princess

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time:Morning
Location:Ember Grove Diner
Interactions:@13org@Ithradine

Millie leaned her head on her palms as she listened about the attack on the art exhibit. People had apparently died. She furrowed her eyebrows. If attacks were going on in this town so close to Marius, she needed to investigate it. Millie would not stand for it. She smiled sweetly at her and thanked her for the information briefly as the screws began to turn in her head. She tuned out the conversation until she heard Ylva address her again and glanced at her, returning the smile back.

"Of course Ylva. I'm here to be your friend!"She told her and patted her hand gently.

Ylva had expressed her want to see her other places and Luke also politely asked her to show her some places after their meal. She met his eyes and frowned immediately. He was acting so friendly yet in his eyes was something Millie knew all too well. She wanted to ask why but figured it was best to let him share on his own terms. Millie gave him the friendliest of smiles she could muster. This poor man must have been having a bad day. She could most certainly spare some time for him and Ylva and spend the second half of her day investigating the art exhibit. Besides, she could easily just come up with a story that would persuade Ylva gently to give more information.

"Luke, I'd love to show you some places! Both of you."Millie told him with a warm and cheerful tone. She inhaled as the food was finally brought over and she excitedly pulled over her blueberry pancakes. With a fierce and determined expression, and took her fork and knife and began going to town on them.

Millie was only a few bites in when she noticed two young women walk through the door. She fixated on them nervously, picking up on that the red-haired woman seemed to be avoiding eye contact. She frowned a little as her thoughts started to spiral a bit paranoidly. She picked up her teacup and began to pretend to drink from it as she whispered under her breath, "in mentem."

She set it down as new emotions began to tiptoe into her head. Millie first looked at Ylva. She had not been counting on intruding on her ner friends' emotions but since they were strongest by her, it was best she made sure they were satisfactory. Ylva seemed happy, but perhaps a bit suspicious of something. Her gaze made its way over to Luke.

Curious. He is not happy nor is he sad.

Millie met his eyes and gave him another smile, "How is your food?"

She made a subtle glance towards the women again but found nothing threatening from them so she turned her attention back to Lucius to pick up on his emotions as he spoke. She wanted to get as much as she could before the spell wore off.

Avalia

Time:Evening
Location: Outskirts in the trees not far from Roshmi Hall
Interactions:@Dezuel@Potter

"She needs you? Who does? Your friends? There are things you can and cannot do princess. Your friends such as Elsea are beyond any help which may be given right now, you know these words be true. Foxboy even turned into some frenzied beast."

Risa's expression broke. She had almost forgotten Elsea. Her heart was racing and now her thoughts were being pulled in three different directions. A sob almost escaped her lips. She could not stop thinking of the three of them and then seeing Dionaea that way. His words of not being able to give help were no comfort as it was all she could think about at the moment. No one deserved to be left behind, especially those she cared about. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she listened to him continue. It was easier to listen than to try to conjure her own thoughts up just yet. Elthrael continued about the importance of her living to claim the throne and how it was her destiny.

She could not find it in her heart to care about destiny at the moment if there even was such a thing. She had never been one to believe things were written in stone. Her grandfather had always said the future was a blank canvas that had not yet been painted and it could become whatever she chose it to. If that was the case, then she needed to find a way to compose herself and think without panicking. Her friends were counting on her and Elthrael just did not understand that.

"As of now Risa, I am the only one who has not abandoned you. I will not allow them to harm you. You are under my protection now."

Risa stared at him as they met eyes, her violet alighting with anger and passion. That anger was enough to bring her to some sort of sense in her despair. It had been so long since she felt this emotion that it felt like a release that had been waiting to be unleashed for many years. He asked her if she believed in destiny and narrowed her eyes, "I believe in creating my own destiny. Nothing is written in stone for me. You have abandoned me twice now, Elthrael."She started lowly, her voice rising as she spoke, "My friends have not abandoned me. I am NOT abandoning them in their time of need! What kind of queen would I be to take the throne if I run in when adversaries appear? It's one thing to become a queen, but it's another to become a queen people will follow. "

She placed her hands on his arms and began struggling to push herself up, frustrated tears dripping down her cheeks, "Elthrael. I want to work and trust with you, but I need that back! You have to understand Kyran and Dionaea I have known all my life and I have spent day and night with Elsea the last week. I am not going until I know for myself there is nothing I can do. You must have loved ones and understand how I must feel right now!" Risa was not sure if Elthrael was scared or if he maybe he knew more than she and things were truly hopeless. She knew she was weak. It was clear she was not cut for battle and she was just a stupid, little girl but she did not care. Risa was willing to fight.

"We create our own destinies, Elthrael,"Risa looked back at him again, ready to fight against even Elthrael if she needed to. She had been about to try her best at conjuring vines at some branches to stop their movement or at least slow them down. It was not her strong suit but she had been practicing lately and could have possibly pulled it off. A loud, piercing scream reached her ears, causing Risa to instinctively put her hands over them. Then, something came flying towards him from below suddenly.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Hall
Interactions:@Tae@Potter@Dezuel@13org

Malachi was not surprised to see the fiery woman, with hair as red as her flames, he had met yesterday, jumping on the table and bravely speaking out. She seemed to have nothing to lose and it was certain Avalia lucked out in receiving someone so willing for the cause. He was not happy with her revealing herself nonetheless. She could have gotten away with just posing as a rebellious light-elf; there were enough of them to go around for it to be very believable. He groaned audibly. Younger beings of all dimensions were all the same. He could not help but lean his hands on the back of his head, staring with annoyance as another human girl also jumped on the table and threw her false elf ears down too. The spirit and bravery were only admirable if it did not result in their deaths. What are you girls doing?! Oh, Solaris and Lunathea!

A large string of curse words started to go through Malachi's head as he listened to the two of them back to back unravel on top of tables without a second thought. There was nothing he could even do to stop them. He glanced down at Corvina, having had just hugged her and gave her a look that said "if you so even dare..." His eyes were stern and filled with more ferocity than he had ever displayed to her. He took a moment to then scout his surroundings. People were agreeing with the human women and seemed ready to fight. Though this would normally be a good thing, what the girls had done could not be undone: Aklenroth and his followers were surely present tonight and going to react. Absolute madness was about to unfold and no one was guaranteed to get out alive.

Corvina thankfully was not an idiot. She caught on right quick and started voicing her want to leave. He rubbed her shoulder when her voice cracked and glanced down at her. Risa's words about the humans had been echoing in his head ever since she spoke. The humans had not asked to come here and yet he had a direct hand in bringing them here in pursuit of saving the land and had not really given them much thought. Corvina was so young too and here he was, the one who had personally dragged her here to fight. Had she even caught on to him lying to her? For her sake, he hoped not. He needed her to trust him and Kenia. His thoughts went to Rei and he hoped they could even get back to him after all this. If they did not make it out of here, would Rei be all alone?

Kenia's grip on his hand pulled him out of his thoughts. He listened to her as she spoke softly. They had apparently been on the same wavelength. She voiced concern over getting separated and again tonight he had to see the fear in her beautiful eyes. Malachi bit his lip as he felt her tighten her grip on his hand and he took her other hand as well. He considered this next decision could be a mistake but who knew if they'd ever see each other again. Malachi pulled her in to kiss her on the lips gently, but not without passion. He let go of one of her hands and rubbed her cheek with his thumb, "Kenia..."His voice drew off as some old elf started talking, rudely interrupting him.

Malachi turned to glance at the balcony, glaring at him. He raised a brow as the elf spoke and then proceeded to turn into a disgusting, over-sized monstrosity of sorts that started spewing blood on people as he shifted into it. He made several different faces of disgust as it happened, but thankfully it was not too long an event. "I hate demons."He muttered.

Next, a winged demi-human started to fly into the air, crystal in air. It was surprising to see a demi-human aligned with Aklenroth, but he supposed it was fitting for her to just be an oversized insect. Malachi moved in front of Kenia and Corvina and pushed them backward. This is bad. As everyone watched the rift open, Malachi began glancing around at the exits. There was definitely some sort of barrier outside the place for them to plan the attack. They were trapped. It was very possible they were in for a battle of life or death. Another demon started peeking its head out of the rift on the ceiling, it was just as bad looking as the other smaller one but this one was just huge. Malachi stared with widened eyes for a moment but he was soon disenchanted by it when it started going on a stupid, dramatic tirade about Lilith and blood. He was glad to be reminded that demons were imbeciles like everyone else, just oversized at times. Though their size was clearly a big issue and not to be underestimated. It went to town stomping and eating someone right away. Malachi wasn't too upset as it looked to be a filthy dark elf.

To make matters worse, Malachi spotted the child that had disturbed their afternoon prior and groaned again, distracted from the giant demon for a moment. He really disliked this boy and was not surprised to find him here. His eye lit up a bit as he watched the child turn into some freakish beast as well and may have clapped his hands together if he had not been intent on holding Kenia's hand for dear life. Malachi had been on to that kid and even in this madness, he had to take the satisfaction, "Told you."

It was not a matter to linger on long as it was imperative to him that the demon not kill any humans if he could help it. He kept pulling Kenia backward with him towards a safer area as he took a moment to try to think through a plan, but it was almost impossible with all the crowds pushing at him and all the screaming. The room was in complete disarray, screams filled the air and people were banging on the windows and doors. Windows were broken only for the people to find themselves banging on barriers. Attacks were being made against the giant creature with even dark magic to Malachi's surprise.

A girl soon bumped into him and he did not make much of it until she looked up at him. He softened a little as he noticed the sadness in her eyes. It was the girl who had jumped up on the table earlier to speak after Elsea. Malachi bit his lip as her face seemed to flash into that of his wife's before his eyes as she stared up at him pleadingly, rain hitting her face and the background becoming a battle-torn elven town. She told him with blood and tears dripping down her skin just as the girl speaking to him now did:

"I want to go home."

The image and voice all snapped away as he looked back up at Kenia and then down again at the girl. His choice was to find a way out for himself, Kenia and Corvina, or to think of the others as well and stay and fight. Malachi rubbed his temples as he noticed Corvina was now missing. He glanced at Kenia, "Go after her and get Corvina out of here. If we cannot meet up again after this, then I promise I will find you at the Port. Go there. I have to stay... I put them in this situation and I have to get them out." He told her, squeezing her hand tightly, "Stay alive. Please." His voice cracked a bit and he stared at her with a degree of intensity. He let go of her hand reluctantly as the crowd seemed to liven up around them. The moment he let go of her hand had felt like a heavyweight had just crushed down on him.

He knew they would be separated at this moment either by death or distance. A tear spilled down his cheek.

Please let me find you again...

With a sigh, he knelt down and hugged the blonde human. "Just stay close to me and I'll protect you with all I have."
He could hear another girl yelling out for humans to fight. Her words were heavy as they spoke of no mercy for those who sided with him. The room was torn with battle and chaos and many had chosen to stay and fight against all odds. Malachi decided he liked the dark-haired girl speaking.

Malachi noticed then that people were now able to exit. The barriers were down. This meant Kenia, Corvina, and everyone had a good chance to get out now. He now too jumped on a table and bellowed, "The barriers are down! Everyone leave as fast as you can if you are not prepared to fight!" He moved fast to get back down to the blonde girl's side, "If you want to leave, I'll understand. Go find that blonde woman I was just with if you can. I am going to stay and try to help as many as I can." Malachi knew his actions were uncharacteristic of him. Staying was obviously the stupider option with an escape route right then but he could not pull himself from this fight.

The black wolf creature that had previously been a child went rushing past him towards another creature. Considering that thing was certainly evil, he had a feeling that the white creature may possibly be deserving of help. Apparently I have lost my mind. He thought, irritated with his sudden rush of empathy. Malachi formed a ball of light magic in his hands and thrust it toward the black fox determinedly, trying to wave over the white demon towards him as he made the move.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Morning
Location:On the road from OH HQ
Interactions:@Potter
Mentions:@13org@Ithradine@FunnyGuy

Sean had turned the music back on and Angel had a deja vu moment. The memory had proven difficult to dig up but the nostalgia had still set in. She watched him go with a pang of guilt, glancing forward again. She reminded herself it was easier this way and began to put the car back in drive. Angel had gotten so used to having no filter and just letting the most aggressive words tumble out of her mouth the moment she felt them. She just wished that after acting as such she did not feel bad about it each time. It had gotten easier with time, but she wished things could be different.

The sounds of a tummy rumbling made her remember suddenly Shay was still there that whole time. "Had to get him to go."Angel told her simply. She changed the radio station to a lighter song. It would take some time before the girls arrived at the diner, but eventually, they did, thanks to Angel probably needing to slow down.

After parking, she hopped out of the car and turned to speak to Shay, "Don't leave any lasting impressions."
Angel moved into the diner, asking for a table for two with a yawn. The waiter replied that it would be ready in a few minutes. She took some time to glance around the diner. It was not too busy this morning thankfully; there were not too many people. She noted a rather odd trio seated nearby, deciding to completely ignore their existence.

Deja Vu

_{(not my art)}

"...Take care."

An arm had reached over Angel to pick up the coffee mug on the table as the speaking male left the room. Her small legs kicked back and forth with anxiety in the air as she sat. She was still in her thanksgiving dress and mary-janes. Her frilly socks were splattered with blood. The dress was long-sleeved and covered in little flowers. Her hair was much longer than that day she had set out to eat turkey with her family, and it was in a disarray. The room was dark and cold, empty besides the two seats across a long table. Angel wouldn't know until she got older that she had been in one of Operation Humanity's interrogation rooms.

She tapped the table with her dirt-covered fingers as she waited without much knowledge of what for. The last few hours had felt like a strange dream. The child had found herself nodding yes and no after pauses to questions but she had not spoken much. The hours had felt like minutes, all a weird blur. It reminded Angel of when she went to the dentist and they put something in her gums to make her not feel the pain.

Her gaze shot up and she jumped to her feet, hurrying towards the back of the room as a tall man came in. She instinctively covered her neck with her hand and her lip quivered. Steady blue eyes glanced down at hers. His outfit had given away his high-ranking position to Angel with all its badges and fancy details. The hat was another spectacle of its own. The only comfort was that the man's black mustache reminded her of the one her father had. Still, Angel's reality had become so confusing. Was this just another monster?

"Please... Don't take it."She had found herself whispering almost inaudibly to the man.

Avalia

Time:Evening
Location: Outskirts in the trees not far from Roshmi Hall
Interactions:@Alivefalling@Dezuel
BGM:Music

Knelt down on the tree branch, Risa was as frozen and in shock of the world as one might be as they awaited their executioner. His ax would drag against the ground audibly as he approached from behind, ready to remove the head of the person in question in one sweep as the victim knelt in the dirt for all to see. Risa had never seen an execution, but at this moment, she understood what it must have felt like to kneel there, waiting for one's impending doom...

Her wide eyes were fixated downward at nothing in particular, her violet eyes lackluster and no different than that of a corpse's eyes who had been left open. She swallowed hard and painfully as she gripped the skirt of her gown with clammy hands as finally, a thought broke through her still mind:

I want some water.

It felt as if Risa had knelt there for hours and it almost felt like she had been floating the whole time. She had lost awareness of her limbs and for a moment nothing mattered. It was a sort of peace she wished she could stay in forever. There had only been a few moments in reality that had passed before someone had grabbed her after she had fallen to her knees. The minute she felt the touch of another, the panic set in.

Dionaea.

She saw Dionaea's facing when she had smiled back at her as they had run through the forest. Then she saw the young blonde girl as she kicked her legs in the river, her face reflected back in the water. She saw her face as she danced with a boy. As Dionaea studied in school. As she teased Kyran. Faces upon faces tumbled through her mind, the images getting more and more rapid in tune with her racing heart. Then she finally saw Dionaea, bloodied and lifeless. In that very moment, the reality of someone grabbing her set in and she wailed immediately, kicking backward at her attacker.

"No! Leave me go!" Risa wailed, "Please! She needs me!" She wrestled to get free, hysterically crying and beating at his arms with her fists with as much strength as she could muster, even if that wasn't a lot. If Dionaea was nearby, she could still heal her. He had to give her a chance. If she was captured or killed now, Dionaea would be hopeless. She was just hurt and if Risa could just get to her...

Then Elthrael's voice set in, though it was quite some time after he had first spoken:

"Time to fly!"

"Elthrael..."She drew off in realization, her voice still choked up as she glanced down and looked for Kyran but he was nowhere to be seen. Before, she had truly lost her trust for the moth fairy, but now she was so torn and desperate she just wanted to convince him to help her find Dionaea and Kyran. She thought she saw the dark form of something running through the woods, but it was much too big to be him. Overwhelming panic and despair filled her as she realized the people she depended on all of her life were not here in this moment. Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded, "Elthrael, please my friends need help."

Avalia

Time: Late Afternoon
Location: Roshmi Hall
Interactions:@Potter@Tae

Malachi had just pulled out a chair at the table Corvina had been seated at for Kenia to sit in when a forest background took over the wall behind them. The young fairy girl stood in the middle of the projection and started nervously speaking. She took a different route with her speech than he had suggested to her yesterday and he stressfully rubbed his temples as she spoke. It did improve as she went on. Her youth was her obvious flaw but somehow the humbleness and honesty of her words, as well as her raw emotions, carried better than whatever logical words he had advised her. She even seemed to empathize with the dark elves in her plea for peace, letting them know that fighting them wasn't what she wanted but it was what she would stand for if they would not agree. There was something brilliant about innocence and earnest. He was a bit ashamed he had forgotten the power of those things.

Little did the fairy girl know, he had set up about ten orbs all across Roshmi City. Thousands of demi-humans were perhaps crowding around them to watch. If things went the way he wanted them to, the entire city would soon be in an uproar if Risa's words were as powerful as he believed them to be. Risa probably would have objected that it would have endangered many lives to involve all of Roshmi. He feared the girl was perhaps too idealistic and trying to save too many lives in order to really push through a war. She seemed to really think that perhaps simply speaking to everyone the way she was now could convince them, but it was going to take more than that to convince the dark elves to stop what they were doing.

Then came the display of a dead blonde fairy. He quickly covered Corvina's eyes with his hands. This could not be Risa's doing. She got in the way of him killing a disgusting mosquito yesterday when they had first met. Malachi had seen a lot of horrible sights in his day so he was, fortunately, able to stomach the view enough to analyze it more than the others would be able to. The weapon of choice for the fairy's death seemed to be vines. This was certainly the work of another fairy. For something like that to be suddenly hijacked with a gruesome display prepared in advance, it had to have all been long premeditated. This meant that someone knew of their plan and have somehow been listening in yesterday despite their careful efforts, or Risa was somehow insane enough to think that was a great idea to end her speech with, though he doubted that final theory.

None of it mattered as it was clear things were escalating. The annoying light elf governor had been first to react, calling for guards and whatever else to probably make him feel like he was doing something useful. Then someone he had not been paying much attention to suddenly spoke up, proclaiming his allegiance to 'Princess Millinia' and starting a chain reaction. Indubitably, things were going the way he wanted but that also meant things were going to get a lot more dangerous. He turned to the women, "Kenia, Corvina, we have to get out of here now."

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time:Morning
Location:Ember Grove Diner
Interactions:@13org@Ithradine

Ylva's statement perked Millie's interest and she tilted her head her way. "Oh that's terrible Ylva. What happened last night? Did your store get robbed or something?" She asked her sympathetically. She had been so entranced in the drama with Marius yesterday that she had neglected to pay attention to anything else happening in Ember Grove. Maybe she could do something to help Ylva get a new job. It was a pity that she had the luck of getting a job so soon after coming to Ember Grove only to lose out on it. Her magic was not there to be wasted, after all.

Millie had also paid attention to her other new acquaintance as he spoke. The man here seemed to carry a warm and friendly demeanor. Even though she tried to see good in others, there was always a painful skepticism deep inside her that sometimes some people were too good to be true. Any time she encountered kind folk such as him, she found a small part of her wondering how much of it was real. They always seemed genuine enough. Perhaps it took one to know one.

Anyhow, the waiter came over to take their orders and Millie ordered her blueberry pancakes and some tea. There was something about the way the guy ordered coffee that reinforced her earlier minor suspicion. She reminded herself yet again she was overthinking just as she had with Marius. Millie pretended not to notice. She was surprised when he turned to her specifically and introduced himself as Luke.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Luke, and you too, Ylva. I have lived in Ember Grove all my life so if there's anything either of you need, I'd be happy to help. There's so many charming little places we have here. Ylva, maybe I could help you get a new job and if you need one too, Luke I can try to help. "

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Morning
Location:On the road from OH HQ
Interactions:@Potter@FunnyGuy@MasterDucky

Angel glanced his way as he smirked, watching as he lowered the music. Oh wow Sean. What a power move. She thought with heavy sarcasm. His next words made her roll her eyes but thankfully the sunglasses hid that. The truth was it would be a hell of a lot easier to get away with lying to someone like Sean if he could not see in her eyes. She hoped he could have imagined it anyway. "Do you hear yourself, asshole?"Angel snapped at him, not really spending much time at all thinking on her response. "I don't need to tell you shit."

Maybe the music wasn't his thing but she wasn't sure why going in her car and driving somewhere made her a wannabe rebel of sorts. It pissed her off to no end that he had chased after her to assume what she was doing and what she wanted to portray herself as. She could not care less if people thought she was a rebel or a coward. Angel knew who she was and that was that. She put her life on the line protecting and fighting for humanity yesterday only to come back to the HQ and be scolded like a runaway dog. Clearly Sean was no different since he did not bother to treat her as an equal. She was willing to throw him the small bone that perhaps Colonel Trotter positioned him as some official babysitter for all the freaky experiments. No way was she playing that game.

"Try thinking for yourself for a change then ask me again, and maybe I'll tell you all about my rebellious intention to get breakfast."

Angel moved to put the car into drive immediately only to be interrupted by Remy's voice. To her left, Remy's head hung over the top of the window, her hair falling in the view of Sean. Pizza was hanging out of her mouth that soon found its way into Angel's lap, startling her more than she'd like to admit. She picked it up off her pants and set it aside with a smile. Most people would have probably tried to stop Remy from riding off on her skateboard alone but Angel trusted Remy could handle herself more than most of the other hunters.

She watched her ride off for a moment, her smile fading as the prior situation settled back into her mind. Angel sighed, without glancing at Sean but speaking to him once more, "I'm done here." She had been about to ask him if they were done but Angel decided that her opinion was more than enough.

Avalia

Time:Evening
Location: Outskirts in the trees not far from Roshmi Hall
Interactions:@Tae@FunnyGuy@Helo@baraquiel@13org@Eviledd1984@Dezuel@dreamingflowers@Alivefalling@Potter@hide on mana

High in the trees and completely out of sight, the pink-haired fairy stood on the thick branch of a willow tree, facing a black sphere orb that was a bit above her and centered in regards to her position. It lit up her face in the darkness of the night as the crickets chirped around her as a translucent hologram of a mirror image of herself digitized in front of the orb. She swallowed hard as she stared into her own eyes and at the background of foliage behind her, her hands trembling despite their grip of her skirt. They were not too far at all out from the Roshmi Hall, but Kyran and Risa were enough into the outskirts to not get noticed. The same projection that stared back at Risa was also projected on the large windows translucently, stretching across the entire wall for all of the ball to see. The music would slow as confusion over the crowd of attendees, hushed whispers as everyone recognized the well-dressed fairy from earlier.

Hours and hours the previous day she had spent trying to write down the words to say at this moment, but it had seemed ingenuine. She had never really given a speech before despite who she was. Risa had decided there was no right way to plan it. “I am Risa Millinia. I am…”Risa began, drawing off nervously.

She could tell them how she was technically a princess, tell them how great her family was, and how educated she was growing up. That would perhaps be the better tactic in order to convince them she was worthy of being followed. She thought of Cadence and how he had treated her as an esteemed individual. It could be that just being a royal descendant was enough in a world where many still longed for the old ruling system. Her mother and father would have told her it was all in her blood if they were here at this moment.

Flashes of Dionaea’s home and her dead family members flashed through her mind, as well as Dionaea’s sickened, pale face. Memories of Jean Luc even surfaced. She sighed, fighting the urge to avert her eyes as she looked directly into the orb. “I am the reason the crops are dying here in Roshmi. The dark elves are after me for the fact that I had a hand in bringing you humans here... I-I don’t think I could ever say how truly sorry I am for that hand." Risa felt her voice choke up with guilt but kept a sturdy tone, “Humans, this is my promise to you. I will do whatever it is in my power to get you home and safe. This is not a war you asked for. Anyone else with bloodied palms should also treat them with this respect. Putting another race in danger in chasing our hope makes us as evil as the dark elves. Force no one against their will. Choose better. “

She had an urge to kick herself after that last sentence. Was she really going to call out the dark elves here and now? Though her heart began to race, something in her gut told her to keep going. She had not shook hands with this darker part of herself in many years. Risa was never one to call others out as evil or place judgments.

The truth was she was no hero nor was she fit to be a queen. That had been her brother. He would have been much more suited for this role and would have been someone worth fighting for. She could not bring herself to instill as much hope as she might have been able to before all this. Risa was a girl as lost as any of the humans. She did not know what else to do other than to be honest and hope they’d see something in that.

Nonetheless, there was a fire in her that could not be doused and she could not stop herself from continuing, her emotions leaking into her voice, “Dark elves, I call you evil for good reason. You have become the very evil that you encountered long ago when you were outcast. You spread pain and terror, and though not many have stood up to you and lived to tell the tale, all of Avalia knows of your evil! If you stopped blindly falling the biddings of a mad lich, you would realize you have become nothing more than his slaves. You’ve taken my brother, my first love, my home, and I know I’m not the only one! I know deep down you all know that none of us have deserved the pain you’ve inflicted. “

“Think about a different world where the past was no longer fueling our future. We could make a new future where you all do not have to be outcast into the freezing north ever again. You could live alongside everyone else. I know my people are not the ones who put you in your grief but I am willing to admit my ancestors sure did not stand for you. I’m sure many of us would be willing to change that and stand for you if you stand with us. We could have a world where we have leaders who represent our species again and not led by those who cannot understand our cultures and way of life.” Risa thought of the dark elf she had encountered. She was sure he was the one who had set Roshmi after her and was pulling a lot of strings even now. What was he thinking of her words now?

“But if you stand against Avalia, we will stand against you. “ Risa was not even sure how many would even stand with her, but for this to work, she had to believe it would. “ I implore anyone and everyone to fight with us. There are humans who are willing to fight for us and many more Avalians who have had enough. There are more of us than there are of them and if it takes a war to have a world we’re proud to introduce children in, then I say so be it. I came in this dress tonight to let you all know I’m not afraid. You will not threaten me into hiding and I will proudly show who I am and what I represent. My grandparents spread kindness and hope through the River Kingdom. If they are my heritage, nothing you say will make me ever hide who I am.”

The mirror image of the impassioned, teary-eyed fairy that stared back at her suddenly switched off. A new image switched on. It was at first hard to make out the image but it was clear a silhouette hung from a tree branch in a similar setting as to Risa’s background. Blonde locks of hair stained with red trickled down from a bent down head and torn fairy wings drooped with gravity Vines kept the body up and swinging gently with the breeze in an almost eerily serene way. Light began to better showcase the view both to Risa and the crowd at Roshmi Hall as Dionaea Sycamore’s hanging body was displayed for all to see. The display got worse with more attention to detail with vines crawling up her legs lacerating the skin where they had moved and gruesomely protruded through her flesh in multiple areas of her torso. Her face was the worst of all with the barbed vines piercing through where her eyes used to lie, wrapping around the skull creating a crown of thorns and causing blood to pour through the sockets down her face and from her mouth, a mass of tendril-like vines flowed out bearing Clematis blooms. A deep red ichor of blood-drenched the fairy’s once white attire. It was a work of madness displaying the lifeless corpse.

Risa screamed as she threw the orb and then unbuckled.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time:Morning
Location:Ember Grove Diner
Interactions:@13org@Ithradine@Tae

"Oh t-thank you." Millie told the girl as she handed her the coin. She had such an interesting accent that she had never heard before. She straightened back up on her feet with Ylva's help as she spoke. "My name is Emelie but you can just call me Millie. " Ylva continued to talk about her sandwich, asking Millie about her interest in it.

Millie giggled nervously, feeling a bit embarrassed. It had been weird at her to be staring at Ylva's food the way she did. Perhaps she had just been too hungry. "It does look good but I came here deadset on some pancakes. I am thinking of getting the blueberry ones." Maybe it was good her coins fell; now she had an excuse to talk to the wonderful girl.

A cheerful voice joined and Emelie glanced up as an older gentleman joined, handing her the coins. She thanked him as he offered to sit together. Emelie knew it was nice to give older folk company and immediately smiled at him, "Sure. All three of us can sit. It's always nice to eat a meal together with others." She excitedly took out her phone and texted Marius. She would sit down at Ylva's table as long as Ylva had not protested the idea. Millie quickly put her phone down as to not be rude.

(◕‿◕✿) Good morning my lovely Marius! I hope you are well and had a great breakfast. I am at the diner getting pancakes and I actually think I'm making some friends.