c3p-0h

Mirror, Fox, Key

When Meryn peered through the magus lens to see the scene below, she felt her breath stop in her chest. It was just a tiny moment, a pause in her heartbeat as her lips parted. And then time hiccuped back into place and the air in her lungs released. Seeing her companions' dreams… they were beautiful, each of them. They fit so well, and yet all seemed to catch her off guard as Meryn saw them glisten in the air. It felt… intimate. Almost intrusive, as though she had no right to witness things so personal and unique. And yet Meryn was still endlessly grateful for the opportunity. She took her time, cataloguing each one.

Alex's explosive passion, Emma's quiet tenderness, Lily's rich maturity, Kelsier's measured focus, and Spook's… nothing. Her eyebrows pulled together at that. Where were the Traveller's dreams? He had to have at least one, didn't he? New questions piled on top of old ones Meryn had already collected concerning their mysterious guide. Was it because of those runes stained across his skin? His mask? What if he was something… else? Something unseeable by the magus lens? Meryn's face pinched more in concentration as she pulled the trinket away from her face.

She looked again down at the scene, now devoid of the fantastical manifestations. Meryn was too far away to hear what they were saying, and the only one facing in her direction was Spook. His mask gave her no clue as to what was being discussed. But she watched the body language change, saw how the mood so subtly tensed. Alex had stopped throwing punches, at least.

Meryn forced herself to her feet, grimacing at the pain but otherwise ignoring it. She glanced over her shoulder at the bird. Her head bobbed in thanks and a small, crooked smile appeared on her face. Then she scooped up the annoyed felidrake – claws and all – and plodded back down the hill. She'd spent long enough perched up there. Best to get back to the group. Slipping the magus lens in her bag, she listened to the muffled sounds of the bell under her jacket.

She reached the group as Spook finished his ominous speech, coming to stand a bit behind Lily. What had he said? Something about a disease? Meryn's eyebrows pulled together again and she glanced from Alex to the caged felidrake and back to Spook. Then she looked down at the lethargic creature in her hands.

Now, Meryn didn't trust Spook as far as she could throw him. Not since he'd remained an enigma to the magus lens, and certainly not since that stunt with the serpent monster. But if he knew more about this disease that was threatening Enn, then it seemed wise to defer to him. She gave a short whistle from her spot behind the group to get his attention. Though of course, it was impossible to tell behind that mask of his. Her eyes were narrowed a bit as she focused on him, still trying to figure out who he was underneath everything else. She raised the felidrake a bit in a silent question.

Mirror, Fox, Key

I'm at work for 12 hours… ill try to have a post up sometime late tonight.

Lantern

short post is ridiculously short, but i really had nothing else to say.

anyway later peeps lol. artemis out.

Lantern

Absorbing the shreds of information the boy offered, Artemis pinched her eyebrows together. What he was describing wasn't like any pirates she'd ever heard of. Then again… giant wolves and ticking trees. Her eyes darted between the girl, the irritated-looking wolf, and the boy. She opened her mouth to respond – in her own language again – while still keeping her distance, when the action erupted behind him. Artemis stumbled back as a tree seemingly woke up, grabbing the boy. A moving tree. A moving carnivorous tree. Artemis wasted no time turning and running away.

Lantern

Hey so just a note for future ref, I've been using "< >" to signify speaking a different language. I was trying to make it obvious but it never hurts to have it on the record ^.^

Also I'm not planning a response until after mok goes, so it's your turn.

Lantern

Artemis jolted to attention when a voice called out through the forest. The Lantern tumbled to the floor, scorching more fallen leaves black, and she hurried to lift it. She wasn't really keen to start a blazing fire right next to her. In a forest. A highly flammable forest. Clutching the Lantern to herself, she tried to make herself small as the voice went on. Her legs tensed, ready to take off and run again – away from the people and the wolves and the demons.

The marid.

She wanted to laugh at that. Wasn't that just a bitch of a joke? The girl who'd taken their name and styled herself as their channel to man, and now she was dropped in a world full of them. A giggle was beginning to claw its way up her throat. Or maybe it was hysteria.

Clamping her hand back over her mouth, Artemis bit her lip in an attempt to quiet herself. Focus, she had to focus. What was this stranger saying? Pirates? What sort of name was Morlyanem…mien. Whatever. Her heart was still pounding in her throat, a frantic beat like running feet against the ground. Gods, she wanted to run. But run where? And into what other sort of monstrosity this blasted forest had to offer? The voice didn't seem hostile… but neither had that rusted knight. So basically, either she ran off again into some terrible creature, or she stayed and walked into the arms of a potentially terrible creature. Fantastic.

Her frenzied mind whirled again and again through her laughably limited options. All the while, the Lantern's steady light cast the forest in red dye. The Lantern… it was something she had, at least. She thought back to that terrible flame cast on the wolf. Maybe she shouldn't have had it at all.

Artemis gritted her teeth and pressed her eyes shut. Then, before she could reconsider, she pushed herself to shaky legs. One hand trailed along the rough tree bark at her back, the other clutching the Lantern's cast iron loop at the top. Artemis stepped out from behind the tree to face this new stranger. This marid.

It was a child – a young boy in a frog mask. Artemis' eyebrows pressed together and she didn't have to fake her confusion. Or her fear, or her exhaustion, and hells, it would've been easier to say she stood there before him naked in her turmoil, but she had the feeling admitting that would mean she was truly lost.

So, she did what Artemis did best. She crafted a character. Artemis stood before him, soaking wet and shivering. She'd lost her boots somewhere between the river and the woods, so her feet were bare against the forest floor. Dirt and flecks of blood coated them, as well as up her arms and face. Pale smears of her paint were scattered across her skin, dripping away with the water. Her bright blue eyes shown violet in the Lantern's glow and her silver hair mimicked the stars above. Artemis stumbled a moment, steadying herself against the tree again. When she was no long in danger of falling over, she brought that hand across her body to clasp her arm. She curled a bit behind this makeshift shield, warily eyeing the boy. Her eyes flicked from him to the girl sitting on the shore – with the wolf. She felt her heart rate spike at the sight. If going with the boy meant going back to them… even if the wolf wasn't as dangerous as it seemed, it likely wasn't going to welcome her after she'd seared half its face off. Artemis looked back to the boy and tried to swallow around the lump in her throat. She started shaking her head in a slow, halting motion. Then she opened her mouth to speak in a frail voice.

"<I… I don't understand. I'm sorry.>" She wrapped her native language around herself like a heavy cloak, a familiar weight pressing itself on her shoulders. She didn't know if she was strong enough to move under it. Tightening her grip around the Lantern's warmth, Artemis did her best to steady her breathing as she looked at the child in the mask. "Pirate?" She thickened her accent, the one her tutors had stripped her of long ago, and strangled the word with her memories of home.

Artemis didn't miss the irony of using honesty as a disguise. But she supposed it was unrecognizable on her by now – and as good a disguise as any.

Lantern

Question: how do languages work in this world? Can everyone magically understand each other no matter what, or can Artemis get sneaky?

Pokemon – Reformed

Oh I can edit if you want lol. I was just trying to give you something to react to.

Lantern

Lol well if we're all patting each other on the back, you're easily my favorite gm, mok. I was considering joining some of your other rps but then I was like "…is this creepy? This is probably creepy" XD

Lantern

why yes, i do believe it is