Riven Wight

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The way Cerasus reacted to her tale made it clear that something was wrong, something more than what Izzy could guess. Her gaze followed him as he paced.
“And being that determined isn’t normal?" she began once he finished speaking. "I’d think that there being a bounty would be enough of an incentive in and of itself, if the reward was large enough and they knew they couldn’t take you on individually. But at least, if they want you that bad, we know they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.” Izzy looked to the stained, moldy wall at the other side of the room for a moment. “Cerasus,” she looked to him, “why would they keep your limbs, not destroy them, if they hold a lot of your power?” And that’s officially the strangest question I’ve ever asked. She shifted slightly in her seat at the bizarreness of it. “Just as bait to draw you out again, or can they use it for themselves or something?" Then, her brows furrowed as another thought occurred to her. "And why didn't they just finish you off in the first place?"

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Izzy watched Riley curiously as he formed his make-shift bed. When he finally noticed them, Izzy raised her eyebrows questioningly at him. “Plan on sleeping over or something?”
Izzy reluctantly took her attention from Riley’s project when Cerasus spoke, then inhaled at the thought of finding the three again. Before she could reply, Riley spoke up.
She snorted. “Understatement of the century.” She ran a hand through her hair, took a couple deep breaths to make sure she could recount the night’s happenings calmly, or at least close to it, then looked to Cerasus. She quickly told him about the hunters, from the ambush to Riley stepping in, leaving no small detail out. “Something tells me that getting them apart is going to be next to impossible. At least without a better plan, but, you know, since I know so much about hunters and their weaknesses...” At this, she could not help but cast a glare at Cerasus. She took another slow breath. "I thought Hulk Jr. would at least be slow, but..." She shuddered at the memory of his impossible speed.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

Glad you did not have a lot to do, at least!

I love break times. So very much. ^.^

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Though Izzy had had no idea how she had expected Cerasus to react to her outburst, she had certainly not prepared for such an amicable response. She opened her mouth to say something, but could think of nothing to rebuttal with. Her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like someone rearranging the school on the level above them. She glanced around, and realized that Riley was no longer on the main floor.
“What in the world?” she mused quietly.
She shared Cerasus’ glance to her, then ascended the stairs just a step behind him. She had pegged Riley as an odd one, to say the least, but rearranging the school furniture--as it sounded like he was doing as something let out a nerve-racking squeal as whatever-it-was scraped across the floor, the sound making an uncomfortable shudder run down Izzy’s spine--took it to a new level.

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The movement of Cerasus looking around the corner attracted Izzy’s attention, the action making him look that much more like the child whose form he had been exacted to take. Yet, how fitting that form was for his surroundings was uncanny, the ethereal aura about him making him seem more like a spirit trapped within the walls of the school he had once attended rather than a vampire.
When he glanced behind her and inquired about the man accompanying her, he showed no recognition. “You mean you don’t recognize him?” she asked sharply, turning to face Riley. But then, Cerasus seemed to finally remember him with a little push.
When he looked back to Izzy, she turned to return his stare, and the other matters at hand once more took precedence.
“And?” Izzy echoed bitterly, the hope--or what closely resembled it--in his eyes telling her he was asking about the mission he had sent her on. “And? Does it look like I’m carrying a bunch of severed limbs to you?” She moved her hands slightly to the side, gesturing to herself. “And if it wasn’t for him,” she waved a hand at Riley, “I’d be nothing but bloody smear in the road right now! You sent me out there with nothing! So, what,” she took a small step toward him, glaring savagely down at him, “it didn’t even occur to you to tell me that the hunters aren’t human? Slip your mind, did it, that one of them is the freaking Hulk’s brother?” she finished through her teeth.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

Have you gotten any sleep?

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

Thayva stood in the dining hall, her arms crossed as she looked over the mess. If she did not know any better, she would have said that it looked worse than when she first saw it. The smell had intensified with the day, making it smell more like a market filled with slowly rotting food than a dining hall. A few of the staff still rushed about, careful to avoid slipping on any of the gunk coating the floor. Though she was sure she would be laughing at the whole thing in a couple months, for now, she frowned, glad she had spared her husband having to come back and see the whole mess again and deal with organizing the staff.
“Hilda,” Thayva called to a human woman as she rushed by her, two buckets in a hand.
The human stopped and slid slightly on a patch of what looked like it may have once been someone’s plate of vegetables.
“Yes?” Despite looking frazzled, her hair pulled up in a bun with strands sticking out of it, and a slight sheen of sweat visible on her forehead, she looked to Thayva with a cheerful expression the dracon suspected was her way of keeping from
“Have any of the other staff done an inventory check on the cleaning supplies yet?”
“No, ma’am. Not yet. I was about to start.”
“Good.” Thayva nodded and stepped toward Hilda. “I’ll give you a hand. Grab Ferdinand as well, so we can get this done quick and figure out how many children get what.”
Hilda gave a grateful smile, nodded, and hurried off to find Ferdinand, a lizardfolk with brown scales who had just stole down a hallway.
Thayva walked to where a pile of cleaning supplies was quickly accumulating.

* * *

The three girls stared at Laura at her question, before Kia let out a long, loud laugh.
“You know,” Belle began, grinning, “for all I know, it could.”
“If you ever want to test that theory, count me in!” Laya’s expression mimicked Belle’s.
“Or it could always be the first adventure you and Jorn go on together,” Kia offered.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

Just can't sleep?

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

“If you’re sure,” Thayva said, done with her own meal a moment before Serapis, “I’ll go help the staff prepare for the cleaning.” She stood, gave her husband a quick nuzzle in farewell, then hurried down to the kitchens to aid the others in gathering enough cleaning supplies for all the orphans.

* * *

“Shh!” Nick hissed as harshly as he dared, moving to clap a hand over Aurelian’s mouth at his laugh when he caught wind of Laya’s observation.
“It was probably nothing,” he heard Laya say after a short pause. “I don’t hear anything now.”
When the girls started talking again, Nick gave a sigh of relief and let his hand drop back to his side. “I recognize Laya, Kia, and Laura, but who’s the human?” he whispered in Aurelian’s ear.

* * *

“Not the pendant,” Kia said with a sigh once what Laya thought she had heard was dismissed. She glanced to Belle with a muttered, “no offence,” to which the human only shrugged. “You’re episode of gloom and doom.”
“If you want it, you can have it.” Satisfied with the cleanliness of her satchel, Belle placed it just behind her, and sat the pendant down close to Laura.

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“Well, aren’t you the most forthright person I’ve ever met.” Izzy muttered under her breath. When he finished, she opened her mouth to ask, “Who?” doubting she would want to meet anyone with that title, when he answered her unspoken question. Her gaze darkened.
Figures. She ran a hand through the lose portion of her hair, her fingers catching on a knot. She hesitated for a moment when Riley headed toward Damocles’--and her--hideout, but then hurried after him, not wanting to be left alone with Cutter, Episode, and especially Thurdge lurking about.

* * *

With Riley’s pace infuriatingly slow, the hour walk to the abandoned school felt more like an eternity, especially with Riley’s small talk and the rather pointless ramblings he went on. Izzy had said little the entire trip, the slow pace giving her plenty of time to stew over the danger Cerasus had put her in, all but blindfolded.
She gave a relieved sigh when, at long last, the decaying school came into sight. Her hair hung freely, her hair tie around her wrist from her attempts at untangling with her fingers. A look of determination settled across her features as they went down the road.
With her shoulders back, she broke the pace she had considered overall pleasant just a few days ago, rushed ahead of Riley, and pushed one of the doors completely open a little harder than she had intended to, making it slam into the wall and the hinges squeal in protest.
“Cerasus!” she called, her voice echoing furiously off the decrepit walls. She was sure he would hear her no matter where he was in the school.