Helo

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Hall
Interactions: @TaeTorvi, @PotterBelle

Bowyn, now greatly annoyed, stared at both Belle and Torvi who seemed reluctant to share their suspicions of danger with him. Why? Because he was kind of in a good mood and a little bit drunk? Did they really think he would prioritize that over their collective safety? The image that was mystical cast into the ballroom, however, was far more disturbing than the worries his friends had shared. The princess who had so arrogantly pranced around the ball now broadcasted a message of rebellion complete with the dramatically acted show of remorse for abducting humans for her cause in the first place. He had to wonder if she cared even a bit for the amount of danger she had thrust upon every life within Roshmi Hall. He wondered if the image of the broken and bloodied fairy had been one foolish enough to put their trust in Risa as well. The same voice that spoke with willingness to go to war screamed as the corpse of the fairy was shown and so he could only imagine this was the sort of fate she led her supporters to.

The sight of the murdered fairy coupled with Risa’s speech seemed to have a vastly different effect on the majority to the room, with several people voicing their support. In a room, with only a handful of useful exits many of which were being heavily guarded, an assortment of idiots jumped on tables and announced themselves as rebels. Bowyn wasn’t aware that becoming a martyr was such a coveted title, but there seemed to be quite a handful of people clamoring to be the first to earn it. He also hadn’t expected the strange and overwhelming displays of emotions from his friends either. He shook his head as Torvi hugged him, apologizing for putting him in danger, before kissing his cheek.

“I put myself in danger, Torvi, that was my choice. While I have many regrets, that is not one of them.” He whispered back, and it was mostly true. Perhaps if he did die here he would regret it, but the rest, traveling with Torvi and meeting Belle, not so much. At the very least, had he not encountered Torvi he would not know of the terrible fate that had befallen Aeryn, and had he not traveled to Roshmi with her he would not now have friends. If he did die here, he did not want them to think he died for their sake, because it was a heavy burden to bear to know another had given their life for yours, and he did not wish that on them.

“You have nothing to be sorry for Blue.” He said, responding to Belle, disappointed that they both felt the need to apologize to him for their shared danger. It wasn’t like either of them would be capable of talking him into doing anything if he truly didn’t want to, he was an expert at stubbornness after all. Belle too seemed to be caught up in the dramatic display of foolishness that so many others were succumbing to and Bowyn impulsively decided to show them both just how stubborn a fairy could be. Bowyn stretched out his wings and with a slight jump used them to carry himself up to Belle who stood on the table.

“Leave out the backdoor huh? Good idea maybe you should listen to your own advice, even Risa was smart enough not to do this here. What’s it gonna be; dying in a ballroom for show, or living to fight another day? Either way I’ll only leave if you do.” Bowyn said, as he hoped this wasn’t going to be the decision he would end up regretting. He wasn’t entirely sure how long he planned to stick out this game of chicken but he wasn’t going to let someone he cared about casually toss their life away just because others were doing the same. As he waited for her response he felt a spike of adrenalin, and wondered if maybe actually feeling alive was a better use of the extension his life had been given rather than simply existing.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi City
Interactions: Sakura @baraquiel and Ayita @13org

Cade simply could not contain his laughter at the thought of some fancy noble walking around with his every footstep emphasized by an audible fart sound. It was now clear that he had greatly misjudged the use of magic, while it would always be his opinion that combat should be with one’s own claws or a fine weapon, magic pranks did indeed sound delightful. Even as he tried to pay attention to Ayita’s words he kept chuckling to himself at the mental image Sakura had painted. His amusement ended at the mention of the lich and a human who was working with him. Although he could understand her frustration at such a thing, he too could have once been described as someone who had never had to fight for anything, who chose to stay blind to the way the world really was, and it had taken a great deal to open his own eyes as well.

He did not put his thoughts to words though, as the image of the Princess Risa then appeared in the ballroom. He smiled as the impassioned fairy gave her speech, a sense of pride as the once great leadership Avalia had known was reflected in the fairy’s words and determined expression. His smile vanished as the next image appeared, a mangled fairy, slaughtered and entangled in thorny vines. He let out a low growl at the sight of such cruelty. He nodded at Ayita as she spoke, agreeing with her, protecting Risa was important for both Avalia and to help the humans. As much as he wanted to raise his voice with the others speaking up in rebellion to the lich, Cade kept quiet to ensure the safety of his human companion.

“I met her earlier this night and I do not doubt her words. Avalia has much to fight for, but this is not the place for a fight, we should find a way out of here. Cade said in agreement. The ballroom was too tightly packed, and with many who were certainly not their allies, such as the elven governor. This was not a battlefield but a room better designed for a slaughter. He scanned the room for any viable exits as a handful of other humans began removing their disguises and speaking up in rebellion, including one on a table right near them. They too were welcoming danger to themselves just as Risa had done, and leaving now seemed selfish knowing that if they became trapped within the masses they would suffer a fate similar to the mangled fairy that had been put on display seconds ago.

”But we cannot just leave these humans in danger. The princess will be at the port town soon, perhaps we should ensure these people get out safely.” Cade added, these humans were most certainly their allies and leaving them behind to ensure his own safety or even to possibly help the princess seemed wrong. He struggled to fight the urge to leap on a table and pledge his support to the cause as well. The red haired woman on the table nearby spoke with passion about fighting for his home and all he wanted was to do the same, to display courage without any fear of who noticed it. But he was not a creature who could easily blend into a crowd and a great many had seen him with his companions. Cade did not wish to unmask them as rebels the way it might if he unmasked himself as one. "Or maybe you two should find the princess and I can meet back up with you after." Cade offered, determined not to leave potential allies in danger.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Afternoon
Location: Alexei’s
Interaction with: Vivian @Pink Khione, Alexander @FunnyGuy

“I’d say it was a little less Ocean’s Eleven and a bit more Die Hard, police are saying it was a terrorist attack, supposedly a bunch of people there were dosed with LSD too.” Eli was a bit surprised that Vivian didn’t seem to know anything about the attack last night, it was the biggest news story in town after all. Ember Grove wasn’t exactly a choice target for a terrorist attack but it certainly wasn’t the worst cover story he’d even heard.

Though the vampire briefly mentioned the tragedy of lives lost last night Alexander was quick to turn the conversation to himself. The vampire immediately went on about the good he was trying to do for the university and then on to how he was developing something to keep things going. Alexander Drake certainly held a high opinion of himself and Eli hoped whatever he was planning never reached fruition.

“And how fortunate we all are that you weren’t there for the attack, can’t imagine what Ember Grove would be like without your resources to help us through.” He said a slight hint of sarcasm in his tone now. He wondered what the vampire who employed last night’s attackers was developing that was supposed to help Ember Grove. No doubt that it wasn’t anything good for anyone who actually possessed a sense of humanity, but by the man’s own admission he was up to something. This seemed like the kind of tip he should pass on to Operation Humanity, the only organization he could think of that had the resources to rival a bored, rich, retiree vampire. Of course that would also require him to track down one of Operation Humanity’s elusive agents, and hopefully next time he found some it wasn't through being shocked unconscious.

“A generous offer Mr. Drake, if you change your mind I do make a mean bloody mary. He added with a grin, now amused with his own bad joke. He turned his attention to the other man at the bar, who Alexander had strangely referred to as ‘the other Alexander Drake’, and noted that his drink was almost empty. ”Let me guess, if it’s going on someone else’s tab you’d like a double? He asked and went to make the other customer another drink, leaving Vivian to her strange side job of teaching a vampire to play pool.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Thrift Shop?

Time: Morning
Location: Through the alley and into a thrift store
Interaction with: Adrian@role model

Noah stopped in the alleyways halfway between the Witch’s Brew and Alexei’s, not out of exhaustion, but disgust. He would not become the kind of vampire that drank his blood from a cup, he would not set foot in that accursed place unless it was to wreak destruction. When he ate it would be because he earned it; because he killed his prey and earned his place on top of the food chain. Noah would not allow his momentary weakness to take away what he had been taught, he would not seek aid from lesser creatures. Instead he paused to gather his strength, regain his sense of who and what he was; a killer. He rested against the side of the building, sliding down the wall and trying to remember what was nearby that could be of use to him.

Noah also checked his phone and saw a message from Adrian that reminded him to watch his back. He chuckled slightly, and the slight movement of his face caused him to wince. He took a quick selfie of his bloodied face and sent it to Adrian with a text that read, thanks for the tip, might be a bit harder now but I’ll try and keep my eye out for anything, and a winking emoji. He slid the phone back into his pocket. He would not ask Adrian for help either, this was his problem to solve, and he would not let the others of his clan see him as weak. He took off his shirt and held it against the oozing void where his eye had been until the bleeding eventually stopped, by then he had a new idea.

In order to further motivate himself he used his thumb to press around his eye socket, a raw wave of pain gave him that motivation. He snarled as he stood tossing the bloodied shirt to the ground and made his way through the alleyways and keeping himself near the back entrances of buildings. He reached a small building and lingered by the back entrance taking a deep breath to catch the scent of the place, mothballs and age. Noah had come to a small shop that was a sort of thrift store for vintage clothing and costumes, a real go to spot amongst his kind. Force was not needed to open the door, it was left unlocked, people always seemed to think they were somehow safer in the daylight.

Once inside Noah waited and listened until he could only hear one person inside the shop, one set of footsteps, one faint heartbeat that called to him as it pumped blood through his prey. Noah walked towards the front, his fangs exposed, his throat burning with expectation of its next meal. He spotted the store’s lone cleric, the scent of fear rolling off of them as he told them not to move. He locked the front door, drew shades down over the windows, and flipped the sign on the door to read ‘Closed’, His prey offered him money, begged for life, promised not to call the police; all things that were of no concern to Noah.

“I’m looking for an eyepatch.” He said, his voice hazy. A shaky hand pointed him towards a display of expensive pirate costumes. Noah grinned and tilted his head. “Were any of them worn by a real pirate?” He asked, but his question was met with stunned silence and the intoxicating aroma of fear. Since the shopkeeper was no longer helpful they became his meal. Noah launched himself across the counter and tore into the neck of his prey, their blood replacing what he had lost. Then he felt much better, he wandered around the store and made his way to the employee bathroom where he cleaned the dried blood from himself. He stared for a moment at the red hole that held no eye, and thought about how cool he would look with an eyepatch, like a proper villain.

He found himself another shirt, black and with some logo far too faded to really read. Though not exactly clean, as it smelled old and human just as the rest of the shop did, but it was not covered in blood and that was good enough. Near the display set up of various pirate themed costumes he found himself a black coat with big shiny silver buttons and a black leather eyepatch. He flipped the sign back on the front door to again read ‘Open’ and headed out the front door unconcerned with the body left behind the counter. He fiddled with the eyepatch as he walked until he was satisfied with how it sat, and wondered what he should do next. Where exactly did witches hang around? Noah had no idea but he knew he couldn’t expect every place with witches to have it labeled on the sign.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Afternoon
Location: Alexei’s
Interaction with: Vivian @Pink Khione, Alexander @FunnyGuy

“Yeah, the best.” Eli muttered under his breath as she walked away. If he was the best he’d have found a better way to warn her about his gut feeling towards Drake that was a little more convincing than ‘he seems shady.’ Of course saying he was pretty sure the guy was a dangerous vampire would only make him look like the crazy one and he didn’t actually have any concrete proof that Drake had anything to do with last night. There was only the fact that the art Drake had chosen to place at the forefront of his exhibit was all of beautiful people with perfectly encapsulated expressions of pain and despair. It was an all too familiar expression, one worn in the eyes of every witch he had killed. The paintings from last night were not celebrations of beauty and life like the works of art he’d seen decorating churches or museums, but one’s that celebrated another's pain. Upon approaching the bar, shortly after Vivian, his gut feeling about the man was only confirmed by seeing him up close, there was certainly something predatory in Drake’s eyes.

“Mr. Drake glad to see you looking well after last night. I still can’t believe someone dosed the wine and attacked your big exhibit, pretty crazy huh? I hope they didn’t destroy too many priceless works of art. Anyways, can I get you anything to drink?” Eli said, and while his tone and the words themselves could come off as friendly his expression was cold and he did not offer up his usual friendly smile. He studied the man’s reaction upon bringing last night’s catastrophe, deciding to keep a close eye on the probable vampire, wanting to know the man’s true intentions for being at Alexei’s. He wasn’t sure if Vivian had heard about last night but perhaps hearing about it would plant some seeds of doubt about the man.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi City
Interactions: Sakura @baraquiel and Ayita @13org

Cade grinned at Sakura as she mentioned steak, sure he’d eaten some food both before and during the dances but there was always room for steak. “I am having a great time here, and I believe I also met one of your kin, a very kind demon, who shares our similar appreciation for a good meal. Her words were very inspiring and certainly did a great deal to calm my nerves here though it was truly a great honor to be in the presence of royalty.” He said sharing his experience at the dance with Sakura, as the demoness waved Ayita towards them. As Ayita joined them he noticed that she did not appear to share his joy. He put an arm around her as well and lowered his voice to share what he had heard from the royal fairy herself. He hoped the promise of finding allies for her would lighten her mood.

“I have wonderful news for you both, a two day journey along the northern shore will lead us to a port town, there I am told, we will find allies.” He added, deciding not to brag about meeting a princess to Ayita, before releasing his friends and clapping his hands together. “Now we should eat and maybe you both can share how your dances went. Ayita has someone here offended you?” He asked, disappointed that someone here might have spoiled Ayita’s first party in Avalia, it was certainly not the side of his world he wished her to experience. Under normal circumstances Cade went for more direct means to settle conflicts, but this was clearly not the place for a fight. ”If so, I could alway accidentally spill a full glass of ale all over a noble’s fine and overpriced clothing, just say the word.” He added with a mischievous smile, though it was not a warriors way, it was the sort of childish thing his younger self would have greatly enjoyed.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Afternoon
Location: Alexei’s
Interaction with: Vivian @Pink Khione

Eli nodded towards Vivian as she came in, several hours too early for her shift, which seemed strange. He was going to guess that she’d read the schedule wrong and was showing up late to open but then she mentioned giving pool lessons to some rich guy from New Paeonia. That made more sense, she’d been on about New Paeonia a lot recently and he didn’t really get it, some gated community full of reclusive rich weirdos was definitely not his scene. She then nudged him in the shoulder and he tried to hide the wince as he remembered being tackled by a hungry vampire last night.

“Sure thing, and of course there’s the table rental fee, you know, if he’s gonna be hogging a pool table for a few hours, we’d have to charge for that.” He added as she mentioned adding a few extra shots to his tab. He heard the doors open and close as more patreons walked into the bar. Eli popped his head out of the breakroom to see who it was, spotting the two men who entered; an old regular and a familiar face from the night before.

“You didn’t mention your rich guy was acclaimed artist Alexander Drake.” He said as he easily picked out who in the bar most looked like a rich weirdo. Drake certainly gave him “bad vibes” after his convenient exit from the art showing just before everything went to shit. “Hey, be careful around that guy, he seems...shady.” He added leaving out the ‘and is probably a vampire’ part. Telling people about the supernatural rarely went well. It seemed better to let the majority of people go on believing the world wasn’t quite as dark as it really was, and knowing about the supernatural never really made anyone’s life better.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk

Time: Afternoon
Location: Alexei’s
Interaction with: none

After his breakfast Eli headed to Alexei's, getting there just early enough to linger around the back and smoke a cigarette before his shift started. As far as jobs went, Alexei’s wasn’t too bad; it was pretty easy going and offered a good chance to meet supernatural entities in a friendlier environment than hunting them did. The biggest plus was obviously getting a paycheck in return, something vampire hunting did not offer. No one here ever seemed to mind if he showed up hungover or even a bit intoxicated, as long as he showed up and work got done. After his cigarette he got to work getting things up for when the bar opened; unloading new stock, setting up kegs, basic prep work. The closing shift from the previous night had also clearly half assed the cleaning but he chalked that up to everyone having an intense Friday night. So he also made sure the bar maintained its careful line of maintaining it’s run down dive bar look while being clean enough that it could still pass a health inspection.

He briefly paused to check the schedule posted up in the backroom to see who else was working today. He was relieved to see Vivian’s name listed, someone who could handle the obscure cocktail requests they occasionally got from the younger crowd. He could handle grabbing beers and making the basics but didn’t not have the time or care to learn every obscure drink with a fancy name on the off chance that some kid saw it on a buzzfeed list and requested it. He’d much rather deal with a rowdy crowd of werewolves and leave complicated orders to her. Sometimes, for fun, he’d just make up a bizarre drink name to order and he’d be damned if she didn’t come up with something without batting an eye. A long day of work was certainly easier when you had fun co-workers.

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi City
Interactions: Sakura @baraquiel

As the paired dances ended, the music changed from slow and formal to a more festive tempo that Cade was much more comfortable with. As he looked for both Ayita and Sakura he danced with many strangers along the way. Roshmi was a much more diverse place than his home, and how strange that they even had orcs dancing here. The orcs here however smelled much better and were far better mannered than those he had encountered in the wild. Cade had never thought them capable of being so civilized but he did still suspect them all of being in league with the lich and not to be trusted. He tried not to dance with them while also not being obviously rude about it. Eventually he spotted Sakura and headed in her direction.

“Sakura! I have excellent news.” Cade said ratherly loudly as he strode towards her. He wrapped an arm around his friends shoulders and grinned. “I danced with a princess of the old lineage and did not make a fool of myself, at least, I don’t believe I did. I used my very best manners.” He added in a quieter tone as he beamed with pride. Though his dance steps had not been perfect he was pretty sure he had shown proper etiquette. “Have you seen Ayita? I know where we are needed next, and I believe we should celebrate with food and ale.”

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Hall
Interactions: @TaeTorvi, @PotterBelle

Bowyn was in a better mood than when he’d entered the ball, neither dance had been awful, like he had expected, but instead kind of nice. Almost as nice as free drinks but nothing really bested that perk of being at the ball. He hung around the table serving himself a few more drinks before looking for his friends. The ball had, as it seemed, proved to be not quite as dangerous as he expected either. He’d met another human who had provided a possible location in which to go next and talking to someone from Avalia about wings and flight was pleasantly normal. He was, to his own shock, beginning to enjoy the experience, and he wanted to keep up the good mood for as long as he could. The only way he knew how to keep his spirits up was to continue to take advantage of the free drinks. The only real downside was he was going to have to admit that Torvi and Belle had been right about coming here and it was not a waste of time. He wore an easy smile, with a drink in his hand, as he found both Belle and Torvi back at the table they had originally been seated at and sat down with them.

“Well I’m only going to say this once, and don’t let it go to your heads, but you guys were right and this wasn’t an entirely awful or useless experience. Actually I believe I ran into a cousin of yours, she mentioned meeting up later in a port town a couple days north from here, some sort of family gathering. We could go unless there’s something else coming up you wanted to do.” Bowyn said casually, sharing his information in a way that anyone listening wouldn’t find it suspicious. He leaned back in the chair, feeling relaxed; both from the several glasses of mead and from being back with his friends. From knowing that he did have friends, that he had managed to go out to an overly fancy ball in a strange city and wasn’t miserable. “Also I am in an unusually good mood, so if either of you wants to dance or go get more drinks, I guess we are already here, and we might as well enjoy it.” He added as he finished off the glass.

““You have had enough mead.” Boreas said as he flew from Bowyns shoulder to perch on the now emptied cup.

“What a ridiculous thing to say.” Bowyn said, smirking at the bird. It was strange that Boreas didn’t feel as at ease as he was beginning to feel, normally the bird relaxed when he did. He took a minute to fix the bowtie on Boreas and hoped he would relax some, it was too bad that birds couldn’t enjoy a drink.