No, it's all good! The barista at Starbucks made my Chai tea stronger than usual, and the caffeine is hitting hard, so I'm having trouble sitting still xD I have a post started but I keep getting up to walk off my excess energy
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Does this mean we can call you abmin now?
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300 word minimum is pretty standard for casual level and up in my experience
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Just discovered Dog TV. My pitbull and I have a new shared hobby.
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There's a panhandler who hangs out on the street corner by our dispensary every afternoon with a sign that just says "Green 4 Green?" and tbh, I respect my boy's confidence.
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Bio
Personal Profile
Name: Taylor
Pronouns: They/them
Age: Mid 20s
Relationship: Married (happily, I might add)
Time Zone: Arizona (we hate daylight savings, so it's MST year-round)
Writing History: I've been on a number of different roleplaying websites for over a decade and a half
Hobbies: Writing, fitness, driving/exploring, hiking, camping, traveling, tabletop games, anything NEW (I love trying things I've never done before)
Roleplayer Profile
Format: 1x1s only. Maybe I'll try a group RP again someday, but I've never had one last longer than a few months
Posting Speed: Depending on my schedule, I can usually post at least once per week
Favorite Genres: Modern, Historical, Romance, Action/Adventure, Horror/Dark, Fantasy, Slice of Life, Dystopian, can be convinced to write some Sci-Fi
Hard 'no's: Fandoms. Sorry, but I can't maintain interest in characters/worlds I didn't build with my partner
Template: Public threads or PMs. I prefer to keep all my RPs in one place, so no emails or G-docs or the like
Rating: Comfortable with 18+ content, but it's not a necessity and I prefer not to center a plot around explicit scenes
Level: Advanced. Will consistently provide around 400-700 words per post, but can occasionally leap to 2000+
Character preference: One main character, but large side casts are greatly enjoyed. Because I write long posts, I prefer not to double
Gender preference: Male. You'll be hard pressed to convince me to play a female that isn't a background character. It's just not my forte
Romantic Relationships: MxF or MxM (currently prefer MxM)
Character Images: Faceclaims or detailed descriptions only. I envision the characters like real people in my mind, so I can't take anime seriously
OOC chat: Yes please! I'm a total extrovert who loves to get to know the amazing minds behind my partners' characters
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Yeah. Drei doesn't know much of anything about DNA, so he still hasn't figured it out. It'll be a game changer when they realize humans and aliens can breed though. Then they'll have to figure out if they prefer to have humans be surrogates or actual partners
Also, a lot of the elements in this RP about artificial reproduction remind me of the book Brave New World if you've ever read that.
Also, a lot of the elements in this RP about artificial reproduction remind me of the book Brave New World if you've ever read that.
When Artemis replied to him, Azdrei’in stared at her blankly for a moment. He’d never heard his name reduced to just one syllable before, so he didn’t immediately recognize it when she called him ‘Drei’ instead of ‘Azdrei’in.’ He wasn’t sure how he felt about the change. It was a little odd—his people didn’t alter each other’s names when they spoke—but it also wasn’t important enough for him to protest against. Perhaps it was just easier for her to pronounce anyway.
He turned to look at the screen when she showed him another image, a familiar helix of DNA. It was something else he could recognize but didn’t know much about, since he wasn’t a scientist or physician. He wondered if there was a way for her to show the same pictures to the Om’phaers if they asked him to bring her on board the mothership. If he continued learning English, he could translate their conversation, and she could share her wealth of knowledge with Lunvalgans who could make more use of it than he could as someone who specialized in hunting and fighting.
“I cannot tell Zalla what to do,” he warned her, making sure to set realistic expectations. The most he could do was give suggestions, just like he had when he’d told his commander that Artemis was more valuable to their people alive than she was dead. Ultimately, it was up to the other Lunvalgan to make the final call though. It was possible that Zalla would order him to bring Artemis to the ship and then leave her there while he returned to the Earth to continue sweeping the land for threats. However, there was one way he could think of that would better ensure that his commander wouldn’t separate him from the human if she came to the ship.
“No,” he said when she asked to learn his language. “Not now. You want me to stay with you. If I am the only one who can talk to you, Zalla will have to tell me to stay with you.” He had no qualms with teaching her his native tongue later on. For now, though, it was his only bargaining tool to use if his commander wanted to send him back to her planet. He had to hold onto it at least until after the Om’phaers decided what they wanted to do with her. Until then, it was better for him to be the only one capable of translating for both parties, so his presence would be necessary.
Suddenly, he felt her touch his face, and he tensed reflexively. She’d kept her distance for the most part the day before, so he hadn’t expected her to come this close to him. He turned toward her and met her green eyes as she spoke to him, further surprised that she seemed to be trying to comfort him. He guessed that she believed he was upset about the way his people conducted relationships and wanted something more. Truthfully, he hadn’t given it much thought though.
He’d found some female Lunvalgans attractive and had pursued physical encounters with them while they were still unmated and free to do so. However, he’d never gotten so attached to any of them that he’d say he was in love. In their current society, familial and romantic relationships weren’t as important as an individual’s duty to serve their people as a whole. Some couples did fall in love, while others went about their business clinically and unemotionally. Azdrei’in had always assumed he would fall on the latter end of that spectrum and wasn’t particularly bothered by it. He just didn’t have any expectations that he’d develop feelings for someone else.
“I could,” he assessed, passively observing the interesting flecks of colors in her irises while she was close to him. “But I am happy enough now. I don’t think I need it.”
When Artemis asked if he wanted to go outside, he didn’t hesitate to stand up from his chair. Zalla may have assigned him to keep watch over her, but he still wanted to continue exploring this unfamiliar planet. He also had a secondary duty to eliminate any threats he found, and he couldn’t do that from inside her hideout.
Standing directly in front of the human, he loomed over her because of their glaring height difference. “Yes, we should go outside,” he agreed, then stepped around her to return to his bedroom. “I need to change to one without this,” he explained, trying to tell her by tugging at the sleeve of the borrowed shirt that he preferred to wear a sleeveless top, so his shoulders wouldn’t be restricted if he needed to fight.
He turned to look at the screen when she showed him another image, a familiar helix of DNA. It was something else he could recognize but didn’t know much about, since he wasn’t a scientist or physician. He wondered if there was a way for her to show the same pictures to the Om’phaers if they asked him to bring her on board the mothership. If he continued learning English, he could translate their conversation, and she could share her wealth of knowledge with Lunvalgans who could make more use of it than he could as someone who specialized in hunting and fighting.
“I cannot tell Zalla what to do,” he warned her, making sure to set realistic expectations. The most he could do was give suggestions, just like he had when he’d told his commander that Artemis was more valuable to their people alive than she was dead. Ultimately, it was up to the other Lunvalgan to make the final call though. It was possible that Zalla would order him to bring Artemis to the ship and then leave her there while he returned to the Earth to continue sweeping the land for threats. However, there was one way he could think of that would better ensure that his commander wouldn’t separate him from the human if she came to the ship.
“No,” he said when she asked to learn his language. “Not now. You want me to stay with you. If I am the only one who can talk to you, Zalla will have to tell me to stay with you.” He had no qualms with teaching her his native tongue later on. For now, though, it was his only bargaining tool to use if his commander wanted to send him back to her planet. He had to hold onto it at least until after the Om’phaers decided what they wanted to do with her. Until then, it was better for him to be the only one capable of translating for both parties, so his presence would be necessary.
Suddenly, he felt her touch his face, and he tensed reflexively. She’d kept her distance for the most part the day before, so he hadn’t expected her to come this close to him. He turned toward her and met her green eyes as she spoke to him, further surprised that she seemed to be trying to comfort him. He guessed that she believed he was upset about the way his people conducted relationships and wanted something more. Truthfully, he hadn’t given it much thought though.
He’d found some female Lunvalgans attractive and had pursued physical encounters with them while they were still unmated and free to do so. However, he’d never gotten so attached to any of them that he’d say he was in love. In their current society, familial and romantic relationships weren’t as important as an individual’s duty to serve their people as a whole. Some couples did fall in love, while others went about their business clinically and unemotionally. Azdrei’in had always assumed he would fall on the latter end of that spectrum and wasn’t particularly bothered by it. He just didn’t have any expectations that he’d develop feelings for someone else.
“I could,” he assessed, passively observing the interesting flecks of colors in her irises while she was close to him. “But I am happy enough now. I don’t think I need it.”
When Artemis asked if he wanted to go outside, he didn’t hesitate to stand up from his chair. Zalla may have assigned him to keep watch over her, but he still wanted to continue exploring this unfamiliar planet. He also had a secondary duty to eliminate any threats he found, and he couldn’t do that from inside her hideout.
Standing directly in front of the human, he loomed over her because of their glaring height difference. “Yes, we should go outside,” he agreed, then stepped around her to return to his bedroom. “I need to change to one without this,” he explained, trying to tell her by tugging at the sleeve of the borrowed shirt that he preferred to wear a sleeveless top, so his shoulders wouldn’t be restricted if he needed to fight.
His sense of reasoning is more of an individual characteristic than a racial one, haha. There are other Lunvalgans that are more emotional. He's just more passive :)
It'll probably be surprising to Artemis if/when Drei actually gets excited about something, since he's usually so calm.
It'll probably be surprising to Artemis if/when Drei actually gets excited about something, since he's usually so calm.
Azdrei’in didn’t fully grasp everything Artemis was saying to him, but he did understand that she saw him as similar enough to a human that she treated him the same way she would her own kind. That made sense to him, especially since visually, Earthlings and Lunvalgans looked quite a bit alike. He’d also noticed that even though she kept the bunny in her home, she hadn’t once tried to speak with it like she had with him. There were distinctions between the ways she interacted with “pets” and “friends.”
When she showed him the image of the animals kept in cages, he studied it until he realized she was asking what had become of them after the virus had killed off her race. If they had been locked up by humans and didn’t have a way to escape on their own, he had a feeling most, if not all, had starved to death by now. It was unfortunate, but there wasn’t anything his people could have done to prevent the loss. It wasn’t safe for them to colonize the planet until the violent apex species was eradicated, so they’d had to wait on their ship while the disease took its course. He and the other warriors that had been sent ahead of the rest of the colony were the first Lunvalgans to set foot on the ground in a long time.
“I think they are dead,” he told Artemis practically. He’d heard the emotion in her voice when she asked him about the animals, but there was no point in lying to her. Without sustenance, it was impossible for the creatures in their cages to have survived when their caretakers succumbed to Strizin. He wondered why they had been locked up at all though. The only time his people contained another species had been when they’d been developing the virus to eliminate the Earthlings. They’d needed test subjects to refine the disease, so they had captured a few humans to use for practice. Other than that, they didn’t cage other creatures as far as he was aware.
While she spoke, he strode over to the high table and made himself comfortable on one of the chairs. Between what she was saying and the video she showed him, he gathered that she was telling him that humans were led by their emotions. She also seemed to think that his kind was the opposite. He shook his head. “I am not emotional,” he clarified, pressing a hand to his chest. “Warriors are not emotional. We are taught to only think… to listen to leaders and not stop just because we don’t want to listen.”
Suppression, repression and detachment were the words he would have used if he knew them in English. When he’d been assigned to be a warrior, he’d been taught to remove himself emotionally from his work. There was no place for empathy or compassion when his commanders needed him to hunt or kill. He still had emotions, of course, but he’d learned to be logical and pragmatic before anything else. Although, I did disobey my orders by allowing her to live before Zalla gave me her approval, he realized. Maybe he wasn’t quite as good at burying his emotions as he’d thought.
“Males and females don’t have a choice,” he explained to her, then drummed his fingers against the table as he thought of an example. “I could like one female, but if we don’t make a baby, I cannot have her. My leaders will put me with another female, even if I don’t like her. We need more people.” To further demonstrate the point, he showed her telepathically how young Lunvalgans underwent genetic screenings to give them the best odds of reproducing with a compatible mate. He’d already gone through the process too. The only reason why he didn’t have a mate was because he’d been assigned to the Yihai. The task of exploring the Earth was dangerous, so the Om’phaers had postponed selecting a breeding partner for him until after he survived the assignment.
“I could have a female when I go back,” he mused carelessly. “But now, I don’t.” He was only somewhat eager to be given a mate. Like the rest of his kind, he had a drive to procreate, but the process had become so clinical that it felt more like an obligation than something to be enjoyed. The Om’phaers were very involved with fertility tests, adjustments to the couple’s diets and occasionally, medical intervention if necessary. Emotions, attraction, and love weren’t part of the equation—not like they used to be before their people started dying out. As such, being assigned a mate wasn’t something he was excited about. It was just another duty to be fulfilled.
“I will not leave you,” he assured Artemis, his gaze wandering to the bunny she’d placed on the floor. “Zalla told me to stay with you, so I will stay.”
When she showed him the image of the animals kept in cages, he studied it until he realized she was asking what had become of them after the virus had killed off her race. If they had been locked up by humans and didn’t have a way to escape on their own, he had a feeling most, if not all, had starved to death by now. It was unfortunate, but there wasn’t anything his people could have done to prevent the loss. It wasn’t safe for them to colonize the planet until the violent apex species was eradicated, so they’d had to wait on their ship while the disease took its course. He and the other warriors that had been sent ahead of the rest of the colony were the first Lunvalgans to set foot on the ground in a long time.
“I think they are dead,” he told Artemis practically. He’d heard the emotion in her voice when she asked him about the animals, but there was no point in lying to her. Without sustenance, it was impossible for the creatures in their cages to have survived when their caretakers succumbed to Strizin. He wondered why they had been locked up at all though. The only time his people contained another species had been when they’d been developing the virus to eliminate the Earthlings. They’d needed test subjects to refine the disease, so they had captured a few humans to use for practice. Other than that, they didn’t cage other creatures as far as he was aware.
While she spoke, he strode over to the high table and made himself comfortable on one of the chairs. Between what she was saying and the video she showed him, he gathered that she was telling him that humans were led by their emotions. She also seemed to think that his kind was the opposite. He shook his head. “I am not emotional,” he clarified, pressing a hand to his chest. “Warriors are not emotional. We are taught to only think… to listen to leaders and not stop just because we don’t want to listen.”
Suppression, repression and detachment were the words he would have used if he knew them in English. When he’d been assigned to be a warrior, he’d been taught to remove himself emotionally from his work. There was no place for empathy or compassion when his commanders needed him to hunt or kill. He still had emotions, of course, but he’d learned to be logical and pragmatic before anything else. Although, I did disobey my orders by allowing her to live before Zalla gave me her approval, he realized. Maybe he wasn’t quite as good at burying his emotions as he’d thought.
“Males and females don’t have a choice,” he explained to her, then drummed his fingers against the table as he thought of an example. “I could like one female, but if we don’t make a baby, I cannot have her. My leaders will put me with another female, even if I don’t like her. We need more people.” To further demonstrate the point, he showed her telepathically how young Lunvalgans underwent genetic screenings to give them the best odds of reproducing with a compatible mate. He’d already gone through the process too. The only reason why he didn’t have a mate was because he’d been assigned to the Yihai. The task of exploring the Earth was dangerous, so the Om’phaers had postponed selecting a breeding partner for him until after he survived the assignment.
“I could have a female when I go back,” he mused carelessly. “But now, I don’t.” He was only somewhat eager to be given a mate. Like the rest of his kind, he had a drive to procreate, but the process had become so clinical that it felt more like an obligation than something to be enjoyed. The Om’phaers were very involved with fertility tests, adjustments to the couple’s diets and occasionally, medical intervention if necessary. Emotions, attraction, and love weren’t part of the equation—not like they used to be before their people started dying out. As such, being assigned a mate wasn’t something he was excited about. It was just another duty to be fulfilled.
“I will not leave you,” he assured Artemis, his gaze wandering to the bunny she’d placed on the floor. “Zalla told me to stay with you, so I will stay.”
No worries at all! Real life comes first. Also, I have some other stuff I really need to catch up on today anyway, so I have no issue waiting to write here for a little xD
Possible spoiler: I have a plan for before the next morning, so don't carry it too far in your next post if you can ^^
The ride to Younis felt longer than usual to Crow as he battled the fatigue of staying up for most of the previous night. As always, Otto was determined to push them onward despite the occasional pleas to stop for a break from Naida, Crow and Percival. The princess whined that the lengthy rides were starting to make her legs sore, and she needed to rest so that she wouldn’t turn to jelly if she needed to fight someone on the ground. The viceroy chose the excuse that he was hungry, and the knight tried to reticently suggest that if the group was tired, they were better off slowing their pace rather than rushing.
Otto was unwavering in his decision to usher them across the border though and reminded them that if they arrived too late, the Younisians wouldn’t be able to see their uniforms in the dark and might mistake them for enemies. The most they managed to squeeze out of him was one quick stop for lunch, during which Crow scarfed down a fairly large meal and promptly took a nap against a tree while the others finished their food at a more human pace. He couldn’t say for sure, but he was fairly certain Percival had intentionally eaten his lunch slower than usual to give him a few extra minutes of sleep before they kept moving.
By the time they reached the Younisian side of the border, the sun had almost touched the western horizon and the former thief had almost slipped from his saddle at least two times. The procession stopped in a clearing among the winter-bare olive trees, and Crow climbed wearily down from Baine’s tall back, touching down a little clumsily when his feet hit the dry grass. Right away, Preston appeared at his side to lead his horse over to the edge of the small meadow, where a couple of the others were already grazing.
“Thank the gods that’s over,” Naida groaned as she dropped from her stallion’s back nearby. “Maybe we should take a day to just rest tomorrow? I’m sure the Younisian king will still negotiate with us if we show up a little later.”
“I doubt the Younisians will appreciate us loitering at their border though, my lady,” Percival said pragmatically. “Even if we’re here to parley, we’re still foreigners in their land. They’ll most likely escort us to their capital in the morning.”
“But they don’t know we’re here,” Naida frowned, leaning from side to side as she stretched her back and legs. “We haven’t seen any Younisian knights since we left Brerra. We could just… not tell them.”
“Being discovered in the middle of the night by knights who want to run you through with their swords is an awful way of waking up,” Crow yawned, traipsing over to join them. “It would be better for us to let them know we’re here before they have time to get the wrong idea.” He gestured at the woods to their right. “Their camp is just that way. It won’t take long to tell their baron.”
“How do you know where their camp is?” Naida crossed her arms.
“Because I’ve been there,” he replied vaguely.
“Okay,” she waved her hand. “Then why don’t you be the one to tell them we’re here?”
“I can’t,” Crow rolled his eyes.
“Why not?”
“Why do you think?”
Naida blinked, falling quiet for a moment as she seemed to process the question. Beside her, Percy grimaced, clearly putting two and two together faster than the princess. After a pause, she opened her mouth in a voiceless ‘oh’ and came to the conclusion on her own: “Because you stole from them.”
“That I did,” he nodded and lifted his hands in a hapless shrug. “Being a thief made more enemies than it did friends. If I walked over there by myself unannounced, they would probably think I’m trying to trick them.”
“Which is why I’ll be the one to inform them that we are here,” Otto said suddenly. The other three turned to him and Rayner as they approached. The baron had his hands clasped loosely behind his back and looked at each of them in turn. “I will go to the Younisian camp while the rest of you set up tents for the night and prepare supper. This way, we can all get some sleep sooner rather than later… I noticed we weren’t all as well-rested as we could have been today.”
Naida shrank slightly at his implied accusation, while Crow and Percival exchanged a subtle glance. The viceroy wasn’t concerned about being reprimanded by the older knight though. His thoughts had wandered back to Percy’s warning the night before about how Theroulde had been acting strange. While an offer to speak with the Younisians wasn’t out-of-place by itself, he was reluctant to trust anything Otto said now that he was paying closer attention to him.
Deciding to test the waters a bit, he asked gently, “Why don’t you bring Percy with you when you go? The Younisians aren’t expecting any of us, so it’ll be safer if there are two of you.”
“I’d be happy to join,” Percival agreed with a faint nod in the viceroy’s direction, understanding what he was trying to do.
“That’s quite alright. I will go alone,” Otto insisted calmly. “I used to accompany King Mannering on assignments like this when he was still viceroy, so I know how to approach the other knights peacefully. I’ll just let them know where we’re camping and be back here to pitch my own tent and join you all for supper.”
I suppose he does have experience, Crow thought with a contemplative frown. Once again, Theroulde had posed a believable enough excuse that he couldn’t tell if it was a lie. He also didn’t have a good reason to demand that the baron bring someone else with him. Not wanting the older man to know he suspected anything, he reluctantly nodded, “Fine.”
Otto nodded in return and walked off into the trees, drawing his travel cloak further around his shoulders to stave off the cold. Crow watched him go with a cagey expression. As much as he wracked his brain, he couldn’t think of a shady reason why the baron would want to speak with the Younisians alone. It seemed like he really had just gone away because he was the more well-equipped person among them to speak with the native knights. However, that didn’t mean the viceroy couldn’t take advantage of his absence.
“Hey, Rayner,” he said, turning toward the lieutenant. “Collect some firewood for us to use for supper, would you? The rest of us can finish setting up the camp on our own.”
The younger Theroulde bowed his head curtly in silent acquiescence and headed into the woods to do as he was asked.
As soon as he was gone, Crow caught Naida by the collar—she had turned away to set up her tent—and beckoned Preston to stop watering the horses and join them too. While both of the Therouldes were gone, it was possibly their only chance to speak privately, so he wanted both his sister and attendant to be present.
“What are you—” Naida started to protest, but the former thief shushed her quickly.
“Keep your voice down,” he hissed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he didn’t see any figures through the trees. Otto was on his way to the Younisian camp, but Rayner could still be within earshot if they spoke too loudly. He didn’t trust either of them.
“What’s going on, Collin?” Preston asked in a quiet tone when he stepped over to their crudely formed circle. Both the servant and princess stared at him confusedly, waiting for answers.
Crow turned to Percival and nudged him in the side, “Go on; tell them what you told me. If you’re right about this, all of us should be prepared.”
“Be prepared for what?” Naida furrowed her brows.
Percival shifted his weight uncomfortably. “I’m still not entirely sure I’m right though… I don’t want to slander his name if it turns out I was reading into things—”
“The last time I went on a mission for a king, I almost died twice because we weren’t careful enough,” Crow shook his head. “I’m not making the same mistakes I did two years ago. Tell them. If you’re wrong, we can move on like nothing happened. If you’re right, your warning could save us from whatever else might soon be happening.”
Percy studied him solemnly for a moment and then exhaled resignedly, turning back to the others as he confessed: “I suspect that Baron Theroulde has been acting strangely… I don’t know why or if his behavior is even related to our journey into Younis, but there’s just something off about him. I don’t feel like he’s being honest with us, and I think it would be a good idea for us to take his word with a grain of salt until we find out more.”
“What makes you say that?” Naida asked in surprise.
“A couple nights ago, Percy and I woke up before dawn and might have caught him in the middle of something,” Crow replied for the knight, not wanting the subject of his nightmares to come up in front of his sister. “He wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake and seemed to be unprepared to explain why he’d left the inn.”
“He told us he went out to the privy, but the way he said it was peculiar,” Percival agreed.
“Hm,” Preston grunted thoughtfully. “Actually… I’ve thought he’s been a little off too.” When the three nobles turned to him at once, he blanched. “I just didn’t want to say anything because I thought you’d think I was overreacting to the way he’s been ordering me around.”
“Well, now you’re not the only one,” Crow said to Percy. In the next moment, he heard the sound of a twig snapping beneath a boot, and he glanced into the trees again. “One of them is coming back. Just keep an eye on both of the Therouldes… Rayner is Otto’s son, so he might be in on it too.”
The others nodded their agreement and quickly dispersed to set up their camp for the night. When Rayner returned, Crow worked with him to get a fire started while Preston prepared ingredients to make a soup and the other knights pitched tents. Not long after their dinner had been placed over the pit to cook, Otto reappeared from the woods. The baron joined them wordlessly by the fire, watching the embers burn while Crow and Naida struck up a casual conversation. The viceroy glanced at him every once in a while, but Theroulde never did anything suspicious, so eventually, he relaxed and decided that if Otto really was up to something, he wasn’t working on it at that moment.
After they finished their meals, Crow’s exhaustion from the long day struck him with full force, and he retired to his tent to make up for the sleep he’d lost before. He dressed down to his underclothes and collapsed on his pad, pulling his heavy wool blanket up to his forehead to keep warm. For a few minutes, his thoughts wandered to Penelope with a pang of longing as he wondered how she was doing since she’d gotten back to her camp. He missed having her nearby, but that was just another reason to hurry to the Younisian castle and come back to Brerra as soon as possible. He couldn’t wait to come home to the woman who would soon be his wife.
With a slow exhale and a faint smile on his lip, the former thief closed his eyes and drifted off with warm memories of the knight at the forefront of his mind, pulling him into pleasant dreams.
Otto was unwavering in his decision to usher them across the border though and reminded them that if they arrived too late, the Younisians wouldn’t be able to see their uniforms in the dark and might mistake them for enemies. The most they managed to squeeze out of him was one quick stop for lunch, during which Crow scarfed down a fairly large meal and promptly took a nap against a tree while the others finished their food at a more human pace. He couldn’t say for sure, but he was fairly certain Percival had intentionally eaten his lunch slower than usual to give him a few extra minutes of sleep before they kept moving.
By the time they reached the Younisian side of the border, the sun had almost touched the western horizon and the former thief had almost slipped from his saddle at least two times. The procession stopped in a clearing among the winter-bare olive trees, and Crow climbed wearily down from Baine’s tall back, touching down a little clumsily when his feet hit the dry grass. Right away, Preston appeared at his side to lead his horse over to the edge of the small meadow, where a couple of the others were already grazing.
“Thank the gods that’s over,” Naida groaned as she dropped from her stallion’s back nearby. “Maybe we should take a day to just rest tomorrow? I’m sure the Younisian king will still negotiate with us if we show up a little later.”
“I doubt the Younisians will appreciate us loitering at their border though, my lady,” Percival said pragmatically. “Even if we’re here to parley, we’re still foreigners in their land. They’ll most likely escort us to their capital in the morning.”
“But they don’t know we’re here,” Naida frowned, leaning from side to side as she stretched her back and legs. “We haven’t seen any Younisian knights since we left Brerra. We could just… not tell them.”
“Being discovered in the middle of the night by knights who want to run you through with their swords is an awful way of waking up,” Crow yawned, traipsing over to join them. “It would be better for us to let them know we’re here before they have time to get the wrong idea.” He gestured at the woods to their right. “Their camp is just that way. It won’t take long to tell their baron.”
“How do you know where their camp is?” Naida crossed her arms.
“Because I’ve been there,” he replied vaguely.
“Okay,” she waved her hand. “Then why don’t you be the one to tell them we’re here?”
“I can’t,” Crow rolled his eyes.
“Why not?”
“Why do you think?”
Naida blinked, falling quiet for a moment as she seemed to process the question. Beside her, Percy grimaced, clearly putting two and two together faster than the princess. After a pause, she opened her mouth in a voiceless ‘oh’ and came to the conclusion on her own: “Because you stole from them.”
“That I did,” he nodded and lifted his hands in a hapless shrug. “Being a thief made more enemies than it did friends. If I walked over there by myself unannounced, they would probably think I’m trying to trick them.”
“Which is why I’ll be the one to inform them that we are here,” Otto said suddenly. The other three turned to him and Rayner as they approached. The baron had his hands clasped loosely behind his back and looked at each of them in turn. “I will go to the Younisian camp while the rest of you set up tents for the night and prepare supper. This way, we can all get some sleep sooner rather than later… I noticed we weren’t all as well-rested as we could have been today.”
Naida shrank slightly at his implied accusation, while Crow and Percival exchanged a subtle glance. The viceroy wasn’t concerned about being reprimanded by the older knight though. His thoughts had wandered back to Percy’s warning the night before about how Theroulde had been acting strange. While an offer to speak with the Younisians wasn’t out-of-place by itself, he was reluctant to trust anything Otto said now that he was paying closer attention to him.
Deciding to test the waters a bit, he asked gently, “Why don’t you bring Percy with you when you go? The Younisians aren’t expecting any of us, so it’ll be safer if there are two of you.”
“I’d be happy to join,” Percival agreed with a faint nod in the viceroy’s direction, understanding what he was trying to do.
“That’s quite alright. I will go alone,” Otto insisted calmly. “I used to accompany King Mannering on assignments like this when he was still viceroy, so I know how to approach the other knights peacefully. I’ll just let them know where we’re camping and be back here to pitch my own tent and join you all for supper.”
I suppose he does have experience, Crow thought with a contemplative frown. Once again, Theroulde had posed a believable enough excuse that he couldn’t tell if it was a lie. He also didn’t have a good reason to demand that the baron bring someone else with him. Not wanting the older man to know he suspected anything, he reluctantly nodded, “Fine.”
Otto nodded in return and walked off into the trees, drawing his travel cloak further around his shoulders to stave off the cold. Crow watched him go with a cagey expression. As much as he wracked his brain, he couldn’t think of a shady reason why the baron would want to speak with the Younisians alone. It seemed like he really had just gone away because he was the more well-equipped person among them to speak with the native knights. However, that didn’t mean the viceroy couldn’t take advantage of his absence.
“Hey, Rayner,” he said, turning toward the lieutenant. “Collect some firewood for us to use for supper, would you? The rest of us can finish setting up the camp on our own.”
The younger Theroulde bowed his head curtly in silent acquiescence and headed into the woods to do as he was asked.
As soon as he was gone, Crow caught Naida by the collar—she had turned away to set up her tent—and beckoned Preston to stop watering the horses and join them too. While both of the Therouldes were gone, it was possibly their only chance to speak privately, so he wanted both his sister and attendant to be present.
“What are you—” Naida started to protest, but the former thief shushed her quickly.
“Keep your voice down,” he hissed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he didn’t see any figures through the trees. Otto was on his way to the Younisian camp, but Rayner could still be within earshot if they spoke too loudly. He didn’t trust either of them.
“What’s going on, Collin?” Preston asked in a quiet tone when he stepped over to their crudely formed circle. Both the servant and princess stared at him confusedly, waiting for answers.
Crow turned to Percival and nudged him in the side, “Go on; tell them what you told me. If you’re right about this, all of us should be prepared.”
“Be prepared for what?” Naida furrowed her brows.
Percival shifted his weight uncomfortably. “I’m still not entirely sure I’m right though… I don’t want to slander his name if it turns out I was reading into things—”
“The last time I went on a mission for a king, I almost died twice because we weren’t careful enough,” Crow shook his head. “I’m not making the same mistakes I did two years ago. Tell them. If you’re wrong, we can move on like nothing happened. If you’re right, your warning could save us from whatever else might soon be happening.”
Percy studied him solemnly for a moment and then exhaled resignedly, turning back to the others as he confessed: “I suspect that Baron Theroulde has been acting strangely… I don’t know why or if his behavior is even related to our journey into Younis, but there’s just something off about him. I don’t feel like he’s being honest with us, and I think it would be a good idea for us to take his word with a grain of salt until we find out more.”
“What makes you say that?” Naida asked in surprise.
“A couple nights ago, Percy and I woke up before dawn and might have caught him in the middle of something,” Crow replied for the knight, not wanting the subject of his nightmares to come up in front of his sister. “He wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake and seemed to be unprepared to explain why he’d left the inn.”
“He told us he went out to the privy, but the way he said it was peculiar,” Percival agreed.
“Hm,” Preston grunted thoughtfully. “Actually… I’ve thought he’s been a little off too.” When the three nobles turned to him at once, he blanched. “I just didn’t want to say anything because I thought you’d think I was overreacting to the way he’s been ordering me around.”
“Well, now you’re not the only one,” Crow said to Percy. In the next moment, he heard the sound of a twig snapping beneath a boot, and he glanced into the trees again. “One of them is coming back. Just keep an eye on both of the Therouldes… Rayner is Otto’s son, so he might be in on it too.”
The others nodded their agreement and quickly dispersed to set up their camp for the night. When Rayner returned, Crow worked with him to get a fire started while Preston prepared ingredients to make a soup and the other knights pitched tents. Not long after their dinner had been placed over the pit to cook, Otto reappeared from the woods. The baron joined them wordlessly by the fire, watching the embers burn while Crow and Naida struck up a casual conversation. The viceroy glanced at him every once in a while, but Theroulde never did anything suspicious, so eventually, he relaxed and decided that if Otto really was up to something, he wasn’t working on it at that moment.
After they finished their meals, Crow’s exhaustion from the long day struck him with full force, and he retired to his tent to make up for the sleep he’d lost before. He dressed down to his underclothes and collapsed on his pad, pulling his heavy wool blanket up to his forehead to keep warm. For a few minutes, his thoughts wandered to Penelope with a pang of longing as he wondered how she was doing since she’d gotten back to her camp. He missed having her nearby, but that was just another reason to hurry to the Younisian castle and come back to Brerra as soon as possible. He couldn’t wait to come home to the woman who would soon be his wife.
With a slow exhale and a faint smile on his lip, the former thief closed his eyes and drifted off with warm memories of the knight at the forefront of his mind, pulling him into pleasant dreams.
Yep. And Iris is not romantic at all xD Cas had to scramble a little to recover from that one lmao
When Iris set the water glasses down on the table, Cas murmured a quick ‘thank you’ and lifted one to his lips to drink. The cool liquid washed over his tongue and throat pleasantly on its way down, quenching a thirst that he’d been too distracted to notice until now. He hadn’t been paying attention earlier, but it had been hours since he’d last had anything to drink. Probably not since lunch at noon, he mused as he tried to do the math in his head. Fortunately, there was a restaurant on the first level of the resort that they could order from almost any time of the day, so they had good food and drinks at their fingertips as long as they stayed in the suite.
“Being conventional is overrated anyway,” he said in reply, setting his water back down to start on his dinner. “We may have skipped all sorts of steps, but I’ve never fallen for anyone like I have for you.” He casted her a fond smile and took a bite of his lukewarm-but-still-good food. While not ideal, going through mutual trauma had a way of drawing two people close together. It felt like they’d been partners for a lot longer than just a few weeks. After they had been on the run together in the districts, he trusted her with his life and was determined to do everything he could to keep her safe too. In a way, he even relied on her more than his own father, whom he had been slowly distancing himself from since he’d gotten back to the capital.
“Well that’s good, I think,” he mused when she said nothing was forgettable when they were together. Truthfully, there were a few moments here and there that he would have liked to erase from his memory, such as the image of the corpses in Bel Bicis that was imprinted on his mind forever. However, when it came to their relationship, he treasured every second. “Tonight is definitely one of my favorite moments for us,” he told her after he swallowed a mouthful of lobster. “No crippling amnesia, no rebels trying to kill us, no hospital, and no Miles.” He laughed at his own joke, taking a sip of his wine. The Spanish red was richly flavored, and he savored it on his tongue.
Her following comment gave him pause though. He didn’t want to think about anything bad happening, but it was impossible to deny that his rebellious move to get away from Atlas could go wrong. He’d never run from the mansion before, so he could have overlooked something important. “We’ll be fine,” he shook his head, trying to reassure her. “I booked this room completely anonymously, disconnected every GPS that could have tracked us here and haven’t told a single person where we are. I’m sure there’s no way anyone can find us. We’re safe until I figure out what to do next.”
When she asked about his food, he glanced up at her again with a half-smile. “Mine is good too.” The ominous feeling of her last comment still lingered inside of him, and he took a breath. He didn’t want to let worries ruin their evening. Even if something happened, there was nothing they could do to prevent it, so there was no sense in stewing over it.
In an attempt to lighten the mood again, he picked up one of the half-shells on his plate and separated the oyster from it with a spoon, then held it out toward Iris. “Here, try this. I’ve been told oysters are an aphrodisiac,” he winked at her playfully. “So is red wine and chocolate... Maybe we can order the molten cake I saw on the menu earlier for dessert.”
“Being conventional is overrated anyway,” he said in reply, setting his water back down to start on his dinner. “We may have skipped all sorts of steps, but I’ve never fallen for anyone like I have for you.” He casted her a fond smile and took a bite of his lukewarm-but-still-good food. While not ideal, going through mutual trauma had a way of drawing two people close together. It felt like they’d been partners for a lot longer than just a few weeks. After they had been on the run together in the districts, he trusted her with his life and was determined to do everything he could to keep her safe too. In a way, he even relied on her more than his own father, whom he had been slowly distancing himself from since he’d gotten back to the capital.
“Well that’s good, I think,” he mused when she said nothing was forgettable when they were together. Truthfully, there were a few moments here and there that he would have liked to erase from his memory, such as the image of the corpses in Bel Bicis that was imprinted on his mind forever. However, when it came to their relationship, he treasured every second. “Tonight is definitely one of my favorite moments for us,” he told her after he swallowed a mouthful of lobster. “No crippling amnesia, no rebels trying to kill us, no hospital, and no Miles.” He laughed at his own joke, taking a sip of his wine. The Spanish red was richly flavored, and he savored it on his tongue.
Her following comment gave him pause though. He didn’t want to think about anything bad happening, but it was impossible to deny that his rebellious move to get away from Atlas could go wrong. He’d never run from the mansion before, so he could have overlooked something important. “We’ll be fine,” he shook his head, trying to reassure her. “I booked this room completely anonymously, disconnected every GPS that could have tracked us here and haven’t told a single person where we are. I’m sure there’s no way anyone can find us. We’re safe until I figure out what to do next.”
When she asked about his food, he glanced up at her again with a half-smile. “Mine is good too.” The ominous feeling of her last comment still lingered inside of him, and he took a breath. He didn’t want to let worries ruin their evening. Even if something happened, there was nothing they could do to prevent it, so there was no sense in stewing over it.
In an attempt to lighten the mood again, he picked up one of the half-shells on his plate and separated the oyster from it with a spoon, then held it out toward Iris. “Here, try this. I’ve been told oysters are an aphrodisiac,” he winked at her playfully. “So is red wine and chocolate... Maybe we can order the molten cake I saw on the menu earlier for dessert.”
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