Riven Wight

Melodramatic Deities and an Ageless Taste for Pizza

To Anora’s relief, Odin’s voice met her ears. They were still there, not vanished back into her strange dreams. With part of her still trying to convince the small bit that thought she had finally lost it that this was all gloriously real, she stepped fully into the eatery.
What now? she wondered, only catching the tail end of Odin’s sentence. Problems in Asgard? She let the door close behind her with another jingle. Is there an Asgard?
She crossed her arms and leaned against the back of the booth separating Pahn’s seat from the one behind it as he began his answer, Anora debating on the best way to return to her own seat with Odin blocking it. She glanced to the untouched lasagna and rather soggy-looking bread stick in front of where she had been sitting. Perhaps she should not have ordered anything.
Then, Pahn mentioned poison.
“A poison?” she said at the same time as Odin, only finishing the word, her voice partially drowned out by the giant’s volume. She moved so she could see Pahn as Odin took a few seconds to calm down. “You’ve been poisoned? By who? And when?” She jumped slightly at the thud of Odin readjusting himself.
The inexplicable desire to help Pahn, and a fear of seeing him dead spread through her again. He was the answer to everything she had wanted to know, to the dreams that had plagued her, the powers she possessed, and her intense desire for something more, and he had been poisoned. Figured.
She opened her mouth to ask what his regalia was, and what importance it had for someone to want to steal it, but then her jaw just hung open when he requested Odin's aid in crossing Styx.
“The Underworld’s River Styx?” she asked instead, Odin’s reaction going unnoticed. “Like, Hades’ domain?”
Her attention turned to Odin when he spoke, her brows furrowing at his change in tone. She glanced between him and Pahn, her expression softening slightly. Had Pahn lost someone? Unfamiliar with the next name he threw out, she wondered if perhaps that was the ‘she’ Odin referred to.
Anora held her breath as she took in Odin’s defeated posture. Something about going to the Underworld that made even the blue giant, who she could not imagine having much he needed to fear, uneasy.
When silence fell between them, she remained equally as quiet, the atmosphere more intense than she imagined the little eatery had ever experienced it. She tried to make sense of the short exchange, but the more she thought on it, the more questions it created.
“What can I do to help?” she opted to ask, but her words overlapped with Odin’s. She blinked at him, trying to remember who she had heard Odin’s wife was. “Frigga?” she questioned uncertainty, the name more familiar to her from the Thor movies than anything she had read.
She watched Odin reach for another slice of pizza. She shuddered slightly when his laughter pulsated through the air, worrying for a moment that the vibrations might, at the very least, create cracks in the walls. She glanced back to the counter nervously as the two continued, wondering why none of the staff had come to investigate, or even ask about--if not simply gawk at--the blue giant that had waltzed into the restaurant.
Pahn’s doing, I bet, she thought, looking to him.
She startled back when the two men burst out in laughter, missing the joke, and questioning how they had gone from such a solemn topic as being poisoned and visiting Styx, to laughing over a lost bet. Okay, maybe I should still borrow Anna’s mythology book. At least then I’d recognize more names.
“Not to be a stick in the mud,” she began with a frown, trying to be heard over their boisterous guffaws, “but, uh, poison?” she gestured to Pahn. “Time limit? I don’t know how it works for deities, but here,” she pointed to the ground, “being poisoned isn’t something to mess around with. Do you know how long you have? Or, you know, maybe where to find an antidote?”

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

On a kind of random note, I actually made a mint (chocolate chip) mango milkshake today. Surprisingly, I thought it was pretty good. Shoulda probably used more mango; it was more on the mint than mango side, but I could still taste both... The things that happen because of writing/reading and curiosity.

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Yay for brunettes! HA! That’s amazing. Mine’s actually been shockingly tame as of late. *Knocks on wood.*

I have a compound bow, but would love to someday get either a traditional recurve or longbow. Haven’t decided which I’d rather yet. Been doing archery since I was around ten, but I admittedly don't practice as often as I should. Hey, there isn’t anything wrong with that! Certainly nothing to be embarrassed about. Archery uses some unusual muscles, and since you had never done it before, you had no way of knowing what kind of poundage you could pull back. Any idea what kind of bows they had you use, or what poundage they tried to start you with?

Decide yet if you have any current weapon preferences?

Been collecting bladed weapons since I was sixteen. It’s not that large of a collection in comparison to some, but I like it.

Don’t worry so much about errors (says the girl who tends to obsess over her own posts)! Everyone makes them. I'm sure I made plenty in my post that I missed. As I’ve said, you’re a good writer. I really like your post! Including the Disney marathon. And I still love Axel’s OCD. Great characters, the three of them! Also, that’s a great spot to end it. Gotta love cliffhangers!

HA! I’m with you on Valentine’s Day. Can’t we just switch it out for another Halloween or something? But hey, that’s awesome you have orders! Congrats! And like you said, there’s no reason to apologize. I understand being busy, plus it’s lengthy-post-time again. Heh. Miss you, too! And thanks for your patience.

Oh my gosh. That’s just special that he used to do that. xD Crazy there were so many! Lucky about McGee’s Alice! Who woulda thunk it? I can’t remember what it’s rated for. I’d imagine dark imagery/story and violence, from the trailer I watched.

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Elayra’s brows rose when Ghent said a farewell, but remained for a short, awkward moment.
Drust gave a stiff nod, his head jerking slightly toward the door in encouragement for him to leave.
She watched Ghent go, her stare hard, before he closed the door, leaving her and Drust in complete darkness. Elayra hastily placed her milkshake on the floor, the cup nearly toppling over, and summoned another lick of flame.
A small sense of relief settled over her when the world’s magic again met her willingly, and the soft, golden light of a flame ignited above her palm at her whispered command. She blew on it gently, and the flame fluttered away, its shape morphing and pulsating slightly as it moved, floating in the air near her.
The two of them finished what was left of their meal in silence, the flame flickering in a dance that made shadows lengthen and shrink with its rhythm. The silence seemed to stretch on, Elayra’s objections about letting Ghent leave mulling and stewing until, with most of their food finished, she could remain silent no longer.
“You do realize that you let our best chance of killing the Sorceress walk out the door, right?” Elayra grumbled, using her straw to play with what little remained of her melting milk shake. She jabbed at the substance as if it was the cause of all their problems.
Drust looked to her, his withering stare icier than the drinks Ghent had graciously brought them. “Would you have had me hold him prisoner?” His voice matched his gaze. He tossed his empty box of fries into the paper bag. “Dragged him with us? Unwilling? Unprepared?”
“I’d have you do whatever’s necessary!” Elayra put her own trash into the paper bag none too gently, her fingers slightly greasy from the fries. “He has a family here. A mother who cares for him,” she snapped with a twinge of jealousy. “He seems rather fickle as it is; he’s already changed his mind once about coming with us. You sent him home, Drust. How do you think the reminder of what he’d be leaving will affect that?”
“Elayra,” Drust hissed with a dark warning, his head twitching. But she did not notice, her mind consumed by suppressed worry, disappointment, and even fear that burst forth in an angered rant.
Elayra crumpled the bag, then stood with an irritated shake of her head. “I’d bet my bow we won’t see him come sunrise.” She strode over to their packs and tossed the paper bag down near their stuff, the flame following her. “Then what’re we going to do? I hope you have a backup plan for that! Because even that,” she gestured to the flame, which flared as the magic picked up on her emotions and desire for emphasis, “is at best impossible for either of us in Wonderland.”
“Elayra,” Drust growled again, enunciating each syllable of her name as his head twitched dangerously once more. He turned to face her, crouched, the lines at the corner of his eyes pulsating familiarly as his chin lowered.
“Without his magic,” she continued, kneeling in front of her pack, his warning going unheeded and the words that had built up refusing to stop now that they had begun to flow, “which we don’t even know he can use, I might add,” she snorted as she moved the dagger from the bag and opened her pack, “we may as well just hand ourselves over to that wannabe queen and put our heads on the chopping block for her!”
There was a quiet shuffle behind her. She had just enough time to grab her dagger before Drust gripped her shoulder firmly, and forced her to turn so her back was against the garage wall beside their packs.
Elayra used the movement to unsheathe her dagger, and placed the tip of the blade lightly, yet firmly against his stomach as he pressed his forearm across her chest, keeping her back. With his knees on either side of her legs to pin them down despite her efforts at freeing them, he leaned in toward her so his face was inches from hers, a snarl pulling at his pale lips. The Curse's black-veined red in his irises fought aggressively with his pupils, making it impossible to gauge which would claim victory.
“To think I was worried you actually had faith in me,” he spat, his voice somewhere between a gravely growl and an airy hiss.
“Faith has nothing to do with it!” She knew she was walking on ice, one slip and she would plunge into the icy depths beneath, but her tongue itched to be heard. The flame flickered and dimmed with her concentration split between it and Drust, threatening to go out. “We haven’t exactly given him much incentive to come back with us, have we? We knew him hardly ten minutes, and you two went at it! You can’t try to break someone and expect there to not be consequences for—”
Drust slid his arm from her chest to her neck, cutting her words off. “I’ve spent fourteen years,” he snarled through clenched teeth, “thinking about tonight’s consequences, girl.” His neck made a cracking sound as it twitched, and Elayra grip tightened on her dagger. “Don’t you dare doubt that.” He pressed against her as hard as he could without completely blocking her airway.
“Drust,” she breathed, reaching up with her free hand and grasping his arm. “You know I didn’t mean—”
“Silence!” he snapped, adding a pulse of extra pressure behind his hold to cut her off again. He paid no attention as Elayra pressed the point of her dagger a bit harder into him in a warning to back off.
She swallowed as she realized the Curse had consumed all but a pinprick of his pupils, both pulsating with the effort of gaining chaotic control.
“Should he abandon us,” he continued, a gravely undertone toying in his voice, “I guarantee it would be for more than my actions alone, you audacious ingrate.” He gave another pressured pulse as he said the last.
Elayra dug her nails into his arm and tried to pull it away, saving her dagger as a last resort.
Her efforts paused when, with a snarl, Drust closed his eyes and turned his head away from her. Though her grip on her dagger did not slacken, her expression was cautiously hopeful that what remained of her guardian would push the Curse back.
They stayed like that for a short second that felt like minutes. At last, with visible effort, Drust forced himself to release her, and stood. He turned his back to her and pinched the bridge of his nose, his chest heaving slightly.
“You’ve clearly recovered enough to mouth off,” he said between his teeth as Elayra jumped to her feet. “Collect your sword.” He went to retrieve his katana, and slid it from its sheath without looking to her. “If you have the strength for such impudence, you have plenty for a sparring round.”
Elayra inhaled softly. “But shouldn’t we—”
“Wait. For. Me. Outside.” Drust swinging his katana to point to the door silenced her and made her step away and raise her dagger.
Not daring to further disobey, she dipped her head in a half nod, quickly and silently collected her sword, belt, and dagger’s sheath, and headed to the door. She glanced back as Drust summoned his own flame. The magic seemed to hesitate, as if fearful of him, but a darker, almost sickly red flame burst to life beside him as he knelt at his pack.
The effects of the Curse on him seemed to be growing slowly more unstable than usual. And he knew magic. Not much as far as Elayra knew, sure, but enough, especially in a world where the Wonderlanders could use it.
With that thought on her mind and silently scolding herself, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and stepped out into the night.

Schooled in Magic

@OfWindAndRain
S'all good! Though, I'm not sure if that first question is directed to RL or the RP. Heh.

Sorry, I'm going to have to make you wait a bit. A friend is in town until this weekend, so I'll be a bit busy until then.

I'm good with a time skip if you don't have anything else in mind for something between those two. Do you want to handle that, or would you rather I did? Would there be anything Sunder would have had to teach Jazelle before attending Whitehall that I should know she learned about?

To Cure a Curse

As she worked, Rayadell gave the elk only a quick glance, making sure it showed no evidence of the desire to attack, but it only continued eating grass.
When a faint rustle reached her ears, in a single, swift movement, she dropped the twigs she had been about to place on the expertly stacked pile, grabbed her staff from beside her, and stood, brandishing the weapon defensively in front of her. When only Calanon came into focus, his form bathed in an eerie mix of shadow and moonlight, she watched him approach.
Slowly, she returned to her knees as Calanon worked around it to complete a circle, the girl notsurprised by his apparent strength. With the tips of her wings bent uncomfortably against the ground, her cloak only just concealing them, she finished her own job.
With both their tasks complete, Rayadell glanced behind her back at the tree the spirit had last been in, but either it had moved on, or remained hidden. She looked back to Calanon as he tried to start a fire, contemplating offering to start it for him. Instead, she watched, head slightly cocked, before he managed to spark embers that quickly caught the larger pieces of wood stacked above it.
Soon, firelight flickered its warm glow over Calanon, Brogach, and her, the flames staving off the growing chill of the night.
Rayadell returned his smile with a half-hearted congratulatory nod. Her silvery gaze glittered in the firelight as she watched him stand to give the elk some water.
Her head snapped over at a gentle movement in the trees, her hand instinctively moving to her staff. She caught another glimpse of the spirit switching trees.
“We’ve attracted a tree spirit,” Rayadell stated, her gaze on the tree as she used her staff to help her stand before leaning on it, relieving her wings of at least part of their awkward position. She looked back to her current companion with a contemplative expression.
The Carishes had attracted her attention with the possibility of a cure for her curse. How had they gained his agreement?
“So tell me, Calanon,” she began, readjusting her grip on the staff. “How did you come to be a part of this?”

Deleted

“‘More monster?’” Izzy growled, but Riley continued despite her interruption.
Between Riley’s words and tone, her infuriated expression only deepened as he continued, her nails digging slightly into her palm.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she hissed, her face twisted in anger. “I’m not a kid, and don’t bring my parents into this!” She swiped her hand through the air in emphasis of the demand, taking a small step toward Riley. “The Wolf was going to leave after dumping Trevor’s parents on me. It attacked because I chose to try delaying it. Not you, me. I would’ve gone to him even if you haden’t asked me to help, so don’t try playing that card!”
Her gaze darkened when he continued, his tone changing to one demanding obedience. She stood there for a long moment after he finished, glaring murderously at the man, both fists once more tightly clenched.
At last, Izzy gave a heavy snort, then turned on her heels and stormed out of the room without another word. She left the school with a heated quickness, the summery light of early evening warming her skin as she hurried back toward her house. When she had placed a decent distance between her and the school, she stopped, her breaths slightly heavier than usual from her anger and frustration at the situation. She ran a hand through her hair and took a few deep breaths, trying unsuccessfully to calm herself.
She gave a groan as she realized she had forgotten yet again about the vampire child’s needs, and glanced back the way she had come, the school now out of view. Hoping he would be okay for one more day, she pulled her phone from her pocket to check it, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Trever somehow regained control of himself and tried to contact her. Alas, she had no such luck.
Glad the device had somehow managed to survive so long, she spared the warning of a dying battery only a quick glance before checking the many missed calls and messages from her brothers.
She heaved an irritated sigh, and quickly calculated how long she was unconscious for. Coming to somewhere around fifteen hours, she stuffed her phone back into her pocket, her hand following it inside, and trudged her way toward the city, adding coming up with a semi-believable excuse to give her brothers for her absence to the list of issues already mulling around her head in a disoriented mess.
When she at long last reached the small town, she decided to take a short detour, hoping her bike was still in the alleyway as opposed to somewhere back at the school. Without it, traveling between the two places would be a pain. She found it where she had left it, laying against the ground. At least that small factor was in her favor.
Mounting it, ever careful of her left arm, she pedaled toward Trevor’s house on the way home. She stopped outside it for just a short momend, staring at it as if her friend would emerge from the doorway, back to normal. But the house remained dormant, the door still tightly shut, guarding only the possessions of its absent residents.
With a shake of her head, she hurried back to her house, hoping her brothers would be out or her entrance would go unnoticed at least long enough for her to change out her shirt.
But, yet again, with her bike leaning against the side of the house in case she needed it for another late-night run, luck was not on her side.
Trying to wipe her bitterness from her face, the moment she opened the door, Blake bombarded her with questions.
“Aww, I didn’t know you cared so much,” she answered with a hint of playful sarcasm, incapable of keeping her annoyance from leaking into her voice as she went into the lie she had concocted on her way back. “I’m fine, Blake. I woke up early so I could get a good walk in before you guys got up. Lucas--you remember him, right?--apparently had the same idea. Long story short, I managed to rip my shirt pretty bad, and he came to my rescue. I went to his place since it's closer, borrowed a shirt of his dad’s since all his were in the wash, and fell asleep on their couch with my phone on silent. Forgot to check it when I got up, and we hung out for a few hours after that.”
Izzy shrugged the whole thing off, and headed to the kitchen, only then realizing how hungry she was. She went to the fridge, pulled it open, and leaned partially inside, scanning the shelves for something quick to grab.

They Live Among Us (Vampiricchild x Siaya)

“Great. A vampire with super-speed who’s inconvenienced by stairs.” Victoria’s voice quivered slightly and her hand subconsciously fingered her pendant as she said his race, apprehensively watching Alex crouched for her sake. “The world’s saved.”
She took another breath, and wrapped her arms around his chest. “I swear,” she muttered in his ear, trying to think about neither the distance between them and the ground, nor how they would fit through the window with her on his back. “If I fall or something, I’ll find a way to come back and haunt you for the rest of eternity. And I don’t mean in a ‘Casper, the Friendly Ghost’ kind of way.”

Deleted

“Really?” Izzy stared out the doorway once more with shocked gratitude. Despite the situation she had placed him in, and the loathing and silent treatment he had given her these past months, he had remained only inches from her so she would heal, instead of letting her lose an arm.
Her attention returned to Riley when he answered her second question. She gave a sigh of relief; though they were horrible parents, she could not imagine how Trevor would feel if the Wolf had used him to kill them.
“Excuse me?” Izzy bit, interrupting his statement of eliminating her from the task. Her jaw and hands clenched as Riley explained his reasoning. Once again, she was utterly useless to help her friend. “I won’t just sit around twiddling my thumbs and hoping for the best! Not when a monstrosity’s marauding about town toward who knows what purpose using the body of the guy I--” She faltered before she ended with ‘love,’ and glanced to the wall with an irritated huff.
“He’s my friend, Riley,” she continued pleadingly, shaking her head and looking to the floor. “There has to be something I can do!” She paused contemplatively. “If... if the White Wolf’s bound to common belief, could we alter its abilities by spreading rumors?”

Northwood Academy

@Saltwater Thief
Sweet! Thanks for sharing! Sorry for taking so long to respond to you on that.

@kittyluna45
Good to know!

Yeah, that would work. We'll figure something out, I'm sure. Because we'er smarticle and creative that way. :-) What day(s) and time(s) are you usually free? Most of my free time has been going toward entertaining and a project I'm WAY too determined with right now, but I'll do my best to try coordinating with your normal downtime.