Flamelord

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

While a training montage lay in her future, for now Alicia found that she was unable to leave the feast hall without being further addressed. She turned towards the figure, suddenly struck by the urge to grind her teeth without knowing why. Her first impression was disbelief that this guy could have figured out some way past the magic that was causing them to all look Christmas themed. How had he managed that?

That was when she heard the nickname, and she knew without a doubt. She'd have been more surprised were it not for the Lord of Change and their very unsubtle announcement about what they'd be doing. “Elroy," she replied with a small nod and a set face. “I see you got brought back in that game." He had been pretty definitively dead after all, at least from what she'd been told.

“Just because you're dead doesn't mean I'm letting you use that nickname," she added, fully expecting that her objection wouldn't meany anything. It wasn't like he'd stopped using it at any point prior to this. She knew to moderate her expectations where he and his twin were concerned.

Glancing back to the rest of the group, she shook her head whilst folding her arms over her chest. “Just giving some advice. I'm not really in the mood this time around, especially with most of the stuff up to this point being Christmas themed. and what has brought you suddenly plunging out of the sky in front of me?"

_{@BrokenPromise}

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Things progressed at a rapid pace, people sharply reacting to Rachel’s decree in a mostly negative manner. Not that that was a surprise, even if Dan’s dimension was not at stake. It seemed like she could have said the sky was blue and people would object to it.

Then the situation changed, resulting in a Keijo tournament for the fate of the Mirror as well as the dimension. As much as she wanted to ensure Mariette lost, this seemed like a task best left to Rachel. She seemed to have things pretty well in hand, Dan’s dimension or not.

At least someone else seemed to be getting something out of this. She turned, grinning as Kimble voiced her intention to get revenge. “Well, I’d be careful. You’re a bit different than the last time you did Keijo. She might not have experience, but don’t get overconfident.” That was what she said before rising to her feet and heading to go talk to Rachel, as she had initially said that she would.

Kimble rolled her eyes with an amused expression.
”Alright then. Good luck talking to Rachel,” she spoke as she waved goodbye to her.

Coming up to the Inquisitor, Alicia gave a small nod. “Quite the spectacle,” she observed. “I can’t say I disagree with the idea to take the Mirror. It’s more than anyone else was willing to do.” There was too much blind trust in Mariette’s supposed cleansing, and not enough caution towards Asengav in general. She could at least be glad of the proactive nature there.

Rachel was standing outside with her arms crossed, facing away from Alicia. She couldn’t see her face, but the Paladin Seraph could tell that she was absolutely livid based on her trembling. Violette was next to her, her face pale.
“...Did you know about this?” Rachel asked, her calm words seemingly strained to contain her fury.
“What kind of ludicrous, absurd, unwholesome disgrace I have been tricked into?”
She turned towards Alicia, her face red like a tomato.
“To think that they would try such an underhanded, dirty tactic...Well, I’m not going to give up! I will endure this humiliation if it means I can fulfill my holy duty and shatter that detestable artifact as well as this revolting reality.”

Alicia was taken aback when she finally reached where Rachel had positioned herself. It seemed she had figured out what Keijo was already. “I did,” Alicia confirmed with a nod. Reaching into her stuff, she produced the scrying artifact that she had been given by Beacon. Typically a scepter, it had been shifted into a small candy cane by the magic of this dimension.

Turning, she activated the magic of the artifact and used it to cut a small hole in front of them, through which they could see Alicia playing Keijo the last time she was here. “The patron here has particular….quirks.”

"Pah, don't show me such...Oh, it's you." Rachel observed the match pictured in the divination with much intent, seemingly studying her movements.
"I must be honest, I did not expect you to have an understanding of this...sport."

Alicia could appreciate the fact that Rachel had not provided any criticism of her performance that was on display. She shrugged, stepping back to stand next to Rachel so they could see unobstructed as events played out. “Necessity is the mother of invention.Ultimately it’s all about leverage and momentum. And wacky magic tricks, but what else is new?”

Rachel's eyes were on the astral feed. "I see…" She was deep in thought. "I assumed it’s all but a farce...But it seems there’s more to it than mere child’s play. Paladin Seraph, do you have a prediction of who will challenge me at the end of the demon’s tournament? Who would be the strongest and most skilled among the participants here?”

Humming in thought, Alicia glanced at the rest of the hall as she stroked her chin. “Well, I’m not sure who all intends to compete,” she noted. “But skill will probably depend on whoever’s done this before.” Mariette certainly had a wide consort of people to draw on, but she had the feeling that they’d treat it with varying degrees of seriousness. “I’d say Penny if she chooses to compete, and that girl who tried to take a shot at you before. Time magic can be a strong advantage, in lieu of Gravity.”

Rachel put a hand to her chin. "Yes, Penny seems the most likely candidate. Hmm...I suppose I could make some preparations for the labor at hand. Pal...Alicia," she corrected herself, showing surprising uncertainty. "I would appreciate it if you were to assist me with your practical experience in Keijo."

There had not been any doubt that Rachel would take this seriously, but at least she had some appreciation for what she had gotten herself into now. “I would be happy to assist,” she replied with a small bow and a smile. “If it’s alright for Kimble to come with us. She may want to get her sparring legs back before the matches begin. She wants to get some revenge on Justine, if our former ally slash enemy competes.”

“So Kimble will participate? Interesting. Of course she can spar with us. We shall strive to use our time in an efficient manner. And, Alicia...Thank you.” She offered a handshake.

There was something ironic about Keijo being the thing that would get Rachel to start working with and trusting Alicia, compared to all the other Beacon business that they got up to on a daily basis. Perhaps Dan was a bit more correct than she had previously thought when he promoted this particular sport. Though she should probably wait to see the outcome before committing to that.

For now she smiled and took Rachel’s hand in a firm shake. “You’re welcome Rachel.” With Kimble accompanying them, they could kill two birds with one stone. So long as they didn’t over exercise, it might also be a fun chance to get some karmic revenge. But not too much revenge, lest things go overboard again.

“Just let me go get Kimble and we can get started.” Once her hand was released she stepped back and turned to return to the table where Kimble was seated. All in all, that meeting had gone pretty well.

Approaching the group at the table, she was quick to address them. “Sorry to cut this short, but I need Kimble for something,” she said to those gathered there, before gesturing for Kimble to follow her. They needed to get this practice show on the road.

Kimble’s chatting ended the moment she saw Alicia, and eagerly waited for her return.
”Oh? Did something happen with Rachel?”
She asked as she followed after her to Rachel.
“Kimble, we will be sparring together for Keijo. I have received a report that you have also participated in Keijo matches previously, so I demand...request,” she again corrected herself, “That you share that expertise with us in the ring.”

Kimble was shocked, her mouth in a wide circle.
”Whoah! O-Of course, Inquisitor! I’ll do my best!”
She accepted the handshake offered to her as well, and Rachel gave an unusually warm smile...before it turned to a stern one.
“Alright, let’s get started then.”

Nodding, Alicia returned with Kimble to the other Ascendancy members. It seemed that her good mood extended further, as Rachel was also eager to seek assistance from Kimble in readying herself for the tournament. Now she was really willing to give Dan credit for his idea.

“Let’s get to it,” she agreed. Together they headed out to one of the practice areas in order to begin practicing. They’d work on Rachel’s balance, experimenting with momentum and leverage of weight. They’d test various combat techniques combined with her magic, and have her spar with Kimble a bit. A veritable training montage to ensure that both Rachel and Kimble were ready for the tournament to come.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

While Alicia was taken slightly off guard by Kimble's enthusiasm for taking some pictures while they were here, she was not about to object to it. It was probably just something she'd never really had the opportunity to do before, at a guess. it would be fun.

"I would be incredibly surprised if Penny didn't have a camera function," she observed with a small nod before her focus was drawn away by Dan's announcement. The mention of dinner caused her stomach to rumble, though it was a bit less than it would have been had she not had that hot chocolate.

Well, if that was what was going on then there didn't seem a reason to remain aloof. That said they were already in the lodge, so it wasn't much effort to step over and glance into the room that Dan had opened. "Another victory for space warping," she mused with a chuckle.

For now she'd wait and see if Penny showed up. At the very least, giving others time to arrive before heading into the feast hall was not unreasonable. Especially with the Patron already inside. She didn't want to be that particular lightning rod.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Initially welcoming of Dinah's presence, Alicia was left confused as the older girl dismissed herself and exited for some other part of the gathering. It didn't seem as though it were planned, given how the conversation had begun. Still, if she was just willing to run off like that then it must be important. Right?

"Well, see you around," Alicia called after the retreating Dinah. There was no reason to push things, so she didn't feel bad letting the conversation lapse here. There were other things to do after all.

For now she returned her attention to Kimble. That was actually the second thing she did actually. The first was getting some hot cocoa for herself, since it looked pretty good after the floor they had barely escaped. Just the sort of thing to warm ones bones after being out in a snowy wonderland.

Sipping a cinnamon infused chocolate drink, that was when she really returned her focus to Kimble. "Hm, what to do now," she mused aloud. She found her thoughts drifting momentarily to the fact that aside from Penny, most of her friends at this party were already in the room with her. A sign of those who'd left Penrose, or maybe a sign that she was becoming too reclusive for her own good. It was hard to tell.

While thinking on it, at least one related thought occurred to her. "Remind me to track down someone who has a camera here before we leave. A picture to commemorate the occasion would be a nice souvenir," she noted. It was not a full answer, but it was better than nothing.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

While things escalated elsewhere, Alicia had done her best to help FanFan. She wasn't sure it had worked, but she'd done her best. Without being an Emotion spec girl, she had to do things the old fashioned way. Somehow she had the feeling that this was not an issue that could be solved in a single conversation.

Was she thinking of FanFan, or herself? Who could tell these days?

At least Kimble pulled a smile out of her at the glowing review of their date and pseudo Christmas. "That's good." Tactfully, she refrained from discussing what her competition was. Some memories didn't need to be dragged out. Better that Kimble was enjoying it now.

Before she could go no, Dinah approached the group. It seemed that she had finished with her singing, and was now looking to join them. Alicia did have some mixed feelings, but nothing too strong. Not much had happened after their last conversation to change her opinion after all. They might as well take advantage of the moment while it was here.

"Hello Dinah," she replied with a respectful nod. "That was a nice song. I suppose you've had a lot of time to work on your singing over the years, right?" No doubt Dinah was trying to play peacemaker while they were all here, though she hadn't been paying enough attention to know if it was working or not.

_{@Ariamis@AtomicNut}

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Alicia would admit to a pang of fear as the giant blast of water came down nearby, the product of that racing towards them in a mighty wave. At least that's how she saw it anyways. Luckily for her Dan built his stuff pretty sturdy, so the sled ended up riding the water back to the lodge rather than being flipped and sunk instead. She wasn't exactly the biggest fan of a chilling dip. "Well that was exciting," she observed as the sleigh drifted to a stop.

Like Kimble she hopped off, doing her best to not splash the water too much as she stepped towards the door. "Perhaps. But the thought matters to me. At least when it's this kind of event"

Her considerations were interrupted as they spotted FanFan, and Kimble waved her over. She listened carefully as FanFan explained her woes, nodding slowly as the situation was laid out whilst her smile shifted to more of a frown. She'd known it was bad, but the Ascendancy had been pretty quiet about the whole thing. Getting news was difficult, even for her.

While Kimble went about helping, Alicia expressed her sympathies as well. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said, stepped over and laying a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "Magic isn't the be all and end all, despite the name. I've seen how strong both of you are, and I know you'll get through this."

Even as she said that, her heart burned with anger and regret. Sure, partially at Mariette and partially at the girls who had supported her, but also at herself. If she'd just fought harder, been smarter, everything might have been different....

In the end it had been her mission, her crusade. That blood was on her hands. How could she ever make it up to the others? They'd paid so high a cost, only for her to fail in the end. Though she kept up a firm exterior, inwardly her shoulders sagged beneath self inflicted blows. Personal cost she could shoulder. But to others? She did not have the same resolve.

To hide this turn of feelings, she shifted to look at Kimble, offering her a renewed smile. "So, what's the rating for our date?" she asked, mostly jokingly. Anything to distract from the tension she felt inside.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

"Thank you Dan," Alicia replied with an appreciative nod. She was glad to receive such praise from the dolphin, though some part of her wondered if he might be laying it on a bit thick. Still, it was nice that he had found something positive about each piece to present to the creator.

Glancing over, she was taken slightly aback by Tullia's initial sculpture, and all that was added to it in the following minutes. Still, she wasn't too mad about it. This was her first time doing this sort of thing, so someone being better at it wasn't much of a surprise. She refused to let it get to her.

For now she turned, and the duo made their way over to one of the empty sleighs as Kimble suggested they take one back. "Sure. That sounds like fun," Alicia agreed as she got in. They were soon underway, a picturesque snowy landscape rolling past them as Christmas songs played in her head. At least, she was pretty sure that it was in her head. You could never be too sure with Dan sometimes.

An inquisitive hum escaped as Kimble brought up another of the events that would be coming up. "I did too," she replied with a small nod. "Took me a pretty long time to figure out what to put down though. It was hard thinking of stuff that wasn't boring and practical. Which is fine, but doesn't really fit if it's supposed to be Christmas." She wondered when Dan intended to do that one in the list of proceedings. They might be waiting a while to find out the results.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Finishing up her sculpture, Alicia found that more girls had filtered in over the course of the process. All approached the ice carving with some level of zeal, and there were plenty of unique skillsets as well as designs on display. She had the feeling she would need to look through these all later to fully appreciate the sum total of the work that had been done here. But there was plenty of time for that later, even if Dan wasn't messing with the flow of time again.

A shrug followed as Kimble complimented her sculpture. "Well, I do what I can. it does feel a bit like cheating to do the orb thing, but at least it's unique." Well, it wasn't that big of a deal compared to all the other tryhards who'd probably never touched a block of ice before. In comparison her twisty thing with an orb in the middle was the model of simplicity.

Leaving aside the ice and cold, she grinned and leaned over to ruffle Kimble's hair. "I'd still be there in the time loop you know. I'd just have a more limited memory than you."

She hummed as well as the question was turned back on her, tapping her foot and surveying the cold ice. "I can think of something," she noted aloud. "Pranking Rachel, finishing the tv shows I've fallen behind on, finding old Light users in the Overcity and learning their tricks, finding out what all the bad guys are doing so I can stop them once I get out of the loop. There's a lot of things I can think to do with that sort of time."

Having said that, she glanced around the field of slowly developing ice sculptures once more. "Hm, do you want to stick around here, or shall we continue our tour? Dan will probably let us know what he thinks regardless of whether we're here or not." She didn't mind staying here, but figured she would place the offer on the table for now.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

"Alright." With Kimble having made her mind up, the duo split to make their own attempts at creating an ice sculpture. She was taken aback by the revving of a chain saw, but it didn't seem like her companion was going to cut herself with it. So it was probably fine.

Others trickled in at the same time, like a couple girls who seemed familiar. Alicia vaguely recalled one of them from the attack on Mariette's place, but she couldn't recall where she'd seen the other. Not that it mattered too much, as the girl was in and out in no time flat. Like she had said, money was a powerful motivator.

With hammer and chisel at the ready, Alicia got to work. She was more methodical and meticulous as she worked, carving and chipping away at the block. her light powers were used to aid her efforts, touching up spots and tactically melting ice to aid her carving. she didn't initially have an idea, but she soon settled on something that would place to her unique skills.

It was an interesting process, both tense and relaxing at the same time. One needed to be careful not to apply too much force, , to heat too much, lest the whole thing crack and shatter. Luckily it seemed that most people had avoided that particular outcome, though as Kimble finished it seemed that the chainsaw had hindered her carving more than she might have liked.

"He did have infinite time loops to figure it out," she agreed with a small nod as she put the finishing touches on her own statue. "Still, I'm sure Dan wouldn't mind letting you work on it if you wanted to after the party."

Stepping away, she revealed her own ice sculpture. Arches rose and looped, swirling around a central orb. But if one was impressed by that they would soon find it being added to, as she placed a small light inside of the orb. It cast out beams of radiant light from within, bent and tinted by the ice to provide a kaleidoscope. Not bad for a first time, as long as one didn't look too closely.

Hands resting on her hips, Alicia nodded in approval before stepping back over to Kimble. "So what would you do if you were stuck in a time loop?"

_@Ariamis

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Having sent off her text for the other event, Alicia proceeded to put that out of her mind. if she didn't think about it, she would not be disappointed when it didn't work out. As nice as it might have been to see Sylvia again, it wasn't like it was vital. But perhaps that was just the spectre of uncertainty haunting her. Things had changed after she had died, after all.

For now the two girls left the giant snowball fight behind as they explored the island. There was plenty to see, from Christmas trees to frozen lakes in a scenic winter wonderland. You know, the sort you'd see on a postcard or a Hallmark channel movie. It was as some would expect from Dan. The paths seemed to loop back to the lodge, but there were some methods to get over to the hills. All very convenient.

Passing by the Keijo arena, Alicia glanced over to it for a moment before her gaze returned to her companion. "It was certainly intense," she agreed with a nod. "I'd say it was unlikely, but people will do anything for money. So there'll probably be at least one match this time around."

Moving along, they came across some Snowbuns along the way. Alicia let Kimble get them first, though she'd pet them afterwards too. It was only a couple though, nothing compared to the veritable swarm they spotted Melisa with. "That event seems pretty popular," she agreed. Not that she was going to argue when it came to something cute and fluffy.

At last they arrived at a field of snow, one that had many blocks of ice collected upon it. There was also a table set up off to the side with hammers, chisels, and other tools that one might need to craft these blocks into something different than a square. "Sure. Do you want to work on one together, or should we put our skills to the test," she asked with a grin. She was more than willing to make the attempt on her own, and see whose ice carving skills were superior.

_@Ariamis