Carantathraiel

Wanderers

Ysaryn exhaled heavily, her breath rising in a cloud. "To hold back is to stop trying." She answered, retracting her steps and sheathing her weapons. "I like them. Like pieces of me I miss and now have." She gave the weapons an affectionate pat. "When to see Maika? I will return the one and we will share many words."
Watching Kire rise to her feet, Ysaryn turned her head when the servant appeared. She knew they were voluntarily employed and paid, but seeing people serve others made the elf's stomach twist slightly unpleasantly. At least these ones seemed comfortable. The Raielwen servants seemed miserable.
Of course the whole of the Raielwen court looked miserable.

"What is you hope in making Ed fluster?" She asked as they walked in. "You think I will succeed? Maybe I should spar to him, instead. Beaten by younger female would fluster?"

She greeted Daryll, Ruli, and Gavin indifferently, sitting herself at the table and unceremoniously bent her legs to sit with her feet crossed beneath her legs. Leaning back crooked in the chair, she was the exact opposite of Ruli, who sat straight, who was clearly trying to be proper. After taking a moment to redo his hair, he requested a serving of the spiced wine, unable to pass the chance of figuring out if it was the cinnamon within that made him like the drink so much. Only one serving, however, which he nursed slowly over dinner.
The moment Ysaryn noticed he had it, however, she tossed a crooked grin to Kire.
"I'm somehow unsurprised you were able to match her." Ruli said to Kire over his plate. "Not even Zeke can. Granted, he can't fight as well since his injury."
"He improves." Ysaryn muttered in Zeke's defense, and Ruli shrugged, conceding. "Unlike you. You should fight more."
"I don't fight for sport." Ruli argued in their tongue.
"It isn't for sport, its for improvement."
Ruli only gave her a look that ordered her to drop the topic, and they moved on.

When conversation came around to the plans and progress, Ruli, having finished his spiced wine and dinner, leaned on his elbows, her head propped on one fist. "We've tried to consider alternatives." He agreed. "Unfortunately, this is the best chance we have with the least amount of hiccups. If I play my cards right, they won't catch me. Won't even get close enough to notice I'm not actually you."
He watched Gavin as the young man spoke, trying to gauge his temperament and thoughts on the matter. He looked nervous, but Ruli felt it was more of the overwhelming size of the situation, rather than his involvement.

He felt less sure about this shortly after, in Daryll's home again, when it came time to take Kire's blood. Ruli made sure to ask pointedly, before Gavin and for his benefit, if Kire consented to the blood he'd take, explaining how much. Only when she agreed did he press the blade to her skin to draw their valuable ingredient.
He went to work, explaining his process to Daryll and Gavin, slightly unnerved by the rapid note taking from the former. Then he moved on to the enchantment for Kire, asking Gavin for a small amount of his blood just as he had Kire, to walk them through the process of what he'd do in a larger scale the day of the battle.
After a while, he told Gavin to get rest, as the night was creeping on them, and it was only when Daryll muttered that they, too, should rest that Ruli halted his work. Deciding he had no intention of shuffling through the freezing night air to reach the other manor, Ruli also asked for a spare place to sleep, taking another of the spare rooms.

Come morning, he woke to the smell of coffee and followed it to the kitchen. Once he had a mug, he wandered back into the work room to let his eyes wander over their plans, his eyes lingering on the enchantment that would make him the decoy. Such a tricky thing, to make it work when magic was cut off. Stripped of its magic core, it would essentially be work as a thurible, casting the scent of Wyvern blood without the magic. The flash bombs would strengthen the illusion. A few days to get it right. Ruli sighed, going through his mental checklists again.

Wanderers

Ruli made a face, hesitating. Envy would kill him if anything happened to Gavin, and having him on the field, in the thick of battle, put him in danger. And if anyone discovered he was Gemini? "I don't like that. But I told Envy I'd stay by you. So, if you go, you're with me." He considered putting him next to Ysaryn, but something told him the elf would toss him to the enemy for another sword. "You've been sparring with Zeke and Ysaryn, how are you doing? Have you won against either of them?"

To Daryll's follow up question about when to begin, Ruli tapped his finger on the table. "We need to figure out who we're sending in as a decoy. And ... I hate it, but Ysaryn's right. Myself or Ed would be the prime candidates. They'll be looking for blond hair and high ranked armour. If we used me as Kire's double, and I went into the grounds to negate magic, and carried a few of the flash bombs, I would draw attention. I like myself more then Ed because, should anything go wrong, I can get out before magic is gone. And, in turn, Kire would be masked as a Gemini, which would make her invisible. Unless we can get two of us. Ed and myself, both. Make them look in two different directions. But," Ruli looked up to Daryll again. "He's probably needed on the field, isn't he?"

~

When it was mentioned that Kire hadn't sparred with Ysaryn yet, the elf let out a sadistic chuckle. "I would wipe the snow with your precious face, Chieftess." She said teasingly. Hopefully. But, when Kire offered the option, Ysaryn spread her arms in a mock bow in invitation. "Come to me, then. Chieftess to Chieftess. I win, I get you pretty crown." With a swing of her arms, she turned her sabres in the air, emitting a dangerous whoosh sound.

Wanderers

Ruli hummed thoughtfully, glancing from Daryll to Gavin. "There is an idea," he began cautiously. "I need to remind you this is simple discussion at the moment, and we're not yet asking. But if we were to use Gemini blood and use it to mask her, or a few of us, the Gemini wouldn't be able to locate her as easily. Like, if they sense her, they'll mistake her for another one of their own. Be more likely to ignore her." Or come running, if they sensed their ally was in danger, but Ruli didn't peg them for the empathetic type.
He shook his head, running his hand over her bound hair. "Its trickier, and would require the fresh blood of a Gemini. The more we use, the more powerful it is, but its not something I want to jump straight for. Not unless we can't find an alternative." Ignoring the fact that he'd used Kire blood, but only to find her blood relation or, only to use on her own person. This was different. "Hiding Kire with Gemini blood, thought, would be useful. And, if by chance we used her blood in turn to mask someone else in her aura, then we would have a genuine decoy, complete with the flash bombs."

~

Ysaryn paused mid-lunge, lowering her arms and straightening as the noise hit her ears, and she turned toward the manor to spot the girls rushing toward her. Ysaryn blinked, not entirely used to children, let alone two of them. To Kire, she grinned. "I need to be ready." She insisted, looking down to the girls as Kire introduced them. When the blonde one complimented her hair, Ysaryn grinned again, flashing her teeth. "And you hair, too. Gold like jewel, like you cousin, Kirai." She gestired to Etta's curls, twirling her finger to wordlessly mention. "Those are rare. Not see often."

Wanderers

Thankful for the coat, Ruli followed Daryll, Gavin in tow, out into the cursed snow and down the slope. In the back of his mind, Ruli would have appreciated the view if it weren't for the blistering cold that burrowed down into his bones. He shivered immediately, recalling that the last time, he'd barely stepped out of the house before deciding the snow wasn't something he'd enjoyed. The horrible morning after that night with Kire.
Are you sure you weren't too hasty? He wondered as they marched down the stairs. He picked his way carefully, fearful of slipping. If you're thinking about it... Or, maybe you're just thinking about it because you're here again.

He pushed the thought of her and all she reminded him of out of his head as they stepped inside Daryll's house. Keeping his jacket on, Ruli followed into the alchemy room, where his expression matched Gavin's.
"Holy Gods is right." Ruli said in awe. "This is larger than what we had in Ziad. Look, you have ... and these? I've never seen more than one before. They're so rare in my world I never hoped to see another one. Are they common here? I ..." Ruli went quiet, eyes wide while his mind tried to accept the room and all that it held.
He instantly wanted to tell Gavin not to bring food in here. It was always a rule with Envy's alchemy chamber, as the scents could cover critical clues about recipes, but he felt no need to step on Daryll's hospitality.

"I'll pass." Ruli said, honestly having no idea what a hot chocolate was. Coffee would be helpful later, though. He clapped his hand together. "Okay. So."

They dove into work. Bent over the tables, each writing notes the other couldn't read, asking for Gavin's input on certain magics in case it aligned with what he recalled while under Ikegai's control. They went to work making the alchemical recipe for a flash bomb, Ruli working on the colour while Gavin and Daryll went to work on the bottles. A two part compartment that, when shattered, will allow to two pieces of the puzzle to mix. A few times, they went outside to test, recreating the flash accurately enough, but they couldn't get rid of the hiss that accompanied it. It wouldn't matter, they decided, battle was loud.

After a break for coffee, Ruli wandered back down to pour over the map again, going into detail about the wards, the pieces to that, the decision made to make it difficult to break and what would happen if they tried. The difficult parts were, of course, keeping Kire out of the warded zones, or, as he opened discussion, a way to hide her from the Gemini beyond the decoy 'portals.

~

Up in the main manor, Ysaryn paced for a while, figuring Kire needed time alone with family. She bundled herself up, with the coat Ed had lent to her, as well as a few more borrowed items and she went out into the snow to run through her exercises, practicing with her new blades to get used to their weight.

Wanderers

"I spoke to Elva yesterday about the approximate width of the wards, and how much of the pieces we'll need in relation." Ruli mentioned, glancing at the healer. "We need about one totem per ten feet, so thats ... " He started to trail off and mumble before her heard Daryll. "Hang on, I think my use of the word bomb is too literal. I don't mean fire and explosives... its more —" He broke off to shoot some rapid elvish at Ysaryn who pursed her lips. After a pause, she answered back, and Ruli nodded. "Light bomb."
"Break, light, nothing." Ysaryn echoed.
"Just to replicate Kire's portals. Those don't start fires." Ruli pointed out. As for whether or not the palace would survive, he went quiet, thinking. "Let me work with Daryll, I'll try my best to make sure the ground doesn't cave, or your home isn't destroyed. Give he and I a few hours, with Gavin, and we'll test a few things."

As the conversation moved on to Kire remaining away from the middle of battle, Ysaryn opened her mouth and inhaled, and Ruli shot her a silencing look immediately. He knew without hesitation that the elf was about to announce that Kire shouldn't hide, and that dying in battle for her throne would be honourable, but now was not the time for that.
Ysaryn paused, then cleared her throat. "You are not allowed to die here, Kirai." Ruli's expression softened, and he looked back down to the map. "Envy forbade. Let us do our jobs."

Wanderers

He was relieved she didn't argue outright about not being in the center of it. He fully expected it, especially considering the reaction of her cousins. "Even if we don't have magic, we're not defenseless." Ruli pointed out. "We're hard to catch." He looked back down at the map as Gavin and Kire spoke, wondering how difficult it would be to add his own loopholes into the wards. Exceptions allowed within, such as Shadow-walking.

But, distracted, he looked up when Gavin mentioned the rune chamber. He so vaguely recalled it, the drugs in his system made most of what happened near Akuma a fuzzy blur. He could only recall the taste of her blood, and the look in her eyes. He knew he'd been different, then. Not quite himself. He didn't want to feel that way again.
It got worse when Kire mentioned her shame and fears, and that anyone stepping into that magic would feel the same. While Ysaryn looked unbothered, shameless and fearless, Ruli paled. "That ... do we know that will be there?" He asked, timidly. "Not if we negate it, right? It'll be in the wards?"
Ysaryn arched her eyebrow at him. "Will these dolls, if inside, they are to be unmoving, yes? Immobilized?"
Ruli shook his head. "Theoretically, no. If they're created in magic, it should stop them once our wards are up. But," he glanced to Kire again, breathing in. "It is sounding more and more like you shouldn't be near this."

Wanderers

"They don't have to be like the dolls, just something we can throw that will have a sort of violent reaction. Like an explosive cocktail." Ruli put in, somewhat intrigued by whatever Daryll had been working on in his chambers. "You're not messing with that stuff alone, are you? What if it had gone wrong? Someone should be on the sideline taking notes."
As Elva turned to ask about the Ring and Kire willingness to remove it, he looked surprised. "She's taken it off several times, as far as I know. Everytime she's gone in to -" Ruli paused, then sighed. "Everytime she goes near the Lithilote Court in my world. They don't allow magic, and Kire removed the Ring each time to avoid their restraints. She went all— its hard to describe. Slow, and lethargic. Which may very well happen inside of our ward." Ruli rubbed the bridge of his nose. "She might be able to function well enough to fight if she's within our circle."

Moments later, Kire and Ysaryn walked in, the elf sporting two beautiful sabers. She puffed out her chest proudly. "You look very deadly." Ruli complimented.
Ysaryn only waggled her eyebrows at him.
"Kire, how much of a chance is it that you'll react to our wards here like you did in Lithilote?" Ruli asked, returning to the task at hand. "If this is some sort of trap, we may need you elsewhere, where you're capable of fighting. We were discussing somehow replicating your blue flashes inside. Preferably with magic that they may sense." His gaze fell on Ysaryn, who snorted.
"No. If one of us is to be Kirai, it would be you. Gold hair, blue eyes."
Ruli frowned at her, not sure if she meant to criticize or actually suggest her pretend to be Kire. "I'm a half a foot taller, no one would believe that."
"They not look at you. Only blue light and magic." She answered. "But is pointless. If she cannot use magic, nor can you."
Ruli hissed, rubbing his brow.

Wanderers

Ruli peered over the map, awed by the size of the palace grounds. Ziad could easily fit within in. Úvano, as well. It sprawled across the paper, the notations along the edge he couldn't read, but the markings he knew were notes for their task. Zeke often made notes on maps whenever he was worried. Strategy, weakness, ambush potential. While Ruli wasn't sure if Daryll made the exact same notes, he had no doubt they were helpful.

As Gavin asked about it being a trap, Ruli grunted, then realized the cousins glanced at one another. He looked up and between them, seeing the unease on their faces, glad they said they had, indeed, considered it. He looked to Gavin, after, when Daryll asked for what he knew, and felt his chest tighten at the Gemini's answer. With a soft swear in elvish, he leaned on his elbows, peering over the map again. "The way they've been after her blood, too. And Ikegai's obsession with her power, it would make sense." He agreed. "We have two options there, then. To have Kire no where near it, maybe even causing a commotion elsewhere to draw their attention, or we find a way nullify her before hand." Ruli glanced to the cousin. "No one else can use that Ring? Only her, right? Well, what if we were able to replicate her portals? The blue light? A bit of enchantment and a sort of bomb with myself or Ysaryn could work. Make them think she's where she's not?"

~

"I won't make any such promise." Ysaryn said bluntly. "To die in battle is an honour many of my people strive for. It would be an honour here, too. But," Ysaryn smiled, seeing the look in Kire's eye. "If any one enemy takes me down, I will claim a hundred more."

Chainmail. Yes that sounded familiar to the elf. Honestly, she'd tuned Rulitus out when he'd spoken of the battle he'd tossed himself into after Kire's abduction of him, angry that she'd missed out on such an opportunity. When Kire showed her the chainmail pieces, she understood the man's likeness to it. "Oh," She cooed, lifting one of the mail pieces that went from torso, to the elbow, and then down to the knees. "I see!" She exclaimed, holding the item to her chest. "Is loose, I prefer leathers to fit." Her eyes scanned the thousands of closely woven metal rings. Sizing this thing would take ages they likely didn't have. "I wear. I try." She declared, grouping the metal and tossing it over her shoulder like a heavy metal sash.

"No." She answered Kire's next question. "I was fighter long before I learn to Walk." Ysaryn followed Kire, slightly reluctant to leave the collection of weapons. Her old weapons, including Myka's, was tucked in her left hand. "It is unwise to rely on magic. Honest, Rulitus should worry. He never wins in spar."

Wanderers

Ruli and Ysaryn both stiffened upon their arrival to Amria, each looking slightly uncomfortable, but not to the extent of Gavin. Ysaryn breathed deep and ran her hands through her hair which, hanging loose, fell to her shoulderblades, the ends still stained a deep black. Envy had told her it would be permanent until she cut the damaged strands off, but Ysaryn had refused, deciding it was a reminder.
When Kire introduced Gavin, Ruli looked up, standing behind the younger man, watching the mistress of the manor carefully. While he hadn't been present for Narda's assault on Gavin, he had heard about it. Granted, Elva was far more a gentler soul until provoked, he decided. Proven when she simply observed him.

As Elva pointed out where Daryll was, Ruli perked, budging Gavin's arm and jerking his head to invite him along, with Elva leading the way. Ysaryn followed Kire to the armory, a glint in her eyes that made Ruli glad she wasn't coming with them. He nodded to Daryll in greeting, turning to look at Gavin as Daryll asked.
"Oi." Ruli barked as Daryll yanked on Gavin to threaten him. "Daryll, I am obligated to tell you that he is under my protection. Any harm comes to him I have Envy's permission to tear throats." Ruli opened his mouth wide in a wicked grin akin to Ysaryn's, displaying his sharp molars. It was quick, his smile vanishing in a heartbeat. "It would be a pity, because I actually like you."

His expression fell after that, Ruli uncomfortable even with the words. Envy hadn't given him any such instructions, knowing that Ruli loathed being used as a guard animal, but he couldn't deny that words here would at least make a point. Gavin was young, and nothing but helpful and eager.
Still, he stood beside Gavin as he set his supply pack on the table, his clothing pack he dropped by his feet. "Okay, so Envy had some ideas." Ruli explained before beginning to repeat that they'd discussed briefly this morning.

~

Ysaryn hid her disappointment about Ed well, knowing she'd see him eventually. Truth be told she was far more excited about the blades she was on her way to see, anyway. As they entered the armory, she paused and whistled her approval, her eyes roaming the racks of weapons, the dummies of armour, the steel, the engravings, the jewels. She licked her lips, itching to say she needed it all just to have an excuse to touch it or steal it. "I near only leathers." She made herself say instead. "Although Rulitus suggest a ... male?" She said, uncertainly. "I am not sure of -oohhh!"

She crooned as Kire revealed the blades. Gently, she reached up and took one, the weight of it beautifully balanced in her hand. Firm, but not too heavy. The handles were intricate and unique, and the blades a sort of smithing she'd never seen before. "Satisfactory, indeed, Kirai." Ysaryn purred, lifting the other one and inspecting it all the same. "They are beautiful. Fit for a Chieftess."
Setting the sabers down, she unbuckled the two sheaths at her hip to replace them, turning and bending to see how well the new ones felt and moved with her, then again with the sabers contained within. "Perfect." She smiled viciously. "Dangerous." Ysaryn turned to Kire and wrapped her arms around her in thanks, squeezing gently. "I will kill many for you, I promise."

Wanderers

Ruli met Kire with the same nondescript expression, nodding again to greet her in return. Ysaryn leaned against one of the rocky walls of Envy's chamber, folding her arms over her chest. And when Kire pointed out that she would be happy to bring them back at a single word, both she and Ruli arched their eyebrows and glanced silently to one another.
"Like hell that will happen, Chieftess." Ysaryn said with a wicked smile. Ruli smirked.

Envy sighed. At least the offer was there for them, he thought. "Ruli and I were discussing the wards, and what could be used to ensure the Gemini do not break it so easily. He reminded me that, when you broke the gate, they had a sort of sequence to theirs. After some discussion, we have our own idea."
"This would lock the ward if they tried tampering with it." Ruli said. "It would need to be undone in a very specific order, or it will become increasingly difficult until their tampering is undone and the correct way followed."
"Smart." Ysaryn voiced. "Are we really to bind Kirai to it? What if she dies?"
Ruli swallowed. Leave it to the elf to ask the blunt question. His blue eyes went to Kire, as did Ysaryn's fuchsia ones. "She won't." Ruli answered. "Wyverns are hard to kill."
"Yes, but-"
"No buts." Envy interrupted. "Kire is forbidden to die."