Time: Breakfast time! Location: River Port; Malachi’s mom’s house Interactions: Malachi@princess, Jun@JJ Doe, Enstille@GingerBobOh, Kenia@Tae Equipment: A halberd, (always with him) hunting knife, and half-plate armor (left in the room).
“I have not yet tried the cheesy tuna sandwich. Perhaps we can all go there for lunch!” Zion wasted no time in shoveling bite after bite of cold eggs into his mouth, and though he talked as he ate, he was careful enough not to let a morsel escape his active maw. It helped that he rarely chewed at the eggs. Table manners were not a consideration to the near wild catfolk he hailed from, and he often forgot Malachi’s frequent instance of eating with his mouth closed. Especially when he was excited and talking about food, while eating food, made him happier than a cat napping in a sun patch.
“You are an adventurer as well!” Zion’s excitement continued to build, his tail swished as fur bristled. “Yes, I can see it.” His fist slammed onto the table with enthusiasm and the dishes on the table rattled. “Or rather hear the lack of it, Kenia you walk with near-silent footsteps and I have excellent ears. Stealth is your game is it not?” He asked, further studying the way the elf carried herself. She was small, like Jun, but clearly better muscled and so the lion decided Kenia might make for an excellent teacher for the human. Jun had certainly spent all week trying to improve his stealthiness.
And it was just as Zion was thinking of the human, and loudly chowing down on bacon and breakfast sausage, that human returned. Without Malachi, who apparently had run off into the woods. Zion set the plate he was holding back down and watched Jun, his ears flattened some in mild distress.
They weren’t supposed to leave the human unsupervised. But Malachi had run away from Jun leaving the human alone. Why would he do that if it wasn’t an emergency? But Jun didn’t seem concerned. The lion's brow furrowed. Why would Malachi run in the opposite direction of breakfast? Did the elf want to get in some cardio before eating?
“Why did Malachi run into the woods?” He asked Jun. “And why would you let him go alone?” Even under the best circumstances the woods held dangerous creatures that could attack with very little warning. If Malachi had gone for a run, Zion decided it was best for him to join the elf unless Jun offered a good reason for Malachi to have gone off alone.
Time: Morning Location: Forest; Near Gaurav Village Interactions: Viola@13org, Phia@princess, Darius@FunnyGuy, Dante@Alivefalling, Menzai@samreaper Equipment: A pack with some supplies, seeds (in his pockets), a small knife, a mask that hangs from his belt, a weapon with a shifting charm that is either a sickle or a glaive, and a shield/drum with an unbreakable charm.
“Maybe, but we will explain that we are family and that our intentions are not to hurt Phia, only to make sure she is happy and to get to know her again as long she wants that as well. If he cares enough to sacrifice himself for her, he cares enough not to stand in the way of that.” Cyrus organized his thoughts aloud to his sister. The now one-armed wolf clearly cared deeply for Phia, and the rest of his pack seemed to as well, so he couldn’t imagine they would want her to believe her whole family was gone or to actively work to keep her away from them.
“Are you alright with us accompanying them to their village? I am sure Phia will return there when she is finished speaking with her friend.” Cyrus asked Viola as he watched Phia head off to speak with Menzai. So long as Viola was still comfortable venturing into the village after the unprovoked threats from the wolves, he would follow them to the village as well.
As the man Darius introduced himself, Cyrus did the same; the fairy placed a hand over his heart and bowed respectfully. “Cyrus. A pleasure to meet you Darius, and Dante as well. You both fought well, with ingenuity. We thank you for your help.” He complimented the pair but said nothing about their strange abilities. It made sense that the two were brothers, the way they argued with each other while clearly caring deeply showed their relationship without words.
“Would like help?” He asked as Darius supported the exhausted Dante. If Darius accepted, Cyrus would help support Dante as they walked back to the village of the wolves.
Time: Morning Location: Roshmi City Interactions: Rue@Potter, Bardulf@Lava Alckon, Bridgette@Tae, Mister Luum@FunnyGuy, and Zeva@Pink Khione Equipment:Sword, hunting knife, a backpack with supplies, and a stoat named Raze who naps in the pocket of his vest.
“If you do not wish for us to separate, then we will not.” Bowyn spoke softly to Rue and had only nodded his agreement at the extra attention the pegasus might draw. “We’ll just have to keep ourselves well hidden here. No magic, avoid talking to anyone unless necessary.” He whispered back to Rue. A couple of winter fairies, this far south, could draw too many looks, and without wings, it was a little easier for Bowyn to hide what he was than Rue.
“My main concern is that Zeva will turn us all over to the dark elves if given the chance, and I do not trust Luum to do everything in his power to prevent that.” Bowyn now spoke loudly enough that Zeva and Luum would have no trouble hearing. “And I also wonder how much we can trust a man who cannot even locate his staff to keep proper eyes on Bardulf.” He added, looking from Rue over Mister Luum directly as he spoke. Bowyn had no trouble voicing his distrust, it was a quality he credited with keeping himself alive after all.
“So, Bardulf, can I trust you to silence Zeva, permanently, if you suspect her of any attempt to collude with our enemies?” Bowyn addressed the human, trusting the man’s word on the matter. Bardulf had earned that trust through his willingness to work hard towards their goal, without much complaint, from the moment he’d been summoned to Avalia. If Bardulf was comfortable with the argument Luum had suggested, then Bowyn had no further argument over it. “You can think it over, let us know after lunch.” He added, gesturing to himself and to Rue, making it clear that neither he nor Rue would be leaving the human’s side if Bardulf was in any way uncomfortable with it. Bardulf’s life hung just as, if not more, perilously as Rue’s or Bowyn’s should either elf let them down.
“I bet that bakery has honey toast.” He turned his attention back to Rue, figuring the mention of a favored food would relieve some of the stress of being in such a crowded city. He then reached into his pocket to rouse the stoat he assumed was sleeping there only to find his pocket now empty.
“Raze? He called the stoat’s name, slightly confused. “Food time! He spoke the other word the stoat knew better than his own name, assuming wherever the mischievous creature had wound up, he’d come running for food.
The stoat’s head popped up out of the bag Zeva carried, his cheeks full and puffy as he fervently chewed at whatever was in his mouth in an attempt to hide the evidence. A pair of beady eye’s looked innocently from Bowyn to Rue as Raze continued his chewing. Raze licked his mouth and front paws once his mouth was again empty. “Food?” The stoat repeated the word with unmatchable enthusiasm. “Food, where?”
“You just ate.” Bowyn accused the not quite a pet.
“No.” Raze insisted. Then the stoat’s head disappeared back into Zeva’s bag only to pop back up a moment later with an ama between his teeth. “Found shinies!” Raze insisted as if he was doing something helpful rather than stealing mouthfuls of rations.
“Well look at that Rue, we’re rich now, he’s got a whole ama for us.” Bowyn added kleptomaniac stoat to his list of things that could possibly cause trouble for them in Roshmi City.
Time: Morning Location: Papa Edin’s big important tea party! Interactions: Wulfric @Silverpaw, Mina @Tae, Alexander @FunnyGuy
Seeing Wulrfric’s enthusiasm for the situation only made Callum more irritated. Wulfy’s smug expression was like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. He chewed at his tongue to stop himself from mimicking Wulfric’s words and tone.
“And you should prioritize that charity of yours. I suggest you start by using this event to identify potential backers.”
“Yeah, well maybe I will.” He mumbled and rolled his eyes at his brother. Then Wulfric had the nerve to imply Cal was a liar before walking off. So maybe he lied sometimes, when he had to, but there were far worse things to be than a liar. He hadn’t interfered with Wulfric’s little investigation, and here was Wulfric interfering with Callum’s plan. The whole point was to make Edin foot the bill for this. If his family could afford to pay for all sorts of expensive grand events they could certainly pay to ensure their people were fed.
Now Callum would have to talk to people, people he wasn’t used to talking to, in order to make sure this happened. It would still be worth doing, but it wasn’t how he wanted it to happen. Funny how Wulfric had nothing to say about all the bullshit that constantly flew out of Edin’s mouth.
And Edin’s response offered a slight stutter from the king, letting Cal know he’d at least thrown the man off a little. The satisfaction didn’t last long as Edin soon made another declaration. At least Callum wasn’t alone in finding Edin’s every word ridiculous, strangely enough, it seemed Leo found a great deal of humor in the king’s speech as well.
"Our dear Prince Callum has displayed extraordinary courage by pledging to abstain from alcohol."
Fat chance old man. Cal thought and offered the king only a malicious smile before turning his back on the king. He scanned the crowd, desperate for a familiar face, but caught no sign of Roman, Ari, or even Farim. He’d spoken with Violet before but she was talking to Wulfric and Callum had no desire to go over there. Ari’s brother was here, talking to Sadie and he could talk to them but they seemed busy, maybe even flirting, and he didn’t want to interrupt. So while he wanted to just pace around and wait for someone he sort of knew to talk to, he ended up approaching Mina and a man he didn’t recognize even though they too seemed wrapped up in a private conversation. He carried two plates of Ezra’s cake as an awkward icebreaker.
“Good morning, can I interest either of you in some cake made by the skilled hands of my favorite baker?” Callum asked, offering up the plates. The new plan; offer cake, ask people to back his charity plans, and then get out of this tea party as soon as possible.
Time: Morning Location: Edin’s Tea Party Interactions: Daily Misfortune: An annoyingly high-pitched voice and random fits of laughter.
Leo, who had long since mastered the art of blending in, stood in the company of a small group of very chatty nobles. It was easy enough to claim a sore threat and only respond with nods, head shakes, and exaggerated looks. He held a cup of tea in one hand, hoping, although he knew it to be in vain, that the hot bitter liquid was the cure for the odd condition he found himself in today.
"I-Indeed! My heart overflows with compassion for the poor and downtrodden." King Edin was speaking again, some charity event was being discussed between the king and his sons. Nothing particularly funny, not even interesting, but explosive laughter was threatening to break loose. His face slowly turned red from trying to hold it back. He sought a mouthful of tea to try and choke the laughter back down.
"My dear friends, rejoice with me, for today brings a glimmer of hope and positive change to our kingdom!"
Leo was merely lucky enough to have the good sense of turning his head away from any innocent bystanders before he sputtered the mouthful of tea out in a fit of hysterical, uncontrolled, high-pitched, laughter.
It lasted the entity of Edin’s speech and continued for several minutes before abruptly ending. His face, neck, and ear all remained a shade of bright red from the sheer embarrassment and horror at having just laughed through the speech of Caesonia’s king. It seemed attending today’s tea party had been a mistake.
“Apologies, I am not myself today.” Leo’s unfamiliar voice squeaked out his announcement after a soft clearing of his throat.
Time: Morning Location: Papa Edin’s big important tea party! Interactions: Wulfric @Silverpaw
Why was Wulfric walking over here? Callum caught sight of his brother’s movement. If anything he expected a subdued reaction of disappointment, or annoyance, from his eldest brother. Wulfric wasn’t supposed to join in.
Mind your business Wulfy. But Wulfric was not minding his own business, instead he was helping, and that was probably the most irritating thing Wulfric could do. He had only a blank stare to greet his brother with now. Doubt crept in; if Wulfric was in favor of this, had Callum made the wrong move?
I did not ask for your help. The aggravation only built. This was his supposed to his move, all on his own, and having it backed up by someone in league with Edin was ruining it.
“If you have so much energy to spare, I expect you can take charge of the very next charity, hm?”
Wulfric went too far, ruffling his hair. Callum moved to swat his brother’s hand away from his head because if they weren’t playing by ‘hands to yourself’ rules he wasn’t taking that.
The younger brother’s sluggish reflexes coupled with the elder brother’s far quicker reaction times, prevented him from making contact. Probably best not to assault the heir at a public event, no matter how annoying a brother he was.
“It would be an honor to serve the people.” He said it as cordially as possible, and he knew he couldn’t let his animosity toward Wulfric ruin what he wanted to see done. Like he couldn’t handle organizing a charity event? How hard could it even be; a bunch of people give you money, and then you give that money back to other people. Simple.
“Leaving Lady Damien’s side just to chat me up? This is exactly why you don’t have a wife yet, Wulfy.” Cal only smiled, as politely as he could, and whispered back a snide remark to his brother, who seemed to be trying to get him to back down with threats of paperwork.
Time: Breakfast time! Location: River Port; Malachi’s mom’s house Interactions: Malachi@princess, Jun@JJ Doe, Enstille@GingerBobOh, Kenia@Tae Equipment: A halberd, (always with him) hunting knife, and half-plate armor (left in the room).
Zion’s ears twitched at the sudden scream from Enstille, a confused wrinkling of lines around his eyes and forehead followed as the elf moved to chomp down on the fork while Zion still held it. Elves certainly had strange customs, but Zion only let go of the fork and patted Enstille on the shoulder.
“You are full of surprises. But not rude, and I hope I have not been either. We just agreed that onions in the eggs were a very gross addition.” Zion flashed a toothy smile, Enstille was trying not to be rude, putting far more effort into the endeavor than Malachi, and Zion was just happy to see someone else make an effort. He noticed Kenia was also picking out the onions.
“We can leave all the unwanted onions on a plate for Malachi since he wishes to repel everyone from him, this will help.” Zion suggested and his eyes moved from the two elves to the now unattended spray bottle Malachi had left behind. Zion was firmly against the spritzing of the skittish Jun, being dosed with water was a step too far, it instinctually agitated the cat. He could just hide it from Malachi…
Kenia, who he learned had multiple homes, asked about his time in River Port. "River Port is a delightful city, the sun is a constant companion here, makes for excellent weather for training. And the food, best Sarelion in all of Avalia.” Zion answered, his stomach roared at the thought of the grilled fish, he still needed to grab his breakfast. His attention returned to the spray bottle that perched perilously near a table’s edge. Without even realizing it, the lion had slowly moved closer to the bottle.
He knew he really should leave Malachi’s stuff alone but feline instinct seized hold. He lifted a mighty paw, one sift motion and the lion had swatted the spray bottle from where it sat to the floor where it skittered a path across the kitchen. Malachi’s spray bottle now lay in pieces scattered about the kitchen floor surrounded by a puddle of spilled water. Zion grinned to himself, almost as if he’d swiped a bird down from the sky. He could clean that up later, now it was time for breakfast.
"This is Malachi's neighbor," Zion told Enstille, not sure what to say about 'special circumstances', but he did know he couldn't just tell Kenia they were training a human. "I doubt Kenia wants to hear about Jun's adventurer training. The fella that ran into you earlier, he's still city-soft and we are helping him with that." Zion offered as close to the truth as he could while he built up a plate of eggs, minus the onions, and breakfast meats.
Time: Morning Location: Papa Edin’s big important tea party! Interactions: Edin @Princess Mentions: Wulfric @Silverpaw
The music of the courtyard shifted, and the entrance of the king was announced without words. Before the man himself was seen, a parade of the kingdom's most beautiful faces and highly skilled dancers proceed Edin. The young prince watched, waited, and felt anticipation run like a live current through his veins.
Cal did the last thing anyone who knew him would expect; he clapped with unbridled enthusiasm upon Edin’s big grand entrance.
“Yes, indulge in the decadence of this city’s finest confections.” Callum, rather loudly, spoke up, building off the king’s words. He continued the performative applause as he paced around the king and his knights in a wide circle, weaving through tables.
“What a delightful kingdom, what an exquisite king.” He added and abruptly stopped clapping. He felt his eldest brother’s eyes burning through him from the moment Cal had spat air through the trumpet, so when his pacing brought him close to his brother’s table, he offered a twisted smile. He doubted even Wulfric could guess his plan for this event.
“And as we all indulge, let’s remember that in a kingdom that so easily offers every extravagance and comfort imaginable, we still have so many who can’t afford bread, let alone cakes.” Cal glanced around at not only Sorian’s but the world’s most fortunate people. He forced himself to smile as he continued on with his performance.
“But what a generous king we have, and my heart swells to announce that my father is here to make a commitment to feeding Caesonia’s people. A commitment to fund stalls that will feed people free of charge, and to make events like Pancakes in the Park a more permanent feature. A weekly event, where one of the city’s masters of the culinary arts will feature their most extravagant dishes for the public, free of charge, so that every Caesonian will have the chance to indulge with us. In all of history, never has a king’s generosity matched what His Royal Majesty has envisioned. Please, a round of applause for such a noble king.”
Callum attempted to back Edin into a corner. The prince left the king with few options; sure Edin could go right ahead and call Cal a liar, show the world that every nice thing Callum had just said about his father was a lie, and let the world see a glimpse of the true Edin. Or the king could embrace the lie Cal had told, accept the applause and reputation boost Callum had offered up. Either option was one Cal could use, but a public agreement from Edin to do more to feed the people, was worth not only the performance but the foul taste of making false claims of generosity on his father's behalf.
Cal was almost certain Edin would choose a lie that stroked the ego over truth any day.
Callum then looked directly into Edin’s eyes and felt not even a hint of the fear that used to bubble up. The fear was gone, only hatred remained. “Sincerest apologies for the early announcement, but this just felt like the perfect moment, and now all these wonderful people can better celebrate your kind spirit.” Callum bowed and smiled as he waited for Edin’s response, but nothing in the young prince’s eyes matched his tone. There was only hate as he met Edin’s eyes, and an attempt to stare at the king with the somber and disapproving expression Cal often saw in portraits of George.
Time: Morning Location: Forest; Near Gaurav Village Interactions: Viola@13org, Phia@princess, Darius@FunnyGuy, Dante@Alivefalling, Menzai@samreaper Equipment: A pack with some supplies, seeds (in his pockets), a small knife, a mask that hangs from his belt, a weapon with a shifting charm that is either a sickle or a glaive, and a shield/drum with an unbreakable charm.
“We will not be prisoners.” Cyrus nodded his absolute agreement toward Viola. It seemed likely that the situation would continue to escalate, and Cyrus too would choose to fight over losing freedom. Ulysus seemed unwilling to listen to those around him until the wolf who had lost an arm spoke up. Cyrus watched as the smaller, injured, wolf commanded the larger wolf’s attention. He nodded slowly; this was good, the one they would need to talk to seemed less hostile than the rest of the demi-wolves here.
“The one who lost an arm seems to be in charge, and he is close to Ophelia,” He quietly pointed out to Viola. “When he is feeling better, I think he is the one to ask about Phia. What do think about the other two?” He looked over to Dante and Darius. “Not elves, elves don’t pull hands up from the earth, can’t make dust storm or rocks fly…” He added, but he did not ask anyone other than Viola, it didn’t seem like something that should be questioned and discussed too openly. The only thing he could think of to explain their strange magic was something that hadn’t existed on Avalia for a very long time if the old human tales were to be believed.
He studied his older sister, wondering what she thought of encountering nearly forgotten heroes from myths. He looked back at his younger sister and wondered how she’d found herself in such strange company. All that wondering, all that uncertainty brought into focus how far they’d all been pulled apart. There was once a time when he wouldn’t have needed to wonder these things, and now he would have to question a strange to better know who his own sister was.
But a couple of weeks ago he wasn’t sure he had any family left, and now Cyrus had the chance to get to know two of his sisters, so he smiled in a torn-up forest surrounded by so many broken trees.
Time: Morning Location: Southwest of Roshmi City Interactions: Rue@Potter, Bardulf@Lava Alckon, Bridgette@Tae, Mister Luum@FunnyGuy, and Zeva@Pink Khione Equipment:Sword, hunting knife, a backpack with supplies, and a stoat named Raze who naps in the pocket of his vest.
With a deep sigh and an eye roll that he didn’t bother to hide, Bowyn only watched Luum continue trying to sell that this was all just one big heroic adventure. If Zeva bought it, that was her problem. Either way, the only thing Bowyn was making his problem, was ensuring Zeva didn’t sell them out the second they stepped foot in Roshmi City. Heading into such a highly populated city was already enough to set him on edge; too many dark elves there and at least half of their party had bounties on their heads, not to mention the human.
Bowyn looked from Luum, who had offered to train Zeva in light magic, to Zeva who declined the offer. He looked as if he had something to say about that, but only made a disapproving grunt before heading back over to Rue and Bardulf. If he’d seen anything in Zeva worth calling an ally it had vanished. If the young elf truly grasped the severity of what they faced she would not turn down strengthening her arsenal so quickly. Luum had invented her, so Luum could play babysitter.
The rest of the walk to Roshmi was uneventful, and soon the eyesore that was a large statue of Zanithel cast its oppressive shadow over the group. “A majestic lion or steadfast turtle would be an improvement over that ugly mug.” He muttered, eyeing the statue. As Mister Luum suggested splitting up he turned to Rue and dropped his voice to a whisper. “If we’re splitting up, at least one of us should keep an eye on Zeva.” There was no guarantee she wouldn’t turn them all in the first chance she got and it wasn’t worth the risk.
Bowyn lifted the hood of his cloak to better hide his own face as Bardulf voiced his concern. “Hood up, head down. Keep those weird ears hidden and act like your better than everyone, most folks should just assume you’re an elf. You might be able to snag a cheap disguise ring on the black market too.” He advised the human, but Bowyn didn’t sound entirely confident. It seemed too big a risk to send the human into a large, heavily occupied city just for a day of shopping and lounging around.
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