13org

Avalia

Location: Roshmi Grand Hall
Time: Evening
Interactions: Cade @Helo, Torvi and Elsea @Tae, Kuroi @hide on mana, Malachi @princess
Mentions:

As Ayita's eyes swept the now ruined ballroom, looking for anyone whom she could help, the beastkin that had called out for her began speaking, barking about her ego, about fighting and there being no one else to save. Not only him but the other warrior woman too seemed awfully eager to leave. Even though Ayita ignored them, she couldn't feel anything but disappointment. So eager to leave, flee with their tails between their legs, caring about nothing but their own survival. Their only reaction upon facing an enemy that they knew they couldn't win was to flee, all of them, they had no honor. How could they call themselves warriors if they were so easily able to ignore the frightened cries and pleas for help from innocent people, victims of Aklenroth's cruelty. Looking to them, Ayita gave nothing but a single piercing stare. They talk about fighting together but how could she trust that they wouldn't leave her behind just like they were doing to the rest of the people that needed help? She could trust only on herself. Unfortunately, even though that was a completely different world, nothing change. Just like back home, she and her people were again... alone.

Ayita knew she had to leave, she always knew that she couldn't do anything about the demon but when the huge demon began sucking everything into it's chest, it became even clearer that her time was running thin. One had only to give a single glance to see that many wouldn't be able to leave. Some were paralyzed by fear and couldn't move, while others were mercilessly trampled by the huge wave of desperate people trying to flee from the ballroom. Among those who stood behind, one in particular drew her attention. Laying on the ground, wounded with bite marks after being thrown by the black wolf-like creature, a noble, middle aged dark elf male stood there, looking at the demon. Unlike the others who cried desperately, he seemed to already know his fate. Despite that though, the look in his eyes as he stared towards the demon was one of pure hatred and anger. Ignoring the warnings of those around her, Ayita rushed towards him and without saying a single word, grabbed his arms and then his legs, lifting him on her shoulders. Despite being a dark elf, the noble's frame was pretty sturdy and rather heavy. Thankfully, Ayita was able to use her wind magic to make it easier for her to carry the man and thus, easier for her to run away with him outside of the ball. Surprisingly enough, the dark elf didn't resist to her, simply accepting her help, albeit with a reluctant expression on his face when he saw that Ayita was a human.

Finally outside of the ballroom, Ayita put the dark elf on the ground. Outside of immediate danger, he would be able to get away to a safer place. Before doing so though, she looked at the dark elf noble with a serious expression.

"Don't forget that the one who stood behind to help you was a human and remember the one who was responsible for all this." Ayita said, looking straight towards the man's eyes.

"I saw the look you had on your eyes back there. Remember that feeling. Tend to your wounds and rise again to fight for another day." Ayita said to the dark elf before she gave a few steps back, looking at the crowd outside, who were still confused, not knowing what to do.

"Those among you who still believe in Aklenroth..." Ayita said, pointing towards the ballroom in the distance where the demon was still rampaging.

"You can go back inside the ballroom." She said with a dark tone.

"For the rest of you, I want you all to remember how you are feeling right now. I want you to remember the lives that were lost inside that ballroom. Do not forget your anger and hatred for being betrayed, for losing your loved ones..." she continued. Ayita's own voice was filled with hate and anger. Her blood was boiling, for having to flee from a fight, for not being able to stop that slaughter and for realizing that even in Avalia, there were still those who would rather flee and care only about themselves than to do what was right and fight.

"Those who are wounded or who seek refuge, flee from this city and seek the resistance. They will help you." she said, looking to the crowd and the ones that were willing to hear her words.

"Those among you who can and are willing to fight... You saw what Aklenroth is capable of, he can and he will turn this entire town in a pile of rubble to kill every single one of you. Follow me to the port. We shall retreat and regroup with the resistance... The war against Aklenroth is inevitable." Ayita said, finishing her speech as she began making her way towards the port. Whether anyone chose to follow her or not, it didn't matter for her. Even if she was completely alone, she still had to fight. Not to protect herself, but to give her people who were still suffering back on earth a safe place they can call home. She was fighting for something bigger than just herself.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Morning
Location: Ember Grove Diner
Interaction with: Millie and Angel @princess, Lucius @Ithradine
Mentions: Shay @Potter

---

Seeing Millie's smiling just like a child only made Ylva chuckle and smile back at her. The girl was just too adorable, harmless and most importantly, too genuine for her to react differently. Her eyes were shining almost like a child that just made a new friend. It was honestly, adorably cute. Even though Ylva had finished eating her sandwich, since she had nothing more to do she ended up simply staying at the table, simply watching as both of them began eating their meals with apparent gusto. When Luke heard her words though, he seemed to stop for a moment, reacting in an interesting way to it.

When Luke began talking though, it was clear to her that indeed something had happened with the man, just as what he said. That expression wasn't one someone would normally do. Whatever it had happened though, made no difference for Ylva. If Luke seemed like he didn't want to talk about it, she certainly wouldn't be the one to insist about it. Not only she wasn't really the type to listen to other's problems and play the psychologist but the man honestly seemed to be very problematic. She couldn't wonder how easier it was to deal with problems back in her clan. Everything was quickly dealt with either with a feast and an ungodly amount of alcohol or simply with a fistfight. In the most extreme cases, there would be real, serious fights, but still, deaths were quite rare. Violent? Barbaric? Maybe. But simpler, faster and easier.

"I see... Well... You don't need to worry about me insisting in knowing what happened." Ylva said, shrugging. Even though part of her suspicion was cleared, Luke was still... strange for Ylva. Almost as if a bit unstable. Whether that was because of said personal issues or not, it was something that would make Ylva keep an eye on him.

Unlike her though, Millie seemed to think differently about Luke and despite how strange and problematic he seemed to be, she showed herself eager and ready to approach him, offering to even help him with his problems if he wanted to talk about it. Something that could become quite annoying if he ended up talking about all his problems.

"Stories huh... Maybe. It is an old town in Norway, surrounded by forests. Both of them just as old as the blood that run through it's people's veins. A place were modern culture lives side by side with ancient traditions and old lineages." Ylva said, replying to Luke as he inquired about Ylva's hometown.

"Unfortunately, I'm not a good storyteller." Ylva said with a chuckle and a half smile.

Just after she said that though, she noticed Millie turning her head away in a rather abrupt manner. Upon close inspection, she saw that one of the two women who had entered the dinner just a while ago, was looking at Millie with a rather hostile glare towards Millie. Ylva simply turned towards the woman, raising an eyebrow and looking at her with a chuckle and shaking her head, almost as if she was amused by her glare.

Blood's Jewels (High Casual Fantasy Revolution)

Winton

Mikhail could feel the air between the group and the old priestess getting a bit heavier when Fatima stated her desire to cross over. The clear resistance from the old priestess to attend to Fatima's request could prove to be a problem for them, which could cause a change in their plans that could potentially leave them in an unfavorable position, considering their situation and how they had a queen after them.

Much to Mikhail's surprise though the old priestess also showed curiosity instead of only suspicion as she spoke to Fatima, inquiring about her reasons for wanting to go to Kaeleer despite her warnings. That said, Mikhail himself couldn't blame the old priestess for her questions and thinking that Fatima was just like the other queens. Considering what she went through, it was no wonder that she probably saw Fatima unfavorably just because she was a queen. Other than that, her concern regarding what Fatima would do in Kaeleer wasn't unfounded, especially given how most Hyallian queens were.

"I can assure you that Fatima isn't like other queens. The reason for the... situation we are in is exactly due to that." Mikhail said, looking to the old priestess with a serious stare.

"That said... I think that there is no one better to talk about it than Fatima herself." he concluded, looking to Fatima and nodding towards her. Even if he wanted to make sure that the old priestess would agree with their request, the only person whom could probably give the old priestess the answer she would like was Fatima herself.

Avalia

Location: Roshmi Grand Hall
Time: Evening
Interactions: O'ner (Mathis)@Eviledd1984, Zelginn @Dezuel, Malachi @princess, Belladonna @Potter

Myra knew very well that she would probably be wounded pretty badly if that black, wolf like creature managed to catch her but she still had to somehow lead it away from Mathis and Darius. Thankfully, it seemed like slashing his side to provoke it had worked and the creature had almost completely ignored her friends. Much to her surprise though, despite her efforts to lead it away from both Darius and Mathis, the latter, instead of running away, walked closer to the creature. Making a staff appear on his hand, Mathis conjured a spell to restrain the black creature, followed by a spear of energy to wound it. Myra who had noticed the creature getting ready to pounce on her to close the distance and was about to dodge, heard a whine coming from the creature. Upon noticing that the creature had stopped following her, Myra immediately hissed and growled in protest as she stopped running and looked back to Mathis and the now restrained creature, looking at both of them. It was clear that she was incredibly distressed and confused by the entire situation, not only there were a lot of smells and noises confusing her senses, but the fact that she had to protect her friends only made things worse for her. She knew could flee from the creature by using her speed but neither he nor Darius could. Why weren't they just running away? Didn't they understand she wanted them to run?

Even though the creature seemed to be restrained, Mathis still approached it. What would happen if it suddenly got free and went after him and Darius? Should Myra do what he suggested and try to blind the creature? There was also the possibility that without it's sight, the creature would stop focusing on her and go after the others or even start blindly attacking everything, which could end up getting them hurt. Even Darius who was still frozen in place could be harmed by it too. Before she could decide what to do though, her worst fear became true. Somehow, the creature opened it's mouth and managed to eat the magical chains that were restraining it, together with the energy spear that was also conjured by Mathis.

Myra felt her blood freezing as she watched the creature, that was now free, looking at Mathis. Due to the panic and confusion, Myra took a moment longer to react than what she usually would, which surprisingly enough saved her from probably getting really close from the creature on the moment it looked at her again. When it was about to continue chasing her, a white ball of bright light flew towards it, almost blinding Myra in the process. Alarmed by the sudden flash, Myra looked around in panic, until she saw a blonde elf, the same who sent the ball of light, waving at her in a strange manner. Almost at the same time she noticed him though, Myra saw a glint in the corner of her eye. Three sharp, metallic things flying fast through the air and hitting the black creature.

Looking at where the feathers came from, Myra noticed that it was the same winged woman that had thrown the strange crystal on the air and called the huge demon that was still rampaging in the middle of the ballroom. She was certainly an enemy so why did she help her? And why was Darius in her arms? Did he ran away while she was distracted with the black creature? Why didn't he run to safety, instead right towards a demon and trying to fight with it! Myra made a mention to run towards where Darius was, to try and take him away from the winged woman and the demon but she couldn't leave Mathis alone as well... Not only that but she didn't know where Artemis was too. With so many things happening, so many smells and noises, it was almost overwhelming Myra, to the point that she was just standing at the same place, looking towards Darius, Mathis, the black creature and around the ball to search for Artemis in panic. Why they couldn't simply run away? They knew that Myra could take care of herself! Instead, they were only putting themselves in danger!

Even though Myra was a hunter and a dangerous predator, being able to take down even large creatures by using her speed, agility, her claws, talons and teeth, the situation she was in right now wasn't one familiar to her. Her enhanced senses were gathering so much information that were proving to be almost a disadvantage for her. She was getting so stressed that it was hard for her to focus on things. If Myra had met the black creature in the forest or at least somewhere that wasn't in such a chaotic state as the ballroom, she would have either immediately fled from it in order to avoid any unecessary wounds if she saw that she wouldn't be able to take it down unscathed or she would use all her abilities to immediately take it down before it could retaliate but she was in a situation that she had never experienced in her entire life. She couldn't run away, she couldn't fight directly because her friends might get caught up, she had to pay attention on Darius, look for Artemis, keep an eye on the huge demon... It was just too much for Myra, who was already incredibly confused, not being able to understand exactly what was happening other than that they were in danger.

So far, despite how stressed she was, she did manage to keep things mostly on check... That was, until that moment. Suddenly ball of water soaked the ground near the black creature before another ball hit it right in the face. Myra saw, a bit relieved as the creature finally fell on the ground, tired and exhausted due to the wounds it suffered. As it shrank down, transforming itself on a small fox like boy and finally getting unconscious, Myra knew that it was not a threat anymore. Turning her attention to the water ball that hit the creature, Myra looked to where the ball of water came from. She knew that Darius could control water, but she knew Darius was still near the balcony still besides the winged woman and the demon, whom Myra knew that were enemies. Confused by that, Myra looked at the female human who had thrown the water ball, her eyes meeting the woman's for a brief moment as Myra realized that the woman was just like Darius, a human.

The exchange of stares with the human female was brief though, as a moment after she looked at her, a loud noise echoed through the ballroom, immediately turning her attention away from the human female. The huge demon had swung it's tail, opening a hole in the wall and sending debris flying through the ballroom. Reacting it on instinct, Myra managed to dodge a big and a few medium pieces of debris that flew in her direction, jumping and dodging them. Unfortunately, Myra had missed the fact that the huge demon was somehow attracting things towards it's chest, almost as if he was eating them after raising it's arms. When she finally noticed it after seeing a chair flying through the air a few meters away from her, it was already too late as a table flew towards Myra, hitting her head and sending her sliding through the ground, stopping near where the blonde haired woman was, already unconscious.

Avalia

Location: Roshmi Grand Hall
Time: Evening
Interactions: Cade @Helo, Sakura @baraquiel, , Torvi and Elsea @Tae, Corvina @Potter, Kuroi @hide on mana
Mentions: Umber and Darius @FunnyGuy

Ayita could feel her blood boiling, she knew that she wasn't the only human in the ball but still, Aklenroth was willing to simply slaughter all the other guests, be them innocent or not. Even his own allies. Aklenroth was exactly like the white men who invaded her people's land. Killing indiscriminately only to satisfy their own greed and thirst for power. She knew she wasn't alone, there were other humans in the ball and she knew very well that some of those humans were willing to fight, just like she was. Those would prove to be valuable allies. That said, there were still many bystanders that were simply cowering in fear or simply trying to flee. She only hoped her words would open their eyes. Unfortunately, Ayita was too worried in getting back to Sakura and Cade and thinking on what she could do on that situation to notice the words from that the other guests in the ball were saying as she ran past them... She had just arrived near Cade, just as he was helping the red headed woman, who had also spoken up against Aklenroth. Even though Ayita didn't know who she was, she heard her words and saw her actions. The woman had a warrior's heart, just like hers.

"The exits are still barred by-" Ayita said, replying to Cade as he said that their priority should be taking the humans to safety before she was interrupted by three people who were approaching her. Unfortunately, she had just realized what was happening when they were close and after seeing that somehow they had weapons in their hands as well. Before they could move in to strike her though, she saw a handaxe being thrown, hitting one of them with an audible sound as a human woman ran towards them, quickly killing the other two.

"It seems that the demons aren't our only enemies... Fortunately, it seems like there are more of us willing to fight." Ayita said, greeting the woman and putting her closed fist on her chest.

Just after she finished greeting the woman though, both of them turned their heads, watching as a black haired human went after the demon. Much for Ayita's surprise, the human was no one other than Darius, whom she had spoken to earlier. Seeing him fight made her satisfied though. Maybe he wasn't a complete fool after all. The moment Darius used his magic to trap the demon around a sphere of water though, Ayita heard a commotion coming from the exit. It seemed like the one responsible for the barrier was that same demon. Fortunately, distracted by Darius, the barriers were now down. It was their time to escape.

"Good luck, warrior." Ayita said to the woman as she walked away.

"I know, Sakura. That... thing isn't something we can deal with. At least not yet." Ayita said, turning to Sakura as she told them that they should escape as well.

When Sakura mentioned that she would be staying behind to distract the demon though, Ayita at first opened her mouth to protest, but closed it soon after, looking at her with a smile and a chuckle as she shook her head. She knew that if anyone would be able to get the attention from the demon and somehow still manage to escape, it was Sakura. She did it before with the dracolich and Ayita trusted on her powers.

"Be safe, my friend. I know we will meet again when the time comes." Ayita said, giving Sakura a short hug before she flew towards the huge demon.

Sakura then, after provoking it, began casting a spell by using her talismans. Drawing a five pointed star with her hand, the talismans started shining with a bright pink light as she began a chant. Pink chains suddenly appeared, flying towards the demon and restraining it, despite it's sheer size.

Just as Sakura had finished, another woman came towards them, getting near the red headed one Cade helped to get up. Much like her friend, whom apparently was called Elsea, she also chose to fight and just like her, had no fear in her eyes and chose to fight instead to cower in fear.

"Don't waste Sakura's efforts, Cade. Take Elsea and her friend to safety. We need to help as many as we can. Be them humans or those who also chose to fight against Aklenroth." Ayita said, looking to Cade and then to Elsea and her friend.

"Take them and go somewhere safe. Don't worry about me, you know I can take care of myself. We meet each other later, we still have Sakura's talisman." Ayita said with a nod and a determined expression, looking to Cade before she hugged him and got up on the table near them again, looking around and searching for more humans needing help.

The moment she got up on the table though, a voice called her, asking why she was fighting instead of just running away. The vulpine demi-human was only a few meters away from her and Ayita noticed that he was armed. Judging by how he was looking at her and his posture, he didn't consider her an ally, at least not yet.

"I am a warrior, not a coward! Would you leave innocent people or allies behind to be killed? Would you leave others who have chose to fight against Aklenroth behind to save your own life? I fight for something that is bigger than just my own life. I fight for the future of this land and the future of my own people. I fight to conquer a place where my people can live in peace!" she said, looking to the vulpine beastman with a sharp stare and with the dagger she got from the guard still on her hand. If he was going to attack her, she would be ready for it.

"My people are suffering in the hands of think exactly the same as Aklenroth. I couldn't do much back then when I saw my home and my people burning and being killed but I can do something now and I don't plan to throw this chance away." she finished, looking to the vulpine beastman with a sharp stare, closely watching his reaction and movements.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Morning
Location: Ember Grove Diner
Interaction with: Millie @princess, Lucius @Ithradine
Mentions: Angel @princess and Shay @Potter

---

Ylva couldn't help but let out a chuckle when Millie replied to her, gently patting her hand with a sweet smile. Not only her reactions were incredibly harmless and cute but her sweet personality just made her see Millie as a small and fluffy bunny even more. It was simply adorable. So much that she had to resist the urge to tease and hug Millie and take a moment to recover her composure.

"Thank you, little bunny." Ylva said with an amused, but kind smile.

Even though she was still a bit unnerved and annoyed on Luke's overly bright and enthusiastic personality, she simply nodded when he mentioned his father after she inquired about the manner he ordered his coffee. Unlike the impression that his words gave off, that he admired his father for that, what Ylva had felt on his tone was different from it. Whether he was talking the truth and his reaction was merely a reflection of some family issues or if he had other motives for such reaction to black coffee was something that she didn't care that much about. It wasn't like she was a psychologist or had the patience to listen to other's problems

"Hah, thank you." Ylva said when Luke mentioned her name with a chuckle. His mispronunciation of her name didn't offend her at all, in part because she was already expecting people to mispronounce it, considering it wasn't really a common name on that country.

"I was already expecting for people to find it strange or to mispronounce it. It isn't exactly a common name in this country. I do carry it, just like my heritage with pride though." she said, getting a paper napkin from the table and cleaning both her fingers and wiping her mouth after finishing her sandwich.

Just after she finished saying that, she noticed a two more people entering the dinner and sitting on a table. Since she was already somewhat of a regular customer, she knew that around that time the diner started to receive a bit more clients so it wasn't really that surprising nor noteworthy for her.

Returning her attention to the table she was on and the conversation with both Luke and Millie, Ylva once again noticed a strange change of tone in Luke's voice as he accepted Millie's offer to show him around the town. The first time it happened, she thought it probably had some personal reasons, but after happening it again made Ylva a bit suspicious. She did find his personality really annoying at first, almost as if he was trying really hard to be likeable but now she was suspecting it a bit more. Sure, it always had the possibility that she was just overthinking all that, but it was still strange for her despite his tone having quickly returning back to normal as the waitress arrived with his and Millie's order.

"Are you feeling well, Luke?" Ylva asked, looking at Luke with a sharp, penetrating stare as she analyzing his reactions to her question.

"You sounded... strange when you replied to Millie right now..." she finished still looking towards Luke.

While normally Ylva would just ignore someone who was acting as weirdly as Luke was or deal with it either with intimidation or a good punch to the face, he seemed to be rather interested on Millie and despite knowing her for such a short amount of time, she couldn't just leave such an innocent and harmless creature on her own.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Kalla

---

Maeve simply smiled kindly towards the merfolk girlas she thanked her for making the water a bit colder and introduced herself. Truth be told, she could relate to her struggle with the hot climate as Maeve herself simply hated hot weather and was constantly either looking for shade while the sun was still high or using her magic to make the air around her colder.

"Doesn't it? I do know very well how awful this hot climate can be for someone who isn't used to it." Maeve said with a chuckle.

"Oh, my name is Maeve by the way. Maeve Orzhov. Pleased to meet you, Lynn." Maeve said with a kind smile to her.

When the girl finally arrived with the jars Madam Valia had asked her to fetch, Maeve paid close attention while they discussed about it. Being a woman, she was also interested to know how did Madam Valia make to keep her skin smooth and soft even under such harsh climate. According to the girl, one jar was oil, the other lotion and the last one, interestingly enough, salt.

"Salt. Tundral often has quite a good demand for it. I wouldn't be surprised if some of Kalla's salt ended up in Tundral." Maeve said, replying as Madam Valia mentioned salt.

"Although it does take quite a while for it to get there, which sometimes may cause shortages depending on what happens." Maeve said.

When Madam Valia opened the lotion jar though, Maeve was surprised with the wonderful scent that quickly filled the room.

"Hm, it smells wonderful! We do have lotions and oils on Tundral but I've never had one with such an incredibly good fragrance." Maeve said, curious about the jar Madam Valia had just opened.

"Is this one of the secrets for your skin to be always so perfect?" Maeve asked with a mischievous grin to Valia.

"You have to tell me where you found it! I need to get some back to Tundral when I get home!" Maeve said with a smile and a laugh.

A Guild Adventure: An RP with Monster Girls! (ENDED)

Ada

^{@PaulHaynek@Rezod92}

Ada didn't understand why the Ushi-Oni suddenly became so angry but she certainly didn't like her threatening Yang like that and she made it very clear to her, growling and hissing to the Ushi-Oni. Kira also quickly went to where Ada was to defend Yang, but seemed to take a more peaceful approach, trying to talk with her first, although with no avail. What surprised Ada the most though was when Yang herself gave a few steps forward, patting her and talking to both Kira and Ada. Apparently, she wanted them to get away and not involve themselves with what was happening. Ada did find that strange, turning her head to Yang, looking at her confusedly for a moment before looking back at the Ushi-Oni still in a threatening posture.

When Yang knelt down, patting her and holding by her cheeks to calm her down, saying that she and the spider lady were only going to play for a while. It was really strange on how Yang seemed to be calm on that situation, despite the clearly harmful intentions the spider lady had. Ada was reluctant to leave her side due to the dangerous situation but despite that, Yang didn't seem to think much of it. After some consideration though, Ada decided to trust Yang and walk back. Despite that though, she still had her eyes on the Ushi-Oni, a clear indication that if she saw that Yang was in danger she would intervene regardless if she wanted or not.

When Yang and the spider lady were about to start fighting though, the same guy who welcomed them into the cooking competition suddenly ran towards the spider lady, giving them a big slice of meat which surprisingly enough, made all her anger disappear in a moment. Even though Ada was surprised on how fast Nero moved himself, she was able to identify him even while he was running, due to the fact that Ada's eyes were already accustomed in seeing and identifying things in high speed, since she hunted mainly using her own speed.

After stopping the Ushi-Oni and dealing with her anger, it seemed that she had lost the will to fight, which was a good thing. Nero soon approached them to apologize for the spider lady's behavior. When he approached Ada though, he would quickly realize that she had her eyes glued on the big steak that the spider lady was happily eating as her tongue went in and out of her mouth and she sniffed the air. It didn't take much for Nero to understand that she was very interested on that steak.

---

Freyr

^@PaulHaynek

"Don't worry. There are a lot of complicated circumstances... And, well... Love itself is already complicated enough by itself." Freyr replied to Sir Reed's words as he apologized himself.

"I am thankful for you coming and talking to me about it though." he said with a smile and a nod towards him.

It didn't take long until the competition was resumed and all the contestants, called. The solution that they had found for the next part of the competition was definitely interesting though. According to the explanation they received, they were going to be shooting apples that would be dropped from a very high altitude. While it sounded simple enough, it was in reality, a very complex task. Not only the target was small and far, but there were things that had to be taken in account such as the wind, the speed of the apple and it's position as it fell and other things.

Much to his surprise though, when he was preparing himself, he heard Halley's voice as she approached him with a basket of apples in her wing, mentioning that she had volunteered to help in the competition. Since she could fly, she would be perfect to drop the apples for the next part of the competition.

"Don't worry, I am pretty confident in my abilities and I'm sure you will do a good job." Freyr said with a chuckle as she heard her mentioning that she wouldn't go easy on him despite them being guildmates.

Freyr was going to mention about her not needing to stay there to watch the competition until it ended, but seeing how Haley was excited and willing to help, Freyr decided to say nothing about it. Haley was not the type of person that easily got bored, instead it was the complete opposite. Whenever she went she somehow made sure things never got boring.

With the competition resuming again, the competitors got into position as Haley flew in the air, ready to drop the apples. Given the technical difficulty of the shot, Freyr knew that he would have to aim calmly. Even for a Viera, hitting an apple in that situation wasn't an easy task. The first shots were easy enough, but as Haley started going higher and higher, the difficulty began rising noticeably. Looking to the other competitors, Freyr was surprised to notice that the one who seemed to have more difficulty among them was the Cupid and not the Kikimora maid. The cupid had managed to hit the last few apples but some of her shots had almost missed. When she was about to make another shot though, Freyr noticed how her aim was off by a noticeable margin. Instead of aiming below Haley, she was aiming directly at her. Not only that but she was using a different type of arrow too.

Freyr didn't have much time to think about it. Upon seeing the cupid aiming straight towards Haley when it was her time to take the shot, Freyr acted out of impulse, nocking an arrow and letting it go just as the cupid did the same. The trajectory of his arrow would cross hers and hopefully deflect her arrow before it could hit Haley. Even though he knew he could be disqualified from the competition from shooting out of his turn, he couldn't simply let Haley be hurt like that.

Final Fantasy 7 Redone

Aiko Kamiya

Despite the fact that she was being followed, Aiko couldn't help but find the situation amusing and funny. Not only the thugs were failing miserably at trying to be discreet but it was painfully obvious that none of them were the sharpest tool in the shed... While it was true that Aiko could easily lose them if she wanted to, she was honestly having fun in provoking the lovable trio of idiots. That said, she was so distracted in provoking them that even though she knew that there was a Doomrat's nest around those parts, she didn't realize she was going straight towards it until that exact moment. When she did though, she had an interesting idea. Since the thugs were still Don's guys, she could give them a small surprise...

"You guys are SO slow!" Aiko shouted with a smirk as she slowed down a little in order for them to not lose track of her, provoking them to keep following her as she went straight towards the Doomrat's nest, which they didn't seem to know about.

"I had to hold myself in order for you guys to keep chasing me, you know... If I gave it my all you probably would lose me in seconds." Aiko said with a chuckle and a mischievous smirk as she continued provoking them while slowly but surely leading them towards the Doomrat nest.

The plan was fairly simple: She was fairly certain that the thugs were completely oblivious about the Doomrat's nest ahead. Since she knew she could outrun the Doomrats, it would be fairly easy to provoke them and set them on the thugs, which by now would be too worried in running for their lives to bother in keep tailing Aiko. They might be idiots but they probably knew how dangerous those creatures were in groups. The moment she got closer to the nest, she would do some noise in order to draw the doomrat's attention before running away and leaving Don's thugs to deal with the rats themselves.

Avalia

Location: Roshmi Grand Hall
Time: Evening
Mentions: Cade @Helo, Sakura @baraquiel, Umber and Darius @FunnyGuy and everyone inside the ballroom who can hear her.

Even though Ayita did say they should protect Risa, she couldn't help but look at the people who were openly defying Aklenroth. She knew that the Lich King wouldn't hesitate in slaughtering everyone in that ballroom. In fact, she was expecting something to happen, she knew that Aklenroth, who tried to burn down an entire forest just because of her wouldn't hesitate in slaughtering a few dozen bystanders just because of a few rebels. Could she really flee to her own safety and simply leave the others who were fighting to fend off for themselves? No... Ayita was a warrior and the shouts of people who were willing to fight against Aklenroth fired up her own heart. When she heard a red haired woman shouting as she jumped on a table, tearing her mask and the disguise she was using off, revealing herself as a human, followed by another one who did the same thing, jumping on a table and taking off her disguise, inspired by the redheaded girl, it became even harder for her to simply leave. She was a warrior. Running away wasn't in her blood.

"There are too many humans, too many allies here. We can't leave them to be slaughtered by Aklenroth. I'm sure he wont let this opportunity pass." Ayita said in a grim tone as she heard Cade's words, agreeing with him. Just as he said though, Risa was an important piece in their fight against Aklenroth, someone they should definitely defend.

Sakura also seemed to agree with Cade's suggestion, saying that she would go with Ayita to protect Risa while Cade tried to gather the humans and take them away from the ballroom. Before doing so though, Sakura gave both Cade and Ayita a talisman, explaining that they should only tear those to guide them towards her. Despite her desire to stay and fight, Ayita knew very well on how much disadvantage they would be if they fought there. Sakura was right, they couldn't fight, at least not there and not now.

"Cade, be careful. Try to..." Ayita began saying before she was interrupted the moment a voice rose above the rest, asking for the guest's attentions as he began a speech.

Ayita didn't need to hear what he was saying, she knew something bad was about to happen. Almost as if confirming her suspicions though, she looked around just to see that there were a lot of people that were trying to get out of the ballroom but were stopped by an invisible wall. They were trapped inside. All of them. It was at that moment that she realized that the ball, all that was merely a big trap... Was Aklenroth expecting that rebels and humans would attend to the ball in such numbers? Did he prepare all this? Was this his plan all along...?

"Everything was... A trap..." She said with her eyes wide open, alarmed just as two long black arms erupted from the elf who was doing the speech, tearing it's body apart and revealing it's true form, a huge demon.

Almost at the same time the large demon finished it's speech and revealed his true form, a crystal was thrown in the air right in the middle of the room before it burst in mid air, making a rift appear exactly in the middle of the ballroom. From the rift, fingers appeared, tearing it open little by little before a huge demon appeared from it.

"Cade, Sakura... We don't have a choice anymore. We're all trapped..." Ayita said in an alarmed tone, pointing towards the doors, where many guests fruitlessly tried to get past the invisible barrier.

Ayita couldn't help but feel hopeless for a moment as she looked around. In the blink of an eye, huge demons started appearing one after another as the slaughter began. People were crushed under the weight of giant demons, others were swallowed and killed or bitten and mauled. It was so obvious it was a trap... She knew it was a trap but they fell on it anyways, having left even their weapons behind.

Despite all that though, Ayita wasn't the type of person who would lose control and get desperate or give up. It wasn't the first time she had faced death in the eyes and it wouldn't be the first time the had greeted it with a smile.

"If I have to fall, I will fall fighting." Ayita said, with a determined expression as she kneeled down and grabbed the bottom part of her dress and ripped it with her hands around the middle of her thighs in order for her to move herself more freely and taking off her heels before she got up, grabbing her mask and taking it off her face.

"I would love to have some weapons right now... It seems I won't be able to use the ones you gave me Cade, sorry." Ayita said as she took her hand to her forehead, where the symbol Sakura had painted to make her disguise was before erasing it, dispelling her disguise spell.

After saying that though, Ayita turned towards the banquet table that was behind them, grabbing the large knife that was nearby the meats section.

"There is a word in my people's language... Gurahiyi. It means to 'stand alone together'." Ayita said in a serious voice as she looked to Cade and Sakura with a determined expression before she smiled and dashed towards one of the guards, that were on the corner of the ballroom.

Despite being in a closed space, the moment Ayita started running towards the guard, she felt once again the wind running with her as she dodged and weaved through the people that were panicking across the ballroom. Despite the confusion, the guard, who was wielding a halberd, still managed to spot Ayita. The moment he started lowering the halberd and pointing towards her though, she closed distance with a burst of speed, once again having the same feeling that she did in the forest of running together with the wind. Grabbing the shaft of the halberd, she pushed it away from her as she jumped at the guard, grabbing him by the hair as he fell down and slicing his throat in a single, brutal movement.. His blood sprayed on her face and her dress as the guard gasped for air one final time before his body went limp and his halberd fell to the ground with an audible noise.

Grabbing the guard's halberd which was now stained with his own blood, the dagger that he carried under his belt and the shortsword, discarding it's sheath before jumping on a nearby table, rising the halberd on the air while holding the dagger and the shortsword with her other hand.

"Open your eyes and look around you! This is what Aklenroth truly is! A cruel and violent tyrant that knows no honor and brings only death and destruction! Look at the dead around you! Unarmed people that were loyal to him lie dead along with innocents and even his allies!" Ayita shouted, with her face still bloodied. With an intense fire in her eyes and no hesitation in her words, she continued.

"Aklenroth asked for war and I will give him what he desires! Will you fight for your freedom or will you bow down and live like mere cattle for Aklenroth to play with? The time to chose is now, are you with me or against me?" she said as she pointed towards the demon who had emerged from the elf who was giving the speech moments before everything began. Should their eyes meet, he would quickly realize that Ayita's words were more than just empty threats and her eyes weren't one of a naive girl. They were the eyes of a warrior.

"Arm yourselves and fight! Fight for your land, fight for your lives, fight for your freedom!" she shouted before whistling towards Cade and throwing him the guard's halberd.

"Aklenroth's corruption will be cleaned with blood! Make your choice now, for there will be no mercy for those who side with him against this land and it's people! Be them humans or not!" she finished, taking her hand to her face, which was still dripping with the guard's blood, and running it across her face, painting it with the red of the guard's blood.

"Rise and fight Avalia! For even if we stand alone, we will stand alone together for this land! Gurahiyi!" Ayita finished with a battle cry as she threw the large knife that she had used to kill the guard at the same demon which she pointed at with the halberd, looking at him for a few seconds in defiance before she got down and headed back towards Cade and Sakura.

"Here, take it. I know you prefer magic but you should at least have something for emergencies." Ayita said when she got closer to Sakura and Cade, handing the shortsword to Sakura before she looked at both of them.

"Escaping is not an option. The exits are barred. We need to find who is responsible for the barriers or if that's not possible... Trying to deal with that monstrous thing in the middle of the ballroom..." she finished as she looked to them.

"Try to get the guard's weapons, arm as many people as you can among those who are willing and capable to fight against Aklenroth." she finished as she looked at them with a determined expression. Just like she said before, she didn't plan to go down without a fight.