Crowvette

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

Alyona

@Dezuel

Alyona had blacked out - a single frame of black separated her from drowning in the vortex and waking on the cold ground. For a brief moment she thought she might have died. Unfortunately, it was not so. Even worse, the idiot in question was towering over her, asking something inane.

Alyona spit up water, hoping to catch the boy with it, but not quite putting enough strength into the movement to do so. "Kids like me?" She scoffed. "Kids like you belong at the gallows." Venom dripped from her words. She struggled to her knees, her clothing dripping wet, and a chill already settling in. "Go ahead. Do whatever you came here to do." She spat once again in his direction.

She wasn't in a position to fight, but she wasn't going to beg for mercy either. The boy probably didn't know she spent all her money, nor that she never carried anything too valuable on her anyway. How could he know that everything she did invited disaster?

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io at Terauchi Temple

Io's words fell on deaf - or perhaps simply bloodthirsty - ears. She gave the most minute of sighs, before returning to her meal. She didn't see a point to adding fuel to the fire that was taking place before her. Better to stay back and observe. 'Perhaps this spat of theirs will prove the necessity of training grounds to begin with.' Io mused to herself. She seriously doubted this exchange of blows would amount to long-lasting harm, given the mastery of arms she had witnessed from the human as well as the supernatural abilities of mamono.

Io finally was able to witness Liliana's magic in action - and it was exactly as was described. Unfortunately, directly watching it being invoked did not seem to reveal any insight into what exactly the fairy's magic was - it was still a jumbled kaleidoscope of magical energies. The result was... a cow. Io found it strange - and perhaps slightly irksome - that such inscrutable magic could bring forth something so mundane. It was like using an entire wizard's tower of spellbooks to create a cup of coffee.

Luckily Eula escorted the cow out of harm's way before the situation escalated further - and indeed the situation did. She would, as she initially planned, wait this conflict out; but she couldn't help but think the potential collateral damage could cause issues with the locals. As she finished her meal, Io leafed through her grimoire. She felt she might need some spells to mend destroyed tables, repair craters in earth, and generally clean up after mayhem.

'I'll definitely have to get my undead servants trained in maid duties...' These things were beneath Io, but she would deal with it for now. Mending some collateral destruction and property damage was par for the course whenever a lich moved their base of operations, and this island was shaping up to be no different.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

...I feel really dumb that I somehow have read the OOC post plenty of times and never realized there was a link to a Discord there...

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io at Terauchi Temple

[ @ people at foodplace ]

The High Orc seemed to have a noticeably short temper - something Io would have to keep track of. She couldn't deny a little bit of anticipation towards seeing the male mamono in action, though - who knows what might be shown off in the heat of combat? The fight seemed like it would kick off in moments... But then Shizuka interfered between the two. 'Ah. Well, it probably is for the best if the task force doesn't spar in public...' Io tempered her mild disappointment with rationality.

Io kept Gringor and the group around him in her periphery as she nibbled on her serving of rice. The task force certainly was lively - this was the most of the force she had seen together, and it was becoming hard to keep track of everything at once. Io wondered if she would have to summon a familiar in order to better expand her awareness. It had been a long time since she bothered... Living familiars were generally a pain to handle, but undead ones would likely frighten the people of Shizuyama. She mulled over the pros and cons as she took a sip of tea.

She briefly caught a bit of conversation amongst the townsfolk, as well. They certainly had more devotion than Io was used to seeing - being willing to volunteer their own corpses to help fight. Io knew all too well that what was said by the living and what was actually believed were different. Perhaps the man himself would be fine with being reanimated to fight, but would his wife? His children? It was far simpler to work on the invaders to that end. Io considered that she may want to address concerns related to the dead to the locals before rumors spread... She would need to think of a good way to do so.

Io returned her attention to Gringor, Shizuka, and Alice. Io opened her mouth to offer healing, but she closed it upon further thought. Offering healing just as an excuse to get closer to the High Orc... May not be the best move given the current tensions. Plus, even for a living being, Gringor seemed to naturally heal fast - he may refuse the healing as a waste of time. Giving them a further incentive to fight ran counter to the Task Force's goals, either way, as much as Io would have enjoyed seeing it.

As she kept her watchful eye on the events, she pulled some of the scrolls she kept tied around her body loose, examining them. 'Perhaps I can create some scrolls that would allow Task Force members to spar without hurting each other too much...' It was an enticing puzzle, perhaps something Io would solve when she needed some moments to relax. Something that enhanced defenses and tempered attacks, while still letting the sparring partners exercise most of their power. And if some clothing got destroyed along the way because the scrolls 'accidentally' only enhanced the user and not what their were wearing... Who would really care?

"I may be able to produce scrolls that can let duels take place without causing lasting injury to either side. It could be good for us to understand how each other fights." Io spoke up suddenly. "But it is not the time nor place to do so." She added, giving the few 'voice of reason' Task Force members a slight nod.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Poke me if I haven't posted in 48 hours! Io can't just idly sit by while all this goes down... Or rather she probably will but at least will be taking copious amounts of notes while it happens

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Wanted to get a post in before the thanksgiving holiday engulfs my time. If I skipped anyone interacting with Io please poke me, I've been out of it

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io at Terauchi Temple

[ @ eating peeps ]

Io watched the events unfold with a detached look - Alice was clearly in a worse state than Io had first thought, but she wasn't sure if there was anything she could directly offer. Especially not in the moment. She was glad there were far more empathic members of the task force to help - Though she did agree with Ayu that Liliana becoming sad seemed simply wrong.

Io tried her best to enjoy a modest amount of the food being offered. While it had been a while since she last ate food physically, it was something she didn't mind revisiting now and then. She didn't want to take too much food from the living but she admittedly did need to recover energy somehow - and her preferred method would not go over well, especially after the most recent incident.

As she slowly ate, she stole looks at Gringor. He was the first example of a male mamono she had seen, and stood in stark contrast to Skar, the other she encountered today. She didn't want to play favourites, of course, so she tried her best to record notes about them in an unbiased manner. 'That being said... Extra care must be taken to sketch his muscles...' She thought, the note being copied to her grimoire's pages.

...In the end, there was a certain amount of Io's nature that she couldn't deny.

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

Alexandria

Alex unpacked Michael's lunch. The feeling of guilt for taking up his lunch was overpowered by her hunger, and she already had taken up enough time wandering the halls and encountering strange foreign students. She opened up the case, nearly spilling its contents in the process.

"Huh...?" The plastic case contained a colorful lunch salad with white chicken meat as the protein and a light dressing. In other words, it was a perfect salad for a growing student. It looked just like the meals they showed for her health class.

'I-Is this what Michael eats every day?!' Alex's jaw nearly dropped. 'Where are the chips?! Or the chicken nuggets?! What is this!?' Taking the fork, she hesitantly speared some of the salad. Her stomach growled. She didn't have a choice - and Michael was nice enough to give it to her. She took a deep breath and took a bite.

---

Alex somehow managed to eat the lunch salad Michael gave her, though the experience somewhat changed her view of Michael. 'Is Michael undergoing some kind of intense training? I need to make sure he's not hurting himself with these radical dieting measures...' She thought over how she'd bring it up to him naturally as she gathered up her things in the classroom.

She didn't really think of a good way to bring it up, even as she walked through the hallways of St. Laurel's to meet her counselor. Her train of thought was somewhat hindered by a feeling of worry about the future: What her counselor might say, perhaps, but more importantly... Her meeting with Wolf.

---

Alex nearly stumbled out of the office, exhausted. It was clear that her counselor thought she was present for the Midnight incident, and was trying to make it clear that there would be serious issues if Alex ever did something like that again. Alex didn't really feel like the lecture was necessary - she was scarred enough from the experience as is. Of course, there were the standard papers Alex was to bring to her parents, which would never get filled out, and ignored entirely.

She pushed those thoughts out of her mind. The exit to Laurels lay just beyond her. She had to keep up a brisk pace, but she had a good amount of time to get to Clausewitz before the grounds were completely deserted. Worst case scenario, she would have to ask around to see if anyone knew where Wolf was.

The entire walk had her wracked with worry, imagining the different ways Wolf might react to her. Would he be as cold as Vera? Each time the thought crossed her mind, she wanted to stop in her tracks. 'I-I just want this to happen already so I can stop worrying about it!' Alex thought to herself, rubbing her temples. 'Wolf, you better not be the type to go home the second the bell rings!'

After what felt like an eternity of being holed up in her own head as she walked, Alex found herself at the gates of Clausewitz's Academy. There were a few stern-faced students walking out, as she expected, but she didn't immediately recognize Wolf. Not that she expected to find him within moments of arriving... But she secretly had hoped so. "W-Well... I got here, but now what...?" Alex felt like she stood out with Laurels' clean white uniform compared to the Clausewitz students, and suddenly realized that she may be crossing some kinds of rivalry-related turf without realizing it.

'W-Wolf! Just show up so I don't have to talk to these scary people!!' Alex silently prayed to herself - an event that was becoming more common as of late.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Internship started this week so you can all skip me, sorry. Should have said that I'd have trouble getting a post out earlier

Royal Rumble: Rumble over the Heavens

Alyona

@Dezuel

The lance managed to land true, but it didn't seem to affect the boy at all. 'Some kind of immunity? I didn't feel anything absorbed from the hit...' Alyona's mind raced. 'Water control and magical immunity? Which spirit did his harlot of a mother please to get all of these-' Her train of thought was interrupted when he sent her lance right back towards her.

'-gifts?!' Alyona dodged out of surprise more than anything: Her lances were extensions of her in some way that she didn't fully understand; they seemed to be unable to harm her in any way, and she had tried... Extensively. She could grasp them, and even stand upon them, use them to play with her own hair, or twirl them in her hands, yet if they were thrown straight upwards in the air and landed back on her they simply were reabsorbed by her body or aura. It was something that her mentor remarked as a wonderful upside to her power, which had always irked Aly. It was a silver lining in the most trivial of ways; normal people couldn't grasp the lances anyway, and if a particularly gifted individual managed to, they'd be suffusing their hands with curses the entire time.

She didn't let the reminiscence distract her as she readied another wave of knives, but before the first arrived the boy had simply popped out of existence. She didn't see him duck behind any nearby cover - he had disappeared entirely. 'He's gone? Did the gods agree with me?' Alyona didn't understand what happened, but she turned to run - and the youth was back, this time blocking her escape route.

"[Teleporting too?! Your whore mother certainly got around-!]" Was all Alyona managed to say in Yekaterinan before being grabbed by the vortex. Being thrashed about was one thing, and being submerged in icy water against her will was another, but even a proud maiden of Yekaterina such as Alyona hadn't experienced both at once. As she held her breath and tried to keep herself from getting whiplash, she half-consciously, half-unconsciously began drawing out lances, the bolts of negative energy being whipped around and launched out of the vortex by the motion of the water. It wasn't any kind of plan in her mind - if they landed on someone, somewhere, she may gain precious seconds of consciousness. As if the lances were extensions of her own spirit, they lashed out in every direction, seeking for a way out - or at least another living thing to inflict the same pain she felt.