Ontos

Starting Again (Fleeter and Ontos)

Luca joined Jiru by his side, lying back at the wagon for a moment. "I earned that money, you know!" He began to ponder what to eat. Meat, soup, bread... perhaps a buffet would only suffice for the best of times. There was a shop nearby that sold mouth-watering meat pies of every variety, even if he believed that cats were sometimes used for filling when they ran out of other sources. Another shop sold great soup dishes, though there were occasional rumours of human bones being used for soup stock. They needed to get better shops around here, or less gossiping hens.

New Game Plus (MuttonHawk and Ontos)

"Oh, you're here!" Sheera's voice perked up as she looked up, and flipped down her hood. "Leneas, Cassarah!" His mother had retained her youthful, though she was in her early forties. The benefits of being a skilled magic user, he guessed. With a grin, she pointed at Leneas. Leneas cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. What did she have in mind, anyway? He didn't know what Cassarah came here for, only that she did. "What you need to know..." Sheera paused, as if for dramatic effect. "My son knows as well! Leneas, tell her everything about Astech!" Leneas gulped. Astech the Great was a great demon general. He was also his uncle, a brother to his father, Lucius. In the original timeline, Astech was one of the great demon commanders that spear-headed the initial invasion. It was only by the efforts of a brave knight of Savoyard that Astech was slain in battle. Sheera stood up, and shooed the two to a side room. Leneas's face turned beet red. The last time the two were in the same room, together... Leneas fanned his face as much as he could, taking a seat at the small table. He smiled the best he could at Cassarah. "So... what do you want to know?"

Starting Again (Fleeter and Ontos)

Should I decide what sort of shop to go to, or shall you? If you want to, Luca will just follow with a happy grin.

Starting Again (Fleeter and Ontos)

Luca backed off a bit when Zhijiru's face turned black. What was he angry about? He stayed silent as Zhijiru dug for something in the wagon, and smiled as Zhijiru cried and laughed at the same time, clutching the sword. Wait, when did Zhijiru get that sword, anyway? "You have a sword! And don't call me an ass!" Luca placed his hands at his, fortunately, not-so-feminine hips, and shot daggers with his eyes for just a moment. Cupping the coins with his hands, Luca walked over to the wagon and let the coins fall onto the wagon interior, and smiled as he leaned against the wagon on the outside, just beside Zhijiru. "So, what do you want to do with this money?"

New Game Plus (MuttonHawk and Ontos)

He already knew her name. But he thought that maintaining 'Cass' would make a bit more sense. The new timeline gave him a reason to call her Cassarah now. Calling her Cass felt a little too intimate. He recalled the moments of pleasure, the moment when two were one underneath a starry night. She called out his name, and he called out hers. The name Cass reminded him too much of those times. Even when the images were long gone from his mind, he could imagine Cassarah's entire body, sans clothes, perfectly. And something else also rose when he thought of those times. Fortunately, the armour covered it. Leneas took the lead immediately, mainly so that Cassarah couldn't see and comment on his beet-red covered face. Fortunately, the hovel his mother called a shop was barely a few seconds away. "This way, Miss Cassarah." He paused for way too long when his mother's shop was in sight. Leneas began to think. He had a single year, before his demonic traits would manifest. He would only be humanity's last hope when they had lost everything else. He needed 3 things. Power. He needed to become stronger. In combat and in magic. Leneas needed to be the best, or at least, in the top 10, of both. Training was going to be important. He could still remember the techniques passed on by the masters who considered him worthy, but his youthful, still-human body was likely unable to fully leverage on these. Friends. The friendship and trust of Archbishop Claudius, Jochi and Dame Raine were enough to persuade the remnants of humanity to back Leneas against the demon invasion. Still, their support came too late for any meaningful victory. He needed them by his side, and early, and potentially the support of anyone else who died before they could come to support him. Money. There were things the first two could not buy. With money, he could buy equipment. Weapons. And most importantly, prestige and support. If the people sang his name with praises in a year, he could unite their support and present a united front against the demon invasion. Leneas must have spent at least 10 minutes in silent thought before realising that Cassarah had disappeared into the shop. "W-wait for me!" he yelled, rushing into the hovel. ---- Sheera Solomon was in her early forties, but a few magical tricks kept her young. She enjoyed her semi-youthful looks, but for appearances' sake in a shady fortune teller's shop, she wore a face-concealing shroud and held her illusionary-wrinkled hands above a crystal ball. "Tell me... what you seek?" the ragged voice of an old crone asked, never looking up to face her customers. Even if it was Cassarah.

Starting Again (Fleeter and Ontos)

Luca couldn't hold in his laughter, even as Zhijiru was shouting. "I... can't... oh gods I'm dying!" he spat out words between his hysterics. He really should have tried to sell the wagon, too, he realised, but the laughter pretty much killed all rational thought in his mind. Luca took in a few deep breaths as he crouched at the stall, his hands hanging off the opposite edge of the counter. With a grin, and a wink, he paused for dramatic effect, before saying a single word. "Every— wait for it... thing." Luca clicked his fingers at the end of his sentence.

Starting Again (Fleeter and Ontos)

"How much is this apple?" Luca grinned, and held the apple in his hand. He winked at the young lady inquiring, trying to pull off the 'handsome' demeanour to her. "Two silver, mademoiselle. It's fresh, and sweet for palate, and but not too sweet." The lady giggled, before picking up seven of the apples and placing them into her basket. "I'll take the lot. That'll be 18 silver, right?" This business thing seemed easy. The apples were the last bunch of the lot he managed to sell. The chickens went for 12 silver each to a friendly old man, a few bushels of grain were sold for a total of 7 silver. All that remained at the shop were the profits of today, and a ox munching on some grass with a lazy gaze in its eyes. The sales totalled 71 silver today. Zhijiru would be impressed. Or more probably, too horrified to speak. Luca smiled to himself as his fingers traced the coins, one-by-one. "Hey, mister?" Luca's attention was attracted by a middle-aged man, looking like a veteran farmer by a simple glance. "I see that your shop's empty, but is that ox for sale?" Luca shook his head, and went back to counting the coins. "I really need one, and this one is a fine specimen. How about 10 gold coins?" Luca blinked, and stared incredulously at the farmer. High quality oxen went for 8 gold coins, the last time he recalled. Even if Zhijiru busted his ass to get this one, it would still be a net profit. "S-sure," stuttered Luca. The farmer placed 10 golden coins (all of them tested by Luca's teeth) on the table, untied the ox, and went his way with a small wave at the young man. Staring at the 10 gold coins, he began to laugh. He wasn't sure if Zhijiru had ever seen a gold coin! He still continued to laugh hysterically, even as his friend returned with his dog. Luca did not even notice Jiru's return.

New Game Plus (MuttonHawk and Ontos)

Leneas had to follow her, somehow. If she was meeting his mother, perhaps he could get some into a more private conversation with Cassarah later. He wrinkled his face as he tried to think of some rationale that wouldn't scare the scholar off. "I'll bring you there, Cass." He popped beside her and grinned. "Don't worry, if you want a private chat with my mother, you've got it." He gestured to the direction of his mother's shop enthusiastically. 3 years of time certainly made him feel younger and more enthusiastic, and it was, at least, a world without a demon invasion yet. He waited in nervous, grinning silence for her response. Hopefully, that response would lack a flash spell.

Starting Again (Fleeter and Ontos)

Luca squeaked as Jiru grabbed him and deputised him at the shop. He really must have loved the dog a lot. So much so that he left Luca in charge of the store. The worried look upon Zhijiru's face as he looked into the distance, especially when his face twisted into so many depictions of terror, was a mixture of horrifying and just a tinge of amusing to Luca. Zhijiru looked terrified, but cartoonishly so. The young man stared in awe as Zhijiru vaulted over the store counter and towards some random direction. He forgot where the woman went, and she was hopefully unrelated to this. With Jiru come, he could at least do something. Crouching under the counter, he lifted off his shirt and adjusted his chest-bindings. Luca called himself a man, but biology decided otherwise. It was fortunate that Zhijiru never knew. Once that was done, he stood up, picked off an apple from the counter, and placed another silver coin of his own. He bit into it and munched noisily, watching passers-by with a lazy gaze.

Dead Outside (Spellbound and Ontos)

Ash smiled at Rose. At least the woman introduced herself. Given the circumstances, though, she had the right to be upset. "I don't remember a lot of things. I don't even remember my last name. I'm not even sure how I came to be like this." Ash looked at her claws, as Rose recalled the circumstances of humanity. It certainly went to shit out there. Ash might have even considered herself lucky, in the circumstances. There was lots of food in the places that were overrun. Ash only recalled a specific moment when she regained consciousness, or rather, awareness. The circumstances weren't pleasant, and she preferred not to think about it. "I think it's a side effect. And I prefer another word. Zombies are for those mindless, stumbling ones. I'm a..." Ash pondered. She hadn't come up with a name. "Hunter." Like the Special Infected guy in Left 4 Dead.