13org

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Time: Morning
Location: Her room
Interactions:
Mentions: Munir @Infinite Cosmos, Nahir @Rodiak, Layla @Potter

---

Mayet's memories of last night were but a blur. She remembers being invited to the so called 'after-party', the carriage she took with Anastasia but after that it was all a hazy mess. No matter how much she tried, she could remember little other than the anger, rage and bloodlust she felt, which gave her a terrible, terrible mood in the next day, much for the dismay of anyone who found themselves on her way. For now, there was still time for them to run, as Mayet took her time waking up, taking a shower and retrieving her ring-blade, which was still nailed to the wall to the other side of the room, missing a particularly expensive painting by a centimeter, leaving a deep cut into the wall.

Nala, unlike Mayet, didn't have quite an 'eventful' evening and instead simply spent the entire night sleeping, until Mayet arrived, slamming the door and throwing her ring-blade through the room, that is. Alarmed, Nala awoke with a jump as she hissed and looked around, worried that there was something going on, only to be met with an enraged Mayet. Her anger didn't subside until Nala approached her, pushing her towards the bed with her head and proceeded to lay down near her, to which, Mayet responded with a bit more grumbling, before she hugged Nala and almost instantly fell asleep.

Despite having no memories of what happened in that party on the previous night, Mayet knew that she wasn't someone who would drink herself to such a point. In fact, she wasn't someone who enjoyed alcohol that much... To think she would fall for such a cheap trick like poisoning... Especially when she wouldn't fell for something like that back home. Unlike the ball, when she wore an elegant dress, specifically chosen to further enhance her magnificence and make an impactful entrance, today Mayet was wearing a simple black dress, much like the ones she always used back in Alidasht. Light, practical and useful but still carrying it's charm.

"Twice. Not once, but twice we were gravely offended in our short stay in Caesonia." Mayet said to herself.

"Someone will be punished for what happened, they will be made an example to all those who think they can offend us without facing the consequences... I will personally see it through it." Mayet said, with a dangerous fire in her eyes as she looked to Nala.

"Before that though... Should we go see our siblings? I'm curious about what they think of all this... Our father can't just keep turning a blind eye to us being offended like that." Mayet said, gently patting Nala's head before she headed out,

Avalia

Time: Night
Location: River Port
Interactions: Astra and Vrexen @FunnyGuy, Alaia @Alivefalling and Maeryn @princess
Mentions:

---

After satisfying her hunger with the meat the waitress brought them under Maeryn and Astra's request, Myra followed them out in search of the strange 'Hoo-mans' as Maeryn and Astra called them. While it wasn't really hard to find them, given how one of them had fire coming out of their hands, Myra was still a bit confused about the reason for doing so. Since they were just eating, there was no reason to hung and instead, they ended up just observing them. Myra still did her best to hide though, which was one of her specialties. Using her camouflage, it was easy for her to stay hidden and even to get somewhat closer to those they were stalking, close enough for her to feel their scent and remember it, as Maeryn had asked her to do. In the end, despite Vrexen's eagerness to just go in and fight against the 'hoo-mans', they ended up simply letting them leave, due to the amount of light elves surrounding them.

With the decision made to search for other 'hoo-mans', who might have less people around them, Myra traveled with the rest of the group to another big city. After what happened in the other city though, Myra did notice that Vrexen was acting... strange. He didn't seem to talk like he did before and even the atmosphere around him seemed to give Myra a very bad feeling. Knowing that Vrexen was, sometimes, prone to random outbursts of uncontrolled anger, seeing him so quiet and calm made her be more careful around Vrexen than she was before.

Unfortunately for Myra, Vrexen's strange behavior wasn't the only thing she had to worry about as Astra and Maeryn began to practice and use a strange ability to move and control shadows, something that always made Myra extremely nervous. Even though Myra knew Astra was an ally and Maeryn was someone Astra trusted, she simply couldn't change her extreme aversion to shadow magic, enough to make Myra hiss and get extremely alarmed whenever Astra was using it and even going as far as not being as close to Astra as she was before, always being careful and wary near her and Maeryn, which became evident on how Myra seemed to be always standing just a step further away from Astra and Maeryn than she normally would.

---

At Myriamor, the strange atmosphere surrounding the group, at least on Myra's eyes, still continued as Vrexen seemed about to explode at any second and now, with Myra herself also having to be wary not just about Vrexen, but Astra and Maeryn's use of shadow magic as well. With the group having stopped at one of Myriamor's stables to look at horses, Myra, who would normally be moving around to sate her endless curiosity, was instead quiet, walking a few steps behind Astra and Vrexen, who was, just like Myra herself, still disguised as a lizard demi-human. That was until Maeryn approached the group again, his expression clearly stating he had something to tell them.

Avalia

Time: 2pm
Location: Dugmaghord
Interactions: Rosaria @potter
Mentions: Aurora @Mole, Caelan @Alivefalling, Kuroi @hide on mana, Leaf @Helo, Sophie, Mikazuki @princess, Nuallán @13org, Jomari @baraquiel and Slick @FunnyGuy

---

While in the end, the crisis was solved without any harm to either Rosaria or Mikazuki, the situation was still incredibly impactful for Nuallán. For him, the fact that despite being Rosaria's buttler and bodyguard, he let her be kidnapped could only be interpreted as him failing with both his duties and his mistress. Besides, due to Rosaria being someone deeply important to him, the desperation he felt when he knew that Rosaria was gone was something he never wanted to feel again. As a result of that, not wanting for that situation to ever repeat again, Nuallán became even more protective, attentive and vigilant around Rosaria after they arrived at Dugmaghord, refusing to leave her side even for a single moment. In the following months they spent at Dugmaghord, this also had the effect of making Nuallán even closer to Rosaria, not just physically, but emotionally as well.

In the four months they spent in Dugmaghord, Nuallán was able to further interact with some of the group members. One of the most interesting changes in this aspect was regarding Jomari. Having been given the task of keeping an eye on Jomari by Rosaria himself, his initial impression of Jomari wasn't a good one, having even considered him a possible threat. After having forced to fight together with the human though and on the four next months he spent on Dugmaghord, a few things changed between them. Naturally, Nuallán still kept a watchful eye on Jomari and his actions, but he also found out that Jomari was a surprisingly fast learner. Despite having discovered his abilities recently, Nuallán only had to give him a few hints and some small guidance for him to figure out the rest. All in all, Nuallán still kept a watchful eye on Jomari, but his impression of him was definitely better, even if only for a bit, than it was before.

Among the humans, there was another person whom Nuallán came to know a bit more, although it wasn't entirely on purpose. Since the first time he saw her, he noticed how Sophie resembled Rosaria herself in some aspects and even Aurora in others. Due to that, Nuallán couldn't help but find himself paying a bit of attention towards her as well when she is near him and Rosaria. Despite being a introverted and quiet, Nuallán did notice that the girl has an unusually sharp mind. Due to that, whenever he takes his time trying to help or guide the others either with physical training or with their powers (despite both Rosaria and Aurora being way better at the last one than Nuallán himself) he also tries to encourage Sophie to be more confident and to even experiment around with her powers in order to hopefully, help both her and her powers to grow.

---

Having considered Slick's idea to go hunting quite a good one, Nuallán ended up agreeing with him. Especially since it might help the humans to get a better feel of their newfound powers in actual combat in relatively controlled situations. The extra Amas they would make would be only a small extra.

"Are we going to hunt as well, my dear lady?" Nuallán asked, looking to Rosaria with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he teased her.

"Forgive-me for the jest. I would gladly accompany you for hunting or even for a peaceful outing in the woods, should you be interested, of course." he said with a chuckle.

"As always, your comfort, happiness and safety are my utmost priorities." Nuallán finished, with a polite bow as he did so.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

^{Interactions: Amanda @Kumbaris, Micheal Crane @BigPapaBelial, Scarlet @AWACS, Ahab @Eviledd1984}

---

The chaos continued as the demons summoned by the strange orc scientist called Ahab began helping Michael, Scarlet and Amanda fight against their pursuers. With bullets and all kinds of harmful magic flying everywhere, Faye could do little but to take cover and do her best to not being hit by any stray bullet. The amount of magic used wasn't doing any good in improving her situation either, since she was still feeling the effects of pushing herself too much when using her magic.

Slowly but surely, the other members of the group were also hitting their limits. Michael, after using too many runes, suffered a big magic burn into his arm, making him gasping in pain with entire forearm erupting in smoke and Scarlet, despite having seemingly an endless supply of ammo to fire, had already been hit twice, although one bullet seemed to have stopped on her armor.

"Micheal, Scarlet! Are you two okay?" Faye asked, still taking cover as she looked over to them.

"I still can't... use my magic! All this magic being thrown around... It's really not helping, at all!" Faye said, feeling the headaches flare up once again, with her body getting hotter due to all the magic around.

"I'm sorry guys... I can hold on... Just don't worry about me and do what you need to do to drive these guys away!" Faye said, gritting her teeth as she tried her best to resist.

The gunfight continued for a while, until the allied OMR agents were able to organize themselves and start pushing the hostile agents back, until they had to finally retreat after many being wounded or dead.

"Is it... over?" Faye asked, slowly raising her head and looking around.

After a cordon was formed by the OMR agents, who started securing the area and cleaning up the mess, Amanda came up to Faye, asking her to follow her to the infirmary to have her magical overload treated.

"Yes... It worsened now after this combat... Too much magic being used..." Faye said, wobbling a bit as she got up.

The moment Faye arrived on the infirmary, before she was able to even properly see the woman wearing a black outfit, she could feel a characteristic, distinct magic coming from her. The moment she approached the infirmary, despite her weakened state, she could immediately feel the powerful, old magic. Unlike modern types of magic, the magic that mysterious woman used, despite being fierce and primal, was still somewhat comforting to Faye, since it was much closer to the nature and to the magic many fairies used than other types of modern magic. It was the ancestral magic of the deep, dark woods. The magic of earth and roots, of herbs and flowers, of blood and bones.

She didn't know exactly who she was, but Faye instinctively knew that the woman that had just stood up to greet them was someone who should be both respected, feared and revered. It definitely wasn't someone Faye or anyone could afford to offend lightly.

It took a few moments for Faye to realize that the woman was talking to her, still a bit shocked. Both for Amanda, Scarlet and even Alexeya herself, it was clear that Faye had seen or felt something different that made her change her posture and even her tone of voice.

"M-Madam A-Alexeya...? Ye-Yes... I'm Faye Hayward." Faye said, doing her best to treat the woman in a polite way, despite how weak she was feeling as Alexeya mentioned her name, saying for her and Amanda to wait a bit.

Once Alexeya went to get the materials she needed to treat her and Amanda mentioned that she wouldn't leave her alone, Faye nodded to Amanda, silently thanking her as she let out a smile.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

&

Roman Ravenwood

^{@Reusablesword and @13org}

---

Roman could only smile at the woman, the tigress, “Shall we?” motioning his arm towards the dance floor. The lights and beat of the music were almost as intoxicating as the drinks and Mayet herself. stepping onto the dancefloor was a little awkward at first but he soon let himself move freely with the beat of the music and the other patrons around him. It reminded him of how some of the old nomads used to dance around a big fire and celebrate the summer solstice. something told him that Mayet would also find this type of close dancing interesting, at least by the way she was acting.

While Roman did take a moment to start dancing freely, thanks to the strange drink Mayet had taken, it took her little effort to start moving herself to the rhythm of the music. Her movements were quick and agile, with a certain predatory grace to them. There was no sequence of movements to Mayet's dance, no choreography. Instead it was something that was almost entirely instinctual. Her fast and light steps as she danced around Roman, the way she got close to Roman, rubbing her body against his, letting him feel the her well toned muscled while letting her hand trail through his body, only to dance away when he tried to touch her was an accurate reflection of her wild and whimsical nature.

From time to time, Roman's persistence would be rewarded in moments where Mayet did not dance away after getting close to him, instead leaning closer, playfully biting the base of his neck and running her nails through his back, enough to make him feel the marks she was leaving on his skin.

Every time Mayet approached him like that, the hunger and desire in her eyes grew. Even though she knew that she was acting like that due to the drink, the temptation to simply forget about her pride, reputation and status and devour the man that stood in front of her, to leave her marks on him, to bite, claw and taste every single bit of his body, was always there. The only thing that was able to hold back the enormous desire Mayet felt right now was her pride, which made her always dance away from him just the moment she felt it was getting hard to control herself.

This dance surely was different. nearly gone it seemed was the princess he danced with earlier. what he found before him was someone that did not seem to be themselves almost running on instinct. The look in her eyes could have given most others a chill down their spine but somehow this look was familiar to him like he had been in its company before.

Roman let her come in close and drag her nails against his skin. Every time he would pull her closer with his hands on her hips letting both of them move with the sway of the music. He could feel his heart racing. his smile never fading with the occasional raised eyebrow with how close she kept coming towards him. it was like the billows of his forge back home. every breath, bringing heat, every step forward towards him making his chest burn. his muscles tensed every time she pulled back waiting for the next strike in this strange dance they found themselves in.

A flash of light brought a new color to mayets eyes for a moment, in that moment he was brought back to a scene of his younger self getting in between a hungry wolf and one of his trouble-making brothers that pushed his luck too far. The yellow predatory eyes were only there for a moment but they were the same as the wolf. another flash, another bite near his shoulder brought him back to the present. at least it didn't seem like she wanted to eat him, not yet anyways.

with mayet coming in close again he didn't let her back away as she dug her claws into him. with one hand on her lower back and the other under her thigh gripping tight the giant picked her up and twirled her once then twice quickly releasing her back to the ground. if she was going to try and mark him for whatever reason then he would do the same or at least try to.

Mayet couldn't help but let out a surprised, but amused smirk as Roman grabbed her thigh and picked her up and twirled twice before putting her down again. Feeling Roman's hand on her thigh, his firm grasp as he lifted her, only made it even harder for Mayet to control herself. For a brief moment, all rationality left her mind as she pounced on Roman, taking both of them to the ground and pinning Roman under her, holding his arms with her hands. Despite her relatively small frame, Roman could feel her thighs on the side of his body, her skin pressing against his and the muscles from her legs firmly holding him under her.

Sitting over Roman's stomach, she slowly approached her face from his, letting out a provocative smirk before she approached his neck, letting her tongue gently trail through his neck, giving playful bites as she did so, slowly going up until she was looking directly into his eyes. For a moment she simply looked deep into his eyes, a deep, pure, almost primal desire in Mayet's eyes as she approached her lips from his...

When their lips were about to touch though, Mayet suddenly hesitated, moving her face away from his. For a moment, Mayet simply stood where she was, sitting on Roman as she regained her bearings. Roman could see Mayet's eyes slowly returning to normal. Almost as if all the effects from the drink suddenly stopped, Mayet couldn't feel that extreme desire and lust anymore. Instead, all that intense lust and desire was suddenly over, leaving a total emptiness on its place.

Sweating profusely, almost as if she had just finished a heavy session of training or sparring, Mayet took her hand to her forehead, regaining her bearings.

"Stop… My head… I need some water..." Mayet said after a minute, slowly getting up.

The sudden pounce caught him flat footed and sent both of them to the floor regardless of the other dancers. She had effortlessly pinned him, he thought he might just have been able to wrestle out from under her but they were both fighters and ground fighting was not the best situation for him. while she was distracted and honestly distracting him with her tongue and teeth Roman slipped one of his legs up resting his knee right behind her, this way if id did turn into wrestling he could easily buck her off.

He could see the color and intent in her eyes, for a moment he knew he was in trouble then with a flash it changed again. He was hoping she wasn't about to vomit on him but it seemed like she was just as confused as he was, “You okay?” he asked with a bit of worry behind his words. they had both worked up quite the sweat during their dance and he was entirely sure he worked his buzz out of his system.

"Stop… My head… I need some water..."

It took her a minute to get up and he was quick to do the same, staring at her for a moment trying to wrap his head around what just happened. “well judging by how everyone else was acting i'm guessing that wasn't you back there?” Even if he was right she was still very interesting and seeing this side of her he was expecting it but not with so much power behind it and her actions.

Mayet was already feeling awful due to the after-effects of the drink, but Roman's words only made her mood even worse. Truth be told, she didn't know how to reply to him. The drink definitely affected her but despite the strong 'impulses' she felt... That was still her. Giving the correct time, person and location... She could indeed think of herself doing the same thing, maybe going even further... but for now, there was not even a single trace of lust or desire in her being, instead being replaced by an extremely bad mood.

"That drink... I would love to have a few minutes to 'talk' with whoever made it..." Mayet said with a dangerous expression.

"And you... You should feel honored. Not many had the chance to even stand this close to me and even fewer were able to leave intact after doing so." Mayet said, looking to Roman with piercing eyes.

While Mayet did not answer his question, Roman would quickly notice by her eyes and her tone that it would be incredibly unwise to insist on that matter. She already seemed to be angry enough as it was.

The very moment Mayet looked towards the bar, looking both for some water and for the woman who served that drink, both to ask for some water and to demand an explanation about the drink and its effects, she was met with a scene that immediately made her blood boil. The fact that Anastasia was being threatened was bad, but still, it was not nearly as bad as seeing her dear sibling, Munir, being thrown over a table by the very same man who was threatening Anastasia.

Without saying a single word, Mayet simply walked towards the table where her blade was, grabbed it and took of the silk wrapping around it with a single, fluid pull and with her blade unsheathed, she began walking towards the weird man holding a piece of glass and threatening Anastasia..

Not a single word was said by Mayet, but despite that, the people in front of her almost instinctively opened the way for her to pass, as her eyes and her posture left no doubt that she wouldn't hesitate in cutting down anyone who stood in her way, no matter who they were.

The atmosphere around the princess shifted to one of imminent doom, at least that was the best he could explain it. Her own explanation did help him understand what they had just done a little more. He was even surprised at himself for how far he went with it. Perhaps it was because of this place and no titles or responsibilities. At least he didn't drink one of those fancy drinks that could have gotten ugly.

They both seemed a bit parched as they made their way back towards the bar and some commotion. by how everyone was acting the other patrons seemed to be coming down from their high, people fighting, vomiting, sinking into themselves and hiding away. The raised and emotional voices at the bar caught his attention and was able to look just in time to see Munir tumble over the bar and Mayet begin walking with purpose back to where they were earlier.

Observing the scene for a moment Roman moved towards the wall and then began approaching the man that was threatening his friend. He didn't say anything but was purposefully moving towards the man from an angle where he would have to lose line of sight with Munir and a few of the others to look towards him. Slowing his pace as he began to get closer, staring the man down with building anger in his eyes.

Before the giant of a man could react or say anything someone approached behind the man and sized his hand that held the glass. quickly before he could react Roman came up and tried to pull Princess Ana away from the man trying to place his large frame between this crazed man and Ana to protect her. His only words held authority and anger, “Let her go or I will break your arm and then you.”

While her eyes were fixed at Erza as she approached, Mayet was still able to see Saiya suddenly approaching Erza from behind, moving quickly as she held the arm that was holding the piece of glass and told him to release Anastasia. Immediately following Saiya's movements, Roman, who was able to be surprisingly agile and quiet, despite his size, silently approached Erza, and when he was close enough, tried to pull Anastasia away from the man, putting himself between Erza and Anastasia, to protect her.

Normally, Mayet would have said something about that situation, demanding silence and the attention from the other patrons before making that man a bloody example of what happened to those that offended the Alidasht royalty. This time though, Mayet simply couldn't be bothered to do that. The entire warehouse was incredibly chaotic, with the other patrons suffering equally impacting after effects due to the drinks. The sounds of fighting, vomiting and exalted voices drowned even the loud music that was still playing...

It would be easier to just cut down that pathetic excuse of a man... Together with anyone who tried to stop her or defend him. Both her eyes and her posture as she approached Erza with her blade in her hands, made those thoughts clear to anyone looking at her. Unfortunately, some of the patrons, which had started to form a crowd around what was going on, were too distracted by the situation to realize Mayet approaching from behind them.

"Stand aside or be cut down together with that vermin!" Mayet shouted, making the patrons who were looking towards Erza, Anastasia and now Roman, quickly get away from her and opening a way for her as she continued walking towards Erza.

Roman heard the announcement that it was time to go home but would not relent his position until The man threatening his friend released her. If he did, Roman would not break the man's arm even if he deserved it but would make sure that Ana and the other Alidasht nobles made it back to their rooms safely even if he had to carry all of them.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Desert
Interactions: Jomari @baraquiel, Bandits @FunnyGuy
Mentions:

---

Nuallán couldn't help but let out a cruel grin as he saw the crocodile bandit's determination faltering. With Jomari finishing the Ibis bandit without hesitating, there were only the Rhino, the Scorpion (which was still nowhere to be seen) and the Crocodile left and the Crocodile definitely felt that.

He was expecting Jomari to be stunned for a moment or even hesitating, but the fact that he was able to move on and immediately use his magic to soften the sand beneath the Crocodile and the Rhino in an attempt to disable them did make him rather surprised. If only his loyalty wasn't one of such a dubious nature, he would do a very fine warrior with only a little training.

In reaction to Jomari's magic, Nuallán was about to dash towards them, aiming to use that split second that they would take to regain their footing to attack them. However, before he could do that, the scorpion bandit, which had disappeared before, suddenly appeared from below Jomari, ready to grab him with his pincers.

"Jomari, below you!" Nuallán shouted, trying to alert Jomari.

That brief second he took to alert Jomari though, gave the Crocodile enough time to charge at him. Caught by surprise and unable to dodge his shield-bash at time, Nuallán had no choice but to use the crocodile's shield bash to push him away, intentionally letting himself being hit by the shield-bash and jumping backwards in the very last moment, to lessen the impact. Thanks to that last minute maneuver, the Crocodile wasn't able to hit his downwards slash, but his shield-bash sent Nuallán sliding through the sand, only separating him and Jomari even further.

To make things even worse, the Rhino, who was previously interrupted when he tried to use his strange skill, was able to finally complete it and as he began to glow, he seemed to be way more invigorated than he was a moment ago.

With both the Rhino and the Crocodile having their full attention on him, he wouldn't be able to help Jomari against the scorpion, at least until he dealt with one of them. The best he could do was to keep both the Rhino and the Crocodile focused on him.

"Your friends were equally as confident a few moments ago... They don't seem to be as lively as they were though... Do they?" Nuallán said with a cruel, mocking grin as he threw a throwing knife at the Rhino, aiming to keep his attention on him

At the same time that throwing knife was flying towards the rhino, Nuallán dashed directly towards the Crocodile, spinning his body and feinting an horizontal slash, aiming to only lightly graze the Crocodile's shield on purpose, only to crouch down as he continued the spinning motion, letting his blade's edge extend in a dangerous, lightning fast slash at the Crocodile's legs, aiming to immobilize him.

The Friestan Incident, a Fantasy Sci-Fi Fusion RP

---

While the initial talk Catherine had with Almira and her crew was definitely productive, giving her quite a few notes for her to study about, the conversation soon died down, mainly still due to distrust between both sides. Without much to talk about, Catherine, Srikandi, Dumas and Anki were soon offered to stay for the night which they agreed under the condition that they kept their weapons.

While many people who were more accustomed with the luxurious life of nobility and royalty would find the rooms they were offered to spend the night to be incredibly simple, Catherine couldn't help but appreciate how 'efficient' they were. There were no unnecessary decorations and no space lost, it seemed to be designed to offer strictly what it needed to offer. Enough comfort for the crew to sleep and rest.

Another thing that immediately drew Catherine's attention was how soft the beds and the clothes they were provided were. The only times where Catherine had ever experienced something that soft was when the Gremarre Royalty requested her presence on the palace and even then, it still wasn't as soft as that particular bed that apparently, all crew members on Almira's ship were provided.

Despite the fact that Almira was 'kind' enough to offer them somewhere to sleep, it wasn't enough to dismiss Catherine's distrust, especially since she was going to be very vulnerable, sleeping, inside Almira's ship. Surrounded by her subordinates. Due to that, in order to give herself a bit more comfort and 'privacy', Catherine made sure to coat the entrance to her room with a potent paralyzing potion. Just in case someone tried anything funny...

"Just in case... It never hurts to be careful. Don't worry. It's just a paralyzing agent. I'll clean it up tomorrow." Catherine said after she finishing coating the door handle and a few of the objects and walls near the entrance.

"Oho~ I might get used to this very quickly!" Catherine said to herself, chuckling as when she laid down to sleep. The feeling of the incredibly soft fabric of her 'sleeping clothes' coupled with the soft bed made her fall asleep incredibly quickly.

---

The next morning, the party gathered again, but this time to take Almira to Cendana, together with a few members of her crew. The first part of the trip was made on the strange 'rover' Almira and her crew had, at least until they left Dragonspine. After that, they were met by a ship from Cendana, apparently someone Srikandi knew.

While the trip itself was rather uneventful, Catherine did raise her eyebrow, curious when Srikandi chose to remain the fact that they had indeed found 'something' on their little reconnaissance mission and the fact that she had brought that very 'something' back with her to Cendana.

"Curious..." Catherine said to herself with a smirk, taking a quick glance towards Srikandi and then to Almira.

It took only a moment until the Shipwright went to do his own tasks, after believing the lies Srikandi fed him, for both Srikandi and Anki start commenting about the reasons for her choice.

"You know... The Gremarre Royal family would definitely be interested in meeting them as well... They will definitely be happy to know my trip was successful... Happy enough to turn a blind eye to some of my more... dangerous researches..." Catherine said, clearly thinking more about the rewards she would receive after that than anything else, such as nearly unlimited funds for her experiences and researches and maybe even permission to conduct some... morally ambiguous and definitely dangerous research without having to risk becoming a fugitive...

After a short trip on board of the ship, they had finally arrived on Cendana, bringing some rather... 'exotic' guests with them. Unfortunately, since it was Srikandi's first time in Cendana and being the one that was leading the entire group, she admitted after a short while that she had lost her way, which was honestly quite obvious, seeing the alleyways they had stopped at.

Just the moment Srikandi mentioned that though, they were approached by a gang of thugs, harassing the female members of the group. Upon hearing their words, Catherine couldn't help but laugh. Loudly and making no effort to hide how ridiculous she thought that situation was. Fortunately, Srikandi didn't seem to want to try any diplomatic approach to solve that situation as well, otherwise it would be definitely ruined by Catherine's laughter.


"I could burn you all to a crisp, suffocate you in a cloud of toxic or corrosive gas... Maybe even a nervous agent...? Unfortunately, as amusing as those might sound to me, you are definitely not worth the rare ingredients and reagents I spent in these mixtures... So I will just beat you half to death, okay? I hope you all don't mind." Catherine said as she gently put down her bag, replete with dragon blood, organs and many other potions while the rest of the group members had already began to fight and looked at some of the thugs, who were slowly approaching her, probably thinking she was an easier target than the other two, who were clearly fighters.

Those who had not seen Catherine fight hand to hand before instead of using her potions would definitely be taken aback by the explosive acceleration Catherine had when dashing towards the thug and the sheer force and impact of the kick she landed on him, sending him flying towards the wall, his body hitting it with a very audible and very unpleasant sound. After a single attack, it became evident for both Almira and the rest of the group that there was definitely something else going on with Catherine.

With his friend now unconscious, probably with several broken bones, the second thug, despite being taken by surprise by Catherine's violent strike to his friend, rushed towards Catherine trying to stab her with his knife. Unfortunately for him, Catherine was quickly able to dodge his adrenaline-fueled, clumsy and awkward strike, grabbing his wrist and twisting it behind his back, making him drop his weapon and immobilizing the thug, who seemed to be several times bigger than Catherine herself was.

"Do you know why I, an alchemist, wear a red overcoat instead of a white one?" Catherine said, with an amused smile as she grabbed the immobilized thug by the back of his neck.

Planting her feet on the ground, Catherine tightened her grasp around the thug's neck, lifting him from the ground by a brief moment before slamming him down, face first into the cobblestone ground with as much force as she could muster, making blood splatter everywhere, including on her already red overcoat. The sickening cracking sound was audible from a distance, leaving no doubt that if that particular thug didn't die due to the extreme impact, he was definitely on his last moments.

"Oh shit..." Catherine said with a heavy sigh, before lifting the thug in the air and quickly inspecting his state. The thug who now had a completely broken, almost unrecognizable face, was clearly already on his last moments,gasping for air, unable to breathe.

"So... Srikandi... Is it a problem if one of them dies...?" Catherine asked, lightly shaking the thug almost as if one does with a rag doll when showing it to someone else.

After hearing Srikandi's energetic reply, saying that it would DEFINITELY be a problem if someone died, Catherine let out a heavy sigh.

"...Fuck!" Catherine said as she begrudgingly took a small vial with a vibrant, red liquid from inside her coat.

"You know that these healing potions are really annoying to make, right...?" Catherine said, grumbling as she literally smashed the vial on the face of the dying thug, breaking it in a thousand pieces as the vibrant red liquid splashed on the thug's face, before she unceremoniously let go of the thug, dropping it on the ground with a thud.

Just a second after hitting the ground, the potion started acting, making the broken bones snap into place by themselves, as the tore muscles fibers started moving by themselves, connecting with each other and quickly regenerating. After a few seconds, the bandit's face was spotless, without a single wound, despite still being covered with blood.

Avalia

Time: Night
Location: River Port
Interactions: Astra and Vrexen @FunnyGuy, Alaia @Alivefalling and Maeryn @princess
Mentions:

---

Myra looked visibly relieved, nodding to Maeryn when she heard him saying they had to choose the food first, since his words meant that they would indeed eat something other than just water. That said, she wasn't really sure how they were going to do that. For some reason, instead of calling that cat-girl again and saying what they wanted, both Maeryn and Astra were intently observing a simple piece of folded paper. Unlike the papers Myra had taken before when she was searching for a 'map', these ones just had a lot of squiggly lines. After a quick observation, leaning towards both Maeryn and Astra to take a look at the thing they were holding, Myra quickly realized that both pieces of paper were exactly the same, even the squiggly lines were similar.

Despite Myra's careful observation and regardless of how much she looked at those folded papers, she simply couldn't understand what they meant or even if they meant anything at all. Fortunately, there was a much easier for Myra to ask what she wanted than to decode those strange squiggly lines. The moment Maeryn asked Astra if Myra would be satisfied with meat, followed by Astra's quick reply, Myra immediately nodded her head. She didn't really know what a 'Fulon Karni-vor' was, but she definitely loved to eat meat.

Regardless of the meaning of that mysterious word Astra said though, Maeryn seemed to quickly understand what Myra liked to eat, as he pointed towards a big, fragrant piece of meat that one of the people who worked at that place were carrying and asking if she wanted it.

"Meat, like!" Myra said with a satisfied expression, looking to both Maeryn and Astra, just before the cat-girl from earlier arrived again, carrying the drinks Astra and Maeryn had ordered and asking what they were going to eat.

Having already made her 'choice', Myra expectantly looked at Astra and Maeryn, waiting for one of them to tell the cat-girl what meat Myra wanted.

---

Time: Evening
Location: Desert
Interactions: Jomari @baraquiel
Mentions:

---

With both of the bandits which tried to attack Nuallán now having collapsed in the desert sand, their blood staining the sands with a deep crimson, Nuallán was able to quickly relocate nearer to where Jomari was. Despite having swiftly dealt with two bandits, there were still the Rhino, the scorpion, the crocodile and the Ibis demi-human, the latter which had dodged Nuallán's throwing knife and was finally recovering from Jomari's previous attack.

Despite having being struck by the Rhino's strange power, Jomari still seemed to be relatively unharmed, thanks to the sand shield he was hastily able to conjure just before being struck. Even though Jomari was able to deal with the first attacks, it didn't mean he would be able to resist for too long without Nuallán's help. The human didn't seem to be used to his powers yet and now that the bandits knew about his powers, they would definitely focus their attention on him.

Before Nuallán could say anything else though, Jomari suddenly shouted for him to close his eyes. Predicting the wide area sand attack that Jomari was probably about to use, Nuallán quickly shielded his eyes, just before the sand under the bandits' feet exploded, sending the scorpion flying and making both the Ibis and the Rhino recoil. Quickly regaining his bearings after the explosion, Nuallán saw Jomari sliding towards the Ibis bandit and immediately plunging his dagger directly at her back, causing her to immediately fall to her knees, heavily wounded, but not yet dead.

Leaving the Ibis bandit to Jomari, Nuallán turned his attention on the Crocodile and the Rhino bandits, which despite the initial shock from Jomari's sand attack, had recovered from it and now took a solid defensive posture.

"Well... It seems we are not being underestimated anymore." Nuallán said with a cruel tone on his voice as he looked at the Rhino and the Crocodile bandits.

"Finish the Ibis and keep your eyes open for the Scorpion." Nuallán said to Jomari as he kept his eyes on the Rhino and the Crocodile, waiting for their next move.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

Time: Evening
Location: The After Party
Attire: Dress
Interactions:@Reusablesword Roman.
Mentions: @Helo Callum.

---

For Mayet, whom had almost finished her drink, it didn't take much for her eyes to instantly wander as Roman undid a few buttons at the neck of his shirt. At this moment, Mayet already knew there was something strange. Despite that though, half of her mind wanted to simply to give in to her instincts and literally pounce at Roman while the other half struggled to keep herself calm.

Even though Roman was speaking about what she had mentioned about Nala, about how Callum wasn't very good on the 'physical' part or how he wasn't a good fighter, due to the effect of the drink, Mayet was already having a hard time keeping herself from jumping at him. Let alone paying attention at his words. The moment he suggested them to finish their drinks and dance, complete with even a small provocation, Mayet let out a mischievous smirk as she suddenly got up, walked towards Roman until she was standing right in front of him.

"I wonder... If you are doing it on purpose..." Mayet said, looking to Roman with a mischievous smirk as her eyes focused on his once again, clearly referring to his shirt and how he was flirting with her.

"You are playing a very dangerous game, Roman. I am not a woman that is satisfied with a one night stand nor a woman that likes being used and thrown away..." Mayet said, putting her hands on the chair's armrest as she leaned forwards getting so close that her own lips were inches close from his, in a way Roman couldn't get up or escape from her.

"Are you ready? To dance with a tigress...?" Mayet asked with a mischievous smirk as she gave a step back, finishing the little that was remaining of her drink and looked back at Roman, waiting for his reply.

The Five Senses

Karina Frost

---

Karina heard Chres' words in silence, nodding afterwards. Sightless Nieffar, after becoming one with the seed was proving to be a much tougher enemy than she had anticipated. The tendrils were making even defending themselves a difficult task, let alone finding any room to attack it. With brief and direct orders, Karina instructed her soldiers to focus on long range attacks to try and distract the seed, with Karina herself using her ice blades to try and distract the sightless as well.

With Týfurkh finally giving the signal he was about to trigger the explosion, Karina looked around to her soldiers and the rest of the group.

"Get down!" Karina said, warning the soldiers about the explosion, just a few seconds before Týfurkh let out a fierce, sound explosion.

Karina could feel the underground chamber they were in shaking as the sound explosion echoed within it's walls. Fortunately, Karina, the soldiers and even Chres weren't the only ones who were dazed by the explosion. A single glance was enough to tell them that the seed was in a much worse state than they were, it seemed like Týfurkh's gamble had indeed paid off.

Despite it's wounded state though, it seemed like the seed still had enough energy to resist. The tendrils that were gone after the explosion were regenerated with a frightening speed and thicker than before. Using it's regenerated tendrils, the seed immediately focused Týfurkh, swinging them and aiming to crush him. By luck, Chres had enough time to create a heat construct to stop the tendrils, although their weight and impact were so much, that it was evident even for Karina that they wouldn't hold on forever.

The moment the heat construct shattered, Karina stepped forward, calling all her four ice blades back to her, sending two to attack the tendrils and draw her attention while using her rapier, the two remaining ice blades and her agility to dodge the tendrils.

"I will keep the tendrils busy for as long as I can! Go after the heart!" Karina said as she dodged one of the tendrils by centimeters, the impact of it hitting the ground almost making her lose her footing.

"Go, NOW!" Karina shouted as she continued attacking, trying to focus all the tendrils' attention on her, while using everything she could to dodge and redirect their blows.