[Center] Maeven and Alicia-In the Jungle [/center]

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Alicia caught the spear handed to her by the old woman, quickly taking in the weight of the weapon and the materials it was made from. She was so distracted; she almost missed the Amazonian ‘Elder’ comment on her appearance, which caused Alicia’s eyes to widen in surprise. 

Seeing Ethlinn’s reaction to the fiasco was its own little delight though. Despite whatever jealous annoyance she had before, it was quickly soothed by the Princess’ possessiveness. “Thank you for the spear. I hope I can prove worthy of the gift.”

Maeven watches the exchange with moderate intrigue before they depart from the hut, taking to walk aside Fafnir as they make their way to the clearing the duels were to take place. The little display Ethlinn put on, whether for the Queen or for the Blades, was certainly appealing, but unnecessary given the attractiveness of the princess, she decides. She listens to the announcement of the amazon princess to the warriors and the impending refusal before pursing her lips, looking over them. She nods to Alicia, “They don’t really understand they’d be in a lot worse state with two dead leaders, do they? Better she got out while she could; they’re in a better state now than if she had not returned.”

Alicia was surprised by her sudden conversational partner’s words. She had seen the dragon-riding woman a few times in their travels, and she even briefly recalled spying her in the ballroom itself, yet she had not shared words with her. The name, she briefly remembered though: You don’t really walk around with a mechanical dragon and [i]not[/i] feature in the rumour mill. “I think ‘they’ understand exactly how dire the situation would be, should there be no ruler. We can only assume that our quarry is amongst the two down there.” The vampire turns to glance at Maeven, taking in the woman up close for the first time. She certainly did not find the sight unappealing. “Alicia Le’roux, by the way. We have not met yet. You are Maeven, yes? I’ve heard about the girl who rides a steel dragon, but I imagined it to be a rumour only. I see there is merit a plenty with that particular tidbit.”

“Oh, really now. Rides a steel dragon? She does not ride me, Night huntress. She merely plops her weighty rear upon my back rudely,” Fafnir drawls tiredly and cranes his head to peer at Alicia before looking back at the Amazons.

Maeven rolls her eyes and shrugs before looking back at the Amazons, “Whatever preserves your dignity, Faf…” She leans against the dragon, tapping her firearm anxiously, “You really think the succubi must be amongst those two? Then what are we really idling about here for? If they refuse the test, then what other way do we have about it? There’s just the duel left or getting sneaky to reveal them, right?”

“Unless...There is always the fear that one of those warriors is a thrall of the demon. Either that, or the succubi is among the four, and incited those two to open rebellion. A skilled manipulator would be able to incite rage in an Amazonian well enough: There passion is well documented.”

Alicia pouts, leaning against the spear as she watches Esyllt examine the first two Amazonians and give a clean bill of health. The situation was not an easy one to resolve without a bit of risk: it was minimising the risks that proved the real test. She glanced over at the mechanical dragon once again, picking out the casual nature in which it identified her as a vampire. Was her condition so widely known already? The rumour mill surrounding the Renaltan castle was a truly terrifying thing.

“Say, since you have that...device at your hip, I suppose that makes you a good aim: yes? If I were to go and do something a bit...risky, would you be able to watch my back?”

Maeven pauses, before grabbing her pack and beginning to swap out the barrels on her Blunderbuster, picking the long-rifle in place of the wide-mouthed barrel to improve her accuracy. “Sure, sure. I could watch your back. I normally like to know what I’m getting into ahead of time. But hey, I’ve got nothing better to do. And who knows. Maybe Faf and I here can rain fire down on an unsuspecting succubus…” She pauses and peers at the soul gem in place before deciding to switch out with the animal spirit stone to silence the weapon.

“Keep an eye on the Amazonians close to the Telepath and the Queens. If I was a Demon, I would be after the leaders: Not the soldiers that serve them. I will be able to keep an eye on the two dissidents well enough. If a scuffle starts, I’m sure you’ll hear it.” With that, Alicia lifts the spear and begins to walk over to the Two isolated Amazonians. “I’m counting on you, Maeven. If all goes well, I will owe you a favour.”

She smirks and looks up at Alicia from her weapon, “A special bedroom favor?” she winks and loads her weapon so it’d be ready to fire in case things did go to hell.

With a slight smirk on her face, Alicia keeps her eyes focused on the two Amazonians who were causing all the fuss. She made her intentions clear enough as she approached them, Spear in hand and tip in the air. She left a gap of about 10 feet between herself and the two Amazonians, before speaking up so that everyone might hear her words. “I am Alicia Le’roux, Queen’s Blade and Vampire. I stand as champion for the Renaltan people and for the rightful ruler of the Amazonians, Queen Ethlinn. If you would deny the right of this woman in front of a huntress of the night who recognises her right to rule, then draw your weapon.” 

Alicia’s speech was all planned out, equal parts passion and posture. She meant every word she said, but she was keeping a [b]Sharp[/b] eye on the reactions of the two women. She recalled the words of Ethlinn at the ball: About the position that vampires held in Amazonian society as proud, noble hunters. Surely an Amazonian might relish the challenge of facing one, or even react to how a vampire stood for Ethlinn’s cause. Her gambit was that A Succubus might react in a different way entirely, or perhaps even not at all. Either way, it was a risky enough gambit, that might end up backfiring and embarrassing her.

Not that it mattered. She either risked her own embarrassment or the life of a fellow Queen’s blade. This seemed a much more elegant solution.

Maeven stays back, watching Alicia’s display. Fafnir releases a huff of steam and glances at her. “She is asking for trouble, you know…”

Maeven lets her head roll from side to side, “Yes… Just a little bit… Why don’t you give her a little back-up, Faf. Couldn’t hurt, huh?”

Fafnir’s jaw works, grinding as Alicia finishes her speech before he spreads his wings in the clearing. Maeven stays back, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. If there was a time for anything to go wrong, now would be it and she would not be the one to miss taking her shot at the perpetrator.

Meanwhile, Fafnir beats his wings and creates a gust as he leaps up and lands beside Alicia with a heavy thud and screech of metal, letting out a metallic roar as he calls out, “I, Fafnir, Father of Dragons, recognize the Ethlinn as the rightful ruler of the Amazons.”