Time: Evening Location: Flying above The Righteous Tern Interactions: Rue@Potter Equipment:Sword, hunting knife, a backpack with supplies, and a stoat named Raze who naps in the pocket of his vest.
“And I you, not sure I could say the same for Raze but that critter’s more suited for sneakary and thievin’ anyways.” Bowyn replied and patted the pegasus as she flew, a signal that Starfire too would be protected.
Bowyn looked a Rue as he thought about what she’d said about Zeva. If she has a family, I then feel bad. She should be back with them and not with us. It was like they were on the same page but reading from two different books. Rue held earnest concern for Zeva and those she held dear, but Bowyn could only see a young elf with family ties as a liability. Even if Zeva didn’t want to betray them, and he had doubts about that, he couldn’t see her holding up if the dark elves went after her family.
“Bardulf is not Avalian, our problems don’t have to be his, but he chooses to carry the burden. He is a good man, worth trusting anyway.” He commented on Bardulf, whose lack of family or any close ties that weren’t fellow rebels certainly eased trusting him.
“You think Luum and Bridget are a thing? They have an odd dynamic.” He asked the mostly rhetorical question aloud but hearing it spoken made it sound even more farfetched than it did in his head. “Do all secrets come to light when you’re power includes manipulating the light?”
Time: Night Location: Edge of Lover’s Lake-Roman Ceremony Interactions: Ari@Tpartywithzombi Mentions: Ana & Farim
“We won’t let your mother take freedom from you.” Callum made a bold declaration as he stood up, because right now, all of his impossible goals seemed within reach. Maybe it was the tea, it probably was the tea, but he could see it. He was Callum, ruinier of things, a force of distruction, and he was seeing how to use exactly what he was to get what he wanted.
“Know what Edin really hates? Being slighted. How mad you think he’ll get when I tell him, Dutchess Edwards doesn’t think one of his sons isn’t good enough for one of her daughters? Edin might take that personally.” There was a glint of malice in his smirk, after all wasn’t this more or less exactly what Edin told him to do? Ari was a proper noblewoman, it was courting season, he could paint this whole scenario as something that would turn Edin’s ire towards Victoria.
“I got plans, Ari, real plans and when I’m done, you’ll be free to pick whatever life you want, not stuck with what they pick. Step one, burning bridges. Bridges between houses. House Danrose, House Edwards, we can make that bridge burn.” Cal kept his voice low as he headed towards where the shaman was, a noticeable stumble to his steps. He couldn’t tell Ari all of it, not yet, but he was confident he had found another ally.
“You can see it right? How beautiful the fire is.” He asked stopping suddenly as the fire caught his attention. The way it danced and flickered as it consumed everything beneath into ash. He looked around again, spotting both the shaman with the tea and Ana and Farim as well. Cal immediately turned his back to them but kept a view of the fire and the ritual Roman and Mina preformed.
“The shaman, just over there, has tea, but I’ll wait here.”
Time: Evening Location: Gaurav Village Interactions: Phia@princess, 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.
“It is an unfortunate necessity that such extreme means of protection is needed, but nontheless, it is needed.” Cyrus replied to Phia’s comment but looked only at Menzai with a somber nod. At Menzai’s departure Cyrus and Viola followed Phia to the dinning area. There was a small pang of disappointment as Viola chose to withdrawal alone for her meal, but he simply smiled throught it. He plied his own plate with a variety of fruits and bread, avoiding the meat upon the table.
He said nothing as Phia immediately dug into her food, stabbing at her food with the handle of a spoon. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and paused to give thanks for a meal and for the forces that had brought Viola and he to Phia. As Cyrus ate his food with his hands and Phia held her spoon in a strange manner, it was all too easy to picture their mother tutting over poor table manners while wearing an exacerbated smile.
“Riverfruits,” Cyrus spoke as he picked up one of the large purple fruits from his plate, “are my favorite fruit. When I was little, if I ever had a bad day, my older brother would take me to get Riverfruit Slushes, and somehow, somehow a frozen treat used to be all it took to make things better.” He placed the fruit back on the plate. “I also like to save my favorite bite for last. How about you, Phia, a favorite fruit? A favorite food?” He asked before taking a bit from a piece of fresh bread.
Time: Evening Location: Masquerade Ball: Damien Estate Interactions: Charlotte @Princess, Fritz @JJ Doe, Mr.V (aka some rando Leo didn't really notice was there) @samreaper Daily Misfortune: An annoyingly high-pitched voice and random fits of laughter. Predictable Costume: Leo the Lion
Leo checked the time on his pocket watch, he’d wait a bit, long enough for Charlotte to talk to Hendrix about whatever it was, and then join them. He too had things to discuss and now was the perfect opportunity. In the meantime he meandered about the ballroom, occasionally lifting the lion mask to sip from the flute of champagne. He made a game of studying the costumes and trying to guess who was behind each mask. A man in a weasel mask slipped by him, dangerously close to bumping into him. What sort of man would want to be associated with an elongated rat? Certainly not a man of high caliber that was for sure.
His hand reached for the watch only to find it gone. He checked again. Had he dropped it? He looked around, retraced his path through the ballroom eyes scanning the floor. Nothing. Had he lost it? He frantically checked his pockets.
How had he lost track of something that important? His dad’s watch. His grandfather’s watch. A watch that had changed hands for multiple generations only to be lost by him.
Leo made his way to a table covered in food. He left the empty champagne flute there, emptied every pocket, and still no watch. He noticed a handful of other guests had seemingly lost something too, a thief loose in the ballroom. Of course, that made more sense. A brief wave of relief at having not been entirely responsible for the loss was canceled out by the fact that his watch was still missing.
As Leo watched the crowd momentarily, he spotted Charlotte waving him over. Perfect, who better to help him solve this crime than their freshly formed detective club! Calbert and his staff couldn’t be trusted; not only had they already proven themselves incapable of guarding the count’s home but they’d also allowed the thief inside. He grabbed the rest of his things off the table, placing them back into the correct pocket until he was left with a bracelet that wasn’t his. Leo grabbed the bracelet and headed over to where Charlotte and Fritz where and placed the item between the two.
“There is a thief wandering the ballroom, they have stolen my watch and left that in my pocket. We must solve this crime immediatly.” He didn’t bother sitting down nor did he waste time with formal greetings or an exchange of pleasantries. His thoughts now were only of his missing watch.
Time: Evening Location: Sailing aboard The Righteous Tern Interactions: Rue@Potter Equipment:Sword, hunting knife, a backpack with supplies, and a stoat named Raze who naps in the pocket of his vest.
“Luum is strange, even for an elf,” Bowyn mulled over his thoughts for a moment. “And I trust his loyalties but I wouldn’t count on him to risk his life for any of ours, not even Bardulf. I think Luum values himself over anyone else.” Bowyn’s thoughts lingered on Luum for another moment, the elf had gifted him a levitation ring. An action he couldn’t quite make sense of still. Was it just a gift, a veiled insult, or an attempt to buy loyalty? Maybe Luum just wanted him vexed trying to figure out the reason behind it. He shook his head, he’d have to figure that out later.
“But Zeva? She barely knows what she’s getting into. She might sell us all out the second things get dicey. Probably got a nice family, bright future up ahead, you think someone like that’s going to put that all at risk?” Bowyn asked, he took in deep breath of cold, briny air. Bringing Zeva into the group was yet another of Luum’s decisions he didn’t understand. “She knows what Bardulf can do, knows too much about us. We have to keep a close eye on her, can’t give her any chance to betray us.”
He felt the carefree breaths of Starfire as she followed the path of the ship. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d breathed that easy.
“The real question is, what do you make of Bridget?”
Time: Evening Location: Gaurav Village Interactions: Viola, Phia@princess, 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.
Nothing appeared to be happening besides the brief, intense, stare between Viola and Menzai, but tension clung to the air. His sister shouted out a single word, "ENOUGH!", and the vines of the Blood Rose reacted as if they were in the midst of battle.
Absentmindedly, Cyrus’ hand reached out towards a tendril of deadly vine, it had narrowly avoided impaling him, close enough his arm need not stretch to reach it. Even now it twisted to keep its thorns away from him. Of course, the Blood Rose was so intertwined with Viola that her wishes and the plant’s wishes were the same. He was no threat to them, his sister and her plant, and so the plant was careful not to harm.
If Viola held any true desire to harm Menzai the plant would’ve done so. Instead, the vines had reacted like the quills of a porcupine, an attempt to defend against and deter a threatening presence. Somehow Menzai had provoked Viola in a way Cyrus couldn’t see. Menzai was a man of many secrets and a wolf in more than just appearance.
As the wolf began to speak again Cyrus could only wonder how truthful his words were. If Menzai was at least honest about knowing who had answers for them, then he’d just have to work with the wolf until he got a clearer picture of what was going on.
“You make heavy requests and choose to refrain from explaining your reasoning for them. We are only trying to ensure your motives are not incompatible with ours. If the situation were reversed, would you not ask similar questions? Seek to understand the situation as much as you can?” Cyrus asked Menzai. He didn’t expect an answer, even before Phia showed up holding paints.
“Harm Menzai? Of course not, Phia. Viola was merely demonstrating how adapt her plant is at protecting her. Even the smallest threat and the Blood Rose reacts swiftly. Impressive isn’t it? Now a meal followed by painting, count me in.”
Time: Evening Location: River Port; Local Pokémon Center Interactions: Malachi@princess, Jun@JJ Doe, Kenia@Tae Equipment: A halberd, (lost in the forest?) hunting knife (with Jun or also lost in the forest?), and half-plate armor (left in the room).
Everything was dark.
Everything hurt.
Zion faded in and out of sleep, his dreams restless and his waking moments, brief snapshots of panic and confusion. Unfamiliar sounds and scents surrounded him, as he lay, barely able to move in a place he did not recognize.
This place smelled wrong, something sharp and bitter clung to the air. An uneasy feeling pulsed through his chest. I don’t want to here. I don’t want to be here.
He fell back asleep. He woke back up. Zion wasn’t sure how many times this happened.
Then, something familiar. A soothing voice he recognized.
Kenia?
But he wasn’t in the forest. Heavy eyelids struggled to open and once they did the light was blinding and disorienting. He couldn’t remember how he got here or where here was.
The last thing he remembered was fighting a pair of giant spiders, the burning sensation, trying to protect an elf cub. What happened after that? His arm still hurt.
He was lying somewhere soft.
Zion tried to get up, movement hurt and his arm hurt but he couldn’t get it to move.
His vision started to focus, blurry shapes in too bright room. If he was at the healing center why hadn’t they fixed his arm?
“Kenia? What happened to the elf cub?” His voice came strained, and the lion didn’t have the energy for a dozen other questions that floated around in his head.
He moved his other arm, the good one, as he tried to figure out how bad the damage was, but there was no arm. Gone. It was gone. His arm, a solid piece of him, was just gone.
His next breath was a haggard and frightened whimper. Zion held his eyes closed as a wave of nausea caused him to shiver.
“My arm is gone.” The mighty lion sounded like a confused child who’d gone outside to find his hoverboard gone. Beneath the shock was the hope that she would tell him it was just getting repaired and was soon to be returned.
Time: Night Location: Edge of Lover’s Lake-Roman Ceremony Interactions: Ari@Tpartywithzombi Mentions: Definitely not Wulfric…
“Ha! Your brother sounds like my brother, Wulfy not Auguste.” Callum couldn’t not throw that out there as Ari took another drink. He kept watching the shadow men, wondering if they could turn into giant owls.
So when Ari asked him to explain about the shoes, what he said was, “I think if I had to be a giant bird, an owl would be alright.”
… … … Wait, no, that’s not what she asked about!
“Oh and I took off my shoes and asked your mother to watch them for me. She did not like that. Went right over to Edin to complain about me and my shoes. Oh and then I told her friends she was scheming to prevent us from having nature walks. Callum explained it as well as he could, but his attention shifted from men in jackets turning into owls to his own, bare, feet.
Speaking of shoes, where had his gone? He didn’t remember taking them off. Cal gave a confused look at his bare feet. He checked to see if maybe his shoes were under his feet. They were not. “Look, right now, no shoes. Don’t even know where they went.”
Did I have shoes on before the tea? I should check there. Right! Ari wanted to get tea. Oh! I can have more tea! Should I drink more tea? The feeling of having forgotten something he should be remembering rose to the surface. He’d forgotten something, an important something, but what was it?
“Time for tea. Special tea. Hey. High tea.” Callum snickered as he stood up too quickly and found himself dizzy. He was on some sort of tea-high, it wasn’t a high he was used to but Callum had sampled enough to know that he was high on something right now. Something fantastic. This was his kind of tea.
Then he remembered he had plans for tonight that involved being sneaky and sober, both of which were states he was incapable of right now.
“I can’t have more tea.” He announced to Ari. “But we can get your tea and then, we have to look at the fire.”
Time: Evening Location: Gaurav Village Interactions: Viola@13org, Menzai@samreaper Mentions: Phia@princess 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.
“…One thing to understand about demi-wolves and us Gaurav, especially so is that we always approach things honestly."
Cyrus did not interrupt but a lone green eyebrow raised at the irony; to claim honesty while asking for the truth to be hidden.
One single question, one that may or may not be answered based on Menzai’s discretion. Hardly a sufficient trade for what Menzai asked in return. Omitting the truth felt no different from lying, and it was a big lie. One that if uncovered had the potential to drive Phia away from him, Viola, and Menzai alike.
Viola asked her question, its words all sharp edges meant to jab at Menzai. But it was honest. Without Ophelia’s memories, Phia would never know that she had parents who died protecting their children. Their other siblings, grandparents, cousins, all the family they had lost; lived on in memories kept hidden from Phia.
“This agreement ends if you try to prevent Phia from speaking with us. That will be her choice as well.” It was a detached statement, not a cold threat or firey warning, but a simple line. The family that was kept from Phia would not include Viola and him.
They would at least have Phia as a friend, the chance to know who she was now. It was a better place to be than wondering if she still lived. He had asked to find his siblings, and Avalia had provided him twofold.
Menzai offered no reason for his choice, but difficulty was present in his voice. It did not feel like a rash or selfish choice. He had to trust Menzai’s decision over his own disappointment. If this was best for Phia, he had to accept that, had to be grateful for what he had and not merely focused on what was lost.
“Should Phia’s memories begin to return on their own, would you interfere?”
Time: Night Location: Edge of Lover’s Lake-Roman Ceremony Interactions: Ari@Tpartywithzombi Mentions: Doctor “Not an owl” John@Conscripts “Found in an alley?” Callum repeated the allegation as if it were absurd. That was old news, it wasn’t like he’d done that more than once.
“Is your brother spreading rumors about me? That’s not nice.” He asked, his went from Ari, to the bottle she mentioned, then to the two men appearing at the tree line. “Whoa, creepy.” Cal whispered as he watched two shadowy figures. “Those aren’t owls.” He shook his head, they were probably here to watch the fire too. He accepted the bottle of whiskey from Ari, took a long drink, and returned it with a thank you.
“Does Drake not like me?” He let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Guess I gotta add everybody with a duck name to the list of folks who don’t like Callum.” He rambled as he tried to think of what he might’ve done to get on Drake’s bad side. “Ohhh, did he hear about the shoe thing? I made your mom very mad today.” Cal laughed again as he remembered the look on Lady Edwards’s face at the tea party. “Maybe tea makes her too jittery, but I bet you’d handle it just fine, but it is not normal tea.”
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