Sure I’ll do the villain.
Dusty
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Sure I’ll do the villain.
In
Ruins of God -- Dark Age Character RP (Barbarian setting)
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6 yrs ago
Forum: Advanced Interest Checks
You've caught my eye and I'm considering creating a mercenary captain character, with a command of a few hundred professional sellswords. I would like to confirm this sort of character, with a personal army like that would be acceptable in this world? I imagine if it was made up of men from Eodaland this wouldn't necessarily be uncommon.
The Ranger’s heavy cannons fired again, the red beams absorbed by the somewhat still functional shield of the pirate cruiser. Despite his lack of success against the shielding Jean grinned like a con man. “Your entire body is preferable, but the face is priority Miz Cooper. Oh, and the feet, don’t lose the feet, metal clunkers turn me, ah… Well never mind. All that matters is that you come back in as few pieces as possible. Let's just leave it at I’m neither king’s men nor his horse, and I can’t put you back together again.”
“I CAN! TAYLOR CAN PUT URSA BACK TOGETHER, USING ROBOT PARTS! I HOPE SHE LOOSES HER - HEAD SO I CAN REPLACE IT - WITH MINE! HAHAHAHAHA!” Jean winced as the whirling pink medical robot spoke directly into his ear. It’d snuck onto the bridge and was spinning a rather rusty looking circular saw like it fully intended to replace someone’s head. Shoving the suspiciously gleeful droid away Jean dug a finger into his ringing left ear, glaring daggers at the robotic medical assistant.
“You’ve got a few bats loose in yer software.” He muttered, “You, sit over there, away from me, AND GET THAT SAW AWAY FROM MY CROTCH, before I replace your head with a plasma crater. Not another word out of you, or I swear to all that’s holy I’ll end ya rightly.” Ensuring the bot was a sufficient distance away and silent, Jean fired the lasers again, ripping off a random bit of durasteel on the pirate hull. This one sparked and crackled with intense energy as it came away, lighting up the vacuous space in chemical light. The spectacle, though brief in longevity served a vital purpose in keeping Jean and Takashi’s eyes off the bridge’s doors which slid open silently, allowing a dark shape to slide inside like some oversized cat.
Distracted by working their separate tasks, only Taylor spotted the tiptoeing form, sliding seamlessly across the polished floor. The robot’s panic functions fired up and it prepared itself to warn the bridge of this impending threat, but another command flickered in its programming. ”Not another word out of you.” The robot began waving its arms wildly trying to catch Jean or Takashi’s attention, its head spinning like a top and looking thoroughly insane all the while. Jean caste a baleful glanced towards the seemingly possessed machine but went back to calibrating the turret, Takashi didn’t even look up.
The figure loomed up behind Jean, hands rising at unmatchable speeds, a thick voice rattling Jean into action.
“It seems ye ‘ave become becalmed beneath me ship ranger.”
Jean had always been known for his fast gun, in fact he was by far the fastest gun in the galaxy matched by none. But Naefario had a whole millisecond head start, and that was all it took. The revolver rose, for a half a heartbeat centering on the pirate captain’s forehead before a massive mechanical hand closed around it. The gun fired, screaming off in a random direction. Jean yelled reaching for the com, Takashi went for his gun, and Taylor screamed in programmed agony, a fresh hole burned through his mechanical vital functions.
Moving like a martial professional Naefario twisted on his heels bringing Jean forcefully out of the command seat, slamming his metal kneecap into the cowboy’s stomach, the gun came away even as the cybernetic pirate fired his palm blaster, the yellow plasma bolt connected with Takashi’s shoulder. The pirate let out a pained cry, slumping against his command station, but not out of the fight yet. Using his left and good arm he leveled his gun, the defiant yell on his lips replaced by a guttural cry of terror. In two bounds Naefario crossed the empty space between himself and Takashi, Jean stilled clutched in his offhand like a hapless toy doll. Takashi couldn’t even pull the trigger before the cybernetic enhanced fist ploughed into his head like a locomotive, the unstoppable force careening the little green lizardman a full length of the deck, until he slid to a stop, lying dangerously still, blood pooling from his ear slit.
Jean gurgled in rage, kicking desperately, trying to free himself from the vicelike grip of his captor. Raising the struggling sheriff into the air Naefario pounded him once into the command station, stilling any attempt at further resistance. Jean lay limp wheezing, the pirate’s oversized hand clenched around his upper chest and throat.
“Hold ye still now me little fish, I ‘ave use of you alive yet.” Keeping Jean secure under his hand Naefario fiddled with the Ranger’s controls, inserting a disk into one of the attachment ports. He then extended a thin wire from his throat stretching the conductor out and using a small bard to hook Jean’s neck. Working his jaw Naefario mouthed a few test words, his usual deep, gravelly voice replaced by Jean’s higher twang. “Fish, test, fishy test. Heeeeeey beautiful.” Although Jean’s accent wasn’t there, it was barely indistinguishable, most people might’ve thought it was Jean speaking, especially over a scratchy communication device. Leaving the wire connecting the two of them by their throats Naefario pressed a few more buttons on the command station. A electronic “bing” sounded, similar to Microsoft Windows opening, followed by a detailed visualization of the Gorefill’s bridge, including the lackey he’d left in charge.
The weaselly creature saluted when he saw Naefario on the big screen, an evil leer on his face. “Good news Cap’n, one o’ th’ crewmates captured th’ enemy Captain. We ‘ave ‘er in custody and we’re about to bring ‘er onto th’ bridge.” As if to reiterate this point the bridge doors swung open admitting the pretend captive Ursa and the pretend pirate Juniper onto the bridge flanked by half a dozen other pirates. Naefario laughed aloud, though it quickly died in his throat when he saw the state of his concubine-to-be. Ripping out the wire, from a plan that was no longer necessary he instead glared at the pirate holding his fancy.
“Could ye blackguards ‘ave fucked her up worse? One o’ ye tend to ‘er before she keels over!” A willing pirate stepped forward, dabbing at Ursa’s wounds with a healing ointment. Meanwhile Naefario sneered down at the disembodied arm the crew aliens were showing him. “Fair enough, promotions to th’ ones that did it, an’ a greater share o’ th’ booty. But are ye sure, there be no more o’ them smugglers aboard me ship oo’ might cause trouble?”
The weasel lackey shook his head. “Nay Cap’n, nary a one we’re sure.” He of course, did not know of Emmett waiting in the hanger bay or any of the other smugglers who were very much not dead.
“Excellent First Mate. Now continue tending to me pretty fish, but bring her closer so I might speak wit’ her.” He spoke to Juniper, and didn’t wait to see whether she obeyed. Motioning towards Jean’s defeated form Naefario laughed in Ursa’s holographic face, his voice cruel and menacing. “This could’ve been so easy, an’ maybe not so many o’ ye friends would’ve ‘ad to die. Instead ye decided to fight me, an’ th’ inevitable occurred. Such a shocker I know. But I always get want I want, and I want what I get. Harr, harr. Hahaha!” Naefario’s cruel laughter was taken up by his crew who beat their weapons against the walls and floor to raise the volume of the clatter. Naefario’s guffaws ended abruptly, and the crew aliens stammered into an awkward silence to match him. “Your ship is captured, your crew is dead or captured, and you are captured. You put up a fight, I’ll admit it. I admire yer tenacity and clever tricks above all else, and ye’ll make an excellent bride. I see many long years ahead o’ us together. Thanks for th' fun though, ye made me day!
“Hark lackey, I need ye to send six o’ th’ crew onto this smuggler ship to pilot it, the rest o’ ye start swabbing an’ clean th’ blood an’ gore off me ship. Well done crew, we win again ha harr!”
“I CAN! TAYLOR CAN PUT URSA BACK TOGETHER, USING ROBOT PARTS! I HOPE SHE LOOSES HER - HEAD SO I CAN REPLACE IT - WITH MINE! HAHAHAHAHA!” Jean winced as the whirling pink medical robot spoke directly into his ear. It’d snuck onto the bridge and was spinning a rather rusty looking circular saw like it fully intended to replace someone’s head. Shoving the suspiciously gleeful droid away Jean dug a finger into his ringing left ear, glaring daggers at the robotic medical assistant.
“You’ve got a few bats loose in yer software.” He muttered, “You, sit over there, away from me, AND GET THAT SAW AWAY FROM MY CROTCH, before I replace your head with a plasma crater. Not another word out of you, or I swear to all that’s holy I’ll end ya rightly.” Ensuring the bot was a sufficient distance away and silent, Jean fired the lasers again, ripping off a random bit of durasteel on the pirate hull. This one sparked and crackled with intense energy as it came away, lighting up the vacuous space in chemical light. The spectacle, though brief in longevity served a vital purpose in keeping Jean and Takashi’s eyes off the bridge’s doors which slid open silently, allowing a dark shape to slide inside like some oversized cat.
Distracted by working their separate tasks, only Taylor spotted the tiptoeing form, sliding seamlessly across the polished floor. The robot’s panic functions fired up and it prepared itself to warn the bridge of this impending threat, but another command flickered in its programming. ”Not another word out of you.” The robot began waving its arms wildly trying to catch Jean or Takashi’s attention, its head spinning like a top and looking thoroughly insane all the while. Jean caste a baleful glanced towards the seemingly possessed machine but went back to calibrating the turret, Takashi didn’t even look up.
The figure loomed up behind Jean, hands rising at unmatchable speeds, a thick voice rattling Jean into action.
“It seems ye ‘ave become becalmed beneath me ship ranger.”
Jean had always been known for his fast gun, in fact he was by far the fastest gun in the galaxy matched by none. But Naefario had a whole millisecond head start, and that was all it took. The revolver rose, for a half a heartbeat centering on the pirate captain’s forehead before a massive mechanical hand closed around it. The gun fired, screaming off in a random direction. Jean yelled reaching for the com, Takashi went for his gun, and Taylor screamed in programmed agony, a fresh hole burned through his mechanical vital functions.
Moving like a martial professional Naefario twisted on his heels bringing Jean forcefully out of the command seat, slamming his metal kneecap into the cowboy’s stomach, the gun came away even as the cybernetic pirate fired his palm blaster, the yellow plasma bolt connected with Takashi’s shoulder. The pirate let out a pained cry, slumping against his command station, but not out of the fight yet. Using his left and good arm he leveled his gun, the defiant yell on his lips replaced by a guttural cry of terror. In two bounds Naefario crossed the empty space between himself and Takashi, Jean stilled clutched in his offhand like a hapless toy doll. Takashi couldn’t even pull the trigger before the cybernetic enhanced fist ploughed into his head like a locomotive, the unstoppable force careening the little green lizardman a full length of the deck, until he slid to a stop, lying dangerously still, blood pooling from his ear slit.
Jean gurgled in rage, kicking desperately, trying to free himself from the vicelike grip of his captor. Raising the struggling sheriff into the air Naefario pounded him once into the command station, stilling any attempt at further resistance. Jean lay limp wheezing, the pirate’s oversized hand clenched around his upper chest and throat.
“Hold ye still now me little fish, I ‘ave use of you alive yet.” Keeping Jean secure under his hand Naefario fiddled with the Ranger’s controls, inserting a disk into one of the attachment ports. He then extended a thin wire from his throat stretching the conductor out and using a small bard to hook Jean’s neck. Working his jaw Naefario mouthed a few test words, his usual deep, gravelly voice replaced by Jean’s higher twang. “Fish, test, fishy test. Heeeeeey beautiful.” Although Jean’s accent wasn’t there, it was barely indistinguishable, most people might’ve thought it was Jean speaking, especially over a scratchy communication device. Leaving the wire connecting the two of them by their throats Naefario pressed a few more buttons on the command station. A electronic “bing” sounded, similar to Microsoft Windows opening, followed by a detailed visualization of the Gorefill’s bridge, including the lackey he’d left in charge.
The weaselly creature saluted when he saw Naefario on the big screen, an evil leer on his face. “Good news Cap’n, one o’ th’ crewmates captured th’ enemy Captain. We ‘ave ‘er in custody and we’re about to bring ‘er onto th’ bridge.” As if to reiterate this point the bridge doors swung open admitting the pretend captive Ursa and the pretend pirate Juniper onto the bridge flanked by half a dozen other pirates. Naefario laughed aloud, though it quickly died in his throat when he saw the state of his concubine-to-be. Ripping out the wire, from a plan that was no longer necessary he instead glared at the pirate holding his fancy.
“Could ye blackguards ‘ave fucked her up worse? One o’ ye tend to ‘er before she keels over!” A willing pirate stepped forward, dabbing at Ursa’s wounds with a healing ointment. Meanwhile Naefario sneered down at the disembodied arm the crew aliens were showing him. “Fair enough, promotions to th’ ones that did it, an’ a greater share o’ th’ booty. But are ye sure, there be no more o’ them smugglers aboard me ship oo’ might cause trouble?”
The weasel lackey shook his head. “Nay Cap’n, nary a one we’re sure.” He of course, did not know of Emmett waiting in the hanger bay or any of the other smugglers who were very much not dead.
“Excellent First Mate. Now continue tending to me pretty fish, but bring her closer so I might speak wit’ her.” He spoke to Juniper, and didn’t wait to see whether she obeyed. Motioning towards Jean’s defeated form Naefario laughed in Ursa’s holographic face, his voice cruel and menacing. “This could’ve been so easy, an’ maybe not so many o’ ye friends would’ve ‘ad to die. Instead ye decided to fight me, an’ th’ inevitable occurred. Such a shocker I know. But I always get want I want, and I want what I get. Harr, harr. Hahaha!” Naefario’s cruel laughter was taken up by his crew who beat their weapons against the walls and floor to raise the volume of the clatter. Naefario’s guffaws ended abruptly, and the crew aliens stammered into an awkward silence to match him. “Your ship is captured, your crew is dead or captured, and you are captured. You put up a fight, I’ll admit it. I admire yer tenacity and clever tricks above all else, and ye’ll make an excellent bride. I see many long years ahead o’ us together. Thanks for th' fun though, ye made me day!
“Hark lackey, I need ye to send six o’ th’ crew onto this smuggler ship to pilot it, the rest o’ ye start swabbing an’ clean th’ blood an’ gore off me ship. Well done crew, we win again ha harr!”
Not a word was spoken of the incident, in fact, hardly any words were shared between father and daughter that evening. Tonya wasn’t sure whether she’d rather her father yell and be angry or not. Her good mood from saying Farwell to Eddie felt smothered by the thickened atmosphere of the deafening silence. Everything that could have been said had already been discussed, and that wasn’t much. At least her father hadn’t enacted even more punishments, perhaps he considered their damaged trust, and the school’s week long detention to be sufficient. Whatever the case Mr. Tabbet took a premature evening, mumbling some excuse about getting to work early tomorrow, leaving Tonya nothing more to do then catch up on a lot of overdo homework, and talk to Ossar about what had occurred.
The serpent kwami was less than pleased that they all knew each other by name at that point, but proved to be at least understanding of the predicament. His cold eyes, and disapproving mood only added to Tonya’s discomfort however and after only thirty minutes of struggling through math problems and history short answers she huffed out a “g’night Ossar.” And went to sleep resolving to do the work eventually.
The next morning Tonya arouse to find the house empty, and a note saying her father would be late coming home that night. Implying heavily that he’d missed vital hours of work yesterday. Fixing herself a bowl of cold cereal Tonya munched on the sugary kernels while watching Ossar swim about in a separate bowl of milk she’d set out for him. His rhythmic laps triggered an important fact she’d almost forgotten to share with him. “Oh, Ossar I forgot to tell you last night. The other kwami wanted to meet, during our detention. You were asleep, so you wouldn’t have heard.”
The snake’s body stilled, and he rested still on the surface of his milky sea, like a miniature sea serpent rising above the waves. “My friends and I have not come together in many long years. Our meeting shall be joyous no doubt.” But then the serpent’s eyes clouded, and he shook his head. “No, it cannot be. Trivial past-time might be enjoyable for the moment, but detrimental in excess. Should something occur and I remain incapable to enact my bond with the miraculous, all for my own selfish desires, thou might find yourself vulnerable to Rouge-Bat’s aggression. Better to err on the side of caution.”
Tonya laughed, sloshing the bowl, causing milk to flow over Ossar’s head. He rose into the air indigently, his forked tongue flickering out to clear his eyes and nostrils. “Rouge-bat doesn’t know who we are, there’s tons of schools, and thousands of kids our age in Louisville.” Tonya explained. She wasn’t having so great of a morning, and she’d be darned if Ossar missed out meeting his friends because he was worried about her being attacked. “What are the chances he attacks our school, during our detention when no one is there? Small I’d say. And we’ll be literally down the hallway scrubbing lockers. You are going, and that’s final.”
Ossar bowed his head, sinking once more into his bowl. “Very well, if thou orders it, it shall be done.” He closed his eyes, then said in a low voice. “My thanks Tonya.”
The matter settled Tonya collected her books and bag, tucked Ossar away into his hiding place, and set off to school. She missed Eddie on the walk there, having left a little earlier than usual. She was slightly disappointed by this but kept going, arriving early to her classroom. No other students had arrived yet and only her teacher was there, grading something or another at her desk. Tonya approached timidly, her eyes fixed on the floor at her feet. It was only when she brought her gaze up, and looked her in the eye however that her teacher acknowledged her presence.
“Yes, Miss Tabbet?”
“I wanted to apologize.” Tonya said. She’d been doing it a lot lately, it was starting to get easier. “I had a bad morning yesterday, and I was….”
“Disrespectful?”
Tonya cringed. “Yes, ma’am. Very.”
“Okay then,” her teacher leaned back in her chair, giving Tonya a small smile. “I forgive you, just make sure from now on to keep that temper in check. Now go take your seat, class is about to begin.”
The rest of the day went a lot smoother from there. When the bell finally rang releasing the students to freedom and Tonya to her punishment. She ran by the stairs, taking Ossar in her hands and releasing him to join the other kwami. He slithered across the floor, his eyes lighting up as he spotted the rabbit and ferret kwami already there. “My friends.” He hissed, curling about them like a constrictor might, and giving them a friendly squeeze. “Salutations, it hath been far too long, and thy pleasant embrace is a blessing upon this one for certain.”
Leaving them to their reunion Tonya joined Bella and Alex at the lockers, nodding a greeting to both of the girls.
The serpent kwami was less than pleased that they all knew each other by name at that point, but proved to be at least understanding of the predicament. His cold eyes, and disapproving mood only added to Tonya’s discomfort however and after only thirty minutes of struggling through math problems and history short answers she huffed out a “g’night Ossar.” And went to sleep resolving to do the work eventually.
The next morning Tonya arouse to find the house empty, and a note saying her father would be late coming home that night. Implying heavily that he’d missed vital hours of work yesterday. Fixing herself a bowl of cold cereal Tonya munched on the sugary kernels while watching Ossar swim about in a separate bowl of milk she’d set out for him. His rhythmic laps triggered an important fact she’d almost forgotten to share with him. “Oh, Ossar I forgot to tell you last night. The other kwami wanted to meet, during our detention. You were asleep, so you wouldn’t have heard.”
The snake’s body stilled, and he rested still on the surface of his milky sea, like a miniature sea serpent rising above the waves. “My friends and I have not come together in many long years. Our meeting shall be joyous no doubt.” But then the serpent’s eyes clouded, and he shook his head. “No, it cannot be. Trivial past-time might be enjoyable for the moment, but detrimental in excess. Should something occur and I remain incapable to enact my bond with the miraculous, all for my own selfish desires, thou might find yourself vulnerable to Rouge-Bat’s aggression. Better to err on the side of caution.”
Tonya laughed, sloshing the bowl, causing milk to flow over Ossar’s head. He rose into the air indigently, his forked tongue flickering out to clear his eyes and nostrils. “Rouge-bat doesn’t know who we are, there’s tons of schools, and thousands of kids our age in Louisville.” Tonya explained. She wasn’t having so great of a morning, and she’d be darned if Ossar missed out meeting his friends because he was worried about her being attacked. “What are the chances he attacks our school, during our detention when no one is there? Small I’d say. And we’ll be literally down the hallway scrubbing lockers. You are going, and that’s final.”
Ossar bowed his head, sinking once more into his bowl. “Very well, if thou orders it, it shall be done.” He closed his eyes, then said in a low voice. “My thanks Tonya.”
The matter settled Tonya collected her books and bag, tucked Ossar away into his hiding place, and set off to school. She missed Eddie on the walk there, having left a little earlier than usual. She was slightly disappointed by this but kept going, arriving early to her classroom. No other students had arrived yet and only her teacher was there, grading something or another at her desk. Tonya approached timidly, her eyes fixed on the floor at her feet. It was only when she brought her gaze up, and looked her in the eye however that her teacher acknowledged her presence.
“Yes, Miss Tabbet?”
“I wanted to apologize.” Tonya said. She’d been doing it a lot lately, it was starting to get easier. “I had a bad morning yesterday, and I was….”
“Disrespectful?”
Tonya cringed. “Yes, ma’am. Very.”
“Okay then,” her teacher leaned back in her chair, giving Tonya a small smile. “I forgive you, just make sure from now on to keep that temper in check. Now go take your seat, class is about to begin.”
The rest of the day went a lot smoother from there. When the bell finally rang releasing the students to freedom and Tonya to her punishment. She ran by the stairs, taking Ossar in her hands and releasing him to join the other kwami. He slithered across the floor, his eyes lighting up as he spotted the rabbit and ferret kwami already there. “My friends.” He hissed, curling about them like a constrictor might, and giving them a friendly squeeze. “Salutations, it hath been far too long, and thy pleasant embrace is a blessing upon this one for certain.”
Leaving them to their reunion Tonya joined Bella and Alex at the lockers, nodding a greeting to both of the girls.
In
Warhammer Fantasy: The Guild of Esteemed Sellswords - An adventure in the Warhammer Fantasy world! [REBOOTED] [FULL]
→
6 yrs ago
Forum: Advanced Roleplay
Eyy, @Chicken you’ve gotten yourself into a rather tight spot, no?
The group set to work as their introductions came to a close. Samuel found himself the resident expert on all things to do with tent building, with Robert not being all too shabby either. The older boy even showed off a large tent he’d ported with Duncan’s car, that could house all of them comfortably if need be. While Sam assisted untangling Duncan’s slight disaster, (the overeager trooper had been trying to build it inside out) Robert, Atlas and the girls joined forces to construct the large super-tent. There was a healthy amount of laughter and a lot of fooling around, but they managed to finish the project in good time, even finding an extra minute to finish Sam’s half complete fire pit in-between the three tents. When the final stake hammering, and tie down knotting had been successfully achieved Sam stepped back to admire their handiwork.
The tents had been arranged in an imperfect circular fashion around the fire pit, with the largest facing towards the lake, and the smaller two angled opposite of it. There was more than enough space for all of them in just one, but Sam saw no harm in the extra privacy if someone wanted it. Duncan could take up an entire tent on his own if he stretched out after all. Meanwhile, unnoticed by Samuel the chocolate lab Jake sat still for once, staring attentively off into the forest, where the trees grew thickest by the lake. The dog whined softly, perking his ears forward, as if something unheard was calling his name far away. His large pink tongue lagged out of his jowls and his doleful eyes scanned the horizon like a sentry on post.
“Let’s throw our bags in the tents for right now.” Sam was saying, he dug around inside the crate full of food, showing the many canvas bags and ropes to the others. “You’ve seen these before right Rob? Bear bags, to throw into the trees in case any sniff out our food and come along for a taste. You and the Dunk can probably get them up where they need to be. I made sure to color code them so we always knew what we were getting.” Sam picked up a green bag and rope, twirling it like a cowboy would a lasso. Cans clunked inside, and it sounded like something squelched. “Canned food and pudding packets, hmm. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to put those two together… Oh well, c’mon this tree looks high enough, we’ll line them up there along that branch.” Stepping clear so that the two teenagers to could do this final task, (mostly to ensure he wasn’t struck by a wayward bear bag) Sam winked slyly at the girls. Pulling his button-down shirt off over his head and tossing it into one of the tents, Sam snatched up the fishing poles, scampering barefoot down the grassy slope towards the lake, yelling animatedly over his shoulders at the others.
“Haha, last one to the water is a dried up booger. WHOOP, WOOT!”
Relief and happiness at Eddie’s lighthearted reassurances brought a warm glow back to Tonya’s heart and she returned the friendly embrace before stepping away, slinging her backpack onto her shoulders. The atmosphere felt better somehow, as if this one reinforcement made the day just good enough to be happy. Sure there was her detention for the next week, and her father’s unbearable disappointment, and a relationship to try and amend with Bella, but Tonya was grateful for at least this breakthrough. A rustle on Eddie’s shoulder drew her gaze and she watched as the tiny eagle kwami climbed out of hiding, perching himself in plain view. His beedy black eyes stared back at her adamantly, as if he expected something to happen. Tonya winked, giving the bird a slight smile.
“I don’t remember all too well.” She admitted, returning her attention back to Eddie, the smile fading ever so slightly. “Everything’s kind of fuzzy from then, as if was weeks ago, even though it was only a few hours back. Strange, probably because I was still a bit loopy from that gas.” She shrugged, taking another step away and looking back over her shoulder. Her father was waiting at home, and it was probably best not to keep him that way for too much longer. “I better get going.” She explained, walking with Eddie out of the school doors. The stairs were abandoned now, with only the janitor remaining inside the school to lock up for the evening. Long shadows left the concrete steps shaded, casting a mysterious air in the late afternoon. Peaceful and quiet, nothing like the noisy bustle where she'd yelled hours before. “I do remember something though,” she paused feeling and looking nervous but excited and anxious, all at the same time. “You called me cute, that time back at the mall. I thought you were just Talon then. Remember? Right after you helped me escape Mr. Johnson. And then when I was blinded back at the Lounge, you helped me get out, and stuck by me no matter what. I guess, that shows you’ve always really cared...”
Knowing she could only act once, and at that moment Tonya took a chance. There on the steps of the school, unsure of what she was doing or why Tonya stepped in close to Eddie, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Her face flushing red at the unprecedented act, she hurried away from him, looking back only to wave and call out. “See you tomorrow Ed.” Before running down the street back to her home and father.
“I don’t remember all too well.” She admitted, returning her attention back to Eddie, the smile fading ever so slightly. “Everything’s kind of fuzzy from then, as if was weeks ago, even though it was only a few hours back. Strange, probably because I was still a bit loopy from that gas.” She shrugged, taking another step away and looking back over her shoulder. Her father was waiting at home, and it was probably best not to keep him that way for too much longer. “I better get going.” She explained, walking with Eddie out of the school doors. The stairs were abandoned now, with only the janitor remaining inside the school to lock up for the evening. Long shadows left the concrete steps shaded, casting a mysterious air in the late afternoon. Peaceful and quiet, nothing like the noisy bustle where she'd yelled hours before. “I do remember something though,” she paused feeling and looking nervous but excited and anxious, all at the same time. “You called me cute, that time back at the mall. I thought you were just Talon then. Remember? Right after you helped me escape Mr. Johnson. And then when I was blinded back at the Lounge, you helped me get out, and stuck by me no matter what. I guess, that shows you’ve always really cared...”
Knowing she could only act once, and at that moment Tonya took a chance. There on the steps of the school, unsure of what she was doing or why Tonya stepped in close to Eddie, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Her face flushing red at the unprecedented act, she hurried away from him, looking back only to wave and call out. “See you tomorrow Ed.” Before running down the street back to her home and father.
Reaching back Tonya brushed the sleeping serpent’s head gently, feeling the tiny forked tongue flicker out, brushing against her finger. “He’s fine, exhausted, but we all are. I’ll make sure to leave him at the stairs tomorrow so they can catch up again. Like your kwami asked. It must’ve been really lonely not having any friends to talk to, for all those years. The more I think about it, the more I realize how awful it’d be not to have any friends, or even have them angry at me. Especially over something trivial, well, not trivial but small. A mistake! They’re probably such great friends that they could forgive each other for a little mistake, they’d understand the one at fault didn’t mean it like how it sounded…” Realizing she was rambling Tonya stopped stammering taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts into complete coherent sentences. She didn’t want to mess this one up like she did with Bella. Unlike the other girls Eddie had somehow managed to stay mostly positive throughout the ordeal. Out of the four of them he seemed to have handled the previous few hours the best. Whether that was because he hadn't ended up unconscious in the hospital or something else entirely she didn't know. Now however, it was clear that something was troubling him, and Tonya couldn’t help but feel it was her fault.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I yelled at you in front of everyone at school, and how I got mad at you back at the Lounge, and for Ossar’s, uh my kwami's rebuke. You were just trying to see what I thought about Talon – you, and help out and make sure I was okay. I wasn’t being helpful, blind and all. And, I was just hoping you’d forgive me and that we could still be friends. I know Alex doesn’t want to, but I was thinking we could. Like before… You know. That’s what I was trying to say.” It felt better just saying it straight out Tonya recognized, but she still turned her face away, embarrassed, and uncertain as to what his response would be.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I yelled at you in front of everyone at school, and how I got mad at you back at the Lounge, and for Ossar’s, uh my kwami's rebuke. You were just trying to see what I thought about Talon – you, and help out and make sure I was okay. I wasn’t being helpful, blind and all. And, I was just hoping you’d forgive me and that we could still be friends. I know Alex doesn’t want to, but I was thinking we could. Like before… You know. That’s what I was trying to say.” It felt better just saying it straight out Tonya recognized, but she still turned her face away, embarrassed, and uncertain as to what his response would be.
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