family, even if you object. But please, do not pass along anything I say. The others surely see me odd enough already, maybe even untrustworthy, and no reason to give them more fuel for the fire." Susan unclasped her hands and moved them to rest them on the edge of the bed beside her, leaning back slightly. "There were six of us at the start, unless there had been more before I arrived at the monastery. The Order had given each of us a last name corresponding to a different color, implying there was no shared blood between us, but we were all young and had no memories of our parents, blurry memories of anything really, so that could have just been another of their lies. They killed Pat, Cleo, and Lily with their experiments, and I never found out what happened to Norma after she failed to display the result they wanted. They were trying to turn us into miracles, you see? Install us with the kind of magic nobody could do, nobody thought possible, until that red devil showed up and surprised everyone, upset the whole order of the world." Susan twisted to the side, facing away from Lucille as she pulled up the back of her shirt and revealed the scar at the base of her spine, an ugly looking raised welt in the shape of a U with a squiggle through it. "The Order of the Snake were trying... implants, I guess you could say? I showed promise--not dying was a start--and my magic was developing well, but not fast enough, or flashy enough, so they did the surgery to Cosette too, the last of us. She survived, but after initial success, her consciousness slipped away and she fell to sleep." This glossed over some of the more uncomfortable details, but there would be room for follow-up questions after she was done, so she didn't feel too guilty about trying to get the basic outline laid down first, without diving too deep into any of the particulars. Letting her shirt fall back down, and shifting to face forward again, Susan continued. "My greatest powers are a bit subtle, magic affecting the mind you could call it, I suppose? So maybe even if I'd mastered that immediately it might not have saved her. And, impressive though it may be, mere magic at a thought--no rituals, tomes, or conduits--well that only went so far, especially when the spells didn't all come to me at once. And now, with the changes in the world since I'd been sealed, I'm having trouble doing all that I used to. No more walking the wind in an instant, or calling down flaming rocks from the heavens," she punctuated these comments with a wry smile before continuing. "But maybe you'll believe me if I show you this?" Susan raised her left hand, closed her eyes, steadied her breathing, thought inwards, and snapped. A small flame sprang to life and danced atop her index finger. The tiniest of fireballs. Lucille's eyes narrowed at Susan asked for secrecy on what she wanted to say. She rubbed her gloved arm as she thought for a moment, before she nodded her head at Susan. "I... I'd ask you to do the same. I don't exactly want people knowing about my past yet either, so... it would be hypocritical of me to not give you the same courtesy." Lucille took a deep breath; she had prepared herself for a number of different stories, and ideas. However, as Susan began to recount her story, Lucille realized that she couldn't have possibly been prepared. Every sentence made Lucille's occasional sparking quicken, until it almost seemed like she was planning on casting a spell. It was all much, much too close to what had happened to her. The Order was just the Church; the mentioned children were all the people that Lucille saw who were subjected to the same treatment that she was; and the experiments were self explanatory. Lucille shrank smaller, and smaller. Then Susan showed her a scar on the lower part of her back. Lucille felt a wave of confusion, anger, and greater anxiety wash over her. Please, stop... It apparently was an implant of some sort, and it was responsible for her magic. "S-s-so they... they implanted you with whatever they implanted with to... create mages?" Something about all of that made Lucille's blood boil. They harmed children for this, and it sounded like the process wasn't even completely effective. The rapidly building anger kept Lucille from asking Susan to stop. Her arm was gripped tight. Then the explanation about what her magic actually was. Lucille couldn't help but be a little interested, rising ever so slightly. "A-a-affect the mind? That... sounds like how some... staves work and like... succubi magic?" Then there was something that Susan hit upon that made Lucille's eyes widen for a moment, "...Magic at a thought? Y-y-you mean like... c-c-could your magic just happen? As if you-- huh?" Then Lucille's eyes flew completely wide as Susan snapped and fire appeared above her hand. Her reaction was almost superhuman, being up and off the bed the moment the flames appeared. "S-s-stop that! Get... get that away from me!" Lucille took further steps backwards before stumbling onto her rear. "Please... stop that... and, and w-warn... me before you..." Great... fantastic start. A couple of questions had come up along the way, but Susan had delayed answering them until a convenient break in her story, to avoid getting sidetracked or losing her attention. She could not have expected the reaction that came at this planned pause, however, when the poor girl seemed almost to vault off the bed, turning as she did as if to make sure Susan wasn't chasing after her. But trying to do so many things at once in her flight proved a downfall, and Lucille crashed to the ground, landing heftily on her bottom. "Are you all..." Susan moved to stand up, but stopped, barely having made any separation from the bed before frantic waving of the arms met her, along with an exhortation to stay away and to... oh? The fire was the problem? Nothing else quite made sense, they'd been doing just fine so far, so that must have been the trigger. Covering her good hand with her gloved one, the fireball was swiftly snuffed, smoke spilling out around the edges of her palm before that too was just a distant memory. "I had no idea, uh. I'm not sure what to... Fire is the quintessential spell so I just thought, I guess I should have gone with a globe of water instead. Especially in the wastes here, water is more useful now than ever, even if it isn't specially fortified..." She didn't catch that she was rambling for a moment or two, but when she did she frowned, wiped her hands on her clothes to get any last soot off in case that was still a problem, then cautiously started reaching out with her right. "I'm sorry. I'll help you up, if you need it. But if I'm overstepping just..." "Mmmm..." Once Lucille had launched herself away from the flames, and Susan seemed to pick up that it was the fire that had set her off, Lucille was left with just her embarrassment. Lucille scooted back as Susan reached out her hand, "...No, no... I'll, haah... just sit, right, here." Lucille let her face fall into her hands, and let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Y-you did have no idea, so, so it's not y-your fault. I, just need a moment. I, I can't, I don't deal well with f-fire, at all." After another sigh, Lucille lifted her head from hands, face tinged with red. "Y-you're not overstepping, but... I, I just need to be... here, and you can, just, be over there." She took several breaths, before looking up and noticing her gloved hand. She remembered how odd the woman's hand felt. Lucille shook her head; it took focus to not start shivering as her thoughts began to take shape regarding Susan's hand. The only way to know for sure was to ask, and frankly, it couldn't be too much worse than anything she'd already said. "Y-your arm..." Lucille looked away, and down to her own covered arm, hand clenched tight. "Did... did something happen to it? I, I noticed it when we were down in the Labyrinth. It was... cold. Not like another person's hand... I... I'm s-sorry, there was probably a better way to... put that." It was a struggle to ask questions after being so abruptly set off, and just knowing that if it was what Lucille thought, how close she was to being just like Susan. Susan frowned and stiffened a little at the partial rejection, and then the accompanying question didn't do any favors as far as softening the mood. But it was certainly an inevitable one. "Heh, you seem like you know enough to not believe me if I lied and told you it's just for fashion, but let me put off answering that right away. I owe you your other questions first," she replied with as much levity as she could muster, and started slowly working at loosening her glove with her left hand while she spoke on the other matters. "Maybe implants wasn't the best of terms, but I'm not a doctor. Transplants maybe? They're alive, whatever they are, and yes, they made a mage out of me. Or, more than a mage, I guess, as you just saw. A magi. You'd have to explain what you mean by succubi magic though, that word isn't exactly familiar to me, so all I can give you on that front is 'maybe' for now?" Susan's head tilted in inquiry as she finished pulling her glove off. What Lucille saw underneath was an obviously fake hand. It was black--much like the color of the glove that usually contained it--at least where it wasn't surrounded by a leather harness that attached it to Susan's stump, just below the elbow. The apparatus was appropriately jointed and covered with various buckles and cables running to and fro. "You're right. It's not a normal hand, I had to have it replaced after I lost my real one. A very skilled puppeteer made this, and nearly all of the major movements are done mechanically. I have to supplement with magic for finer ones, but even still I'll never pick a lock or thread a needle or the like with it." In demonstration, one of the cables running down to the top of the wrist shortened and the prosthetic raised, palm outward. Then, as Susan concentrated, the fingers lightly curled down. "The shoulder harness for this one is actually pretty comfortable, helps keep the weight distributed right. If you're in the market, I'll happily refer..." and then the realization that no, a referral wouldn't be possible, as the man must surely be long dead by now. There was nothing to do but awkwardly trail off and rest her hands in her lap. "O-oh, right." Susan seemed to tense, both from the question and Lucille's refusal of her assistance. It wasn't out of ill will or distrust, but Lucille simply just needed to be away. Lucille sighed, perhaps it would just be better if she prepared for people to just cast fire more often than not. Susan was right that it was the most quintessential spell, and most anima trained mages would be proficient in using it--even herself. The resulting answers from her hastily forgotten questions had Lucille tense. There were people long ago who took children, and transplanted living entities inside of them. She didn't know everything that the church was up to but, this put these people beyond the church's machinations. A spark ran up Lucille's arm, "What exactly do you mean by... Magi? You said what these, these... people did to you made you more than a mage. And... succubi, at least to my understanding, have special magical pheromones that they can use to entice other people. It affects a person's mind, and it was the first thing I thought of. Though... it seems to only really affect humans, since we're not typically magically adept." Susan pulled the glove off, and revealed the frightening marvel underneath. Cords and cables ran all over, and a harness kept the system in place. Lucille's free arm drifted back towards her gloved one, slowly grasping it and squeezing. Lucille flinched as she remembered that she could feel with her arm once more. It hadn't been long since Tenebria worked a genuine miracle. Though, Lucille half expected what she saw; what she felt when she helped Susan up wasn't the feeling of a normal hand. Lucille kept silent, only the squeezing of her arm and the faint quickening of her breath giving away any discomfort. "N-no, that's, that's fine. I don't... need anything like that. Your... your arm, they... they didn't take it from you when they experimented on you, did they?" Lucille couldn't help it. Lucille felt almost compelled to know. It was almost cosmic, really. Two women experimented on by psychopaths, and losing their arms because of it. It would have been a horrific coincidence normally, but there was the possibility that the two were distantly related. Lucille had been supremely lucky that Serena was as talented as she was and willing to put her own well being at risk for her. Otherwise... Lucille glanced at the prosthetic again. Keep calm... just breathe... "Humans always needed extensive training, study, tomes, and foci to use magic. The introduction of the Changed, beings that didn't need any of that, was a huge shock to the world. So of course, greedy humans wanted to take what the Changed had and make it their own. A human who could magic on a whim. Ideally with full mastery of all elements, and unchallenged in a field of specialty too. That was the glorious pipe dream the Order wanted out of Magi, as I remember it," a melancholic, wistful look passed across Susan's face as she relayed the definition seemingly lost to time and dust. "And from what you're saying about succubi, I guess that does sound a little like me? Not really sure pheromones is the right word for it, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I've abused my power to bend minds and wills when I needed to to survive. It's certainly a lot easier to evoke desires in people already predisposed, so sometimes it was best to grease the wheels a bit first but... mmm, you don't really care or need to hear any of that, I suppose." Lucille wasn't sickened by her arm, but the sight certainly did seem to make the girl uncomfortable in several ways. That was as good a cue as any to start sliding the glove back on. Out of sight made it easier to out of mind something, and Susan was adept at placating. The final stuttering query on the subject stopped her before she actually made any progress though, and Susan turned to stare at Lucille's face a little closer. Was that fear and apprehension mixed in with the horror? The magi pressed her lips tight a moment, then spoke the truth. "It... yes and no. They didn't take it directly, but were it not for what they'd done I wouldn't have had to make Cecilia cut it off for me. I couldn't very well have done it myself, not with my off-hand, and she certainly wouldn't have done it if I'd just asked her nicely, she was too kind-hearted for that. Part of it was my fault for not noticing the blood poisoning early enough. I didn't know enough about my condition at that point to be so observant, all I knew was I needed enough food to sustain not only myself but to keep them fed as well. I hadn't been aware of just how much strain they put on my body, how I was weakened in other ways. To this day I can't exactly tell you what the initial injury that soured and rotted was. Did I cut myself slicing vegetables? Did I burn myself lighting a fire? Was it an animal that bit me? An itch or sore that festered? But unseen it developed, and by the time the pain and discoloration were severe enough to truly alert me, nothing I knew to try and treat it with worked. We were far enough from civilization at the time that if the hand didn't go when it did, it would have taken me with it..." She looked down at her fake hand again, opened and closed it, then looked back to Lucille. The explanation of magi in comparison to a mage was... odd. Lucille looked down at her own hands; she had a pretty large repertoire of magic that she could wield--wind, thunder and, begrudgingly, fire, and all without tomes. She had enough understanding to use water magic, but it didn't appear that she could use it without having a tome on standby. The ability to use all types of magic though... sounded like more of a pipe dream than Susan was making it out to be. Perhaps the world was so much different back then; complete mastery over the elements sounded nonsensically difficult. A brighter, stronger spark ran up Lucille's arm, "Greedy humans is right... they did all of that just to try to create more powerful mages? Did they--" Lucille paused. There was no reason to ask that question. She knew the answer already. Coteon's current actions were proof. The admission of how Susan used her mind magic made Lucille narrow her eyes. Lucille almost immediately focused, searching for anything out of the ordinary. She wouldn't know what she was searching for but that was useful in and of itself; any magic that she didn't recognize could possibly be that magic. She was assuming she could notice it at all, but bending someone's will... it left a bad taste in Lucille's mouth. Lucille left her thoughts unsaid, but yet another of the sparks--still brighter than usual--ran up her arm. Lucille couldn't have properly prepared herself for the explanation behind Susan's arm. It brought everything together. The Order's misdeeds, and Susan's usage of her mind magic. Lucille slid her arms around herself, and held herself tight. There was almost literally a single difference between the two scenarios. The difference was simply Serena. Had Serena not been present, Lucille learned that they would of had to have removed Lucille's arm or she definitely wouldn't have made it. Slowly she began to shiver, "...How. How could they have done that?" Her voice was an odd mix. The quivering in her voice was definitely fear, but there was an underlying flame to them. "Really... n-nothing has changed in seven hundred years, then. Humans were still treating other humans like their damn playthings!" Lucille held herself tighter before looking back at Susan, "S-sorry... I, I'll be okay in a moment, I just... shouldn't have asked. It brings up... so many... bad memories. I knew it would... but, but I... I just to had to." Lucille hadn't realized that her self hug had slowly rolled her long white glove down, such that parts of her discolored skin were visible. The girl was sparking again now, well, harder than she had been previously at least. Maybe it was a constant thing at lower levels, but a few times in Susan's story she'd noticed, and now it was coming especially bright. She was too absorbed in the past to have noticed any hints of suspicion, but even if she'd seen them it was doubtful it would have made a difference, as that reaction would simply be par for the course for the few times she's told the bare truth like this. The outbursts, the almost shrill yet strident condemnation, the shrinking into a ball and holding tight to herself--because there was no-one else around to do it for her. These were signposts Susan knew very well how to read, even before the map unfurled fully, with white glove joining black in sliding down its owner's arm. One of the specific points of frustration was a bit bemusing: Wouldn't you be happier to hear the past was just as shitty as the present? Regression would surely be worse than stagnation, no? True though that may be, there was no reason to speak it. Susan wanted to hug Lucille so badly right now, but the mood from earlier still hung heavy, so all she did was stand up from the bed, step over, and gently, comfortingly squeeze her on the shoulder before stepping back again and turning to the side, unwilling or maybe just afraid to continue to look her in the eyes, to catch the reaction to her actions. "Thank you... for your sympathy. And... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your evening, I just..." She paused. No matter how things had gone down, the results would likely have reached this point or somewhere similar, wouldn't they have? Sure, it wasn't the goal, it wasn't a desired outcome, but there hadn't been any other way to get where she needed without dredging up these horrors, had there? Her lips twisted in an uncomfortable grimace, and she shifted tacks. "The world doesn't care about us, about anyone. Nobody looks after anyone but themselves and their close companions. All we can do is choose. Choose who to love, to protect, to avenge. I was too late for Cosette, and clearly too late for you as well, but I... I can't just stop trying... I guess? I..." Susan trailed off, unhappy by how this was developing and frustrated at not being able to express herself any better. Not sure exactly what she wanted to say. Lucille had so wrapped herself up in her emotions that she hadn't even noticed Susan rising from the bed until the woman's hand had squeezed her shoulder. Lucille tensed, but after a moment, her guard relaxed some. Her current tone, the way she had been speaking before, even how she'd squeezed her shoulder--all of it telling Lucille that there was little reason to be on edge. "I... just understand what it's like. A lot better then you would know. I'd, I'd be lying... if I didn't notice how disturbingly... similar our circumstances were." Lucille couldn't yet bring herself to look up at Susan, but finally noticed that her glove had slipped down just enough for her scarred skin to be visible. She tore her eyes away from the sight before a blight laugh escaped her lips, "But... I, I g-guess you can sort of see that now." She quickly fixed her glove removing the traumatic sight from view. "And, and, don't apologize for that... or this. I, I knew what I asked, I knew this... would happen, but, but, I can't leave things like that well enough alone." Susan's switch in focus did finally get Lucille to look up at the magi. The switch was grim, and it painted a bleak outlook onto the world around them. Lucille's head had already begun shaking, but the words weren't exactly lining up yet. The world turned regardless of who lived or died. Many people weren't going to fight injustice if it didn't harm them. It was up to the people who cared to make that difference, and those people appeared so vanishingly few in a world as large as their own. Even having lived through what the Church had done to her, her stint with Coteon, how she'd been treated as just another person trying to find her own way in this world. Even after everything that happened to Lucille piled on and proved Susan's words, the words that finally left Lucille's lips were a simple refutation. "You're... You're wrong. You're right that... we have to choose who to love, and protect. But you're wrong about other people." The words sounded so true to Lucille, and yet so alien on her lips at the same time. Words that she couldn't have even imagined would have left her mouth even a month ago. "...You, and I... we just keep getting more similar. I thought the same thing, and I, I still do sometimes. After everything that's happened to me, why should I trust another person? Everyone is just here to use me, my magical skill, and they'll abandon me when I don't live up to expectations. Even when I do, I still expect to be treated as a liability. Not treated as a person, never... never as person." Her conversation with Bladen returned to her thoughts, before pushing it away to continue. "That's... not what happened here. They could have killed me without a second thought, and instead... they decided to keep a useless pegasus riding mage. No one here had any reason to do that after what I originally tried to do. People... care more than you think they do, and you're proof of that too. Maybe it's just because... I look like Cosette, but even still, the way, way you've talked, acted... I might not be related to Cosette, and thus, you at all, but you want to believe. You, you can't stop trying to be there. Call it naive if you want, but... I want to believe in people. It's still really hard for me, but... I don't believe no one looks after people outside of their circle of companions." Susan's eyebrows raised, as Lucille refuted her conclusion, but she waited until the end of any coming explanation or clarification rather than interrupting. When the other girl had finished, she softly spoke up. "I suppose I don't have any real understanding of your connection to this current group, and only an inferred one of your other circumstances, but your optimism here does surprise me. So far the rest of these fellows have seemed much the same as any other group I've come across. Nisha has seemed to view me with tempered suspicion, perhaps with some faint hopefulness underneath. Ren seemed warm and open, but he is a man and that's pretty much an expected pattern when you're an unattached female. The dragon ignored me, and the red-headed healer who was with her showed a slight bemused interest, yet nothing more--even after I was injured by the magic reflection from one of Hecate's dolls while we were fighting them together. A regular spectrum of normal reactions. Your righteous indignation and threats on my life were the most focused attention anyone has paid to me, and that too was just matter of course from the situation I thrust upon you. Your holding onto hope does sound naive, but I'll give it more time for judgement. I have nowhere else to be, after all, and you are right about one thing. I do still want to believe there is something about you and I that is more than just random chance. I'm not sure that proves the case you want it to, but..." Susan stepped back as she trailed off, bringing a hand to her chin as she contemplated how many exceptions were needed to disprove the rule, and whether she should continue to pry about why Lucille viewed herself as useless or other matters. She may have already overstayed her welcome, but the other party certainly wasn't shy about expressing her thoughts when she needed to, so there might be an avenue there if she wanted to pursue things. Lucille's nose slowly scrunched as Susan went down the list of interactions she'd had with the group. Nisha was the woman who seemed to appear, and disappear with the shadows, and was there when Susan and Lucille had met. Xalrei's response was expected; the woman seemed like she would have treated a human child like an enemy combatant. So it was marginally surprising that she just ignored Susan, and Tenebria was as shy if not more than Lucille was, and she probably would have avoided Susan especially after everything she had happened that day. She didn't know all that much about Ren, but she did glean that he and Gabriela were at least close, so the immediate break down of his kindness to their genders rubbed Lucille poorly. In fact, Susan's explanations seemed to be more on a transactional wavelength. Surely, there wasn't much else to go on, but the sentient, emotional factor between people was seemingly absent. "I... do get that at least. There are so many people in this group that you're bound to get a range of reactions, but... it's not like you've spoken with all of them after first impressions. I mean," Lucille shifted a tad, "I was threatening to attack you the first time we met. It's... not exactly something that happens overnight. I just... don't want to live in a world where everyone is only out for themselves. I don't believe that, I don't want to believe that, and I've met people who reaffirm that outlook. It's... all I have sometimes." Lucille shook her head, and held herself. "Mmm... I know it won't change your mind, but... I just can't believe that. Is, uh, there anything... you wanted to ask? You've, uh, been doing all the talking." Susan frowned as Lucille countered her narrative with a few good points. She hadn't talked to everybody, or even to most. And not only were her first impressions just that, but they were also colored by the baggage she was bringing to the table, seen through a lens she'd already focused in a certain way. Was she justified? Yes. Was it fair and accurate? Not necessarily. Thankfully, the conversation turned, and she didn't have to keep spending time uncomfortably evaluating how she should adjust her outlook, if at all. Lucille was now offering to field her questions, and it was just a matter of where to start. Some of what Susan might have asked had come to light in the conversation springing from the offering of her own story, but there were still many avenues available to pursue. The one that caught her attention most for the moment was... "Tell me about," Susan stopped to search her memory. She'd heard the name, but only once, and it was a heated exchange with a lot going on, so it had passed through like sands through ones fingers. "Uh, I think you called her Anna? Your younger sister? What is she like, where is she now? Your parents too, actually... I'd like to hear about the family you do have, I think." Lucille had left herself open to this line of inquiry. It would have been simple if Susan had just asked about her, but she also asked about where she was. She then opened it to her entire family. Lucille's face took on a wry smile before she lightly sighed. "Yeah... Anna, or Soleanna. She's my younger sister, only a year and some change younger than me. She's, um, sweet. Really sweet, and just fun to be around. She'd always been more outgoing than I ever was, even when we were children. That's despite the fact that she gets sick easily, and when she gets sick, she gets sick for a long time too." Lucille felt her smile turning genuine. "She's really good with a bow too. She's not a mage like me, or our parents, but that's because... her eyes are overly sensitive to magic. Uh, like... she can see and pinpoint magic to a supernaturally high degree? So high that she needs glasses to cover her eyes since she can't turn them off without being asleep or things like that. Powerful magic without her glasses on overloads her senses, and it tends to make her sick if she uses her magic too much." Lucille turned to Susan, head slowly bobbing, "Speaking of parents... both of mine are mages, both... were knights in a Coteon order. Father is a talented fire mage, and is the person who taught me how to ride my pegasus. Mother... basically taught me everything else. Both of them are incredible... I, I love them, they're the reason... I'm still here at all." Then Lucille's smile slowly faded, "...But I haven't seen them in... almost three years now. All because of Coteon. They took my sister, and father to make my mother and I assist them in fighting against Vaia and the monsters. Mother was... never in line with the church of Coteon. She was born in Hwein, and had grown up alongside monsters, so she never aligned with the stories of the church, and also raised us in the same way. And... Mother was, is, an extremely talented fighter and mage, so they needed a way to guarantee her assistance. So they used her family, my father, my sister, and me." As Lucille recited facts about her sister, Susan nodded with a touch of a smile and soft expression on her face. The love felt between the pair was obvious, and amidst that was mixed with what felt like obvious pride and protectiveness--all too familiar and natural of emotions. The mention of the ability to see magic raw, to pinpoint it with one's eyes, as if picking out eddies in the water, swirls within a current, that was intriguing, and the magi's head tilted: What might that be like? A fleeting musing, wondering if she were to wake Dee and Dee, to focus on an idea like that, would it be something she too could do? This was quickly brushed to the background as Lucille's story continued, shifting to her mother and father. Both still lived, and yet all were cruelly separated, shackled by their love for each other, for their family. Leveraged as pawns, tools for war by this, the church of Coteon. Unforgivable. In a low voice, not far above a whisper, yet firm and audible, "Truly a cursed position. In some ways even worse than," the comparison trailed off, unvoiced as Susan closed her mouth, set her jaw and shook her head. "...Yet, with vigilance, with diligence..." Susan drew a deep breath, having reached something of an understanding. There was no place for her here. Not yet, at any rate. The girl's life was still whole, if fractured for a time. There was no space to just slip in and fill, and even if there was, it wasn't the sort of question asked with words. It would have to be one posed through actions, and even then, through the doing she might foreclose the answer hoped for. Still... Crossing the tent toward the entrance, taking a flap in hand and preparing to push past, Susan turned back to cast a glance over her shoulder. "Maybe this is out of line, but... I'd like..." Her grip tightened on the canvas fabric and she squeezed out the words as she prepared to slip back out into the night. "Think not of me a stranger." Lucille found herself surprised. Firstly, at her seeming composure at recounting the whereabouts of her parents. Surely, she shivered, but felt warm, a mismatch it seemed, but a feeling she'd was used to. Both anger and anxiety swirled within her, but perhaps she'd just exhausted herself from earlier. Second, was Susan's response to the mention of her family. She couldn't quite tell where the woman's disposition lie; she felt as detached as she perhaps was from the world around her, but there was a real sense of desperately wanting something to hold onto. It was so matter-of-fact when she explained her hand, and what happened to her sister--Lucille's possible ancestor--but now, there was a steel to her voice. An oddly comforting steel. Yet what Susan had meant to say seemed to trail off, and push her to the opening of the tent. She paused, and turned over her shoulder and asked a simple question. A question that made Susan's hand grip the fabric. Lucille just stared at her a moment, before she slowly nodded, "Y-y-yeah. I won't. T-thank you for coming to talk to me, with me. I... yeah. Good night, Susan. And, uh, you, you didn't ruin my evening. I'm, I'm always like this, but... thanks." Susan just shrugged at being given the judgement of weird. Even if she wanted to protest, it was absolutely true. How many people in this world were as fucked up as she was? Probably not many. So the shoe fit. "You asked," was what she settled with, and apparently the wraithkin wasn't done asking, or too put off with her weirdness, and there came another batch of questions. "Myrreenthia? She's one of the gods who I'm used to, and honestly I don't know why it's always her name upon my lips, considering she's never answered any of my many prayers, but, old habits I guess?" A slight frown at this bit of introspection, but it swiftly passed, leaving in its place a thoughtful expression. "I wonder if she's just changed her name, or faded to the background, or something else entirely." Being questioned about Lucille was somewhat surprising though, and it showed on her face as she turned and looked Nisha in the eyes for a few seconds, before once again facing forwards as they navigated the streets. "I rather expected you knew her..." better than I were words that almost slipped out, but were bit off and reconsidered, given the rather deep talks the two had had when Susan had found some time to press her for questions--well strictly speaking, she'd been the one spending most of the time in the hot seat, but she had learned much through Lucille's reactions to her story as it was told, as well as from the questions of her own that did make it to the fore. "Oh, maybe just my phrasing? Uh, there was a forested country to the northeast, I'm sure it has different borders and a different name now, but there were many dark folk tales from the region, and one of them involved the doppleganger. Depending on the telling details differed, and mostly it was used just to frighten small children, but the jist of it was a being who shared the exact likeness of another, and frequently its goal was to hunt out its image partner, kill them, and take their place. So, I suppose my usage was inexact, considering my sister is firmly in the past, Lucille has no such motives, and..." Susan's mouth had been going faster than her brain had been laying track, so she wasn't sure exactly how to finish the thought. "What do you call such lookalikes today, or has that concept not survived?" It was comforting, just rambling back and forth like this, even if Nisha didn't end up believing a word she said, or even if it placed her more firmly in the weird column she already definitely inhabited. But the woman's curiosity could be trusted enough that it wasn't like she was suddenly going to leave her in the lurch, abandon her at a church and disappear. At least that was the impression that she got. Speaking of which, they finally did arrive, after the wraith led them the long way around, avoiding the bazaar, much to Susan's indifference on that matter. As previously stated, she didn't have the coin to spend, so it was probably just as well not seeing any curious or exotic wares, lest temptation take hold. The building they arrived at was sized according to its esteem, certainly among its adherents if not shared by everyone. It was larger than other structures in the vicinity, and designed to attract the eye, and the coiled carving atop its entrance put in a goodly amount of work on that front. Susan was trying to figure out the best way to reply to Nisha's comment doubting the veracity of Hess 'birthing all monsters', when an interrupting voice spoke up from behind them. An older man in some rather ornate robes, clearly the priest then, and they were blocking his entrance. "Ah, go ahead then, Father," Susan murmured, as her companion stuttered her own similar message of approval, and the pair of them parted to allow passage. After he'd disappeared inside ahead of them, however, Nisha's next words sunk into Susan like a knife, and she felt her blood run a little cold. "Ilrios..." a small shudder at that name, much a curious one to hear as Hess's. "That's Coteon's church, is it not?" Confirmation was not fully needed here, but speaking the words still felt right, as did the next words, seeking, searching... suggesting. "So, we're killing him then, right? Best to follow him in, finish it quick and fast? Or, hmmm, wait outside here in an ambush? Your opinions?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 (edited) "And give me your strongest too!" Mae wasn't going to turn down free drinks, especially something powerful. She needed it to feel anything; the unfortunate 'perk' of being an oni was that alcohol barely registered. The 'poison' that Ouka had fed them all when they were turned was so strong it had ruined any enjoyment of proper drinks, so to even get a tingle Mae needed hard, hard liquor. The bartender was a little swamped with the sudden rush of new people, but went to working on getting all their drinks ready, three of their strongest and something light for the robed woman. Drinks were quickly served, three bourbons on the rocks and a glass of white wine for the priestess. Mae didn't waste any time going at her drink, leaning against Taiyou and smiling. "I didn't take you for a drinker, my love, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest~ You should spring for something stronger, though..." Chihaya also wasted no time in going at her drink, her tail wagging quite happily with another sip going down the hatch. "Well! She's gotta... She said she had to see someone! In your group! But, not you. She said that would just result in lots of shouting and some fires... Which I think is pretty accurate. Right~?" Chihaya nudged Ayane some, giggling, clearly either not afraid of knowing that they wouldn't hurt her too badly if she overstepped a boundary. "I don't remember who, though... Someone... Mmhnnnn... Heroic? Marinara? No, that's sauce... Someone like that~" Ariana's eyes went wide, tempted to dash out of the building. "Where?" "Where? Where what?" The fox swivelled towards the cat, tilting her head. "Hey, whoa, you look just like the girl she said she was goin' after... Weird..." "Ayane." Ariana's eyes were wide and serious, staring at the oni. "I don't want to lose sight of this fox, but Marina is in trouble if she's saying anything trustworthy. Who's staying here? I won't sit idle while this witch threatens her." "I know quite a lot about you, Marina. Quite a lot indeed..." The woman held out a hand for the hero to approach, giggling quietly. "That thread... Splits off into three paths... You have such an important choice to make, Marina Fairchild. Your first option--" "Will not come to pass." The sudden visage of an older, blonde haired man, appeared behind the group of three. Someone that Marina and Agni would recognize immediately. He wore flowing white robes, red and gold trimming adorning the fabric, with the symbol of an intricate sword plastered onto the chest of his well woven outfit. "It has been some time, Hero of Man. My apologies that I could not appear to you in person; I did not wish for this witch to start such a battle in a peaceful city such as--" A dark spear of energy shot through the apparition of Bishop Carlon, making his fade in and out in waves for a moment, sticking into the back wall of the fortune teller's abode. "... As this. I can see you do not wish for me to interrupt your poisoning of this one's mind, Ouka." "YOU are the insipid poison that threatens our world, Carlon, pfhoo!" The woman rose from her seat and backed up, spitting on the floor after daring to say his name. "You claim your crusade 'just' and 'righteous' and for the good of the world, but all you seek to do is wipe all of Her creations from this plane of existence!" "As I should!" his voice boomed, looking down at Marina. Taliyah had completely shrunk behind Agni, realizing this situation had gone from something quaint to something terrifying in a matter of moments. "Marina. I would ask that you listen to the purpose behind the hero and the holy sword, before you are swayed by this witch's silver tongue." "M-Mmmmm, M-Marina...?" Taliyah, scared as she was, looked towards the hero in question, eyes wide, arms clinging onto one of Agni's. "Wh-What's going on...?" "You call this just a warmup, hah... I must be out of shape. Relied on my magic too much..." Thinking back to their travels and fights, Amera had focused primarily on those gauntlets she'd received and barely ever fought without them. It wasn't too far to say that she was, in fact, out of fighting shape, and the realization just frustrated her more. "Hrrhhh... Any training makes you stronger. Even if you're just getting tossed about--!" Ember's feint wasn't hard to read, but it was still hard to dodge; the dog was fast! "Ghuh...!" Amera took it hard against her arm, at least blocking her face, and managed to stay standing even if she got knocked away... "You, gimme another one of those and I'm, gonna fall over here... I can, r-really tell you're holding back, too." She complained, but went for another swing anyway, ducking in close under the dog's arms and going for a quick one, two, three, jab combo against her gut, shaking her fists out again as she backed up, shivering a little. "S-Still feels like I'm punching a wall, here..." "Mistress," Lazuli began to comment, leaning over towards Hecate, "I believe that sparring, for physical fighters, is both a good way to test their limits and realize their shortcomings. It provides a level of mental growth, aside from the physical action of moving one's body. Whether or not those limits can be overcome is then up to the individual to achieve or fail. I believe the feline Changed is realizing her limits quite rapidly." "Yes. A backrub sounds lovely, right about now." Asami couldn't help it this time, a moment of discomfort on her face. She's here! She's here, where!? That way, but, but why, I don't understand! How!? How did she get so close without me even feeling for a second that... Ughhnn, this is bad... This is really, bad...! Asami still did her best to smile, walking out with Bladen's hand in hers, giving it a tight squeeze. "Uhm, where best do you think we should go, then?" I can't handle her alone. Neither can Bladen... I just need to bury this for the moment until she leaves... "It's not weird, huh..." Tenna sniffled, staring up at Xalrei some. She had someone she loved already, so it sounded like it didn't matter what the saintess said, at this point. She sighed, wiping at her eyes some. "Yeah... I think you're really, cute. And, fun, in those little moments where the real you, shines through. When you're not fighting against your instinct to hate... To hate, all of us. I think there's someone, really beautiful, in there. You're just afraid. Scared to like a human. Even as a friend... Scared I'll betray you or something stupid. Scared that all the hate you've been feeling might've just been, towards people that deserved it, not towards a whole race. I know how that feels. I've been feeling like that ever since I met you... That my last twenty one years of life were spent hating some, fiction. Monsters aren't bad. There are just bad people..." "Grrhhh... I-I was going to manage it," she grumbled out, the weight leaving her and a heavy breath following, her body genuinely struggling with the weight of the sword. How frail I've become... It's a wonder I can walk around without so much as wheezing, but I suppose my magic is returning to me slowly, but surely, enough... She brushed herself off as she took in Seilan's comments on the current generation of magic, nodding along. "That makes unfortunate sense. I don't know if you're skilled enough to realize, but the mana density in the air is... Perhaps, ten percent of what it used to be. Maybe even less... That would be why your 'skilled' mages take so long to realize their 'potential', if one could call it that... That, Nessraya of yours, harsh as I was, might be one of the few gifted Changed in quite some time. Perhaps there is an area in Vaia with a higher concentration of mana density where she and her family have absorbed plenty... Very interesting. I wonder what's caused the dilution of it all... I have a few guesses, but guesses are worthless without concrete things to further them on..." She shrugged and moved back towards Seilan, arms folded. "I caught that smirk as well, Landsridge, so as punishment, you'll be continuing to escort myself and Xety around town to see what else this place has to offer. That trading hall seemed somewhere we might find anything of magical importance, if at all... So, lead on. I grow tired of the metal weapons of the mundane masses." "I'm so glad to hear it! Sure, you can take two; not that I can give a discount for it, it's still a new product, but you look fantastic in it, so I'm sure that won't stop you~" Aimee was super pleased to make such a sale right away with someone that seemed new to the town, setting another skort out for the woman, as well as tights she'd previously looked over, going about fishing into her skirts as someone new approached. Aimee's eyes went wide for a moment at the sight of her, correcting her gawking and shaking her head some. "Welcome! If there's any clothes I can interest such a fine woman as yourself in, I'll get right to you once I'm done with the lovely Angelise here~" It was a good thing that they seemed to know each other and Aimee could fish that name out of their greeting. That would definitely help the sale! "You wish to, er, truly?" This was a first. Bob ended up scratching his head, not sure if he had any reason to deny the woman her request. Blacksmithing wasn't exactly a secretive talent, nor would she be able to glean much from just watching. "Ah, you must be concerned about the blade. Well, if it will appease your worries, I see no issue with you staying here while I work. Just don't get too closer to the furnace. It can get quite hot and it wouldn't do to scar a customer with an errant ember while I work." He waved towards the window shoppers, glad they hadn't broken anything when the red one began to examine his weaponry, before lifting the sword again and heading towards the back. "I shall begin, then. I'll still handle any customers if they come in, so feel free to make yourself as comfortable as you can." "What!?" Nisha flailed in place for a moments, hands both reaching for Susan and then retreating before they could make contact, the wraith panicking and looking around. "Are you insane!? No! Hwein is supposed to be neutral in all of this, we can't just, n-no! Just no! We can't cause the group problems over something like that, are you insane!?" Despite the panic in her voice, it was hushed, Nisha taking a deep breath and trying to shake herself out of it. "Such a suggestion... Maybe that sort of thing was normal for you back then, but we DON'T go around killing people without a reason here. For Hess's sake..." Nisha let out an exhausted sigh, feeling like an entire year had just been shaved off of her. "If you wanna go inside and see what he's up to or whatever, that's fine, but, we're not doing any of that... As, for the rest, just ugh... Yeah the concept of dopplegangers still exists, I was just... Nevermind, I'm, way too scrambled to think of any of that, now. "Just who WAS Susan, that she'd dive there right away without much thought otherwise? I'll have to keep an eye on her... Despite her words, Nisha was definitely curious... She slowly pushed open the door and peaked inside. The priest from before was just... Sitting on one of the pews, with his eyes closed. "See? He's just praying... Weird that he's praying here, but we still shouldn't do anything to him. If you're curious about the rest of the church, sure, but... Yeah." Edited December 22, 2022 by Mel the DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorri Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 Bladen turned to smile at Asami right as a strange look flashed across her face. Something was wrong. He looked around them, not seeing anything, but he knew that she had sensed something that had worried her. "Ah, well... Maybe the outskirts of town? Unless, you need to go deal with something. I can wait, if you do." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze in return, and sighed. "If something's wrong, you don't need to explain it. I'll wait for you while you go handle it. But I'm also willing to listen if you want. Otherwise, maybe we can grab some food to take with us while we find somewhere quiet and I can help you relax. But, I understand if you have something more important than me to handle." She was so much more important than him after all. She had so many things to handle in her life, sometimes he was going to have to be ok with just waiting for her to come back to him, even if he hated not being able to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 (edited) There were a great many things that Marina had prepared herself for when the day started. Admittedly, Taliyah coming back to find her, and reaffirming their friendship wasn't one of them, but that was a positive boost that they both of them surely needed. Yet, Marina also hadn't prepared for the trepidation that she felt at hearing that the fortune teller seemed to know much. There really was something unnerving about her, but Marina couldn't place why... until a far more familiar voice spoke up behind them. A voice so familiar that Marina couldn't believe that she was hearing it correctly until she turned to see the the blonde hair, and the robes of the church of Ilrios. Marina took a staggering step towards Taliyah as she saw the man; so many questions forming on her lips, and more in her head. But the first thing was to place herself between Taliyah and the man, the Archbishop of the Church. "...how? How are you... here?" The blast of magic that followed interrupted Marina, revealing that Carlon wasn't truly present; it appeared that he was using some form of magic to speak to her from a safe place. Perhaps similar to what Yukari had used to speak to her with the mirror. The ensuing argument forced Marina even further backwards as Mistress Nagisa was not who she said she was. "You... You're... Ouka?" The witch that Ayane had come to search for, and the woman that Yukari had warned her so much about. The one who had put Yukari through so much grief. For a moment, Marina felt herself shiver. But she wasn't afraid as she looked over at Ouka; any fear she felt was towards the robed archbishop. But maybe she wasn't even afraid of him... she didn't know. The feeling was almost alien to her such that she didn't have the ability to put it into words. Two of the most powerful entities on the continent as of this moment, both in the same room, and their attention focused on her. Better me than Tali... Marina did her best to steady her breath, and pull her eyes away from Ouka, and onto Carlon. Ouka may have been responsible for all that occurred with Yukari but the man in front of her now, speaking to her as if they were friends, was the cause of everything that the continent faced. Everything she had faced. "...Why are you calling me that? Hero of Man? I... I'm no hero, and you... you knew that. You... lied to me. W-why would I believe you now? Why wouldn't you have just told me before all of this?! You wanted me to slaughter the monst--no, living beings, and for what?! Tell me why, Carlon!" Marina almost wished that she had brought her blade with her. Any blade, even the damned holy sword that began all of this. "...Tell me what you should have before. I... I want to know why you used me, everyone, as tools." Lucille jumped slightly as Nashwa appeared, and seemed to have something that she wanted to talk about. As happy as she'd been about the skort, she wasn't entirely sure if she was ready to be seen so quickly. Though, that worry quickly melted away as Lucille noticed that Nashwa seemed tense, which wasn't out of character for her, but it was more than usual. "O-oh, okay, sure. I'm, I'm almost done here." Aimee was quick on the uptake as well; Lucille didn't remember mentioning her cover name, so Nashwa's greeting was the only time that she'd heard it. Lucille quickly counted things over in her head. The two skorts, and a set of tights and regular skirts each... Lucille fished out 60 gold from her pouch. Aimee was more correct than Lucille would have liked to admit; clothes that fit her this well and met all of her needs were increasingly rare, so this much gold would be paltry to the return. She stuck to her usual colors for her skirts, white, and green, with a blue one added in, and took a myriad of colors for the tights: white, green, black, brown, and a pair in pink. Odd for her, but it reminded her ever so slightly of her father, and she could make them work with her typical white and greens; it would even work with the blue skirt that she'd picked up. "Okay, I think that's all of it..." Lucille placed the gold on the counter, before checking on Nashwa, who had stood in thought the whole time that she was finishing up her purchase. "Nashwa? Is something wrong? I mean... I know you're not the most talkative, but you... look like something happened somewhere." It was easy to tell; both Nashwa and Lucille were similar in a number of ways. Edited December 26, 2022 by Mercenary on the Winds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted December 26, 2022 Share Posted December 26, 2022 As soon as the drinks came out Ayane wasted no time in gulping a few mouthfuls down. "Mm..." It was a shame she couldn't enjoy drinking like before, even if she barely did much of it compared to her family. It was still refreshing though, and she welcomed the heightened tolerance at the very least. "...to see someone in our group? I'm not surprised it isn't me, but...who...?" She let the fox continue, and slowly raised her eyebrows as she began to elaborate on who the "lucky" person was. Then Ari raised up to confront her about it and all was made clear. "...it most certainly is Marina then." She put her drink down and stood up. "Mae and Taiyou, can I count on you both to stay and keep an eye on the fox please? I can't exactly let Marina take my problems either." She looked at Chihaya. "That was quite enlightening, thank you. Enjoy your drink, and behave yourself..." The oni princess gave quite a glare before she turned back to her feline mate. "Let's move then." She turned to leave the pub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursali Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) In the entirety of her life, Tundyssa would never have thought that one word, uttered from Coteon's princess' own mouth no less, would so utterly cow her. One simple affirmation was all it took to leave the young dragon utterly gobsmacked where she stood. There was no longer anything she could do to ignore the set-in-stone fact that Coteon's princess was crushing on her; Tenna had just made sure of that. For lack of better terminology the dragon simply, stopped. She stared both down and through Tenna, mouth agape, as the princess went on to summarize the internal struggle she'd had for the better part of the last three months; much more so after the dragon's encounter with Hess in the wastes and her continued exposure to Tenna. "I... You..." Part of her wanted to lash out at her, for daring to be right, but she wanted to be better than that. Better than herself. Her self-esteem was also riding high from the princess' confession, her cheeks softly aglow. It was too much all at once, Tundyssa left staring down at Coteon's princess, mouth agape, who she claimed to hate so much while the glow on her face told a much different story. The boy's smirk was easily noticed by the many spare eyes of the beholder, the ones that did notice glaring at him while their master helped her master with the sword. "There's no reason to push yourself so, Miz. Your body's current state is, rather unfortunately, far more delicate than you're used to. I know it's not an easy adjustment to make overnight, but it is a necessary one." Xetketh purposefully refrained from mentioning how the now tiny empress felt about her situation, as well as their previous conversations on the matter; that information was privelidged, the boy would know if Miz cared to tell him and not for any reason otherwise. As the boy and Miz discussed the diminution of magic practitioners, Xetketh got to returning the sword to its proper place. "A guess is worth as much as the effort put into the thought behind it, though I do agree that speculating as we are now will only be a waste of time. However, that's not to say it would be time unwisely spent." Her attention suddenly shifted to Seilan, all nine eyes suddenly on him. "This country we're in, Hwein, was it? Supposedly the melting pot of Changed and man, correct? However, the ratio of Changed to man, from what I've seen so far, appears to be similar to Ishtaria. When it still stood it was the center of Miz's power, the capital city of her empire. The capital of the Changed, if you will." There was a small bit of wistfulness in her voice, but she swiftly crushed it. "If this country is a melting pot, then what does that mean for Vaia? How widespread are the Changed there? The country is much larger than Coteon, is it not? Is it possible that Changed now outnumber man?" Her attention was still entirely on Seilan, Xetketh managing to intrigue herself from her own speculation. Edited December 30, 2022 by Ursali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcd900 Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) Seilan raised an eyebrow, just a bit. "Skilled enough? I'm not certain that even were I skilled enough, I would be able to perceive the difference... after all, I've no idea what it was like before. I couldn't make such a comparison if I wanted to." His smirk turned to a bit of a grimace as Miz and Xety's idle eyes promptly stared at him in return; he hadn't expected Miz to notice, but he'd have to get accustomed to Xety's awareness of her surroundings. He decided to answer Xety's musings first, preferring instead to continue to engage in a more salient conversation than field Miz's... demands. "That's right - Hwein is home to monsters and humans both, though it's much of an outlier in that regard. The other countries are hardly - if at all - mixed, with Vaia and Khach largely consisting of monsters. On the other hand, there's Coteon, a country mostly of humans. The, ah... major political voices within that country would prefer it be entirely so. They happen to be occupying Hwein right now, and like as to not they'll be enforcing their views on the populace here. I saw some of that in the capital before I left..." The grimace turned to a frown, briefly, before he continued. "To answer your question properly though, yes. The number of monsters outweighs that of humans, undoubtedly." He stood from his lean on the wall, turning slightly towards Miz; perhaps disengaging from the subject a little too quickly, though the faux pas had been his own, if at all. His expression shifted; less the frown it had been speaking of Hwein, more one of irritation. "Yes, yes. I had every intent of doing so anyways - you asked much the same at the outskirts of town - so let's first find..." - he stopped, briefly, finally managing to remember for once, far too in the habit of using her real name - "Angelise, and then we can properly be on our way. Keep your expectations for the trade hall... within reason. I don't intend to do much more than send a letter." With that, he stepped outside, catching distant sight of Lucille, accompanied by a newly arrived Nashwa; it seemed she was buying something, though across the street it was difficult to tell what it was, exactly. He stood by the shop's door, a bit of an air of impatience about him. Lucille seemed to have gotten along alright briefly without him, though he was still eager to rejoin her; to say nothing of how he rather miffed he was at the magical duo for separating them in the first place. Edited January 18, 2023 by mcd900 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xinnidy Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 "I will stay." Taiyou was quick and agreeable to Ayane's suggestion. "Not only do I not know this place well, but you're more familiar with Marina. Go." Urgency was clear, she motioned with her hand to the oni and her companion. ...The thought of staying with Mae and this fox wasn't the most pleasant, but she's had worse. "...So. We'll be enjoying your drinks in smaller company for a while." Sighing, Taiyou took a glance between Mae and their ditzy guest. "...Am I to believe Ouka and yourself are the only here, or should I order a cup for someone else?" Truth be told, she wasn't a drinker at all, and barely stomached rice wine for social meetings. She wasn't going to drop the act now, however. "Wh-" In a quick moment, Agni had his blade drawn, staring wide at the Bishop's image, until the same revealed the fortune teller's identity. "Good gods..." Cursing under his breath, Agni stood between Marina, Taliyah, and Ouka, deciding her a priority now that the situation had changed. "It's... it's not good, Taliyah. Stay close." His immediate concern were the two women, Marina deciding to strike Carlon with words --though, even in his faith, Agni had to wonder if this was the appropriate time. "Ouka, your deeds in faraway lands are known to us. What did you try to achieve with this illusion?" He could at least expedite the process. "If she attacks us, run. Run and warn the others." Agni whispered to Taliyah, feeling quite unsure. As long as they remained in her tent, they had the disadvantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakezuGD Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 (edited) Nashwa gave the seamstress, as it seemed, a quick shake of the head as her only reply to the offer. Sure, she was missing things to wear, but those things weren't within a tailor's purview, and spending extra time here wasn't in her plans. Far as she knew, spending even one minute too much somewhere could leave the trail cold until the next town over... which, on their route, was Tapotlan. And as far as the succubus was concerned, that was the one place where she didn't want an altercation to occur. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Lucille to be finished with her business, so they could get to speaking. "It's not me, I'm perfectly fine. I found my shield. And that's a problem." She beckoned for the short girl to follow, trying to get them out of the way of all the people on the main street. With slightly less people to interrupt a semblance of privacy, she continued from what she'd already said. "So, like I said, I saw my shield at the Trade Guild. And from asking around, I've got a good idea of what the thieves who stole all my shit look like. Three guys in black, clothes all covering their skin, so assumed vampires. That means I'll have to find them, and with enough people to take them down if we have to, before nightfall if I don't want to miss the chance to get everything back, while we're still here." Though Nashwa kept mostly calm through her explanation, her body was tense, either her foot tapping the ground or hands fiddling with her arms. "Tell everyone you're with about this too. I know it's a lot to ask, and it might blow our cover in the city, but if any one of us sees someone who fits the description, I need to know about it. Their group could be bigger than just the three, too." Edited January 4, 2023 by JakezuGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcerzak Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Nisha's panicked reaction brought unforeseen levity to the situation and, much to Susan's surprise, she found the comedy of the situation bringing her to laughter. The flailing hands, the look on the wraith's face, and this from one she had pegged as a seasoned killer. It was just, so, counter to her suppositions she couldn't help herself. Would Nisha take her laughter as a sign she'd been playing up a joke at her expense the whole time, though? The thought crossed her mind in short order, and Susan found her mirth melt away as it did. "Maybe I am a touch mad," she mused. "Most of my travelling has been alone. A few occasions with a partner, once a small group, but even that paled to this company's caravan. Whatever trouble my whims and impulses got me into tended to be mine alone to try and escape, or to suffer through the consequences." Susan disagreed with Nisha's point of view that this would be done 'without reason', but if the other woman wasn't inclined to help willingly, then neither arguing with her, nor trying to go it alone would be good ideas. Maybe there were adjustments to her approaches that would need to be made, but striking back at the church today was dead in the water now. At least, after peeking in quick, Nisha was still amenable to letting her go ahead with their previous plans, take a look around the church, maybe get up to date on, well if not everything that's going on in the world of religion these days, perhaps the basic primer. "Yeah, you win. I'm still looking for answers and we did come all the way here, so I'm glad you're not going to make us turn around and leave because I suggested something foolish. Let's head inside, maybe have a chat with the priest of Hess, who'll probably be equally confused what this other fellow is doing here..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 (edited) "I-I..." Asami bit her lip, shuffling slightly, moving a bit closer to Bladen and hugging him somewhat. "She... She's here, Bladen. Ouka. She's here, in town... I don't know how she got so close to us without me knowing, but she's here and engaging with... With, I don't even know who! This signature is, terrifying... I, they're... They're that way, but..." She shuddered and squeezed up against Bladen, hugging him tight. "I'm scared, okay!? I don't, want to deal with this! I don't want to be a part of her again, I... But I can't just ignore things; I'm part of the problem, so I don't know... Don't know what to do...!" "Because they MUST be destroyed!" His voice boomed and echoed throughout the room, almost feeling like it was trapped within the walls of this small building. "Their sentience matters not. The Monsters that grow and spread in our world consume the mana in the air. Listen well, Marina Fairchild." He folded his arms and scowled over towards Ouka, before softening his gaze and landing it upon the hero. "The Wastes are the result of a complete and total expulsion of mana... An ancient civilization, Ishtaria, used to dwell in that region. Their ruler, a despot with grand control of magic, used her power for the 'prosperity' of the country... And she was defeated. As soon as her mana disappeared, so did everything that had been built upon it. Not returned to nature, but LOST, a wasteland worse than any other wasteland remaining in its place." His stern gaze shone down on Marina, not pausing or missing a beat. "Monsters do not release their mana back to nature upon death. It is consumed, Marina. This energy comprises all living things... The air, the sea, the trees, the land. The wastes are spreading, Marina Fairchild. It is not something that can be fixed, not easily... And the more monsters continue to exist, the worse it will become. There is a solution--" "There is ANOTHER solution, you tyrant!" Ouka flung another spear of magic at the image of Carlon, piercing him to no avail. She seemed afraid more than angry, lashing out like a cornered animal. "SHE can save us! She can bring us all salvation! Tamamo! Tamamo-no-Mae--" "You know better than to SPEAK her name, even if you are her servant! You would grant her more power despite knowing what that BRINGS?" "I WOULD! She can grant us mana. Grant us life! With the flick of her wrist! The monsters of this continent are proof of that. It was by her blessing that they were all brought into being! All she asks is for worship in return--" "What she demands is SERVITUDE!" His voice BOOMED again, a power behind it, Taliyah clinging onto Agni to help herself stay standing. "That is not living. That is not LIFE. Giving ourselves over to an evil Goddess so that these unnatural beings may continue to exist and spread-- I will not have it! Marina Fairchild!" He turned to her once more, Ouka very clearly cowering now, despite her claims. "There is a solution. One that will require no further sacrifice. There is a way for us to remove the "monster" from the monsters... It will not take the lives of those that yet live, but it will prevent another child of monsters from ever being born again. If two were to procreate past this ritual, they would produce a human child... But as we are not inherently magical beings, the balance could slowly be restored. We can save this world. We have the MEANS... And it is why I have come to seek you out again. It was not my original plan, but as I have become aware of it, I wished to reach out to the hero of Men once again... Come with me, Marina. Return to the church. We can save all of us, together." "Let's." Ariana knew that Ayane could keep up with her, rushing out of the bar and charging down the streets. Whatever was happening, the magical signature of it was blatantly obvious now. "This way!" Everything that was radiating out into the town was coming from... "The fortune tellers?" Ariana gawked at the building for a moment before trying to rush inside-- "Gh!?" The door was shut TIGHT. "Ayane! Help me!" Ariana rammed her shoulder into the door once more, the wooden frame not budging. "What the fuck...!?" Tenna glanced up at Dyssa, who had just, stopped everything. She was blushing at least, but with the silence that accompanied things, Tenna was just upset. "What? What're you so red for? Surely you're not happy about this..." How could she be? She'd been spouting hatred and disagreement over anything the princess had tried. Tenna finally picked herself up to standing, realizing now with Dyssa so quiet, how small the dragon was... "To think I was ever scared of you... Look at how cute you are." She wiped at her eyes and huffed. "Geez..." "I don't see what's wrong with keeping my expectations high if I'm mature enough to not be disappointed. Tsk tsk. I'm shocked you think so little of me, Seilan. You sure seemed interested when we were alone discussing magic... Do I need to be close to you to hold your intrest, boy?" She smirked and walked out of the blacksmiths, following after Seilan. Something seemed to be bothering him, which made Miz furrow her brows. What's eating him? I don't understand... And he sure isn't going to explain himself; these humans seem to have some odd embarrassment about saying what they're feeling, especially in public spaces. She stood next to him and did a quick doubletake between his gaze, realizing he was waiting for Lucille. She didn't say anything about that at least, but she brought her hands up and idly drew a spell in the air. Not something she had the power to cast, but something Seilan might enjoy studying. "Here. Carry this around with you to occupy yourself if you're feeling impatient." She grabbed his hand and passed him the drawn out spell for Thoron, the idle energy staying in the air. "As long as you focus on that ever so slightly it won't dissipate..." "If they had a problem with things, then... I think we'd be hearing about it already." She sighed and headed inside with Susan, looking around and taking in the tapestry of the place. Lots of depictions of snakes and people with snakes wrapping around themselves; their torsos, their arms, their legs, some their heads... "Whoa... Weird." Finally, at the front of the chapel was a large statue presumably to Hess herself. A large lamia, arms outstretched as if to hug, draped with robes to cover her upper half. A wide smile adorned her face, scales across her arms, her face, and a long tongue sliding out of her smile. "Mmmmmm..." She wouldn't say it out loud, but the snake came across almost more like a devil than a god... "Well... G-Get asking, if you have questions." Nisha decided to focus on the man at prayer in the pews instead of the priest standing next to the statue, one that seemed human, waving at the two of them. "Welcome, young ones. Do you seek to learn of our faith in the earth mother?" "Mmhnnnn, wellllllll... Akira should be here, but I dunno where she is." The fox yawned back onto the table as the scarier folks left, staring smiles into Taiyou. "Who're you again, priest lady...? I don't remember Ouka mentioning you... Buuuuuut, Mae. She's real mad about you breaking free of her control. You should watch our for her..." "Hmph~" Mae shrugged and leaned a little closer to Taiyou. "I've my reason for doing so, right here. If that witch thinks she can take me back, she's free to try. Good luck on her end~ Akira, though... You're harmless, but she could be a problem. I thought she was in Khach...?" "She came baaaaack~ Couldn't get anywhere with that rowdy vampire... So Ouka told her to come help with the tree~" "Right. Yggdrassil. What's she doing with that again?" "You forgot? What the heeeeeeck... She's gonna use the power to take over Hwe--" Chihaya paused, then furrowed her brows at Mae. "You tricked meeeeeee! You jerk! I forgot you changed sides... Boooooo!" "Heh~ Well, at least we know what she's up to, now..." Edited January 23, 2023 by Mel the DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Ayane moved as fast as she could right behind her girlfriend, she didn't want to let her gaze leave Ariana's back. As soon as they got to their destination, Ayane couldn't help but tsk. Of course, that fit Ouka alright. She briefly glanced at Ari trying to ram her way in with little success. "Ari, step back." She grabbed at her katana and took a breath. "HAH!" And in one swift motion she drew the blade and sliced across the door as hard and fast as she could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcerzak Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 As soon as they stepped foot inside, the iconography drew an ironic smile to Susan's lips. Of course it would snakes. Why wouldn't it be? Nisha seemed to be correct on her assumptions, no strife yet between the members of the cloth. "Sure, you can wait back here if you're more comfortable that way," the magus offered, sensing some hesitation, or at least discomfort, from the other's stutter, but for herself she strode forward, entering under the shadow of the serpentine statue, facing the priest directly. "It's been ages since I've been to a church, and never to one of your faith. Hopefully that's not an issue for you, but you might need to explain things to me like I were five years old. Why don't we skip past any bits of creation or cosmology and just start with what feels most important, at least to me: What does following Hess impact in the day-to-day? What does she demand of her adherents, and what does she provide them? What are the flaws of the competing faiths, and why is yours superior?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcd900 Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 (edited) His brow furrowed slightly as her retort followed him out of the blacksmith's, though he kept his gaze on the street instead of deigning to respond. It came to him as a bit of a surprise, then, not having seen Miz reach for his hand, only realizing when he felt it. In his hand, now, were the runes of a spell he didn't recognize; though before taking too long a look, he turned to Miz as she spoke. "Oh... ah, thanks...? This is... lightning magic of some sort, I can tell that much, even if it's not immediately familiar. Hm..." He channeled just enough of his own magic to the glyphs, starting to read them, though in truth he was more focused on his thoughts at the moment. If I'm feeling impatient, huh... I guess it must be fairly obvious that something's up, but... ah well. Lucille's right over there, and then we'll be off to the trade hall. Probably should try to focus on the present, instead... The energy from the spell was familiar, enough that he was fairly certain he'd seen it cast before, even if not the runes themselves. He thought for a moment longer, then looked back to Miz. "This is... Thoron? As it was in your time, I'd suppose... I wonder how it's changed since then, though admittedly I've not seen the inscription for a modern version of the spell either, before." Edited January 24, 2023 by mcd900 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 (edited) Despite the intensity in the room, Marina stood motionless. Carlon's booming voice, Ouka's dark spears and fear, none of it seemed to phase Marina. There was a faint shade over her face. The monsters were consuming the mana of the world. The wastes were originally a civilization known as Ishtaria--the very one that they had been dragged into only a month ago. More importantly, the wastes were the result of mana being lost entirely; with each new monster another piece of mana was taken, and unless stopped, or replenished in some manner... There were two paths before her now. Ouka's path, the path of Tamamo-no-Mae, the being that Yukari had warned her of and that which Ayane was sworn to stop. A path which appeared to doom those under her to servitude. Then, there was Carlon's path. The path Coteon had been walking for years. The constant wars against the monsters, slaughtering them, painting them as the without their own sentience, lives, purpose. Marina turned to look at Taliyah. The young girl absolutely was sentient, as much as any human could ever be. Carlon's words seemed to suggest that his path required no more sacrifice, but... he'd lied to her before, to all of them. Marina took a step back from Carlon, slowly shaking her head. "...Stop calling me that. Stop. How? How did you become aware of this? Why has no one else been able to understand what is happening here? What has happened here?! How can you stand here and speak about saving the world when you were prepared to command me to kill hundreds, no, Thousands?! You come here to say all of this now?! After you've plotted to send more than just monsters than to their deaths?!" Marina looked up at Carlon, tears in her eyes. "Stop lying to me!! Stop treating me like some pawn on a board, and stop pretending like monsters aren't every bit as important to this world as you are!!" The words expelled from her with a venom and velocity that Marina didn't know that she could. Months of pain, suffering and sadness all finally exploding forth and in a torrent that could not be stopped until it finally died down. Several moments passed, before Marina fell to her knees, breathing heavily. "...Everything. You tell me everything. I, I want the truth, Carlon. I don't... I can't trust you. Everything I've done... What Coteon's done... I refuse to do anything for you without knowing the truth." Marina looked over at Ouka, "And... you. I... What do you mean...? That T-- Marina found herself stopped by noises at the door, and a reminder in Yukari's voice, not to speak her name. "That she can give the world mana? How can she do that?" There had to be another way. Carlon's method sounded like it would be the preferable one, but with him leading it... there was no guarantee that even after completing the ritual that he wouldn't just continue culling the monsters that were here currently, and Ouka's method was asinine on its face. There had to be another way to move forward, and it could only be done with information. Lucille blinked before flailing her hands in front of her, "B-b-back up a second. S-so you found your shield, and, and got information about the people who stole it? And you think they're... vampires?" Lucille paused a moment, swaying back and forth. "I can... tell people. Seilan's with me, as well as Miz and her handler... I'm not entirely sure it's a super good idea to, to mention this with them about... There's no telling what they'd do especially with Miz's "above you" shtick." Lucille looked back towards the armory where Seilan had been taken, and finally, they were starting to exit. Perfect timing as it were, or perhaps not, as Lucille hadn't mentally prepared herself for Seilan, yet. She squeaked a little as she looked back towards Nashwa, face warming a little. "You should... definitely find the general and mention things to her before doing... anything regarding this, and probably Lavinia, too." Lucille made a quick mental note of what to keep an eye out for. Men in black with their clothes completely covering their skin; they sounded rather difficult to miss. "Oh, uh, did you get your shield back from that shop, then?" She looked over her shoulder again, bouncing back and forth nervously now. The lack of tights was now strangely more apparent than it was before, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Alright, Lucille Riela Altair, just, focus, remain calm, and... Lucille turned, and waved at Seilan, acknowledging him formally as that group approached. "Hi, Seilan. D-d-did you all find what you were looking for in there?" Lucille placed her hands on her hips, smiling up at him, and doing her best to keep herself calm. Edited January 25, 2023 by Mercenary on the Winds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcd900 Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 As he walked over towards Lucille, who was now joined by Nashwa, the runes in his hand occupied perhaps about half of his attention, and that proportion was rapidly dropping as he got closer. He was fairly confident that the two would be following him, and not wandering off; they'd agreed to, after all, and he was hoping to not have to chaperone... well, Miz's chaperone as well. He approached, lowering the hand with the projection of the runes to his side, though he kept channeling enough of his magic to it to allow them to persist; he was interested, but his focus was elsewhere for the moment. More specifically, how Lucille was rather distinctly differently clothed, which he hadn't noticed from across the street. What she'd been wearing before was now replaced with some kind of combination between a skirt and shorts; and what's more, her tights were gone. Noticeably so, in fact; and her stance was helping to circumvent any chance of his obliviousness. He gave Nashwa a brief nod of acknowledgement, then turned to Lucille. "Hi, Angelise. We didn't buy anything, but, ah... Miz'Githon's curiosity is satisfied, I think. For now." He opened his mouth again briefly to say more, then closed it as he found himself oddly absent of further words. Quiet as he may have externally been in that moment, though, his internal narrative was anything but. Wow. Were her legs always so... nice? I mean-- it'd make sense, she rides a pegasus and all. Very frequently. So - it's not like there's no reason for it, and it certainly didn't just happen, so... just didn't notice before. Okay. So, a compliment, yes, and... don't sound crude about this, especially not with company around, think, think... --eye contact, now, don't stare, eyes drawn is one thing, an overlong gaze is another. There's no way she planned this, right? No, she just wanted to go shopping... wait, wasn't she supposed to have been buying tights? All these thoughts passed through his mind in perhaps the span of a blink, maybe less; and while it was certainly impossible for anyone to know what was going through his mind, it was perhaps perceptible that there was a shift in his tone, suggestive of the idea that he had in fact noticed. "I see you bought something while we were in the blacksmith's; it looks fantastic on you, Angelise. Though I, ah... have to say, I didn't quite expect this when you mentioned you were looking for tights." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursali Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 (edited) "Sh-Shut up!" Came the dragon's panicked response as Tenna called out the blush she knew was on her face, unable to deny that Tenna's confession had made a part of her happy; though she was unable to openly admit as such after trying to deny to princess for so long. For the first time Tundyssa truly noticed the difference in height between them, Tenna a good five inches taller than her. She could carry the girl like she was nothing, fold her like a pancake if she wanted to almost assuredly, but in this moment where Tenna had so exposed her she really felt the difference in height. "St, Stop saying stuff like that...!" Her face lit up all the brighter, finally angling her head up to meet Tenna's gaze. "I, I shouldn't, feel like this but you... You just don't know when to stop." Seilan confirmed her theory, that Changed now outnumbered man most assuredly, though with an extra bit of information that left her with a question better answered in private. Why the Changed hadn't razed a country like Coteon to the ground, when they so assuredly outnumbered them, was probably not something the boy would want to discuss in the middle of an armory, even if her own curiosity wanted answers now. As for the actual confirmation of her hypothesis, it didn't mean much without more information to base the possible effects of a mass number of lesser Changed on the world; there certainly hadn't been any adverse effects from a smaller number of more powerful Changed that she had observed in her time. Alas, it seemed that impromptu scholarly musings and debates had fallen out of style with the current generation, the boy exiting Big Bob's and waiting by the entrance. A cursory glance revealed his gaze to be over towards the girl that had accompanied them at the start of this outing, though she had split off before they entered the store; even as Miz passed the rune of a, probably now, very rare spell into the boy's hands she could tell that his attention was far from entirely focused on the rune. "If your mages were worth anything they would've kept our inscriptions the same; If anything I expect there to be inefficiencies due to loss of knowledge." There was an unmissable smugness to her voice, her ego would not be so easily checked as her power, though she wondered if the boy was even paying attention at all as the girl approached him, a few stalks swinging overhead to get a view on his expressions and where he was staring. It was clear that the girl had captured his attention, and she was perfectly fine with that if it meant that he kept his eyes off Miz; though she wondered how her liege would take such rudeness. "Gotta be in top shape at all times if you're a mercenary, 'specially when the rest of the group is older guys. Won't let you do a damn thing if they think you can't handle yourself. Don't know what kinda life you lived, but looks like you're figuring things out yourself." Ember was glad that Amera was taking things so positively, compared to the pessimistic attitude she'd had before stepping into the ring. She was doing a good job at lasting too, even if the Helhound was holding back for her sake. She could complain all she wanted so long as she kept fighting. "Hhrgh...!" Amera was quick even if she wasn't all that strong physically, the quick jab hits enough to get Ember to stagger back a step. "Hahh, got plenty of fight in you, anyway!" She wasn't being pushed to her limits like the cat was, but it was nice to get some practice in against a lithe and nimble opponent. "You can take hits, but let's see you dodge!" She lunged forward again, arriving at the retreating cat in one bound, fist already swinging at her gut. Edited January 30, 2023 by Ursali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorri Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Bladen turned pale as the nightmare he had been hoping to avoid was suddenly presented in front of him. He was scared, knowing that he was in over his head, but he had a duty, both to the group and to the woman in front of him, the one he had sworn to protect. He pushed his fears to the side, and held her tight for a second before saying words that scared him, but ones that he knew he would hate himself if he didn't say. "Right then. If she's here, the chances of our group not being involved are non-existent. You can't go near her, that much we both agree on. So go find her majesty. Tell her our enemy is here. Once you've done that, stay safe. I..." He swallowed, hard, pushing the fear down again, and giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I'll go investigate and provide backup to anyone in our group that's caught in the middle. Tell me where to go and then go get backup. Ok?" I need you to stay safe. Please... Please don't argue with me on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanami Touko Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 (edited) Ariana moved out of the way as Ayane's blade connected with the door, slicing it clean open... Light poured into the room, showering down on Carlon, Marina, Ouka, Agni, Taliyah... Ariana could only watch in horror as they remained barred by some form of barrier that had been placed behind the door, translucent and stopping any entry. She began banging on it, shouting for Marina, but on the other side, the people facing down Carlon could see nothing. It didn't go two ways... "Everything?" Carlon scoffed, smirking. "I have told you everything, yet you wish for more? Know this, Marina, that I have told you all I have ever known to be true, when it was true and when we have been in audience. What Coteon does out of its own selfish interest does not align with the church of Ilrios, nor do we support their petty war further... You'll have noticed that the only soldiers ever sent after you were that, cheap imitation... And the princess. How is she faring~?" He was almost smug in his satisfaction, knowing that the one thing he hadn't told Marina would snap her. Still. She has asked for the truth. "Do you know what you are?" His visage lowered itself to the floor, walking over to her on silent, soundless footsteps. "You are not 'human'. You are not even from another world. The ritual, failed. You are a doll, like the other, that we created to give will and wield the holy sword. You are artificial. You have always been a pawn, and now this pawn, this creation of our magicks, dares to speak back against me? Claim for truth? I have always given you the truth! It has changed in this moment because we have learned more. You may accept it, or you can continue to deny it, but know that your entire life has been nothing but a lie. Your parents, fake. Your memories, fabricated. You wish for the truth!? Then there it is! Laid bare! Naked and clear for you to hear!" He huffed and turned, taking steps away from her. "If you refuse to believe me, then ask Tenebria. Why don't you do that? I'm sure your friend, the princess, will be unable to lie to you... We will meet again, Marina Fairchild; pawn, creation, fabricated hero. When we do, I look forward to your answer. At least I know you will never work for that witch." He shrugged and faded, his image disappearing into smoke, then nothing... Taliyah was shaking, still clinging onto Agni, finally looking back at Ouka. "... There, is nothing wrong... Nothing wrong with a Goddess ruling over us all. She has flights of fancy. Nothing more... Nothing..." She had clearly been shaken, shrunk up against the back wall, her guise faded, her black hair streaking across her face, hiding eyes full of fear and rage. "And what's so wrong about living under her!? Like you're any better, trying to guide this world like some shepherd! Living as long as you have with those methods-- You're not a bishop, you're the remaining shreds of what used to be a man!" Ouka spat and turned her attention to Marina. The jig was up, so there was no point in pretending. "We will meet at Yggdrasil, 'hero'! Then you will decide what matters most to you. Living in a broken world in the palm of that man, or living in harmony under one that can provide for us all!" The barrier fell around the fortune teller's hut, Ariana nearly falling through and crashing into the floor. Ouka's eyes met with Ayane's as light poured in, and the witch paused, her mouth smirking and curling up wide. "Good day to you, princess! Take care of my wayward daughter once you meet with her, will you!?" Her party words, the witch began to laugh, slowly fading into a twister of butterflies... The priest seemed rather shocked by Susan's sudden barrage of to the point questions. Nisha wasn't exactly pleased by them either, but her attention had suddenly been taken by the well dressed man from before getting up from the pews and moving to leave. "Oh..." Part of her wanted to follow him, but the rest was afraid. She wouldn't do it alone, that was for sure. She watched him leave the church, while doing her best to listen to the conversation happening. "My oh my... Well. In the day to day, I would suppose... Nothing. The Earth Mother does not interfere with our lives in meaningful ways... The church of the great serpent is not one that promises divine blessings or rewards from on high, nor do we ask for donations or charity to continue the upkeep of this place. I do that myself. It is more to give those disparaged by the world a place of safety and community, where they might give their words to someone that can listen, or seek refuge from the elements... To ask me the flaw of the competing faith, the church of Ilrios, why... They are aiding and abetting in the control that Coteon wishes to seize from us all... The church should remain quite separate from the affairs of the state, do you not agree?" Nisha was a bit surprised. There was no proof or demand from a Goddess? It was just a family, some sort of community centre? She'd never been in one of these churches, so hearing it first hand was somewhat shocking. "Why do you all rally behind her image, then?" Nisha didn't get it. Couldn't they do all of that without her? "Ah... We could attempt to foster such hospitality without the Earth Mother guiding us, yes... But despite what I have said, I am still a devout believer. It is said that we are all descended from her, us Monsters that walk the earth." A tail slipped out from beneath his robes for a moment, offering them a smile before retracting it. "So I pray and offer her to those that need something to believe in, when all other hope is lost. For hope is a power all in itself, is it not?" "Mmhn..." Nisha grunted, not enjoying, but not being totally displeased by the answer... "Oh, this spell still exists today? Consider me impressed. Yes, it is the runic engraving for Thoron, though I'd have to see one of these modern tomes to understand if any differences had been made. I'm surprised you know of it, considering your current ability level, but it's good to know I can trust you to be a cut above the rest in regards to..." Miz had shut her eyes as she began to rant about magic and her favor towards Seilan's understanding of it, but when she'd opened them he'd walked off, now gawking at Lucille in some... What even were those meant to be? Shorts? A skirt? Some wild amalgamation of the two? Something made her scowl slightly, an emotion she wasn't familiar with. Something she hadn't felt in quite some time... And for quite a different subject. She couldn't remember what it was called, but with the slight pointing of her finger, a thunder spell leapt into the rune she'd handed him, shattering its stability and making it fizzle into bright particles, before dissipating into nothingness. Maybe it would even shock him a little. He deserves it. "I see my attempts are wasted here, Xetketh. Shall we see to the city ourselves?" She walked back over to the gazer and then past her, starting off towards the centre of town, hoping to find this trading guild. How frustrating. Why am I feeling like this? I don't like it. I just want to set something on fire! ... But I'd definitely get in trouble as I am currently if I did so... Ugh. Why do you care about what she looks like so much, anyway? You'll see her all day! I just gave you magic you'd only ever seen once before in your life and you passed it up without a second thought for some LEGS. How... How, frustrating... Tenna did flinch when Dyssa snapped at her, but she didn't run away in fear this time. She squinted at the dragon and frowned a little, watching her face and that blush, trying to understand how she really felt under all these harsh words and snaps and demands to shut up... "What are you gonna do, if I don't shut up?" She kept moving forward, placing herself right in front of Dyssa, their faces a few inches away, still looking down at the dragon. "My life's been thrown so upside down I might do something crazy. What're you gonna do to stop me, Tundyssa? You're stronger than me. You could probably push me down and run away, or do worse, if you wanted to. So why aren't you? Why... Tell me." "I don't think I've, got nearly as much left as you, claim-- GUHOH!?" The Dog's final punch to her gut made the cat flop onto her knees, clutching at her stomach. "Ooghhhhnnn... And y-you, tell me you were, holding back, ghhhhuuhhhh..." Amera groaned and flopped onto her side, wearily looking up at Ember with a furrowed brow, huffing. "T-Told you, I'd be buying lunch. Geez... You're made of metal. You have to be..." With another deep breath and a groan, Amera slowly sat up, staring at their tiny audience. "You, satisfied? At all?" For once, silent and nodding, Asami didn't argue back against Bladen. "Sh-She's, that way." Asami pointed towards a roof some streets over, poking out between the alleys. "I don't know where, exactly, I... But her, presence is fading, and quickly. I hope nothing bad's happened... I-I'll go and find, Thesephine. I'm sorry..." Asami looked up at him and gave him a serious kiss, holding him tight, only for a moment, before pulling back and turning to run, dashing off towards the inn they'd stopped at when they first arrived in town. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... I should've felt her; why couldn't I until just now!? Ugh...! Edited January 30, 2023 by Mel the DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorri Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 "Hey, Asami, don't--" His words were cut off as she kissed him and then ran off, following his plan. Don't say sorry like this is all your fault. Or kiss me like you might never see me again. She isn't here because of you. Right? He turned away from the direction she had gone, facing instead the place she had pointed out as the source of the witch's power. He took a deep breath to steel himself, then launched himself into the air. Quickly flying over the rooftops, avoiding the small alleys and risk of getting lost, he arrived in the general area that Asami has directed him towards, wings working hard as he hung in place in the sky searching. Where... THERE! He spotted Ayane, wings folding in tight as he dropped out of the sky, only flaring open again at the last minute to stop him from crashing. He landed, albeit more heavily than intended, near the oni and called out, hand on sword hilt, "Aya! Is everyone ok? Asami told me who was here..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary on the Winds Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 There was a flicker of happiness on Lucille's face as she caught something promising from Seilan. His pleasant tone took on a bit of a more surprised one as he revealed that he had noticed the change in attire--admittedly she'd made it hard to miss as she realized that the position of her hands did an excellent job of framing her figure. It hadn't been a conscious thought, but now she had some real grounding for the General's assertion. Her time with Coteon may have stifled her, but she'd seen and picked up a fair amount from her time there. She'd always been too busy and concerned with surviving Coteon's often suicidal missions, and despite her figure, many of the soldiers knew to keep their distance. Finally, those feelings were allowed to fall away, and for once, she felt like she could be genuinely proud and happy about her appearance, and the compliment. A gentle spark ran up her arm, "Hehe... Oh, uh, yes. I did get the tights," She lifted one of the bags at her side, "The vendor showed me this new type of skirt, and... it just works really well for me. It's, uh, nice to not have to wear tights all the time." The nervous sway had slowed considerably, but it was still present. Then Lucille's head tilted some as she noticed the glyph in his hand, "Wait, is that..." She moved a little closer, but before she could scan it more, the glyph popped into a neat shower of sparks. "Huh?" She looked around, a glyph like that wouldn't just dissipate without something disturbing its form... Strangely, Miz seemed to be hurrying off towards the city center. "Oh, uhh... Seilan, Miz looks like she's off in a hurry. We probably shouldn't let her and... Xetketh? Wander on their own..." Realistically, the pair of them were perfectly able to handle themselves, but the pair's personalities miiiight get them in trouble if not watched over... There was a small bounce in Lucille's step now. It was strange to be so happy over something so small, but for Lucille, it was a little bit of proof that maybe things actually were going to be different. She stopped for a moment, and faced Nashwa, "Okay, I've this right... Black clothes, entirely covered, likely in a group... I'll make sure to keep an eye out and tell everyone. I'll tell Seilan on the way. D-don't do anything rash, okay?" Luci turned to Seilan, "Okay, come on, Sei--oh, uh, Seilan, sorry." She flushed a little before she turned, "Come on." She hurried away after the two, with rather impressive speed. Really... Already calling him Sei? Calm down... Marina's resolve was set. She would stand against anything Carlon could say. The monsters were beings that deserved to exist. Carlon released an important bit of information; the church was not backing Coteon's war against Vaia, against the monsters, or at least, wasn't any longer. It mattered little; the Church's complicity in the war was well documented, and Marina had opened her mouth to retort. But her words were stolen, along with the air in her lungs. Something had hit her, and expelled everything in her body. It didn't send her to the floor, but it did render her immobile. Her eyes frozen on the visage of the man she'd been so prepared to decry; the man who'd ordered her to slaughter the monsters with the holy sword; the man who treated her like a pawn on a chessboard. 'You are a doll, like the other, that we created to give will and wield the holy sword. You are artificial. You have always been a pawn, and now this pawn, this creation of our magicks, dares to speak back against me?' 'You may accept it, or you can continue to deny it, but know that your entire life has been nothing but a lie. Your parents, fake. Your memories, fabricated. You wish for the truth!? Then there it is! Laid bare! Naked and clear for you to hear!' Marina just stared as the man turned away. He was lying. He had to be lying. She saw those memories. She remembered her parents. They were hers. They had to be. They couldn't be anyone else's. Yet, as she tried to pull the memories closer to her, they seemed to pull further and further away. They seemed so distant. Surely that was because she had been away so long. That had to be it. "... ... ...No... that's not..." If you refuse to believe me, then ask Tenebria. Why don't you do that? I'm sure your friend, the princess, will be unable to lie to you... We will meet again, Marina Fairchild; pawn, creation, fabricated hero. When we do, I look forward to your answer. Something in Marina shattered. One step, two steps, four, she found herself moving towards Carlon's ethereal form but it vanished long before she could grab for him. It was a futile endeavor, but it was all she had. All she had as she crashed to the floor. "...That's not... it can't... I can't... These are... my... memories..." Marina's arms slid around herself. Ouka's shouting went completely unheard. Everything around her was silent as her thoughts were deafening. I... was created to kill the monsters. I... I was created to serve the Church, Carlon... I was... created to use that sword... that damned sword... Why... why would... No... No, he's... he's lying, he has... to be.... Tenna... Tenna, has to know... she wouldn't... But then... if he's... not... then, then... what... am I? What... am I doing this for? Who... am I? The only thing that kept Marina in the real world were the tears dripping onto her arms as she shivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcd900 Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 Seilan listened to Lucille, nodding slightly at her explanation as to what had went on with her shopping; had been about to comment about it, in fact, before Lucille mentioned Miz's sudden decision to make herself scarce. He looked down towards his hand, only then realizing the glyph had disappeared, not having noticed earlier. He was sure he'd been supporting it with his own magic, so it hadn't turned to nothing on its own - whatever had happened, his innate magic resistance had dulled it enough for him to not even feel it. ...Huh? Did Miz dispel it...? Couldn't have been anyone else... "Er, right... We probably shouldn't let them be, else they'll probably just get lost." They're not even interested in anything else the town has to offer besides the trade hall, where are they even going...? It was hard not to notice the improvement in Lucille's mood - not that he was paying any shortage of attention - though he couldn't help but wonder slightly what had so quickly driven Miz and Xetketh away; they were heading the same way, and had agreed to stay together in town... He gave Nashwa a quick, apologetic wave, then moved to catch up to Lucille, who'd already started making her way towards the other magical duo. Huh. Did she stutter just now, saying my name...? Seemed pretty comfortable, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursali Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 "Wh-What...?" Tundyssa stuttered as Tenna called her bluff; and call it hard she did as she positioned herself right in the dragon's face, mere inches away. She didn't have an answer to Tenna's question, unwilling to do something that would potentially hurt her feelings and send the wrong message but at the same time unwilling to act on how she truly felt towards the Saintess. She had more hang-ups than what had already been mentioned, namely her feelings for Nala, yet at the same time she wanted to be greedy and have both. Something about the girl innately attracted Tundyssa, as soon as Tenna had shown she wasn't a bloodthirsty beast really, but she'd been too stuck up in her prejudice to let it influence her. Until Tenna's confession slipped out, and she was forced to confront the feelings, both about the Saintess and humans as a whole, that she'd been running from. "I... I..." She didn't have answer for Tenna here either, staring back at the girl with a small amount of panic in her eyes. What was she going to do if she didn't deny her? Tundyssa wasn't sure she was ready to find out, but it didn't seem as though she had much choice. Xetketh watched her liege intently as she realized that her star pupil's attention had been so easily torn away from her and onto the human girl merely because she had swapped her tights out for some combination of a skirt and shorts that showed off her legs. Xetketh could hardly see the appeal herself. With Miz as the only exception, knowledge took a priority over everything else for the beholder. Regardless of that, however, Seilan had very obviously earned Miz's ire, the proof was there as soon as the rune burst into a minor spark shower. Her name being said in full cleared any doubt, not that she'd had any in the first place. "It's just as plain to me Miz. Let us be off, you wanted to see the Trading Guild did you not?" Miz began making her way towards the center of town and Xety was quickly behind her until she had matched her pace. Though her liege was fuming, the beholder was delighted, more than happy to be rid of the humans that Miz had insisted they accompany, though she knew better than to declare as such when one had set Miz off. As they approached the center of town a particular building stood out from the rest, easily the largest building in town. "May I suggest we start there, Miz? Even if it's not the Trading Guild we will likely be able to learn where it is." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRoon Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 The door stood no chance. Once it went down, Ayane went in without realizing Bladen was with her now, but almost immediately ran face first into the second obstacle in their path: A Barrier! "Tch!" She could see Marina and the others on the other side, completely under that damn witch's control. "OUKA!" She shouted as she tried to cut her way in, even if it was a useless endeavor as her blade bounced off. Her oni blood started to take hold again as she continued her assault, anger nearly drowned her out again. The white haired oni stopped her next swing as the barrier faded. Their eyes met, for the first time in so long. "DIE WITCH!" She rushed in after Ouka, but only ran straight through the butterflies which scattered about the air. She stood there and took deep breaths, she gripped her blade handle so tight it was almost painful. Ayane could only stew in frustration as her target had finally left her. "Ngh...dammit..." She turned to leave and find her, consumed by her anger, but stopped as soon as she saw Marina crying. "...mm..." The oni bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed, she did her best to wrestle herself back from her own emotions. She was needed here, and she knew it. 'I have to...take control...I can't go chasing after in a blind rage her while Marina is...' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xinnidy Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 And there it was... Carlon, espousing his beliefs --the church's true beliefs--, and speaking down to Marina in such a way. The monsters were the root of mana's imbalance? A solution involving preventing them for birthing more of their like? Madness, why was none of that spoken of in the faith, secrets kept so guarded? Agni couldn't fathom Carlon's angle. "Marina..." And then came Carlon's secret, spoken in almost sadistic smugness, making Agni's knife hand twitch. "Nonsense, you... why would you go to such lengths..." It was hard to miss the cruelty... if all they needed was a doll, why make Marina go through this? Ah... and there was Taliyah, just as shaken. Agni held her hand, keeping a strong grip. "It'll be fine..." Marina was clearly not, and whilst Ayane came down crashing doors, it did certainly no help fixing the mood. "Ugh..." Slowly moving towards her, Agni placed a hand on her shoulder. "Marina..." The words were tough to come by at this point, but find them Agni would. "Don't just take Carlon at his words. You've moved people, you've brought monsters under a single banner, for your own ideals. Certainly, the Demon King forced your hand, but..." He sighed, letting her go. "Whether lie or truth, Carlon would have never made you to do that. You've cone here all your own." In his heart, Agni didn't even believe the Archbishop's words. Surely there was a better explanation, he was just being a corrupt old man... "Nice one." Credit where credit was due, Mae got that info smoothly. Earning herself that quick, ephemeral praise from Taiyou. "So this tree is their next target. I'm guessing the other monsters didn't take to joining forces? Good." Now, Taiyou had no idea what plans with this 'Yggdrasil entailed. Surely someone in their group would have a better idea... "Hm..." Her face turnning a bemused, weak smirk to her lips, Hecate washed the cat changed get... frankly, washed by the wolfish one. "Gaps in physique are still common, perhaps even enhanced, amongst your kin. You could possibly bridge the gap with your magic... if you apply yourself." It was a shame, though, less data than what Hecate wanted. "Hmm... say, Lazuli, do you think you can match them in a spar?" Hecate had more than confident that her construct could stand to the hellhound if push came to shove. Still, it was helpful to know how unarmed combat evolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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