princess

Avalia

Time:Evening
Location:River Kingdom

“No, no… Guess again!” Laughter followed his words as he hopped up to his feet. The laughter sent chills through her bones. “I am the one, the only...Helio Millinia!” He got to his feet and spread his arms out as if introducing himself to a crowd at a show, bellowing the words into the night. With the grin on his face, he glanced back down with her as he relaxed his position, “But immensely improved and dare I say, smarter.” He roughly took her chin in his hands and forced her upward, holding her weakened body up. Healing wounds as bad as the one she had was essentially paralyzing. Dread filled her as she realized that Helio had known this would be the result of his actions.

“I’m smart enough to know you’re the same little brat who wanted me to take all the responsibility and cater to your every demand; just like mother and father did. Everyone always expected me to carry the weight. It seems like you got a taste of your own medicine.” His words were venomous and pure hatred carried each one as he roughly let go of her chin and let her fall back into the grass. His mood returned to a calmer one as he spoke with a smile, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown, little bear."

Risa could only stare with horror as she whispered sadly, “What did they do to you?” She had never known he felt that way, but thinking back, their parents had expected a lot out of the two siblings. It would make sense for him to feel some resentment but not to this degree. The Helio she knew would have never tried to blame her.

Helio responded with a blunt kick to her face, laughing like a giddy child at the cry of pain she emitted in response. She curled up to try to shield her body in response but it was futile. Helio left her no room to react or speak. He kicked her again a few times in the stomach, Each kick seemed to flash the world black for a moment and she never got used to each jolt of pain.

"This." He told her, stopping finally. "Tortured me. Like you couldn't imagine and for months."

Risa's eyes watered and she struggled to sit up to take his hand and he swatted it away and continued, "They put me in a big tube filled with dark elven magic. Think I was snoozing in there for some time before they let me out. Aklenroth was so proud of me Risa. Prouder than you'd ever see father. You see, he had created a dark fairy, proved it possible that fairies could be turned dark just like elves can. However, he didn't trust me. I was such a passionate man. Took them longer than any of the other fairies to finally break." He was casual with his words as if it was just a conversation over tea. He knelt down, patting her head, I had to prove myself to no longer be the avid enthusiast of rebellion, so I came here and murdered your boyfriend just a couple years back."

He watched her eyes dilate and smiled. "Don't worry. I took my time and got to know him. He took a really long time to die. I wonder how long your new one will take to die. He applauded himself after his statement, "I've been waiting so long to tell you that!"

The mix of emotions Risa was feeling would have been overwhelming if she hadn't felt almost numb from weakness and pain. Still, the anger must have been visible in his eyes because he clicked his tongue.

"There it is. Do you hate me now, Risa?" He shook his head, pacing for a moment before turning to her and exploding on a random tirade, “I’m the soldier, right!? So I should put my life on the line while you sneak away with a low-life demi-human. That’s why you were so thankful I’m back right? So I can take the heat for you as always!? Come save you!?” His voice was loud and filled with fury, yet he was still smiling. Crazed, intermittent laughs would uncontrollably interrupt him as he spoke. The fury melted away as soon as it came and he looked down at her, clearly disappointed she wasn't given much audible reaction now.

Risa had been on and off struggling to get up and fly while he was rambling like a mad man. He frowned and kicked her again.

"I'm bored, but I don't want to kill you yet. Too many fun games for us to play."Helio thoughtfully glanced at the grave again and gasped, "Let’s dig up his corpse, and maybe you can watch the worms crawl through his skeleton, eating away any last bits of flesh they can find.”

Risa could not believe what she was hearing. She could only stare as he raised his arms toward the ground in front of the grave. Dark energy began to blast from his hands just as she had seen dark elves do into the dirt, splattering it all over the place. She had to shut her eyes and shield her face with her arm.

After feeling another kick to her back, she suddenly felt the terrifying feeling of falling, her heart lurching. Risa tried to fly upward, only to fail and crash down into the hardwood of the casket. She tried to scramble upward but Helio flew downward and stepped on her head to keep her down as if she was nothing more than a bug. He picked her up roughly by her hair and opened the casket, flying up in the air, causing her to scream. He thrust her into the casket which sent aching through her body enough to make her moan. He punched a hole in the lid of it before closing her in. The force of the punch through the wood had not been kind and wood had chipped into her cheeks.

“There. You won’t suffocate now. Aren’t I thoughtful?” He grinned at her and tilted his head as thick vines began to slither out from the dirt and over the closed casket.

She pushed up at the lid, but it would not budge. Risa could feel the hard bones beneath her, but she was trying not to turn her head and look at them. This all felt like the worst nightmare she could have had, but the vivid pain she felt reminded her that this was all too real. The hole was around where her face was, so she could see Helio standing over the hole, smiling at his work.

“I would stick around but I got things to do. Kingdoms to take over. Humans to kill.” He winked at her as if this was all light-hearted fun, and then he was gone as quickly as he came.

Risa felt hollow inside. There was no getting out of this situation. Healing herself would drain herself of any magic she could use to free herself and trying to use chlorokinesis was already not a strong suit when she was in good health. It would have been more characteristic of her to be hopeful and think of the others she had to warn about him and of the kingdom, but the way everything had happened so fast had put her in an emotional state she hadn't dreamt to be possible.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time:Evening
Location:Operation Humanity HQ
Interactions:@FunnyGuy

Angel stared at Sean once in the truck, as if she thought she had hallucinated his words. "Wait... What? Really?"She leaned back in the seat thoughtfully. Not only was it weird that seemingly straight-edge Sean was down for something like this, but Remy's location was also so up in the air. It wasn't like Angel had been thinking this through for all this time and she totally hadn't planned to recklessly go out looking for her later tonight. Totally not at all.

Familiar music became more audible in the background of her thoughts until it distracted her enough to glance at the radio. She smirked to herself. It really was a trash song. She couldn't believe the lengths she'd go to drown out her own thoughts at times. Still, she was charmed he remembered, and seemed to be trying to get on her good side.

She addressed him again finally, "I'm guessing we don't have much to go off of, but we sure as hell owe her a shot."
Before he could reply, she added, "I've narrowed down it's nowhere good. It takes Trotter probably a minute to pull up our locations on the map. If he didn't tell us immediately, it's because he doesn't want us to know."

Avalia

Time:Evening
Location:River Kingdom

"Just heal yourself, Risa! Come on. I'm right here! You're gonna be okay."Helio was gently shaking her shoulders as she struggled to remain conscious. Her brain was slow and it felt like her consciousness was slipping. Though she heard his words, it was difficult to muster the energy enough to register them. She could barely feel Helio's hands shaking hers and pressing them to her wound.

"Kyran's counting on you! I'm counting on you! Heal it, please, Risa!"

That statement managed to relight the fire in Risa enough to focus her energy into her trembling hands. She could feel the familiar sensation of her vibrating hands as mass amounts of magic emitted from them and began to soothe her pain. Her senses slowly began to come back in to focus.

Her fear remained as a thought raced into her mind. Who attacked me?

Her brother's face was looming over her. This was the first time she was able to get a good look and that was all it took to realize how horrible a mistake she had made. The passionate violet eyes she remembered were lifeless and drowning in black pools. A terrible, frightening grin stretched from ear-to-ear across his face. There was nothing warm or loving; this was the smile of a malevolent being taking pure pleasure of her pain.

“Demon…” She managed weakly.

Avalia

Time:Evening
Location:River Kingdom

Risa eventually was able to calm her crying. As soon as she did, he had let go of her and turned away to look at Cloud's grave. She took a step after him. "I'm so sorry I never came to find you, Helio. I thought..."She drew off.

Helio paused, taking a moment to crouch down while facing Cloud's grave. He said softly after a moment, "Don't be. You were a child."

All this time he was alive. But where? How?

She decided it was best to save her questions for later. They both knew she had many and if he wasn't explaining yet, it was for good reason.

Risa moved forward with the intention to kneel beside him and ask if he remembered Cloud, but excruciating agony would interrupt her before she could even start to kneel. The pain radiated from the center of her body so suddenly she couldn't process its source. She slowly looked down, her arms shaking as she managed to glance down. The end of a vine was coming out of her stomach. A large red patch started to expand fast through the center of her dress. The sight made her face pale with terror.

The vine agonizingly retracted back the way it came slowly causing her to cry out and her knees to unbuckle with its forceful withdrawal Thoughts could not make their usual journey through her mind as a painful ringing filled her ears. She was wailing now, though unaware of it.

Panicked words reached her ears but they sounded too far away at first. Finally, Helio's terrified voice dimly broke through as he yelled, “Risa! You got to heal yourself quickly! Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Helio kneeling at her side, putting his hands over her wound as he laid her down in the grass. “Hurry!”

Avalia

Skipping RISA to evening since that's when the next meaningful event happens for Risa. Do not jump ahead to interact with her please as I prefer it not interrupted :) Everyone else should stay at same time with their group.

Time:Evening -> 8pm
Location:River Kingdom

The gravestone still sat in the small opening in the forest where Risa had first sat with Cloud. The tall trees’ canopies hung over the area. Flowers of all varying colors had overgrown the patch of soil where he was buried. She had planted one every time she had visited. The moonlight illuminated the stone grave through the breaks in the branches of the trees above and the chirping of crickets filled the night air.

She had asked that Artemis meet her here tonight, but Risa had come earlier in the night, hoping to take some needed time to process everything before Artemis arrived. After leaving Vereon to cover his nightly shift at the bar, she had flown straight to this spot.

Risa’s wings fluttered as she hovered over the grass and delicately set herself on her knees near the grave. Her fingertips traced the name engraved as she stared at it longingly. Reading Cloud's name in the stone still made her heart sink. Even after all this time, she couldn't believe he was really gone. She had come here time after time to talk to his grave with the hopes he was there listening.

"Hi there Cloud. I hope you've been having a nice day in the afterlife. I hope it's okay if I talk to you..." Risa said softly and ran her hand over the top of the grave as if she was caressing a cat.

The night was still. There was no breeze at all yet Risa felt cold. Feelings buried deep began to resurface, toppling over the mountain of emotions Risa had already been struggling to carry on her back. Though she had been the one to suggest meeting Artemis here, she was starting to regret the idea. She would have to compose herself, but she wasn't so sure she could.

“I got myself in a lot of trouble. Accidentally gotten myself into a revolution. I know you'd be proud of me, but I don’t know what I’m doing." She whispered softly to the grave as if it were bending an ear to her woes. "I had to give a speech and I'm not sure if it was any good. This was all supposed to be Helio. He was...”

Risa drew off thoughtfully before finishing her sentence,“He was the soldier. The one everyone believed in. I don’t know if I can be that for them… Maybe I got in over my head and this is-…” She burst into desolate sobs as her words finished, unable to continue speaking. The dam had finally broken and there was no holding it back. As heavy as the words had become, her body did too as it slowly descended her into the flowers.

Little did she know she wasn’t alone.

“Supposed to be Helio, huh?”

Risa stiffened her crying, her eyes widening at the sudden intrusion. She slowly sat up on her elbows to face the newcomer. The voice was coming from the deep blackness of the woods. A silhouette began to form once it got close enough to for the moonlight to gently caress. The figure moved closer toward her without a sound. Risa saw a flash of red hair gleam in the moonlight as he revealed himself slowly from the shadows and it felt as if time itself had stopped. The forest had gone mute and the surroundings irrelevant. She scrambled to her feet, and then threw herself towards the male and practically fell into his body, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

A hand moved to the top of her head and carefully stroked her hair. “I told you I’m always going to find you, Risa.”

She clutched at the fabric of his black shirt. The hand kept stroking her hair for a few minutes as she continued to cry. The gentleness was nostalgic and for the first time in a long time, Risa felt safe.

Avalia

Time:Late Afternoon ~ 4pm
Location: River Kingdom, upstairs of the Pretty Flower

"I am a genius."

Vereon spun her around from his grip on her shoulders to face a glass mirror. He moved her hair from the back and over her shoulders. Looking over to the mirror, he smiled at his work. Risa's insanely long locks were cut just to the middle of her chest. Though not a short haircut, it was such a stark difference from her usual length that she looked different. The few bangs that had been cut into her hair tickled her forehead and felt bizarre to Risa. Pink hair was common enough amongst fairies and even seen in other species at times though more rare. There was no need to try to change it.

Risa tilted her head as he brushed her hair and began to put the bunch of hair on each side into braids. "Little goes a long way huh, lovey?" She was dressed in a green, long peasant dress and had been given a plain brown cape that she had left on the side of a chair for now. She looked quaint and foreign to herself, but she was grateful for its charm. Vereon bit his lip, worried by her silence and added, "I'll have a better outfit for ya tomorrow. Trust me. It will be the complete opposite of Risa Millinia! Ye won't recognize yerself."

"Thank you Vereon. You've been so sweet."Risa said finally and smiled at him. "I'll never forget your kindness. Let me make prepare some supper for us. It's the least I can do. Well, actually..." She moved to her ball gown and began to fish out a bag from a belt that was underneath it. She turned and began to dump some amas on his table, to which his eyes lit up. She gave him a good seventy amas. He went to work talking right away. As she listened, she moved into the kitchen to start using some of the ingredients to prepare a stew.

"Seriously? Ya sure? You don't have to pay me. Oh sweet alaberries." He moved over to it rapidly and looked at Risa. "Vena might finally let me take me seriously. I could buy her something so beautiful with this!" Vereon's eyes watered as his dreams came crashing down as soon as they started, reminding Risa that he had been one of the moodiest fairies she had ever met despite being one of the nicest. "Oh she after that Gurthel. Disgusting name that thing has. Says she only dates a man who is willing to fight for his people. Well, I tell ya, she'd be mighty lonely if he's off to training or at war all day wouldn't she? But I won't give up! I will win Vena's heart! Not all of us be cut out for war and death, but I sure do have my other qualities don't I?"

Risa sighed, coming over to him before he could continue and put her hands on his cheek."Vereon. Look at me."He blinked, surprised by her sudden movement, "You're a wonderful man and you will find love worthy of a heart as big as yours. If Vena's interested in Gurthel and not you, then I think you should find yourself a girl with a better head on her shoulders."She wiped his eyes gently with her thumbs and kissed his forehead as if they had been family by blood. Risa wasn't sure if all this was worth anything with so much on the line. Soon little things like romance there would just be no time for. "Truth be told, I don't know if it's even ..."She let go of his face and averted her eyes as she thought out her sentences more carefully before continuing. Her impulsivity was a habit that she needed to let go of if she was going to be of use, even in such a mundane circumstance."If you want romance, then go for it, Vereon. Life is a gift so seize the moment."

Vereon stared at her and asked, "When did ye get more mature than me?"

Risa didn't consider mature to be a good word to describe her at all. If anything, Risa felt much the opposite, as if she was too young and ignorant for the place she was in. She knew she was different now, but she also knew she was grieving and it was impossible for her to be the cheery, obnoxious girl who jumped on his couch singing and then at other times brought animals into this very apartment without permission to do so.

Somber. Drained.

And it had only been a week in.

"I best tell you everything."Risa decided. She explained everything from start to finish: how she and Dionaea had came to help the elves, how she had protected the human Jean-Luc and found herself a main target for the revolution due to her name, and then how she and Dionaea lost their homes. How she didn't even know if her parents were alive right now. She told him about the ball and the speech, to which he asked her to detail what she had said. By the time she was catching him up to the idea that Dionaea had been brutally murdered and she was separated from Kyran and her new human friend Elsea, she was already serving the stew in a bowl in front of Vereon.

Vereon fell silent as they ate, replying only with, "I'm sorry."

Risa looked at him, racking her brain for what was the best thing to say, and finally gave him a huge smile, "Oh don't worry. I will do everything I can to make sure none of this was in vain. Avalia will be freed."

"This is a burden many grown men could not even handle. Are ya sure ye don't want me to help find a way to back out of this? We can hide ya somewhere."

"I'm going to meet with the other rebels the day after tomorrow. I don't know what kind of impression I left but I'm sure I'll have to try to prove myself a worthy figure in this."Risa told him quietly, ignoring his previous question. It was too late to back out now.

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I heard some folks talking about ya speech at the bar. They thought that ye was the one to summon humans. Maybe ya oversold that guilt and beat yaself up as ye usually do. So make sure that gets tidied up."

"Maybe I didn't directly bring humans here but I stood there and let it happen. That's a horrible mistake I have to feel guilt for."Risa said sadly, staring down at her plate. "If I made myself worse in that manner, then I will tell them my story if they so want to hear. I don't know if I'm who they want me to be."

Vereon took her shoulder gently. "With that big heart, I know ya are."

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forest near Roshmi
Interactions:@Potter@Dezuel@13org@baraquiel

Malachi turned to the two females once they had stopped. He paused for a moment, seemingly weighing his options. His gaze moved to Myra and lingered on her. She seemed to understand English despite being nonverbal, but her intentions were still mysterious to Malachi. " From our location, we're going to head west and stay close to the shore." He said curtly. Ultimately, as long as his main goals were unthreatened, that's all he cared about.

He glanced around for the other man that had fled on the horse, but it seemed he wasn't in view. The governor hadn't seemed to catch up with them yet, but he was sure the nuisance of a man would at any moment now.

Malachi decided to begin walking and let whoever followed, followed, knowing at least Belladonna definitely would. He moved his gaze towards Myra if she so did move with them, asking, "You are looking for the companions you came to the ball with I assume. Is there a name we can call you?" Whether she could actually answer was what interested Malachi.

Avalia

Time:Late Afternoon ~ 3pm
Location: River Kingdom, behind The Pretty Flower

"Oi, oi! Please stop knocking! Sixteen times is SURELY enough, eh?! And don't ya know to use the front door?"

The male voice's words could be heard over the chatter of the tavern from the inside, which raised in volume as it reached the air at the end of his words. The back wood door of the bar flew open and his eyes fixated down on Risa. He sounded quite annoyed but he was trying to conceal it out of politeness. Risa found herself meeting eyes with the bartender who let out a hushed shrill noise of panic upon seeing her. She had her purple cape wrapped around her and her hood over her head, but she knew it wasn't enough to conceal her identity for very long.

He grabbed her wrist and hastily led her up the outdoor staircase to the second floor. Risa stumbled as he tossed her forward into the small apartment. She turned to watch as he shut the door behind them, locking it. The male fairy with his green, ripped-up pants and matching green wings provided Risa a sense of nostalgia that almost made her relax despite everything. She moved her hood off her head and awaited his attention.

He turned and threw his arms around her, hugging her tight, "Young lovey, do ye even realize the amount of trouble you've gotten yourself into?! Oh my flowers!" He put his hand up around her head to pet it comfortingly. "People have been talking about you night and day. Oh and coming right into the plaza with the kind of reputation you've crafted! Though I'm more than impressed ye managed to do it without getting caught."

Risa returned the hug and waited until it was over to address his words. It had been tricky. Following up the river to River Kingdom had been easy. Traveling between the two areas had been so commonplace to her. She and Kyran had bounced between them almost daily as kids and Helio had flown with her more times than she could count. After checking that Artemis wasn't in their meeting place yet, she had made her way straight to the plaza. Having to sneak around the back of the bar in the past to avoid getting seen drunk, she had also learned the back alleys quite well, so she had decided it was worth the risk to meet with Vereon. However, the stakes had been higher than ever. She knew if even one dark elf saw her, it would be the end for her.

"You don't know the half of it."Risa sighed tiredly as he held her upper arms, looking her and down. He unhooked her cape and led her to a chair to sit down. She practically melted into it out of exhaustion, leaning her head back over the edge, "I don't think I've ever been happier to see you."

Vereon went to work fixing her a cup of tea, glancing over his shoulder at her. "And I to see ya, little lady. Don't withhold not even a peep of the story. Did ye go to a ball in a dress that beautiful? I hoped you'd have been being less conspicuous."

"I'll tell you everything, Vereon.. I just-..." Risa began to tell him, tiredly picking her head up to glance his way.

He frowned, cutting her off, "Relax first, lovey. Don't get yaself ill." Vereon soon moved to crouch down by her chair and place the tea in her hands.

She smiled faintly at him, grasping it tighter than usual.

"You've changed, rosebud." He said sadly, "Usually that smile is so wide it can't fit your face... And I think this might be the first time I've seen you without-" Vereon stopped himself as his brain caught up and put together a few possibilities. "If ye plan on getting drunk and puking on the bar again..."He started teasingly, quickly trying to switch the tone of the conversation.

Risa hid the sadness his words brought him and instead let herself giggle at his joke. "Oh no. No drinking for me." She then gestured towards her dress and asked, "Think you have any extra clothes for me if you could spare?"

"I have several of the clothing I've had to wash for ye but you've never come to collect. I suppose today is good a day as any." The fairy hopped to his feet to fetch the clothing, calling to her as he moved into his closet."We'll have to do something different about those looks, anyone would spot ye a mile away with hair that reaches almost to ya bottom!"

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time:Evening
Location:Operation Humanity HQ
Interactions:@FunnyGuy@Potter

Sadly, Sean and Niko had been infected with a bad case of testosterone poisoning.

At least, that's what Angel had decided. She was dimly aware of them both acting suspicious of each other but she couldn't care less so she tuned a lot of it out. She had gotten stuck on Sean saying she'd like the details in the car. Angel wasn't sure she'd like anything right now besides finding Remy, but he had stated they were going to look for someone. They didn't even know where Remy was, so it probably was about something else. Angel wasn't sure she could focus on whatever task it was.

Nikolaus caught her eyes to nod at her as he asked Sean about the team getting murdered. Angel shrugged at him. They didn't really tell her much of anything at this place. "I'll go get you something to eat."She said finally. Angel took some time to go fetch some food from the cafeteria, also taking a detour to try to peek in Trotter's room but the door was locked. She groaned and made her way back into Nikolaus's room and handed him a sandwich then tossed Sean one as well. Angel ended up eating hers in the hallway.

Angel remained quiet for a while until the sun had set, at which she had glanced at Sean, "Lead the way?"

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forest near Roshmi
Interactions:@Potter@Dezuel@13org@baraquiel

Malachi was surprised that the white creature had come back and jumped in front of them for defense. It was unusual behavior from a demon and he was shocked that she even cared. She seemed to have good instinct so he began to wager his options for only a split second before the all too familiar voice of Terneus reached his ears before he could react to the demon beckoning them to leave. He bit back a groan. Belladonna would have to conceal her magic, thus could not defend herself in this situation. He glanced at the governor with a stoic expression. He was referring to Kenia he supposed. Normally he'd be happy for the extra help in the battle, but Malachi was grumpy. He wasn't a morning person. "We got separated. Don't you have a city to govern?"

He glanced back at Belladonna and then at Myra, before facing the spiders again. He moved forward slightly to aim his bow in the air as the arrow was quickly imbued with light magic. He channeled light energy from the surroundings as he shot one arrow up and a cascade of multiple arrows made completely of light began raining down on the spiders, lighting up the area. It was a bigger attack than he had hoped to expend his energy on so early, but it could not be helped. It wouldn't destroy all of them, but Malachi was sure it would do a good deal amount of damage enough for them to try to put some distance. He was sure these were babies and there had to be a mother back where the blue hue was coming from. Though he wanted to rid of her and create a safer forest for the humans and other allies, it would be risky for his other two companions considering Belladonna could not protect herself without exposing herself.

"Alright, you win, furry thing." He told Myra, then glanced towards Belladonna then at Terneus, "There's a mother spider back there that will be life-risking to battle. Retreat." He grabbed Belladonna's hand to tug her into a run.