Carantathraiel

Wanderers

Ysaryn, like Ed, made no response to the comment about competition. A grin toyed on her lips, but her eyes glittered with challenge. Even if she did chuckle at Kire's plea. Ruli turned to smirk at Gavin, who didn't understand what was being said. He tilted his head, inviting for him to follow as the company moved along. Out of all of them, Ysaryn dragged her feet, her body language announcing she was on alert.
"That bad?" Ruli asked.
She sniffed. "It is worse than Zeckiel's room."
Ruli didn't want to ask how she knew how Zeke's room smelled.

As they came across Jan pouring her attention over the maps and tokens, Ruli noticed nothing strange about her. He and the other off-worlders kept toward the back, Ruli standing close to Ysaryn, and likewise nudging Gavin to do the same. She had her arms folded over herself, angled to be within fast reach of her weapons.
"You need to relax." He whispered low to her. "Kire nor anyone else won'tallow anyone to act in a discourteous way toward you. You're going to make people nervous."
"They should be nervous before a war."
"Alright, well, you're making it worse."
She let out a low growl in his direction, and Ruli relinquished his attempt, just in time to hear the announcement about Jan's betrothal. Ruli glanced toward Myka, shaking his head with a smirk as if to say he wouldn't be matron of honour for that wedding.

Once more, an arrival displayed the minor tension. Narda greeted them, and Yaaryn grinned, her eyes even watching the giants carefully. At her remark about being well dressed, Ruli glanced down at himself. Clearly, wearing his best clothing. Ysaryn's chuckle brought his attention back up, and he caught her glancing him over. He winked at her, but the sound of approaching footsteps drew her gaze away.

A group of men entered, led by a man in his later years, his once-muscular body softening with age. His black hair was lined with grey at the temples, his beard peppered. He had dark green eyes roamed the group gathered in his roam. Behind him, four men walked in a line. It was on them that Ysaryn's eyes fell, her gaze intense. The first to enter, presumably Ulrich, turned to greet Jan. "My Lady." He said cordially, before moving on to the rest. "Empress Akire." He greeted, bending at the waist into a polite but not overly flexible bow. Behind him, the four well-dressed men bowed as well. "A pleasure to open my home to you and your family. And your guests." He added, glancing over not only Myka and Narda, but the trio near the back. His gaze lingered on Ysaryn, genuine curiosity in his gaze. He completely ignored Ruli and Gavin, until he they were introduced as the sorcerer and his apprentice.

"Sorcerer. Really." Ulrich said skeptically, looking Ruli over again. Ruli met his gaze in silence, figuring this was one of the many who would view magic and its involvement as a bad thing. Sure enough, even the group that had accompanied the man looked Ruli over with distrust.
Ulrich clicked his tongue and held out his arm. "Well, you've met my sons, but for those of you who have not, my oldest, Sven, Leif, Hans, and Rogvar at the rear." He listed them off as if offering them an arrangement of teas. Sven, who appeared to be around Ed's age and who took after his father in appearance, though more in shape and far less grey, looked worn and tired, but attentive. As did Leif, who, judging by his appearance, took after his late mother, his sandy blond hair cut short. He was the only one of the group to appear attentive and eager. Hans, also blond, wore his hair combed upward to make himself appear taller, and his attention roamed the women in the hall with a distracted eye The youngest, Rogvar, perhaps around Gavin's age, had his hands in his pockets, his face hidden behind his combed, dark hair, as if he would rather be anywhere else.
None of them looked like fighters, though Ruli supposed appearances could be deceiving. None of them wore weapons, either, so perhaps they just looked docile compared to the many other swords present.

"Shall we get to business, your Grace?" Ulrich said, gesturing to the table. Ruli twitched an eyebrow. That was it. That would be Jan's marriage. Business. Nothing more. He felt a flicker of pity, then a wave of relief that he wasn't a noble. Even Ysaryn had a choice. He glanced to the elf, then noticing that she'd sidled even closer to him, her nostrils flared. The thirdborn, Hans, watched her, his green eyes roaming.
Clearing his own throat softly, Ruli took a step to the right, blocking her from view under the pretense of whispering to Daryll. "Is there some sort of seating arrangement we should be aware of?" He asked, unsure.

Wanderers

Ruli couldn't help but look around the moment they emerged in the second manor, despite seeing a good deal of the exact location in Kire's mind. It seemed older. More lived in. Like a place that had housed generations rather than becoming a makeshift home for a noble family displaced from their real one. Ysaryn, beside him, inhaled deeply, her fuchsia eyes narrowing.
"What?"
"Smells different." She answered vaguely. Ruli watched her for a moment, wondering what she meant. He found her answer strange until she tugged her borrowed coat tighter as if to hide herself. Smells male, then, Ruli decided. Ysaryn was often uncomfortable around human males she was unfamiliar with.

Her disposition shifted when Ed walked in, however, the elf's expression lightening as she took in his hair and clothing. "Far too long, my dear soldier." She purred back, enjoying the warmth of his hand and breath on her skin. Her eyes, as well as Ruli's watched Ed as he was introduced to Gavin. She, to take in his appearance, and Ruli to make sure no threats were made.
But Ed only thanked him for his part in making Kire came home, and Ruli exhaled.

The odd exchange about the lord of the manor was lost on Ruli, as he had no previous impression on the man nor his offspring, but the tension in Ysaryn's shoulders told him enough about the sons. Again, the elf's discomfort was disrupted by a new arrival, and she grinned toothily at Myka. "Hello Captain Maika." She raised her borrowed sword to offer it, as if to announce it was no longer good enough. "I promised her double the deaths." Ysaryn answered smoothly.

Ruli laughed at Myka's retort to him. "Can't let her be the best looking one, now can I? And you can't tell me I'm wrong about the elf now. Two, afterall." He glanced sideways to Kire when she demanded to know what was going on. He grinned at her.
"Myka has an eye for weaponry." Ruli muttered to Gavin. "Knows how much Kire likes you based on the weapon you wield from her armory."
"Don't give the boy a complex about size/" Ysaryn muttered under her breath. Ruli snorted softly.

Wanderers

Ruli glanced over to Gain when he entered, shaking his head. "It smells sweet. I'll pass on it." He declined, sipping his coffee again. As Gavin asked about a personal question, Ruli froze and glanced at him, a million hypotheticals spreading through his mind, wondering what personal question Gavin would ask.
The one he actually voiced wasn't as personal as Ruli dreaded. "I don't have one." Ruli answered. "I've lived a long time. Done some bad things. Here is someone, a whole nation, who needs help, and I can offer mine. So, why wouldn't I?" he asked Gavin in return. "I have a set of skills that are useful. It would be selfish not to help."

He sipped his coffee again, then cleared his throat. "Gavin, being told you belong to a group of people, that you are one of them because of blood you share, its not true." Ruli shared. "You get to decide who your family is. If you don't want to be a Gemini, you don't have to be. You don't have to offer your blood, you don't have to be here, anything. If Envy and Úvano is your family and home, then that's it. Don't let anyone else convince you otherwise."

When Daryll entered shortly after, Ruli blinked, barely recognizing the man. Daryll was visibly unhappy with the outfit, even if he did look smart in it.
"The less people see, the better." Ruli answered. "People talk. Magic makes a lot of people uneasy. Look at Zeke. Or Narda." He looked over their work again. "If anything, bring one of the flash bombs to let them know what to look out for. Avoid the flashes, so if the Gemini move in, they're not in the crossfire. Unless thats the plan." Ruli realized.

"Come on, Gavin." Ruli said, standing upright. "Lets go brush our hair. Can't have Daryll making us look bad."

The three arrived in the main manor shortly after, Ruli's hair was combed but unbound and imprinted from his hair-tie. He wore the same sort of casual clothing he'd had before, deciding no amount formality would force him into clothes like Daryll's.
Or Kire's. Ruli blinked at her as he came inside, pulling the toast from his mouth so he wouldn't choke on it. "Scratch that, Gavin. She is making us look bad."
"You do that on you own." Ysaryn teased from the table, her feet propped up on the chair beside her, her body draped over the armrest. She wore her tight fitting leathers, as usual, the deep scarlet and black robe draped over one shoulder and hip.
"Bite me." Ruli answered. She chuckled at him.

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.