ERode

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Its k, that's just another changeling pretending to be him.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Oh hey, Est, do the twins have any resistance to poisons/drugs?

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

@Click This You see that up above? Better get posting.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

There’s nothing clandestine about that fit tho.

Black Clover: Fool's Arcana

The girl's a yandere. She's going to kill Kohra for daring to fraternize with Hikari, then kill (and maybe eat) Hikari to ensure he never interacts with any others again, and then maybe kill herself, depending on the flavor of the month.

Makes for a convenient landing zone though.

Black Clover: Fool's Arcana

_@Zeroth
This was a better view.

The sky was clearer here, and the air was too. The chattering of the masses turned into background noise, and she could hear more clearly the cooing of pigeons who shared this space with her. Snapping her grimoire shut, Kreszenz strode onwards unimpeded, a spring in her step out of necessity as she leapt and skidded from tile to tile, roof to roof, until finally, the road ended with the Coliseum before her.

There was a brief moment, looking down at the drop below, where she wondered if it was worth considering her childhood fantasies again, of leaping off cliffs and floating down to safety with nothing more than a bedsheet as her wings.

A ragged cloak such as this, weighed down by damp and dirt would certainly be too heavy though. And she was in the presence of another as well, an individual even more wildly-dressed than she was, one that practically embodied the outlands of Clover Kingdom. If the woman kept her mouth closed, if she had ran a comb through her hair, if she had washed up and was dressed in finery, she may have made quite a fetching lady on a social occasion. But people had their place, and it was no sin to be comfortable in it.

“Kikka was impressive at a distance,” Kreszenz responded, her eyes narrowing at the sight of how the congestion of humanity only grew worse as crowds were forced through entrances too small to accommodate them cleanly. She fingered her own wooden plaque briefly, gauging the distance between the last building and Coliseum itself.

“I have no competition though, huntress. And I reckon that until you open your book in service of the nation, it would be best not to treat fellow aspirants as opposition either.”

Perhaps that was simply a sign though, that the lightning-eyed lady did not consider any others worthy of consideration to begin with. More blatant of a sign, however, was that she did not see her conversation partner as someone worth delaying her journey for. Without any more acknowledgement towards the woman beside her, Kreszenz took in a deep breath, perhaps to enjoy the last bit of fresh air she’d have before the din of the Coliseum’s spectators and participants no doubt washed over her, and she pointed towards the statue at the top of the stadium.

The Leichenberg heiress grasped her cloak tightly, gauging her path down. The main problem was that even if the three-story drop was entirely manageable, she’d be hard-pressed to land her feet on something that wasn’t a fellow human being. The Coliseum, on the other hand, was simply too far to reasonably lightning-leash herself there in a single leap, not unless she wanted to charge up the spell so much that she turned herself into a stain against the walls. Where could she…oh.

There was a gap.

No point in hesitating then.

One step off and she dropped to the second floor. A quick dash to build momentum, and she leapt off to connect with the wrought-iron hanger of a tavern’s sign, which flexed (or perhaps broke) just enough for her to get the angle right and perform a second jump that covered enough distance for her feet to touch solid ground.

Strange that a simple difference in temperature would cause others to be so dissuaded by it, but then again, the smell of burning pines dissuaded insects in the same way. Without particularly caring for the dress-chewing peasant (maybe she was hungry, maybe it was cultural) that also shared this pleasant cool place, Kreszenz finished the final stretch of her journey to the Coliseum in this manner.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Let's eat, kids.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

---

//Rhinecliff Estate
_{@Estylwen@Click This}

By rights, this was a confession with a duchess as audience. He had the right too to slay them with impunity, for though they were children, though they were nobles like himself, an affront to his estate, even at the behest of a Queen, was simply that grave an offense. If they begged for clemency, then they had proven already that they knew what lines they had crossed and could not claim ignorance.

And perhaps a swift death now would be preferrable to what was to come.

Laurent gazed off to the side, seeing the arrival of his servants once more, and gestured for them to continue as they were. Another chair was brought in, as were platters of food. The autumn harvest was underway, and the bounties of a summer’s labour were now presented before the lords and ladies in attendance. Platters of fruit, steaming bowls of soup, and fresh-baked bread served to accompany the venison that was brought from the kitchens as a centerpiece. One of his butlers had retrieved a bottle of wine from the cellar as well, distilled from the batch of blueberries from four years ago. The aroma was sweet, the taste was light, all serving as more of a palate cleanser than anything else.

He pulled a chair out for the Duchess, then sat down himself.

“The weather’s too fine and the company too fair for such dreary topics as crime and punishment,” Laurent spoke. “The late Lord Skybound was a dear friend to me back when we remained yet unfettered with noble duties, and it would be a disservice to our friendship to treat his kin as lawbreakers. Raise your heads, Asteria, Mene, and join the table.”

As all participants seated themselves, the Duke moved to pour tea for all involved.

“So, how has Hathforth been of late? I've not yet opportunity to make it out there myself, but I hope that the taxes have been put to good use?"

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

She's probably a lot more high-strung than he usually is. Laurent himself has a thicker veneer of amicability in most cases.

But this is funny too.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

What can I say?

“But we know better, don’t we?” His eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you tell them, Duke Rhinecliff?”

The guy has a point. ;3