princess

Avalia

Time:Evening
Location:River Kingdom

Risa eventually was able to calm her crying. As soon as she did, he had let go of her and turned away to look at Cloud's grave. She took a step after him. "I'm so sorry I never came to find you, Helio. I thought..."She drew off.

Helio paused, taking a moment to crouch down while facing Cloud's grave. He said softly after a moment, "Don't be. You were a child."

All this time he was alive. But where? How?

She decided it was best to save her questions for later. They both knew she had many and if he wasn't explaining yet, it was for good reason.

Risa moved forward with the intention to kneel beside him and ask if he remembered Cloud, but excruciating agony would interrupt her before she could even start to kneel. The pain radiated from the center of her body so suddenly she couldn't process its source. She slowly looked down, her arms shaking as she managed to glance down. The end of a vine was coming out of her stomach. A large red patch started to expand fast through the center of her dress. The sight made her face pale with terror.

The vine agonizingly retracted back the way it came slowly causing her to cry out and her knees to unbuckle with its forceful withdrawal Thoughts could not make their usual journey through her mind as a painful ringing filled her ears. She was wailing now, though unaware of it.

Panicked words reached her ears but they sounded too far away at first. Finally, Helio's terrified voice dimly broke through as he yelled, “Risa! You got to heal yourself quickly! Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Helio kneeling at her side, putting his hands over her wound as he laid her down in the grass. “Hurry!”

Avalia

Skipping RISA to evening since that's when the next meaningful event happens for Risa. Do not jump ahead to interact with her please as I prefer it not interrupted :) Everyone else should stay at same time with their group.

Time:Evening -> 8pm
Location:River Kingdom

The gravestone still sat in the small opening in the forest where Risa had first sat with Cloud. The tall trees’ canopies hung over the area. Flowers of all varying colors had overgrown the patch of soil where he was buried. She had planted one every time she had visited. The moonlight illuminated the stone grave through the breaks in the branches of the trees above and the chirping of crickets filled the night air.

She had asked that Artemis meet her here tonight, but Risa had come earlier in the night, hoping to take some needed time to process everything before Artemis arrived. After leaving Vereon to cover his nightly shift at the bar, she had flown straight to this spot.

Risa’s wings fluttered as she hovered over the grass and delicately set herself on her knees near the grave. Her fingertips traced the name engraved as she stared at it longingly. Reading Cloud's name in the stone still made her heart sink. Even after all this time, she couldn't believe he was really gone. She had come here time after time to talk to his grave with the hopes he was there listening.

"Hi there Cloud. I hope you've been having a nice day in the afterlife. I hope it's okay if I talk to you..." Risa said softly and ran her hand over the top of the grave as if she was caressing a cat.

The night was still. There was no breeze at all yet Risa felt cold. Feelings buried deep began to resurface, toppling over the mountain of emotions Risa had already been struggling to carry on her back. Though she had been the one to suggest meeting Artemis here, she was starting to regret the idea. She would have to compose herself, but she wasn't so sure she could.

“I got myself in a lot of trouble. Accidentally gotten myself into a revolution. I know you'd be proud of me, but I don’t know what I’m doing." She whispered softly to the grave as if it were bending an ear to her woes. "I had to give a speech and I'm not sure if it was any good. This was all supposed to be Helio. He was...”

Risa drew off thoughtfully before finishing her sentence,“He was the soldier. The one everyone believed in. I don’t know if I can be that for them… Maybe I got in over my head and this is-…” She burst into desolate sobs as her words finished, unable to continue speaking. The dam had finally broken and there was no holding it back. As heavy as the words had become, her body did too as it slowly descended her into the flowers.

Little did she know she wasn’t alone.

“Supposed to be Helio, huh?”

Risa stiffened her crying, her eyes widening at the sudden intrusion. She slowly sat up on her elbows to face the newcomer. The voice was coming from the deep blackness of the woods. A silhouette began to form once it got close enough to for the moonlight to gently caress. The figure moved closer toward her without a sound. Risa saw a flash of red hair gleam in the moonlight as he revealed himself slowly from the shadows and it felt as if time itself had stopped. The forest had gone mute and the surroundings irrelevant. She scrambled to her feet, and then threw herself towards the male and practically fell into his body, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

A hand moved to the top of her head and carefully stroked her hair. “I told you I’m always going to find you, Risa.”

She clutched at the fabric of his black shirt. The hand kept stroking her hair for a few minutes as she continued to cry. The gentleness was nostalgic and for the first time in a long time, Risa felt safe.

Avalia

Time:Late Afternoon ~ 4pm
Location: River Kingdom, upstairs of the Pretty Flower

"I am a genius."

Vereon spun her around from his grip on her shoulders to face a glass mirror. He moved her hair from the back and over her shoulders. Looking over to the mirror, he smiled at his work. Risa's insanely long locks were cut just to the middle of her chest. Though not a short haircut, it was such a stark difference from her usual length that she looked different. The few bangs that had been cut into her hair tickled her forehead and felt bizarre to Risa. Pink hair was common enough amongst fairies and even seen in other species at times though more rare. There was no need to try to change it.

Risa tilted her head as he brushed her hair and began to put the bunch of hair on each side into braids. "Little goes a long way huh, lovey?" She was dressed in a green, long peasant dress and had been given a plain brown cape that she had left on the side of a chair for now. She looked quaint and foreign to herself, but she was grateful for its charm. Vereon bit his lip, worried by her silence and added, "I'll have a better outfit for ya tomorrow. Trust me. It will be the complete opposite of Risa Millinia! Ye won't recognize yerself."

"Thank you Vereon. You've been so sweet."Risa said finally and smiled at him. "I'll never forget your kindness. Let me make prepare some supper for us. It's the least I can do. Well, actually..." She moved to her ball gown and began to fish out a bag from a belt that was underneath it. She turned and began to dump some amas on his table, to which his eyes lit up. She gave him a good seventy amas. He went to work talking right away. As she listened, she moved into the kitchen to start using some of the ingredients to prepare a stew.

"Seriously? Ya sure? You don't have to pay me. Oh sweet alaberries." He moved over to it rapidly and looked at Risa. "Vena might finally let me take me seriously. I could buy her something so beautiful with this!" Vereon's eyes watered as his dreams came crashing down as soon as they started, reminding Risa that he had been one of the moodiest fairies she had ever met despite being one of the nicest. "Oh she after that Gurthel. Disgusting name that thing has. Says she only dates a man who is willing to fight for his people. Well, I tell ya, she'd be mighty lonely if he's off to training or at war all day wouldn't she? But I won't give up! I will win Vena's heart! Not all of us be cut out for war and death, but I sure do have my other qualities don't I?"

Risa sighed, coming over to him before he could continue and put her hands on his cheek."Vereon. Look at me."He blinked, surprised by her sudden movement, "You're a wonderful man and you will find love worthy of a heart as big as yours. If Vena's interested in Gurthel and not you, then I think you should find yourself a girl with a better head on her shoulders."She wiped his eyes gently with her thumbs and kissed his forehead as if they had been family by blood. Risa wasn't sure if all this was worth anything with so much on the line. Soon little things like romance there would just be no time for. "Truth be told, I don't know if it's even ..."She let go of his face and averted her eyes as she thought out her sentences more carefully before continuing. Her impulsivity was a habit that she needed to let go of if she was going to be of use, even in such a mundane circumstance."If you want romance, then go for it, Vereon. Life is a gift so seize the moment."

Vereon stared at her and asked, "When did ye get more mature than me?"

Risa didn't consider mature to be a good word to describe her at all. If anything, Risa felt much the opposite, as if she was too young and ignorant for the place she was in. She knew she was different now, but she also knew she was grieving and it was impossible for her to be the cheery, obnoxious girl who jumped on his couch singing and then at other times brought animals into this very apartment without permission to do so.

Somber. Drained.

And it had only been a week in.

"I best tell you everything."Risa decided. She explained everything from start to finish: how she and Dionaea had came to help the elves, how she had protected the human Jean-Luc and found herself a main target for the revolution due to her name, and then how she and Dionaea lost their homes. How she didn't even know if her parents were alive right now. She told him about the ball and the speech, to which he asked her to detail what she had said. By the time she was catching him up to the idea that Dionaea had been brutally murdered and she was separated from Kyran and her new human friend Elsea, she was already serving the stew in a bowl in front of Vereon.

Vereon fell silent as they ate, replying only with, "I'm sorry."

Risa looked at him, racking her brain for what was the best thing to say, and finally gave him a huge smile, "Oh don't worry. I will do everything I can to make sure none of this was in vain. Avalia will be freed."

"This is a burden many grown men could not even handle. Are ya sure ye don't want me to help find a way to back out of this? We can hide ya somewhere."

"I'm going to meet with the other rebels the day after tomorrow. I don't know what kind of impression I left but I'm sure I'll have to try to prove myself a worthy figure in this."Risa told him quietly, ignoring his previous question. It was too late to back out now.

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I heard some folks talking about ya speech at the bar. They thought that ye was the one to summon humans. Maybe ya oversold that guilt and beat yaself up as ye usually do. So make sure that gets tidied up."

"Maybe I didn't directly bring humans here but I stood there and let it happen. That's a horrible mistake I have to feel guilt for."Risa said sadly, staring down at her plate. "If I made myself worse in that manner, then I will tell them my story if they so want to hear. I don't know if I'm who they want me to be."

Vereon took her shoulder gently. "With that big heart, I know ya are."

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forest near Roshmi
Interactions:@Potter@Dezuel@13org@baraquiel

Malachi turned to the two females once they had stopped. He paused for a moment, seemingly weighing his options. His gaze moved to Myra and lingered on her. She seemed to understand English despite being nonverbal, but her intentions were still mysterious to Malachi. " From our location, we're going to head west and stay close to the shore." He said curtly. Ultimately, as long as his main goals were unthreatened, that's all he cared about.

He glanced around for the other man that had fled on the horse, but it seemed he wasn't in view. The governor hadn't seemed to catch up with them yet, but he was sure the nuisance of a man would at any moment now.

Malachi decided to begin walking and let whoever followed, followed, knowing at least Belladonna definitely would. He moved his gaze towards Myra if she so did move with them, asking, "You are looking for the companions you came to the ball with I assume. Is there a name we can call you?" Whether she could actually answer was what interested Malachi.

Avalia

Time:Late Afternoon ~ 3pm
Location: River Kingdom, behind The Pretty Flower

"Oi, oi! Please stop knocking! Sixteen times is SURELY enough, eh?! And don't ya know to use the front door?"

The male voice's words could be heard over the chatter of the tavern from the inside, which raised in volume as it reached the air at the end of his words. The back wood door of the bar flew open and his eyes fixated down on Risa. He sounded quite annoyed but he was trying to conceal it out of politeness. Risa found herself meeting eyes with the bartender who let out a hushed shrill noise of panic upon seeing her. She had her purple cape wrapped around her and her hood over her head, but she knew it wasn't enough to conceal her identity for very long.

He grabbed her wrist and hastily led her up the outdoor staircase to the second floor. Risa stumbled as he tossed her forward into the small apartment. She turned to watch as he shut the door behind them, locking it. The male fairy with his green, ripped-up pants and matching green wings provided Risa a sense of nostalgia that almost made her relax despite everything. She moved her hood off her head and awaited his attention.

He turned and threw his arms around her, hugging her tight, "Young lovey, do ye even realize the amount of trouble you've gotten yourself into?! Oh my flowers!" He put his hand up around her head to pet it comfortingly. "People have been talking about you night and day. Oh and coming right into the plaza with the kind of reputation you've crafted! Though I'm more than impressed ye managed to do it without getting caught."

Risa returned the hug and waited until it was over to address his words. It had been tricky. Following up the river to River Kingdom had been easy. Traveling between the two areas had been so commonplace to her. She and Kyran had bounced between them almost daily as kids and Helio had flown with her more times than she could count. After checking that Artemis wasn't in their meeting place yet, she had made her way straight to the plaza. Having to sneak around the back of the bar in the past to avoid getting seen drunk, she had also learned the back alleys quite well, so she had decided it was worth the risk to meet with Vereon. However, the stakes had been higher than ever. She knew if even one dark elf saw her, it would be the end for her.

"You don't know the half of it."Risa sighed tiredly as he held her upper arms, looking her and down. He unhooked her cape and led her to a chair to sit down. She practically melted into it out of exhaustion, leaning her head back over the edge, "I don't think I've ever been happier to see you."

Vereon went to work fixing her a cup of tea, glancing over his shoulder at her. "And I to see ya, little lady. Don't withhold not even a peep of the story. Did ye go to a ball in a dress that beautiful? I hoped you'd have been being less conspicuous."

"I'll tell you everything, Vereon.. I just-..." Risa began to tell him, tiredly picking her head up to glance his way.

He frowned, cutting her off, "Relax first, lovey. Don't get yaself ill." Vereon soon moved to crouch down by her chair and place the tea in her hands.

She smiled faintly at him, grasping it tighter than usual.

"You've changed, rosebud." He said sadly, "Usually that smile is so wide it can't fit your face... And I think this might be the first time I've seen you without-" Vereon stopped himself as his brain caught up and put together a few possibilities. "If ye plan on getting drunk and puking on the bar again..."He started teasingly, quickly trying to switch the tone of the conversation.

Risa hid the sadness his words brought him and instead let herself giggle at his joke. "Oh no. No drinking for me." She then gestured towards her dress and asked, "Think you have any extra clothes for me if you could spare?"

"I have several of the clothing I've had to wash for ye but you've never come to collect. I suppose today is good a day as any." The fairy hopped to his feet to fetch the clothing, calling to her as he moved into his closet."We'll have to do something different about those looks, anyone would spot ye a mile away with hair that reaches almost to ya bottom!"

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time:Evening
Location:Operation Humanity HQ
Interactions:@FunnyGuy@Potter

Sadly, Sean and Niko had been infected with a bad case of testosterone poisoning.

At least, that's what Angel had decided. She was dimly aware of them both acting suspicious of each other but she couldn't care less so she tuned a lot of it out. She had gotten stuck on Sean saying she'd like the details in the car. Angel wasn't sure she'd like anything right now besides finding Remy, but he had stated they were going to look for someone. They didn't even know where Remy was, so it probably was about something else. Angel wasn't sure she could focus on whatever task it was.

Nikolaus caught her eyes to nod at her as he asked Sean about the team getting murdered. Angel shrugged at him. They didn't really tell her much of anything at this place. "I'll go get you something to eat."She said finally. Angel took some time to go fetch some food from the cafeteria, also taking a detour to try to peek in Trotter's room but the door was locked. She groaned and made her way back into Nikolaus's room and handed him a sandwich then tossed Sean one as well. Angel ended up eating hers in the hallway.

Angel remained quiet for a while until the sun had set, at which she had glanced at Sean, "Lead the way?"

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forest near Roshmi
Interactions:@Potter@Dezuel@13org@baraquiel

Malachi was surprised that the white creature had come back and jumped in front of them for defense. It was unusual behavior from a demon and he was shocked that she even cared. She seemed to have good instinct so he began to wager his options for only a split second before the all too familiar voice of Terneus reached his ears before he could react to the demon beckoning them to leave. He bit back a groan. Belladonna would have to conceal her magic, thus could not defend herself in this situation. He glanced at the governor with a stoic expression. He was referring to Kenia he supposed. Normally he'd be happy for the extra help in the battle, but Malachi was grumpy. He wasn't a morning person. "We got separated. Don't you have a city to govern?"

He glanced back at Belladonna and then at Myra, before facing the spiders again. He moved forward slightly to aim his bow in the air as the arrow was quickly imbued with light magic. He channeled light energy from the surroundings as he shot one arrow up and a cascade of multiple arrows made completely of light began raining down on the spiders, lighting up the area. It was a bigger attack than he had hoped to expend his energy on so early, but it could not be helped. It wouldn't destroy all of them, but Malachi was sure it would do a good deal amount of damage enough for them to try to put some distance. He was sure these were babies and there had to be a mother back where the blue hue was coming from. Though he wanted to rid of her and create a safer forest for the humans and other allies, it would be risky for his other two companions considering Belladonna could not protect herself without exposing herself.

"Alright, you win, furry thing." He told Myra, then glanced towards Belladonna then at Terneus, "There's a mother spider back there that will be life-risking to battle. Retreat." He grabbed Belladonna's hand to tug her into a run.

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forest near Roshmi
Interactions:@Potter@Eviledd1984@13org

Malachi gritted his teeth as the situation seemed to worsen. The spiders had begun to glow brighter and multiply in number. He analyzed the situation quickly, his gaze zeroing in on the froth in their mouth, the blue glow, and then moving quickly over to fixate on the faint glow of blue coming from the distance. Mathis introduced himself and the creature as Myra, suggested they stay together then took off on his horse, expecting them to follow.

Normally, Malachi would agree. Why risk their lives when they could just leave the situation? But Malachi could not leave here in good faith, not when Kenia, Rei, and Corvina were in this same forest as well as other humans. Furthermore, the mother of these spiders was probably a formidable enemy that needed to be vanquished. He also figured he could find out how much Belladonna knew and push her boundaries with this task, as fighting Aklenroth would be much more difficult.

"Right then. Belladonna, it's just you and me. "Malachi had a feeling this girl had heart and would not be walking away from the battle either. He strung another arrow into his bow and began delivering blows to the closest spiders, increasing in speed as he focused. "The foul bubbling in their mouths is possibly poisonous. Don't let them get near you. Let's see how much you were taught. There's a much worse enemy behind these little ones so do not waste all your stamina."

Vampire, Werewolves, Witches Roleplay

are you guys still looking for people to join? Cause this does seem rather interesting.

@sly13

Yes you're welcome to join! :D

Vampire, Werewolves, Witches Roleplay

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