Jollan

Ascension 3: A return to Chaos

---

Lynn was admittedly a bit sad that her time at the festival was cut a bit short, but she knew that it was probably for the better. She couldn't help but feel worried about that boy. He looked like he was on his last leg when she found him. Maybe the malnutrition stunted his growth, making him look younger than what he was. She shook her head, she couldn't help everybody, she knew that much, but at least she was able to get him a decent meal and some coin in his pocket. That was worth more than any little trinket at a shop. She started to fall asleep where she was, leaning back a bit more on the box behind her When she heard someone walk up. It was one of Vrondi's guards, a younger one, most likely still in training.

"Ah! There you two are! I've been looking absolutely all over the castle for you!" he said as he hurriedly walked up to greet them. "I am to assume this is Cerese and you are, uuuuhhh," he looked at a folded piece of paper, "Ah, Lynn Meditrina I presume?" Lynn nodded as her staff came to her, getting up to sit on it and float down from on op of the crates. "Yes sir, is there some sort of problem?" Lynn asked a little worried about the incident at the square. "Not at all," he replied, "Cerese has been summoned by Queen Tydra to accompany the new Alliance force, you have been requested to go with her as her handler, to keep it...er, uh, her maintained ... it would seem. I was supposed to relay this message to you sooner, but neither of you were here to deliver the message, so I waited."

"Oh! well, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, that may have been my fault, but thank you!" Lynn said as she turned back to Cerese with a smile and then back to the young guard. "So are we to meet with the queen first?" she asked albeit s bit nervously. "Not quite, as they are still fairly busy at the moment. Till then though, I will show you to your rooms where you will be staying. If you would follow me please." Lynn nodded and turned back to Cerese, patting on the open space on the staff again. "It beats walking." she said with a grin. Which for her was true. While she had more normal feet than most lassa, including the ones that could walk on land, her feet were still not used to it, coupled with the fact that she didn't have shoes and the ground tended to hurt her feet unless it was soft like sand or fine grass.
---

Lynn and Cerese had finally made it to their room to which Lynn jumped on the bed. "Oh my goodness this is the best bed ever! Cerese, you have to feel this!" She then sat up and got off the bed walked to the window. "And this view! Before I came here, I've never seen anything like this! Everything is so beautiful here." she said referring to the fireworks and the view. She also noticed the floor here. It was stone, but it was smooth and comfortably cool. She looked around the room and took a deep breath, soaking it all in. she rested her few pouches, jar, and staff in a corner of the room. "I'm going to go relax in the bath, would you like to come?" she asked Cerese. She waited for her answer and then started for the bath area. "Oh and remember, nobody here should be a threat... just so you know... if not I'll be sure to tell you, but for now just relax!" she said happily.

She went into the bathing room and noticed nobody else was there, but it had seemed like someone was there recently. She opened the door on the other side of the room and noticed another bath...with two men already sitting in it. "AH! Sorry!" she exclaimed as she closed the door quickly and locked it, her face beet red. "Bad door, not that way." she said as went the other way, back to the water. Allard let out a loud hearty laugh at the matter, Lynn on the other hand didn't think it was very funny and quietly slipped in to the water to relax. She left her clothes on as she didn't see a need to take them off. Especially with men just on the other side of the door. Besides, for her it was normal to be in the water with her clothes, she was just relaxing after all. "I can't tell what's nicer, Cerese, the bed or this water," she said as she made herself comfortable. Between the temperature and the scents infused in the water, it felt as if she was at one of those spas she's heard about. It almost made her drowsy... almost...

Ascension 3: A return to Chaos

COLLAB POST BETWEEN ALLARD, BLIGHT, AND KING VRONDI.

Allard waved a hand as politely as possible. "A splendid idea! I couldn't ask for a better test," he said happily, eager to begin. "I'd prefer not ta use a blade myself unless it being absolutely necessary, and if tha time comes, I have my own. I appreciate tha offer, but I am as ready now as I ever will be."

Vrondi let out a small chuckle. "Ahaha. Well I feel you may need to. Our Blighted knight's blade wont be sheathed for this test."

"I wouldn't ask fer anything less, yur majesty," Allard replied.

Garrett thought to himself for a moment, he could oblige the guest and use his own fists, or he could use his sword, it did not really matter if they would be in close quarters, either of them could be at a disadvantage to the other at a moment's notice or a snap of the fingers, or some well placed hand movements. He lined himself up with his proponent, flexing his hands forward as if readying himself for a dexterous excursion. He readied himself, holding the pommel of his weapon with his left hand, the right hand readying itself to be imbued with the arcane powers Garret had learned.

Allard nodded as he saw the knight ready himself, but not move forward. A defensive stance to start with it would seem. "Alright then." Allard said as cracked his knuckles and a few other joints. "Let's begin!" Allard shot forward, faster than what some of the nobles believed something that big should move. First he wanted to test what this man would do so a simple charge should suffice for now. When he got somewhat close, he pivoted and used his body to twist around, putting his body in motion for a heavy backfist with his right arm, aimed to push through the target instead of stopping, His left arm already drawn back and waiting to come crashing down in case the move was dodged with a duck.

The royals turned with their attention all on the duel. The Gaian royals nodded at the sight of a size similar to what was kin to their own. The Fotians however began to question in small number the familiarity of the warrior. Drums beat as they went on. Beatings from Fotian drummers who play during Arena bouts and war time.

The die was cast for the both of them, however, Garrett did not enjoy when people rolled the dice in favor of their own gambles. Gambling was a horrible sport. However, Garrett could not scold who did those, because he did a strange type gambling of his own. With the cast of Gale, and Hardening, Garrett became a rock bullet or a cannonball, shooting into the air above the abridged pit fighter. The thump of air and pressure against the composures behind him would signal his movement, nothing was better than speed and force, but also catching those he fought off guard; his armor was a blight, corrupting the minds of those he fought from knowing his true colors. With sword now in hand, Garrett would drop down with the force of his body to either crush a being other than himself, or ruin some perfectly shined flooring.

When blight came down on top of him, he lifted his left arm in the air, guarding the impact close to his elbow. Instead of using his right arm however to strike, he swooped his arm out from under garret, as if going to catch a coin, going to grab him by the legs and slam him into the ground, tossing him to the side afterwords.

Momentum and Reflexes were key in any situation, Garrett knew this. He had to adjust his course in mid air to stand any chance of not taking much of any damage from this encounter, and to do so, he had to make opposite, pushing force in other directions; the direction he would take would be to throw his sword downwards at a curve in front of his opponent, in doing so, he planned to land behind the man with a crushing blow with his fists, or, ruin the castle floors like a good knight should.

Allard took the blow to his back, the blow would feel like hitting a solid wall of muscle, while stepping forward to mitigate some of the damage it could cause, he used the movement of this stance change, however, to lean forward and kick back with his other leg, shooting out like a cannon aimed right for Bilght. After the kick, he would roll to the side and take up a stance once more.

Garrett hated kicking, he believed it was the last resort in fighting, however, anything can be used to win a fight, or a war, in the eyes of the combatants. He believed the doctrine of impromptu utilization was admirable. But a rock, must roll. Roll, it did. Garret would make his departure from following up in the momentum to make sure he was not kicked by a mountain of muscle, a mountain made of rock does not wish to crumble by the force of man; A roll would suffice, like the knights of old. He would need to watch his opponent from the initial encounter given, but he did not wish to give him any leeway to recover, as soon as he was away from the reach of his leg, he would go for a charging assault straight towards Allard, but not without making sure his sword was within reach to recover. Submission was the only option for either of them.

The royals seemed pleased by the ongoing bout. Vrondi stood at the end of the stage. Floating with his arms crossed as if observing intently. But his face only held a bit of admiration. He too it seemed was entertained by this show.

When Allard landed from his roll, he saw that the knight was already charging in. he used the momentum of rising to leap forward to meet him, cracking the tile underneath him from the pressure and bringing down a heavy left fist over Blight.

The Blighted Knight did not back down from this challenge, in fact, he wanted this to happen, as if he had noticed that the dice had been weighted to land on a certain set of numbers. All he needed was more force to push his opponent back, a boulder does not stop for stationary objects or lighter forces acting against it. Ruined floors meant nothing in the heat of battle, in fact, more flooring would be ruined in the seconds to come. Garrett would propel himself again, not upwards, but forwards, another thud of air being acted against, as the increased rock-skinned armor-clad Knight barreled towards Allard, fists ready to clock the man a few centuries back.

Allard slammed down into Blight with a hamming blow from his left, bearing into the ground, with an uppercut from his right ready to follow through. Allard face was still that of one having fun, as it was, he was having a blast.

No man would be sane enough to leave themselves open like this. Garrett did not stop himself, in fact, it only made him mad that somebody would try such an attempt to incapacitate him. He continued to close the distance, making grand strides in order to connect his rocked fists against Allard's face. Following through with this, he would need to take this man to the ground. He did not want him moving anywhere, and even the greatest of chest players knew when to call it early.

As Allard's attack stuck home, creating an indention in the ground, he noticed that the man had guarded it, which was quite impressive. Allard felt that it was a skill that the man used, as no man at that size has even stopped such a blow. Allard noticed that the man seemed to direct the attack to the side and move in for a strike to his face, which struck home. Gritting through it, he snatched Blight out of the air with his right arm. it was time to scale this up a bit. "I AM INVINCIBLE! MY SHADOW SKILL IS UNMATCHED!" He slammed Blight into the ground as he recited an old chant. "THE POWER OF MY BLOW HAS NO EQUAL!" His left first started to glow as he raised it to strike. "HAMMER OF THE GODS!" He brought down the punch right on top of where he had Blight.

As the fist of Allard swelled with a immense energy a voice rang through their minds. "Enough." The voice of Vrondi said. A hand gripping the fist before it flexed to come crashing down. Allard would surprised. His arm would not be able to move effectively with the warm glowing hand of Vrondi holding it back by the forearm. With a single arm of his. He was turned half way, not facing them but his head was turned to look down at them. He was smiling.

Allard looked back up at the king with a jolly laugh, "Sorry about tha mess. You have quite tha fighter in this man here!" He stood up and extended a hand to Blight to help lift him up if he accepted it. "I could barely geta hand on ya!" he said, directed to Blight.

Garrett grabbed the hand of Allard, if his helmet wasn't on, he'd be happy that there was such a great brawl in the halls of this place. He pulled himself up, releasing the arcanes that bound him to speed and strength. "Likewise. I really had to use my head there. Not a headbutt, I'm sure you'd know how to deal with that!" He shook the hand that helped him up when he was at a stable stance. "I'd like my sword as well." He pointed at a convenient place behind Allard, a rooted sword in the cracked flooring.

"Fine bout the two of you. Even without your blade you're formidable. How one like yourself ended up here working in the cellars is beyond me! Haha!" Vrondi chuckled. Pleased. While this happened a few Fotian royals spoke amongst themselves. "No doubt about it." One said. Slipping off.

Ascension 3: A return to Chaos

---

"The wine spoiled as soon as it entered this room," Dremmick replied to Garret as he followed him into the hall with the others. He didn't talk much, though he was perplexed a little by the statement made about minty candies on the pillows. Was that actually a thing? He continued until he was directed into one of the rooms, which all seemed to be connected by a large patio overlooking the town.He looked around the room and it was lavishly decorated from wall to wall with fine furniture and all the amenities someone would need while staying as a guest. He closed the door behind him and made his way to the patio, opening a glass door to access it. He took a deep breath of the fresh air as he gazed out. It was a wonderful view from up here. Dremmick could see the lights on the street as people milled about. The Fireworks were a much more attractive and vibrant display now, as the evening sky was only barely lit by a sun that had already fallen over the horizon. It nearly had Dremmick forget about his worries for a moment. He honestly wished that he could one day find a place with a view like this and not have to worry about the things that seemed to follow him.

He reached behind himself and pulled out a small notepad and charcoal pencil, and flipping to a blank page he made a quick sketch of what he could see. When he finished he closed the notepad, storing it again and returned to his room. He had thought about taking a bath but he put the thought away. Better to do that after everyone was asleep. He did take off the leather arm guards and chest piece, leaving him with just the sleeveless white shirt, suspenders, and bandages wrapped on his right arm and right side of his body. He let his hood and muffler down and laid back on the bed. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, he tried not to fall right to sleep, but after what he has been through, it seemed to come for him within minutes.

While he slept, Dremmick's mind drifted off. He was in a town square somewhere off the Fotian border, drawing in his notepad and messing with a newly bought ring between his fingers. He looked up and saw a girl headed his way and quickly pocketed the ring while still making it look like he was drawing. The girl was a tad shorter than him with long black hair and bright blue eyes, branching horns on the side of her head, and dark blue wings tucked gently behind her. “Dremmick! I thought I would find you out here. What are you up to?” Dremmick looked surprised to see her, as if he had just gained control of his body. “Ciara? I...I'm just drawing the square, I found it interesting. H-how are you-” he stammered, shocked as he hadn't seen her in years, though he felt like he was just with here a few hours ago. She took his hand, “C'mon, if we don't leave now we'll be late for the mission,” she said with a smile.

A mission...wait...this is familiar....no, this is all wrong. He had to stop this. “Ciara, wait. I'm not sure about this.” Ciara let go of his hand. “Come on, this way.” she called as she turned the corner. As he turned the corner into an alley, everything changed. It seemed as if he was in a small cave now, though he didn't realize it until he finished squeezing through the narrow path. When he looked around, the only light were torches carried by himself, which he didn't remember grabbing, and the others in a group that was with him all the sudden. He started exploring the cave with them, as if everything was normal. Most the rest of the group moved on, including Caira, which he barely made out in the dim light. Somebody called Dremmick over somewhere else, but he didn't quite make it out, he just felt it. “Malcolm, do you see anything?” Dremmick called. A young man in leather armor and messily cropped hair turned around. "Yeah right down there," he said casually pointing down a hole. When Dremmick peered down, he noticed a number of dead bodies, including the girl's. “CIARA!” Dremmick yelled. He turned to look for Malcolm but he wasn't there anymore. Instead, Ciana was standing in the middle of the room, barely visible by Dremmick's lone torch with her back to him, her wings low and dragging on the floor. “Ciara...,” he started quietly. “Are you.... alright?” He got closer, hearing a voice chanting somewhere else in the darkness, a raspy hateful voice. “Let's get out of here, it isn't safe...Ciara...please.” he reached out to touch her shoulder, but she suddenly and unaturally jerked around to face him, her once blue eyes now black with red dots in the middle and an eerie smile. “YOUR SOUL IS MINE!” she screeched as a huge snake jumped from the darkness in front of her.

“CIARA!!!” Dremmick yelled out again, arm punching forward, producing a huge barbed crimson blade out in front of him destroying the dresser at the other end of the room. Dremmick was in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. It was....a nightmare. Dremmick swore bitterly as he withdrew the large wicked blade back into his arm. He got up and walked to his pack, pulling out the bandages to start wrapping his arm again. He noted that he would need to buy more soon. He looked back out through the window at the festival still going on, sure it wouldn't stop through the night. He envied those people. He only wished that he could have lead at least somewhat of a normal life. The people who wish for adventure never really think about the problems that the adventurer has endured that puts them on that path. Dremmick would trade every hardship he faced to be so carefree.

It seemed that only a short period of time has passed since he fell asleep, so Dremmick went out on the patio to get some fresh air, leaning against the rail and watching the explosion of lights in the town below.

Ascension 3: A return to Chaos

---

Allard made his way through the halls with one of the wine barrels slung over his left shoulder. He would stop and ask a member of staff for directions along the way to where he needed to take the barrel to serve the guests. While the other deliverymen left, there was a call for another keg to be brought up, so Allard volunteered to be the man to bring it up, after all, the weight was nothing to him, so it was an easy task.

Allard arrived just as Siiga was making her request, not much attention on him at the moment. He took the old barrel off of its rack and set the new one down, set with a spout ahead of time. Upon hearing Siigas request, he couldn't help but look up in surprise at what he heard, especially here of all places, and shook his head with a big grin, thinking it as a hilarious joke actually, even if it was probably not the best of times to make it. But it was when everyone drew their blades, that Allard's smile faded. He was off to the side around the serving table. out of the view of some. But seeing this display put a bitter taste in his mouth. Royals never seemed to change, ready to cut down someone for a something as small as words and even then they didn't have the guts to do it alone against one injured woman. It was pathetic.

Allard then heard the king say something he was hoping to hear, an invitation. He looked around to see if anyone would also take up the offer before stepping forward. "King Vrondi," his voice boomed with a large grin on his face, "I have no quarrel with these people, though I do find a number of your company ta be quite lacking in bravery an' honor. All drawing their swords on one injured person, even if they do have an interestin' view on humor, all the while shiverin' in their boots at tha very prospect o' dirtyin' them up. Let me volunteer in their stead. I pray I don't disappoint you even half as much as these pompous men who owe their title merely ta their father's pastime in bed."

He paid no mind if there were any Fotian nobles who recognized him here. He was in Vrondi territory, and his past life as the arena gladiator as 'The Behemoth', he wished to put far behind him. Nothing would stop him now, he had come too far.

---

Dremmick's eyes went wide at Siiga's request, even catching him off guard. "What in the blazing hell," he cursed. He noticed that a number of the royals had started reaching for their blades, including a few close to him. "Take another step forward and you will be dead before any of Vrondi's light reaches you." he said to the closest royal, who with a face of fear after seeing glowing dragon eyes stare at him from under a hood started to step back, sheathing his sword. Especially at the casualness of it, Dremmick's arms were still crossed as he leaned against the wall. He looked back over towards Siiga and Connie, noticing Mirror was among the ones who drew his blade as well. Dremmick shook his head. He listened to the large Oro man speak, which he found a little humorous. All in all though, Dremmick was ready to leave. He grew tired of the royals already.

---

Lynn was surprised by this turn of events, floating back on her staff a bit. She immediately turned to Cerese, "Cerese, do not engage. I am safe, see?" she turned back to Bonnie with a hurt look in her eyes, though she tried not to show it her finned ears betrayed her as well. "I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable. I didn't mean to-... I just wanted to explore and talk a little before having to go back." there was a bit of silence before she made a little bow. "I hope you enjoyed your meal, I hope to meet you again under better circumstances, I guess we caught each other at a bad time. It was nice meeting you though,... take care of yourself." She turned back to Cerese, "We should probably get you back over to the rest of the escort," she said, patting on the other half of the staff inviting her sit to fly with her over to the escort's staging area. She kinda hoped that the boy may follow, Glancing back once after they took off.

When they landed, She found a semi-secluded spot to sit with Cerese. She sat on a storage box with her knees up and her arms wrapped around them, her large sleeve covering most of her body.....yes, she was kinda pouting.

Ascension 3: A return to Chaos

---

Dremmick listened to the king's answer, though he wasn't too pleased by it. He knew of who he spoke of as there was really only one seer in Nero and she was jealously guarded by her king. "If you could arrange a meeting with her for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you." He gave the same small bow that more resembled a nodding of the head before he turned and walked away. Anyone close who was fairly observant could notice a bit of red at the palm of his hand on his bandaged arm from him clenching his fist. He wasn't sure what to think. Or rather, there were just too many thoughts going around in his mind at once.

He wanted answers, yes, but how much would he have to give away to get them. Memories that he has had locked away inside, not only to keep secrets from others but so that maybe one day he may forget them. There were things he has done that not even he wished to see again. Unlike someone who knew what happened, this person would delve into his own life for answers. And what of this new alliance the king talked about. He couldn't possibly go along with that. It would undermine the whole reason he has stayed hidden for so long. If he stayed in a group, he would be putting every one of them in danger. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was settled then. After he got his information, he would have to leave, that's final. He couldn't bear risking others lives, besides, he had his own goals to achieve and he wouldn't get closer to finishing them by gallivanting across the world under the king's thumb. It would be best just to leave, they were capable enough.

He rested against a wall next to the door that Garret was next to, waiting for this to be over and retire for the night. From under his hood, he noticed the odd knight, not really dressed out for the occasion one could say. He smelled of the forest, which Dremmick thought would be of use there, but couldn't quite imagine why a man would keep himself that way when in the city.

---

Lynn looked at Cerese a little surprised. "O-oh, it was nothing. It was just a simple siren song to calm them down," she replied sheepishly. "And, Cerese, I've told you before, I don't have any rank. I'm just medical staff. I don't have any serfs, he is, uh-," she stammered for a split second remembering that he didn't give her his name, "a friend! We were just having lunch, you should join us! What brings you out here, anyway? I thought you were going to stay up at the castle. Is everything alright," she asked her head slightly tilting.

Fairy Tail: We Are Family

@Keyblade87@booksmusicanime@ShadowVentus

"Wait! Don't just run off, you have no idea what's going on!" Ander called after her to no use. She just kept on running. "Dammit, lets go, make sure she doesn't get herself killed." he said as he took off after her. Terra nodded and looked to the others that were still there, "We're right behind you!"

Night School *Looking for more players*

Drake Morrison

---

Drake sighed as he recounted his time here at the school. While this was the first timestudents had been here, Drake had more time at this place than any of the students. "I've been here for three years now. When I had first turned, I was brought here early, as the people who found me knew that this place was going to be a school." Before they could talk any more the alarm went off fro them to move to the lock down rooms for the night. "I guess thats us," he stood up, taking his trey to a trashcan, "See ya later."

Drake made his way to his chamber and when the door closed he took a deep breath. When Drake was in here, instead of like the other werewolves who would just let themselves go, Drake usually tried to fight his transformation here as well. Over the three years, all he could seem to notice was it take slightly longer to transform. Maybe one day, he hopes that he will be able to restrain himself from ever changing against his will again, though it seemed like a nearly impossible task to him now, he knew that if he never tried he would never succeed. It was about an hour or so into the confinement when people began to change, and he could feel the urge to as well, but he was able to hold out a few more minutes before it hit him like a ton of bricks. The pain was just like that of when he changed earlier, except this time more aggressive. He rolled in pain as he struggled to fight it, knowing it was a losing battle but refusing to back down with out a fight. Fangs and claws were growing out as he pounded on the walls of his cell. He was so wrapped up in fight his transformation that he didn't notice the doors unlock and open as his mind slipped away into chaos. Werewolves started pouring out of their cages, fighting obviously ensued right at the start. a couple wandered into Drakes cell, but after a couple seconds came flying back out, slamming into the wall and running off to find weaker prey. Drake then emerged from his cell, hair raised and ready to fight, looking for a fight.

Drake let own his low iconic howl, one that belonged to a massive werewolf that was unlike many of the other transformed students in the lockdown chambers, catching the attention of every werewolf that was locked in this wing. The many that ran up to challenge him were effortlessly knocked around by his sheer power, their only saving grace from his rage being that there were others rushing in to take their place. It was a fight to see who was on top for this wing, and Drake was making sure he would be on top.

Ascension 3: A return to Chaos

---

Lynn noticed a bit of an uproar and looked over to see Cerese headed their way, "Cerese! Hey! What brings you down here?" She then sees the bracelet in her hand as she held it out. Her eyes went wide and ears went down as she recognized it. She looked nervous as she took the bracelet and responded, "Oh no! He didn't steal it from me! He uh," she cut off glancing over to Bonnie then back to Cerese, "lost it and then I found it and returned it to him. That was a piece of jewelry that man was trying to sell. Maybe if we get it back to him in time we can-,"

"AY, YOU OVER THERE! STOP WHERE YOU ARE!," A gaurd yelling, cutting off Lynn as he and another guards tried to make their way through the crowd to them.

"Oh no, what do we do? We can't hurt them..." She thought for a moment and then the thought stuck her. She produced a bit of water from her jar and drank it so that her vocal chords and mouth were prepped, and started to sing a simple song, this time weaving a bit of magic into her song to help calm the guards. This seemed to work fairly well as the at first irritated and angry guards instead walked up, weapons sheathed and helmets in hand, all smiles.

"Ahem, uh, sorry to bother you ladies, but a man reported that this lady with you here assaulted him and stole jewelry from him," the guard started. Lynn, playing the part very well giggled a little from behind her large sleeve, her eyes just above it as some fancier women would over a fan, "Unfortunately, he's a little right. I had just returned it a short while ago and Cerese here registered that as him stealing it from me, and went to go get it back. It was an accident, I promise." She went to hand the bracelet back to the guard. "Could you hand this back to him for me, I'd be too embarrassed to give this back to him a second time."

"No problem, Just keep you 'friend' here in check alright. We've got a lot of real thieving to keep an eye out for. Have a nice day." They both turned to walk away, putting their helmets back on, one fussing a little and the other punched him in the arm as he started laughing. "Well that went a lot better than planned," she sighed heavily, letting go of a little tension levitating a bit lower on her staff.

Fairy Tail: We Are Family

@manapool1 knock yourself out, don't mind more people! I was hoping for more replies before I went on, even if they are short ones, of people following Ris to go help Dremmick.

I guess I really do need to post for this to move it along. I planned for this to be a longer ordeal, but its going so slow I've been trying to shorten it considerably, and still not many people posting.

Ascension 3: A return to Chaos

(ooc: discord collab between Lynn and Bonnie where Bonnie starts out and each space swaps writers. It was a lot to copy so I didn't go through and check too much for punctuation and typos, and I didn't color code Lynn's speech, but if you see anything major let us know. Enjoy.)

The ankle bracelet might have been gone, but that didn't necessarily mean Lynn didn't still have the chance to get it. Unbeknownst to her, the new owner of the jewelry had his eyes squarely on her. He knew she had her eyes on it. She knew that she was willing to pay for it. And he knew she had the money for it. So why not take the chance? If nothing else, he could always fence it to one of the dozens of outlaw organizations that so infested this city. Lynn felt something tugging at her sleeve.

Lynn notices something tugging at her sleeve that pulls her attention away from the fireworks "hm?'" she turned and saw what she believed to be a young boy below her. "Oh, hello there!" she said as she floated back down to talk to the kid, still seated on her staff.

The "kid" kept his head down, face obscured by the peak of his cap. Wordlessly, he produced the ankle-bracelet from his coat and held it out

"Oh, I couldn't possibly... wait. Isn't that the one from that man's stall" she said as her eyes widened a bit "look, i appreciate the offer, but i cant buy that from you.... unless..." she thought for a moment. The kid was obviously just trying to get by, she felt like she had to do something. "how about this. We take it back to the shopkeeper, and ill buy it from him, and afterwards i'll get some food for you and give you some of what I made from singing today. It's not much but it should help you more than me!"

"No." He said laconically. "You buy it now, or it goes away"

"Twenty coins." Again, very laconic. Almost like he doesn't want her to hear his voice too much. Then again, it makes sense. He is a thief after all, and it wouldn't do much good for a thief to be recognisable

"Alright, on one condition. I take you somewhere to get some food before you go" she said as she looked in her pouch for coins. She had about forty in total, meaning tbay she wouldn't be able to but it from him

He hesitated for a second. Lynn could practically see the cogs turning in his head. On one hand, he could afford to let her see his face, lest she report him to the authorities. On the other hand, he needed to eat. Without something in his belly soon, he'd surely starve. "...fine"

Lynn's ears perked back up with a smile, "Ok, I'll be right back." she went back and returned the bracelet to the owner, explaining that she found it on the ground but no longer was able to buy it from him again. When she came back she was glad to see bonnie hadn't run off yet. "alright, how about over there at that stand? It looks tasty! Unless you had another place in mind."

Of course he stuck around. Lynn had offered him food, and from the looks of him, he damn well needed it. He was all skin and bone! Those ragged strips of cloth that only the most bitterly sarcastic individual could call clothes gave him no production from the elements whatsoever, and his skinny frame was shivering in the cool night wind. His tail, a neon turquoise colour, flitted from side to side, the only part of him that actually looked healthy. He nodded softly, unwilling to speak

"Ok, food stand it is" she brought him to the stand and ordered something forbthe both of them, leaving her with only 10 coins for travel. While they waited for the food to cook, she turned to bonnie. "So, how old are you?"

He looked away from her. Shyness? The uncomfortable shuffling of his feet said yes. "Nineteen..." He barely whispered

A look of shock came over her face when she heard his age, "W-wow, nineteen! That's only a year younger than me, and you look so young!" She leaned back on her staff as she thought about the idea of it, " You know, that must mean you will age pretty well!" The food came out and Lynn took them, handing one to Bonnie, "Here you go. A meal as promised, hope you enjoy! By the way, my name is Lynn, what's yours?"

For the first time he looked at her. And oh god, did Lynn wish he hadn't. For starters, he was emaciated. Hollow cheeks, tired eyes, and a grave expression all marred his features horrendously. What made it worse was, it was plain to see he'd actually be very cute without that. Kinda pretty, actually. Second, he was glaring like she'd just insulted his mother. For the food? Wow, sort of rude..."Too many questions"

"O-..oh...sorry," she replied, smile fading, moving stuff around on her own plate. "I didn't mean to pry..."

The little Oro turned back to his meal and pounced on the ate. He ate like an animal, using his hands to pull off chunks of food and devour them. He could do with some better table manners... And maybe a bath

Lynn wasn't sure where to go on. She had so many questions, but maybe that was the problem. Only thing she has done since she has left Tearia is ask everybody questions. Though it was only because everything was so new to her. She looked down at her plate, there were even things there that she didn't recognize which she poked experimentally at with her utensil. Maybe she should talk about herself to ease him up a bit? "This the first time I've left Tearia," she started, "I plan on traveling and seeing the world. Everything seems so strange out here, its amazing."

"Bad place to come." The boy grunted in response. His mouth was full of food.

"Well I can't say that I didn't want to see the festival, but it was kind of a forced visit. I was sent with the Queen as part of the medical back up for her escort. While they are having their banquet though, we are able to roam around and see the city. I wished I could have looked around the nature some more though."

He stopped. He looked up at you. His face turned white with anger. "Fuck the Queen." He whispered, and his tone had a dangerous hint to it

Her eyes went wide at the reaction and her finned ears flared out at his sudden angry yet quiet outburst, "Well that is quite uncalled for, not to mention ruuude! Besides, she is the reason I was able to make it to the festival in the first place." She looked back at her plate at another unfamiliar item, ". . . . . Do you know what this is?" She asked quietly.

But Bonnie wasn't listening. He rambled on. "Hoity Toity bitch steals our money and for what? So she can send our fucking men on big wars so they all die off. No money left for stopping bandits. No, when some foreigner wants to take over, it's all fucking hands on deck, but when some bastard starts taking slaves and selling whores and rolling in it, then they become a fucking noble. And they get land for it. More people for them to enslave. Is that fair, miss? That some dolled-up tart gets to tell us what we should do, drill us, diet us, treat us like cattle, just cause she came out the right royal cunt!?"

"Well....if that's the case then no, they aren't doing their duties I'd say. It isn't quite like that at home though. Sea dragons and technology are used for most work. Crime is fairly low, and not many people would try invading the sea. Our queen is selected by a trial, not blood, though I can say we don't see our Queen much as she keeps mostly to herself." She was beat red with Bonnie's choice in vocabulary, "I....I'm sorry I brought it up."

"Well, no one ever asked me who should be king..." Bonnie huffed. And like that, he had gone back into his quiet state, silently eating away

"I don't want to go back though..." she said in a low tone. "I thought of running away before the queen took us back so I could stay, but that would mean I would have to leave the infirmary behind. I'm not sure I can just do that. Not on my own."

Bonnie's pointed ears twitched a little "You're a doctor?"

Lynn nodded slowly as she lifted her hand, a strand of water flowing out of her jar forming into a small bubble that started glowing with a faint teal hue. "Mhm, I work with my mother at our infirmary, I was asked to accompany the the escort because I could breath and walk outside of water."

"That's good. Too many selfish bastards these days. Nice to see someone who cares for once." He spoke in short, quick sentences, but his tone had definetly changed somewhat. He sounded just that littlest bit warmer

"Well... I suppose I'm a little selfish. I could have stayed home and kept working but instead I've been out here, entertaining thoughts of leaving only to satisfy my own curiousity. I wish I could make a copy of myself to do both." This was obviously something she had tossed around in her mind more than once, unsure which path was the right one to take.

"It's not a bad thing to think about yourself sometimes" Bonnie murmured, having cleaned his plate out "You're important as well. You're not made of clockwork"

Lynn smiled a bit as she turned back to her food, feeling a bit better now that the conversation wasn't so hostile. "I know, but I feel like I would be letting someone down. If I had a reason to leave that would be one thing, but right now it's just my own craving to explore." She still didn't know what half the things on her plate were, and honestly wasn't as much hungry as she just wanted to make sure he ate something. Now that she saw his condition, she lost her appetite wanting to be certain he had a good meal first. "Here," she started, "You can have the rest of mine as well. I would say save it for later, but I'm not sure how well it will keep."

Hey, he wasn't gonna object to the extra food. As before, he pounced on it, devouring huge chunks Lynn wouldn't have believed someone so small would be able to stomach. Through a mouthful of food, he said "You'd let more people down if you collapsed of fuckin' exhaustion, wouldn't ye?"

"It's happened before actually. I had a person who was badly injured by a sea dragon, had a poison that had set into their body as well. It took me four days of nonstop healing. I had to use enchantments on myself just to stay up. I fell out for a week afterwards but the man survived. We were short staffed at the time so we couldn't swap out."

The boy scoffed, as though you'd proven his point "Well, there ye go then"

Lynn laughed a little at the thought, looking back at it. She was almost always tired when she was back home. "Oh, but where should I go first? I hear there are grand sights to visit all over." she thought for a minute while Bonnie was eating "Do....do you have anywhere to go besides here?"

"Lady, I'd maul a cunt to get out o' this shithole" Bonnie grunted "If you got a suggestion, I'll fucking take it"

"I don't know. If you want to leave here maybe we can bring you back with us. We could always use another hand at the infirmary."

Bonnie looked at her like she had grown another head "Ye mean travel back wi yon Queenie bitch?"

"Makes traveling easier"

"No. Nae force above or below can convince me to sit five minutes wi' a royal"

"Don't be silly, we don't sit with her, the escort is rather large. I rode with them on my staff on the way here so I could see the sights."

Bonnie snapped "I'm no going wi yer Queen Cunt, Alright!?" If Lynn looked closely, she would see... his horns and tail had turned red

Lynn went on, this time overlooking his petty anger,"But we would have to find you some equipment if you were to live there. Even with the right protective clothing, it would probably be too bothersome trying to live underwater. Even with a dry room under there, you probably wouldn't be very comfortable." she stopped for a moment realizing his mood changed again, seeing the red color in his tail and horns. Her eye went wide and she perked up, but not in fright, more like fascination. "Oh wow! You changed colors! That is so cool!"

His eyes widened as he looked back at his tail. Internally, he cursed and took a deep breath. Come on, fella, calm down. You're not in any danger here. Not yet anyway. Just calm down. Calm. Down. He let out a sigh of relief as the neon red slowly faded into yellow, then back to green. It never went back to its icy blue, though "Ye shouldnae ha' seen thon..."

Her head tilted slightly, "Oh...Well...its quite amazing either way."