Just found out my left kidney wasn't done and decided I needed to deal with a second stone before I even passed the first one.
9 mos ago
Kidney stone blocking the ureter...yay...thankfully only 4mm so it don't need surgery, just some meds. But that pain I felt is certainly not an ideal way to wake up.
2 yrs ago
Lightly fried fish fillets
2
likes
3 yrs ago
And I was 'round when Jesus Christ, had his moment of doubt and pain
@FrogRFlowR Valeryia smirked at the dragon's remark about trying her seduction on her. "Is that a promise?" She asked in a bit of a seductive voice. She knew what the dragon was going for. But it didn't hurt to still put the invitation out there.
@Hammerman@Dark Cloud But now that it seemed like the commotion caused by the Oja-clan noble had died down, and the noble himself was more relaxed than just moments ago. She sought to go around and introduce herself since now seemed as good a time as any. Plus maybe it was better to introduce herself first. Then go looking at plants. And since she already met Kerry on the way over, her first choice was the bunny. Because not only did she sense that she was a caster of some sort, but as a bonus she'd also get to meet one of the male monsters since he was near her.
Win-win in her book.
Upon getting closer to the pair, she spoke in a pleasant tone. "Hello, my name is Valeryia Harjula. Its a pleasure to finally get to speak with you since I know my appearance earlier was not ideal for greetings." And now that she was closer to the pair, she noted how cute they both were. Which had compelled her to hold them in her wings, but restrained herself from doing so. For now at least,
Valeryia was glad she arrived when she did, that cavalry was quite aggressive. They seemed very determined to break her barrier once it was up. Though maybe it was them being upset they were denied killing the group? Didn't matter now though, they had found relative safety here. And weren't pursued either, though that was unsettling as it didn't make much sense to her. Still though, she rested for a bit before going around camp to patches of flora that caught her eye. That was the first order of business as she'd not pass up any opportunity to find something unique. Next would be meeting everyone, and at the same time being nosey with the men she initially assumed to be human. She could tell now that they instead were Yokai.
And at first all was going well enough. As so far, she'd found no flora that was really unique. But it still interested her nonetheless. Being able to document what grew here would still be fun. Then it took a turn for the worse when she was run into by the man who had been yelling earlier, the same man she'd ignored earlier assuming he'd just keep yelling from in front of his tent.
What a wrong assumption to make.
Now she was face down on the ground as she was bent over a bit when the man crashed into her. Along with the fact that she was not at all expecting to be run into. So could not brace her fall in any meaningful way. But in this somewhat compromising position, she could still hear him yelling and threatening a fight, so Valeryia did the only thing she could. Rolled onto her ass and faced the man brandishing his sword, spreading her wings a bit in readiness for whatever he decided to do next.
Though after a bit, the group managed to calm him down enough to make him lower his sword. And also seemed more focused on the group than her as she'd initially thought. Causing her to become a bit more relaxed and start getting back onto her feet, which was a bit of a process for her. Easily could've taken flight from her position to get back on her feet. But not only would that kick up dust and small debris that could annoy the group as a whole, but also possibly agitate the already upset swordsman as he might see her taking flight as a threat.
@FrogRFlowR@Rezod92 She did join the conversation as she struggled to stand up again. "The hornet has a point. Trying what you did on an island native isn't going to help." She quipped, having watched how she approached and attempted to deescalate the situation with seduction. It was somewhat comical.
Valeryia was quite enjoying the sights from above during the fly over to help the others. And wondered what secrets the island held, hopefully she'd get some opportunities to collect some samples.
Her thoughts cut short by the sight and smell of battle. Smoke from fires, and the warm glow of said fires. Along with the accompanying acrid smell which stung her nose a bit. And once closer to the battlefield, she could see a few distinct skirmishes going on down below. All of which seemed to consist of, what she assumed to be, those they were sent to help. And the Hornet she had been flying with seemed to have made up her mind quicker than Valeryia had expected. Shouting to her to help the larger group in the town while she'd go help the smaller two person team. She felt the need to accompany the Hornet, but realized the element of surprise she'd have on the Varjans. So nodded and immediately darted off to the large group.
As she arrived above the group, the full scope of the situation was apparent. There was a lot of Varjan cavalry, and without help, the group was surely doomed. And thus decided on her course of action. Time was of the essence, so trying to get something like like lightning or a fireball off would be rather risky. It'd have to be things that didn't take time to cast. She swooped down to the group and landed just in front of everyone. No time for introductions or soft landings as her claws dug into the ground to give resistance to her remaining forward momentum. Valeriya first quickly shot off a few lightning bolts aimed at the charging cavalry, then powered a barrier in front of her. Spreading her wings wide enough to cover the group, the barrier expanded in unison to protect the group from Varjan projectiles. Her head turned briefly so she could just about see behind her "Stay behind me unless you want to take your chances with their weapons." Valeriya spoke firmly before directing her attention back to the oncoming cavalry.
Unfortunately for her, Luna has her little lovable idiot Sam to worry about. It'll be interesting to say the least how another scholar will handle seeing three monster boys xD
I certainly can't wait for Valeriya to meet them :D
Ah man, my surprise entrance is no longer a surprise @PaulHaynek Here is my character, ready to be reviewed. Also just know something is gonna have to be changed.
Appearance:
Name: Valeriya Harjula
Race: Owl Mage
Abilities:Mana-infused Feathers. Since her kin cannot traditionally fly like most other harpies due to generally being much heavier than the average harpy. They use these feathers to channel mana to amplify the lift generated by their wings and thus allows them to fly. But allowing them to fly is not the only thing these feathers can do, in fact its the least impressive use of them. The more impressive use is that of casting various spells. Each wing is capable of casting individual spells, but Valeriya much prefers using both wings to cast a singular spell causing it to be stronger or better controlled. Also much like typical owls, her wings make little, to no noise while flying or when her wings flap.
Evil Eyes. Not necessarily evil in function, but can certainly be seen as evil in form. This is generally due to how they look when a spell is being channeled through her eyes as she focuses on the spell and/or the target of the spell. Causing them to look like evil, predatory eyes. They can cast an entirely different, albeit smaller, range of spells compared to her feathers. Which includes mind control and farsight. She can also enhance her natural night vision further with mana. Because while her eyes have excellent natural night vision, she loses a good bit of sight on especially dark nights like when a new moon is out or when its cloudy. And definitely needs it when its both. They will glow yellow when any spell is being cast through her eyes.
Magic:Telekinetic Mastery. Something she very much needed to master to help her with handling various items. Capable of using it to operate doors and move items of various sizes and up to around 50kg (~110lbs) in weight. Allowing her to weaponized anything that is under that weight. But her mastery also allows her to do more complex and intricate things such as writing, lighting a match, or flipping individual pages of a book.
Spellcaster. Initially intended to give her a means of defending herself while out in the field, Valeriya eventually started spending more time learning to cast spells, and expanding her list of spells from a simple bolt of lightning, to destructive fireballs. However, due to the nature of casting, some must be channeled before they can be cast. Meaning she must either be landed or have gotten altitude for a freefall. Also casting costly spells drains her physically.
Lightning Bolt. Her starting spell. She still uses it not only out of nostalgia, but its practicality as a low cost spell that can still cause a bit of harm. Requires no channeling. Lightning. The big brother of its bolt form and can arc from its initial target to others. Costly and requires channeling. Discharge. An electrical area spell that emanates from her and is short ranged. A spell to handle those that get into melee with her. Not costly or channeled. Fireball. A large ball of fire that explodes violently when impacting someone or something. Costly and channeled. Stitch. A healing spell that can completely heal wounds of any kind but is slow working, requiring the caster to dedicate time for casting. Needs to be continuously used while healing and can become costly when used for a while. Barrier. A wall of magical energy cast in front of Valeriya to block both magical and physical ranged attacks taken against her. Continuous cast that, like stitch, can become costly when cast for a while.
Equipment:Autodidact's Attire. Valeriya generally doesn't have much to cover with clothes, but what clothes she is wearing is magically-enchanted. Namely that they are self-repairing, self-cleaning, and self-drying. Since to her, taking off and putting on clothing is a considerable hassle, thus they were made capable of taking care of themselves while being worn. As well as being better insulated against the elements due to the infusion. And when wet the colors of her cloths just get darker and they never become transparent.
Personality: Even though the shape of her eyes can give off the impression that she is cold or humorless. Or a bitch in general. She is in fact soft-spoken and normally pleasant. And does rather enjoy socializing. Valeriya prefers learning things herself and going out on field studies rather than just sitting down and reading what someone else wrote. Though will begrudgingly read others writings if she is having difficulties studying it.
Also, should she feel her mana getting low and not be in any immediate danger. She will use all the tools at her disposal to recharge.
Background: Valeriya was born and raised in a mountain town called Lumisade. Mainly a hunting town with a small mine. Not known for being terribly special, other than having somewhat harsh winters. Her parents were quite helpful for the town. As Valeriya grew, she became curious of the plants, animals, rocks, and anything else in and around town. And began studying them on her own. And as she kept getting older, her curiosity never went away. And by this point she also had a couple of papers in her possession from her time self-researching. So she set out to find someone to help her publish them as Lumisade didn't have the means to do so and she hoped her research would be helpful to someone out there.
After being burned a few times by liars and thieves who took her work and published them as their own, she found a genuine publisher who credited what she had left as her research. Happy that she could safely publish future works under her name, she finally was able to sate her curiosity for the world around her. And published a few full books and several papers over the years. Most notable one would include a book that compiled her research into naturally occurring magic-infused plants, minerals, and metals found around the world...well most of the world anyway.
And recently she received a letter from a one Lady Kyouko, requesting her to come visit the Jiangpu island chain. Or more specifically the island of Akamagaseki along with mention about a concern regarding Shizuyama. Valeryia decided to answer it, despite not knowing much about Shizuyama that wasn't common knowledge.