A Lowly Wretch

The Gray Garden: A Crow's Revenge

Daisy

As the bubbles emerged Daisy glared at the shimmering translucent spheres with suspicion. Her servant took a more guarded stance upon witnessing these little spells emit forth from the piano. It drew from her knowledge and pretty much every show back at her old school ended in pandemonium. Such is what happens when students of the dark arts, all vying for power over one reason or another, are bade to entertain their schoolmates. Well, except for those from a certain house she knew. They were all odd ones those.

Despite her wariness of the magic wielded by the piano playing witch she was able to surmise it as being little more than benign. What drew her attention was a darker tone of magic off in the relative distance. As she turned the gentle wind brushed past, casting her autumn hair askew in the draft. Her very idle mouth edged at a slight hint of a scowl as she pulled her hood further forward, casting her face in shadow down to her upper lip. Slipping past those within the crowd she began to make her way towards the castle in the distance, her mostly intangible friend staying right beside her in a rigidly protective manner. Down below the castle gates the blue light of Thanatos's lantern announced her approach.

The two looked up at the scene before them.

The Gray Garden: A Crow's Revenge

Just a quick question: Would what's happening at the castle be in view of those at the festival or would it be off for those there to have any clue as to what's happening at the gate?

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle and Pelanu

Pela was a bit…. Anxious. That encounter with Sazel was quite stressful. She was so forward and… close. ”Oh geez… I’m feeling tired now.” She muttered to her harpy companion. ”Athena, what do you make of that Sazel girl?”

The harpy looked at her from the corner of her eye as they walked and soon enough her whole head turned fully around. ”I mean, she’s a bit suspicious in my eyes. Just… Be careful around her. Anyhow, if you’re tired, call out that sphinx and have her give you a ride.” Athena mentioned before disappearing into a number of scattering leaves.

”Whaa! A-Athena!” Pelanu exclaimed. She was not happy about this at all! ”C-c-c-come on out, Lapis Lazuli!” Nearby, a small sinkhole appeared and started replacing dirt with sand. From the hole a creature crawled out. The first sight of her showed off a feminine quality about her as she started to pull herself out of the pit. As more and more of her escaped the confines it became increasingly obvious to the outside viewer that she wasn’t human. Instead, an oversized cat body seemed to be the lower portions of her body, starting from her midsection.

”Ahh! Pelanu, my dear. I’ve missed you.” The creature known as Lapis Lazuli smiled as she shook some of the sand off. ”Why do you call on me today?” She added, walking close to the girl after making sure she got most of the sand off.

”Ahh.. Well, long story… But… Stress, tired, wobbly legs and you’re warm and relaxing to ride.” Pela told the creature, a sphinx. ”I was hoping you’d take me to the cafeteria…”

”Poor dear, I shall spare you the riddle today. Climb aboard…. And off we go!” Pela mounted on the sphinx’s back and wrapped her arms around the creature’s waist.

The repetitive tapping of the old crook against the stone floor of the school bled into the sounds of footsteps from many sources. Many students were on their way to the cafeteria for lunch. Nettle was no exception in this.

By her side walked the tall suit of armor, silvery with a green tint, that she called The Green Knight. It carried it’s large menacing axe as though it were weightless. In its hands it practically was.

The knight turned its head, casting it’s gaze over its shoulder down the hall where the sound of paws drummed towards them. Not an uncommon occurrence for either of them but there always existed the risk of getting trampled by a wayward summon if they weren’t careful.

Nettle looked over to see what had drawn the knights attention and saw the fellow student approaching quickly upon the back of her summon. She watched the student with care as they drew near, her eyes overshadowed by the hood which cast its dark shade over her face.

Lapis took her time in moving, not trying to bounce her rider up and down too hard. ”We’ll take it slow. You just need to feel better.” As they moved, they came upon something. ”Oh my. A girl and a suit of armor. How quaint.” The sphinx said as she took stop in front of the two. Pela, on the other hand, was trying as she could to hide from the other pair. Her head was obscured, yes, but her body was pretty obvious.

It seemed that the four of them were stalled to a halt in this hall. Looking up to the tauric entity and her rider Nettle listened to what the mount had to say. They remained silent for what was likely an awkwardly long time, the two of them still looking up at the other two before Nettle finally spoke.

“Hhhh… Hello.” The greeting escaped her lips like a dying gasp, the breathy nature of her accent drawing it out. The knight was silent as always, it’s eyes simply fixed upon the two as it stood by.

”Oh! She talks! Wonderful, I thought your voice was broken.” Lapis stated with a wide smile across her face. ”A pleasure to meet you. Well, a pleasure for me and less for her.” The sphinx said, pointing to the person attached to her waist. Said person smacked her a couple of times on the side. ”You may call me Lapis Lazuli.”

Nettle’s face had not changed from her default expression, a distant stare with no inflections of any emotion to speak of.

“Hh… O- oh. Hmy name is Nettle.” She had almost forgotten that when others introduce themselves it was socially expected that they trade names.

As the two stood there looking up at the one addressing them her gaze slowly shifted from the mount to it’s rider. She seemed frightened of them, or perhaps injured? Nettle didn’t have a solid read on her emotions or anyone’s for that matter. The behaviour of those outside her swamp was certainly quite different. It took some getting used to.

“Hhh… H-is hshe… Alright?” Nettle inquired, more out of curiosity than out of any serious concern.

”Perfectly.” Lapis giggled. ”If she wasn’t alright I’d be rushing off.” She continued, looking back to her master. ”She’s besides the point right now. Now then, since I’m here now… You may not pass unless thee answer my riddle correctly. How unfortunate.” She giggled and put herself in between Nettle and leaving. ”Now then, my riddle is thus. There is a house. One enters it blind and comes out seeing. What is it?”

Nettle tilted her head to one side, her long curved bangs swaying slightly with the motion. This was a strange and curious query by this entity who kept them captive until they answered this question of hers.

“Hhh… I am hnot familiar with, hhhh… Hriddle.” Letting the creature know this she moved her train of thought over to the question asked.

“Hh-I would suppose it hwould depend. Hh-are you asking what a house is or what it is?”

”Clearly the riddle is over “what sort of house would one enter blind but leave seeing.” Tis’ not hard.” Lapis said, cocking her head to the side slightly. How odd this human was so far. ”Dost thou wish to leave?” She asked, just to make sure. ”Or is my beauty that enrapturing?”

Despite her words Nettle looked only somewhat confused over the matter. All the while the knight was so still it wouldn’t be unreasonable to mistake it for a decorative stand.

“Hhh… Hleave?... Depends.” Taking in the variety of responses the mount provided she mulled over each one, going down the list in her mind to summon up her own response to each one.

“H-if it is a house hyou wish to know of in the hhh… Question regarding a variety of house hwhich deals with mending sight, hhh… Hh-an optometrist’s house, o-or building rather, would be h-an answer. Hhh… People with difficulty seeing h-often go to those to have their sight hrepaired.” The only change on her face after delivering the answer was but a couple blinks, her face quite still as she puzzled over the remaining question.

“Hhh-as for your beauty I do hnot know… Hh-am I supposed to be? I understand hsome beings use visual cues to lure prey… Hlights on angler hfish… Alraune’s likenesses to human mates… Mermaids in a similar hmethod.” As she started on this line of thought her voice slowly descended into a whisper as she was half talking to the mount and half to herself. All the while her gaze slowly fell, first scanning along the height of the mount until she was looking upon the floor itself, her eyes far from occupied with the sight at the moment. Just then her eyes flitted back up to meet with their inquisitor’s own as a question emerged.

“Are you… Hhhunting us?” With that question the knight’s posture changed slightly. It went from standing by to interposing it’s weapon between it and it’s summoner. The head of the axe had not shrunken down since the confrontation back in the herbology clubroom and it had not dwindled since then. The knight’s grip on its weapon was firm.

”Easy now, child.” The sphinx said, pointing the bottom end of one of her paws at the knight to tell him to calm down.

”If I was hunting you I would have pounced on you as your knight here was not quite at attention. No, I am merely riddling you so you may pass. I am not so crass as to not give some chances. I’ll even give a hint as you remind me of my master in a way. All away from home and house in this land of the civil. Speaking of houses, it is not the house of an individual but a type of house. It allows you not to see in a literal sense but in a metaphorical sense. If your knight can communicate I will allow two heads to work as one.”

Stranger yet. Nettle and the knight remained uncertain of this summon. She pressed on with her riddle all the same.

“Hhh… I am, hhh- not well h-accustomed to metaphors.” Nettle replied. “H-I am hstill somewhat unfamiliar with double entendres… Or hwas it double meanings?”

Nettle remained silent and still like her companion as she dwelled on the meaning.

“In a way, I suppose. Mayhap I should give more of a hint. Being blind is not knowing.” The sphinx said with a small giggle. Lapis was hoping that would be enough information for the girl to figure it out… But… “Think about your surroundings a little bit.”

“Hmy surroundings?” Nettle looked up from the mount and scanned her surroundings.

“Hhh… H-the answer, is it Hl’mordryn Academy?” After all, it was a building with knowledge in it.

“Heh. Well, not the exact answer I was looking for but I’ll take ‘Hl’Mordryn Academy’ for now.” Lapis giggled. ”The answer I was looking for was a ‘schoolhouse’. Children go in blind to the world and when they leave their eyes open.” Lapis wasn’t quite like the sphinxs from legends and such. She asked riddles for fun. There was hardly any reward so the punishment like-wise barely existed. ”I’ll have to think of one for you next time.”

For a good half a minute Nettle, like her silent companion, was still and silent as stone. The only evident motion came when she blinked.

“... H-I’m not hwell accustomed to metaphors.” The answer the summon was seeking made little sense to her. It wasn’t like people who came to this school were blind and even if they were leaving it would hardly improve their sight. Such a strange summon she was to her.

“Hhh…. A- anyways I remember hyou said we could pass if hwe answered. I hshall be passing through this hall now.” Nettle and her cohort turned to continue on down towards the cafeteria before Nettle stopped, remembering something just as she was leaving.

“Hh-ah, yes. H-in parting we hshould trade farewells.” She muttered to herself aloud before turning back to the mount and it’s rider.

“Hhh… Goodbye Lapis and hhh…” Nettle’s words slowed to a still as she realised she didn’t know the rider’s name. She was not informed of what social protocol was in effect when one involved party did not disclose their name at the beginning of a discourse. For the first time in this conversation Nettle’s brow furrowed slightly as this conundrum put her mind to real work.

“... Hhuman?” She awkwardly raised her hand and pointed at the tan woman sat upon her quizzical mount. Maybe not the best approach to this puzzling social dilemma but Nettle was in unfamiliar territory.

Lapis laughed. ”This is correct, though her name is Pelan--” She cut her sentence off as the said human was hitting the side of the Sphinx’s body. ”PELANU!” She yelled to get it out. ”Anyhow, we’re heading to the cafeteria.”

More puzzling behaviour, this time out of the rider rather than the mount. Nettle didn’t look less confused about it all.

“Hhh-any ways,” She paused, thinking if that was the word she was looking for. “Hh-I too am hheading for the cafeteria. Hthat would mean I, hhh… I hwould see you later hh… Pelan’pelanu?”

Nettle figured the name of the human was Pelan’pelanu, not deducing that it was an unintentional interruption and not a purposeful glottal stop.

Not that Nettle could see, but Pela was tensing up and hitting Lapis’ side again. ”Indeed, fare thee well Riddle-Less human. I shall accost you again in the future.” With that, the sphinx started to walk off towards the cafeteria.

With that Nettle and The Green Knight also took their leave. This of course resulted in the four of them walking together in relative silence towards the cafeteria, having bidden the other leave but staying the same course to the same destination. Nettle, like the knight, kept to herself as she quietly walked down the stone halls. Her crook tapped all the while, a gentle rhythmic clack against the tiles with each tap of her old wooden aid.

The Gray Garden: A Crow's Revenge

I'll get something up soon.

The Pale Hand

Arriving at the scene Rick took in all the details of the scene at hand. The bridge they used to cross the ravine appeared to have decayed for about fifty years. Across the bridge he could see himself camped alongside Edmondo. Surrounding his past self were crimson eyes that watched them. They turned to focus their attention over to the current him.

Well, looks like getting inside incognito's just been scrapped.

There were a number of possibilities to how the scene before him was possible. If this was a boundary then he'd be seeing whatever the host would want him to see he figured. It could also be an illusion brought on to try and disorient him. A less likely reason but still far from impossible was that he had somehow been looped through time since the point he crossed into this field.

All those thoughts were very brief as, once noticed, he quickly turned his gaze to each space to either side of him before finally turning and settling his eyes on the monster which lurked behind him. He immediately triggered his mage's barrier before activating his Auric Vision spell, bathing the whole world in black and white monochrome with only the surrounding magic around him illuminated by their magical aura, whatever that might be.

"Stay your distance. Speak your name and purpose." He did not project his voice lest he attract unwanted attention from elsewhere in the forest. For the most part he spoke lowly and strictly to the point. He had his left hand rested on the pommel with the other hand having reached into his bag and pulled out a scroll that's suffused with arcane power.

He was ready to throw down if things turned ugly.

The Pale Hand

More pieces to the puzzle it seemed.

Rick strode on over to the object laying on the ground. Closer now he could identify it as a gun, Edmondo's gun to be precise. He was fortunate that Edmondo had affixed the silencer prior to his sudden and unexplained disappearance. Noting the equipment discarded like so his attention was drawn back to his own gear. Rick checked his belongings, both the saber and the pack with his scrolls and some miscellanea tucked within.

Good. Nothing appears to be missing.

Noting that he checked the area surrounding the gun for any potential traps before picking it up. He checked to make sure the safety was on and quickly looked at the ammo remaining. Seeing as how they've had scant resistance the clip appeared to be full. He set the gun away inside his satchel for the time being before turning his focus over to the picture he had found.

There's the motive.

He silently noted just why Edmondo had taken up this particular job. While he wouldn't have questioned it if he were assigned a higher ranking agent to supervise his performance between the dangerous nature of this particular mission and the evidence before him he had his doubts that was all this was.

But then why me specifically? Other agents have been sent in prior to investigate this case before. Surely he didn't need this particular case to take up a job investigating this disturbance.

The picture was still incomplete. Not wanting to linger on mere speculation Rick turned his eyes to the surroundings. The surroundings held a strange air about them. He considered the possibility that he may be inside a giant ward of some kind. An even worse possibility was that it was something's barrier, a concept he'd only heard in mention and read in select passages. If that were the case then he was in grave danger indeed since only casters of a particularly high caliber can manifest one.

Not dwelling too much longer on this he looked to the smoke. He recalled the direction where he saw the sky laser last night and positioned himself between the plume of smoke and the laser's approximate direction. Using the smoke as an informal compass Rick pressed forward into the woods. He made sure to keep wary of his surroundings for any lurking dangers, pausing for a few seconds every two or three minutes so he could pick up sounds that would continue when all of his have stopped such as the sound of other footsteps.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

The fact that this woman had completely misunderstood what she was talking about didn't exactly improve her estimate of this person's understanding regarding summoning. As for her request regarding the smell of the dead body, well...

Nettle didn't have time to answer back before the lady turned her back and walked off but Nettle didn't really have anything to specifically 'Pretty' up the smell of a dead body. Her incense weren't on her since there wasn't any particular requirement for it listed in the club charter.

Thus the dead body remained as it was. The smell was no pleasure but before long the club session was over and Nettle wheeled it back from whence it came. She held little concern for one person's opinion regarding that matter but it could also be said she held little concern for the herbology club as a whole. They were a nice diversion but for the most part she was well ahead of the rest of the attendees. Her understanding of flora encompassed a great deal of what the other members of the club knew so more often than not she had much to show but little to see.

Alas, it was but a brief diversion from her true focus.

The Pale Hand

The night provided little in the way of rest. Rick was never a deep sleeper and being in hostile territory only made it that much harder to rest for a good stretch of time as the wind flowing across the tree tops kept him alerted with it's rustling noise. While this was helpful in one way in that he was harder to sneak up on while asleep but on the other hand he was definitely not going to be getting up for at least a couple hours after the morning's first light.

Tucked against the base of a tree in a half-sitting position he groggily stirred, the light peaking through the canopy in a mottled array of gentle beams. His head felt like led as he gently pushed himself from the tree's cradle, standing up to observe the scene before him.

Well... Crap.

Not a good start to this whole mission. His second was absent right as they were starting to make their way into what was clearly enemy territory. He kept his left hand settled upon the hilt of his sword as he took some steps forward. Eyeing his surroundings carefully he innately felt the presence of the piece of paper left behind. It was the only evidence left behind so far.

Rick eyed his surroundings warily before reaching down and touching the piece of paper, absorbing the information left upon it.

A Story, Just for You

This one's definitely got my fancy. Got an idea for a Nemesis who's made entirely out of candy. He runs a small kingdom also made out of candy. If anyone's interested in playing his opposing paragon do let me know.

Mahou Shoujo no Hex Night: A Magical Girl Battle RP

As the day went by she watched many things. Many people passed. The forest was quiet. Things seemed peaceful, serene. Though the dusty smell of an old warehouse was ever present the air itself was peaceful. In her peaceful isolation Sophia sat alone in her wheel chair. She was just watching the lives of many people, especially those passing by the forest.

Flitting into a specific raven's view something caught her eye. Getting a closer look she recognized the girl she met at the forest. Having seen her in her standard form there was no mistaking her. She was with the newcomer too, the one who was attacked not long before her encounter with Fuyuko.

Intrigued Sophia lingered on this sight. On a power-line the crow of hers rested, it's eye on the two of them. Their sound was distant, hard to make out however. It was like listening to a conversation underwater. This was not to mention the fact that two native Japanese speakers talking to each other was not the easiest conversation for a foreigner like herself to follow.

Still she watched, curious to see what came of their meeting.

---

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