The Muse

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Location: The Village Square

“And how are you, specifically, Eris?”

A shiver ran down Eris' spine as Pleiades gently touched her hair, the intensity of his full attention making her feel weak and vulnerable. She froze like a hare before a predator, cheeks already flushed from her earlier embarrassment in front of Sunni, her blue eyes now locked on the bird-like man before her. He was unlike anything she had ever encountered before and she found that fascinating, but terrifying too. He could be unpredictable, but the worst part was the type of blight-born he was. She had never come across his specific kind before, but she had heard the stories. Despite never imagining an attraction to a bird-like creature, Pleiades held a certain allure to him that tugged at her soul whenever he spoke and rested his gaze upon her. His presence alone seemed to cloud her mind, tantalizing her, and urging her logical thoughts to fade away for awhile. He was dangerous.

As Sunni grabbed her hand and forcibly pulled her away, Eris stumbled, caught off guard as she was ripped from her petrified trance. Looking down at their intertwined hands, her cheeks deepened to a crimson hue, but she willingly followed his lead without protest. She was grateful for Sunni, truly. Had she been alone with Pleiades, she wasn't sure what would have happened. She had been avoiding Pleiades this whole time for a reason. "I'm not cut out for this..." She thought, reminded of her brothers criticisms.

“Good morning,” Eris looked over her shoulder to find Elara, the beautiful Lunarian handmaiden who Eris admired for the confidence and positivity she often exuded. “It seems we're all quite busy today, already.”

Eris felt the pull from Sunni immediately stop just then, and her hand cast aside. She glanced over to Sunni, who now had his full attention on Elara. Feeling somewhat safe at a mild distance from Pleiades, Eris began to worry that Elara would get caught in his grasp instead and suffer some kind of consequence from the blight-born man. "Good Morning, Elara." Eris spoke softly, but had finally found her voice. "Sunni was just taking me to... uhm..." She paused, remembering what Sunni had said earlier about her requested order of Emberbloom. "Well... to his room." She realized how odd that sounded, but couldn't stop herself from saying it. "To- .. For an order! An order I had. Uh... would you care to join us?" Eris bit the inner corner of her lower lip, her brain begging for her mouth to stop speaking. It sounded odd.. but it was true! At least... she thought so.

---

_{Interactions: Sunni, Pleiades @The Savant, Elara @Qia}

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@amorphical If they are both feeding off each other at the same time then there probably isn't much gain. I think it would vary on each situation though depending on which types are involved - if they are lovers and feeding in the heat of the moment then an emotional or sexual type blight born is going to get a lot more out of that than the rest of them would. They'd have to be careful not to totally over power the other person involved and avoid killing them as well haha

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@amorphical Great post! I'm sure Olivia will have tons to feed on in the tavern haha Also, her coat is so fabulous! I love it lol

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Location: The Village Square

Leaning against the base of a pine tree, hidden in the shadows, Kira quietly observed a scene unfold before her in the village square. The Aurelian Prince speaking to the Princess before holding hands and entering the tavern as a united front. The hyper-sexual birdman, Pleiades, flying overhead and roosting atop the tavern, achieving a far better view of the town than she had. The Prince's right-hand-man, Orion, posting up outside the establishment to keep guard. And then, best of all, that wholesome little Sage Eris taking a tumble head first into the dirt while the red-headed merchant struggled to act quickly enough to catch her. Kira nearly laughed out loud at the sound Eris had squeaked out when she fell. “Serves her right.” Kira thought, having a disdain for all Sages these days. Eris had poked, prodded and interrogated Kira incessantly over the past two months, so she couldn't help but take some satisfaction in the woman's misfortune.

However, as the silver haired woman known as the Handmaiden to the Princess entered the scene, Kira's amusement vanished instantly. Her eyes, glowing brightly in the shadows, began to dilate. Her attention fully focused in on the woman as she stopped to speak with Sunni and Eris. With her heightened senses, Kira honed in on the sound of Elara's heartbeat. Even from over 100 feet away, Kira could smell the blood coursing through her veins. A familiar hunger began to settle in, and Kira fought the urge to bare her fangs and sink them into the woman's pale neck.

Kira closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to push her feral thoughts away. “Not her, not her, not her. Not.... Her....” Kira repeated to herself, continuing to inhale the crisp winter air. For nearly two months now, Kira had been avoiding Elara, despite having known her during her time at the capital. Both were servants to the Kingdom and they had bonded over that in their younger years, even though their lines of service had been vastly different. Nonetheless, they both lived in the castle under the heels of the royal family.

When Kira had arrived in Dawnhaven seeking refuge, now a blight-born monster, she had initially been happy to see Elara's familiar face. At least she would have someone to converse with! However, Kira quickly realized she could not allow herself near Elara. Something about her blood type made Kira feel uncontrollable. It was different than all the rest; sweeter, almost. If only she could just try a little.... “No!” She thought, cutting off her thoughts before they turned darker. “I have to get out of here.” She thought, feeling sweat beginning to bead up on her forehead as she resisted her instincts.

Leaving the village square, Kira began to head for the northern exit. If she didn't want to think about getting a taste of her childhood friend all night, she'd need to hunt something down instead...

---

_{Mentions: Elara, Orion @Qia, Sunni, Octavia, Pleiades @The Savant, Eris}

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@BOOM Looks great! Go ahead and post him :)

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@Girlie Go Boom Na'Ri seems to have a crush on Octavia. Flynn better keep an eye on her.... hahah!

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Location: The Eye of The Beholder

Flynn’s eyes shifted from each of the three faces that stood before him as the young squire introduced them, his gaze lingering on the two older men who posed the greatest physical threat. “Well met, Lord Coswain.” He greeted, a charming princely smile appearing on his lips as he addressed the man who was clearly the leader of the group. Despite his unease at an unknown unit from Lunaris appearing without warning, Flynn knew he had to play their little game if they had been sent by the King for hidden motives. He was well-versed in this game, one that all royals were trained to play from birth. The King and Queen of Aurelia had prepared Flynn thoroughly for the world of politics, though it often made him want to crawl out of his own skin and hide.

“We shall have cabins built for you at once. Until then, please feel free to take a room here at the Inn.” Flynn’s gaze moved past the group, finding the blight-born cyclops woman who had been tasked as their Inn Keeper. “Syraeia,” He held eye contact with her one large blue eye that shone underneath her hood, “Have three beds made up for them, will you? I will give you the gold for it myself.” He maintained his warm smile, although he had to admit that looking at Syraeia often made him uncomfortable. Until the woman had come to Dawnhaven, Flynn had never seen such a mutation. By all accounts she had seemed mentally stable and “normal” when speaking with her, but it didn’t make her appearance any less taboo. He felt bad for her, though she seemed to be dealing with the transformation well enough. As long as she did not harm anyone, Flynn welcomed her with open arms.

“We can certainly use all the help we can get.” He added, returning his attention to Lord Coswain. He then looked towards his wife, trying to gauge how she was feeling about the situation. Surely, she would know more about her father’s intentions than he would. Did she know these people? Unable to read her expression, he made a mental note to discuss this with her at another time. “Octavia, what would you have them do to contribute to our preparations for winter?” He asked, confident that she would know what needed the most attention. Perhaps firewood or hunting? Gathering pelts or scavenging food? He decided to let her take charge on this matter, as he was clearly out of his depth and had no trouble admitting so.

As he let Octavia speak with them, Flynn moved closer to Syraeia and quietly inquired, “Have you seen Sunni around anywhere?”

---

_{Interactions: Octavia @The Savant, Lord Coswain & Syraeia @PrinceAlexus
Mentions: Sunni @The Savant}

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@Girlie Go Boom Love that! She's gonna lift everyone's spirits haha

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@Girlie Go Boom Most of those ideas were Savants haha We talked over the discord channel :)

It'll be fully up to you how long she's been there! She can just arrived in your first post if you like, or she could've been there for two months now along with most of the people that the Prince and Princess took along with then. Your choice! :)

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@Girlie Go Boom Honestly Flynn probably wouldn't put a criminal in charge of security, but also the fact that they took formal soldiers with them to act as guards already haha What if we had her perform entertainment shows at the tavern to keep up morale? And/or a few more ideas:

- she can help out Sunni with his merchant business and take order requests
- she can help out at the tavern under Syraeia
- she can be assigned to help Octavia with her daily tasks, similar to Elara but not as closely working together
- she can help Eris with her research tasks
- she cab help Kira with her Herbalist shop
- she can help Pleiades with his package management for deliveries?