STATUS:
Wow three years since an update....well - I guess I've been busy. Finally getting back into real story writing instead of just editing and submitting old stuff.
11 mos ago
Current
Wow three years since an update....well - I guess I've been busy. Finally getting back into real story writing instead of just editing and submitting old stuff.
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likes
4 yrs ago
Responses didn't come like I meant them to. I'm working on being able to get to them this week. Thank you for your patience with me.
1
like
4 yrs ago
Responses to those waiting to hear from me will come tomorrow. Apologies.
1
like
4 yrs ago
Shit happens, responses slow. Working on it. Please be patient.
I'm an adult with a family and responsibilities that take priority, as well as mental health issues that can cause me to not get on this site for periods of time. Just know I will get back to you - hopefully within a few days. Right now my schedule is in flux until I get everything figured out properly so I cannot make promises to respond quickly.
If you've come here looking to RP, please note right now I'm not accepting any new projects. Thanks for the interest, and I wish you luck on your quest.
I recently started working on getting published, and have self published one story so far. Check it out on Amazon - Into the Night by Alexia Wynd. You can also check out more of my work - short stories and the like - at my recently started Patreon: patreon.com/storiestocaptivate
Given how timid Jasper was when he first showed up - hell, even now - Kaden hadn't entirely thought it would be easy to connect with the kid. Yeah, he was young. It wasn't entirely a deal breaker though. He was capable enough. Poor kid just needed to get out of his shell. That had been the tricky part; not so much in convincing the kid to chat, but in doing so in ways that didn't always appear like he was actually nice, even to Jasper. Next someone might get the notion he cared about what happened to those in the guild. That would ruin his entire game plan. But with the crowd the way it was currently, it was easier to just hide amongst the patrons and chat with the kid.
A floorboard creaked behind him. Kaden's gaze shifted to a glass on the table to catch the reflection of Tone winding up to kick him - if he judged it right. But before he even had the chance to react to stop the dragon slayer's foot from connecting with him, some other guy had appeared and caught his foot. This was certainly a turn of events. The S-class turned slightly in his chair, adjusting to watch the exchange with a soft smirk.
Ria was cleaning up a table when she heard a commotion on the other side of the guildhall. She wasn't surprised Kaden or Tone were there. Tone probably wanted a fight and Kaden was Kaden. Even though he'd been in a fight once already, there was no doubt he was still ready to go another round and that was probably what Tone was looking for. The fact that the new face around the guild was in the mix added another element to it all together. She sighed and set to finishing up clearing the table and setting it up for the next possible customer.
"Don't go dragging me into this, kid," he laughed as he held his hands up in non-engagement. He was quite content to see what went down. This Ronan guy was new, and he couldn't get a read on him at all. There was something off about that. Usually he could get a read on other mages without an issue, but this guy. There was something more off than just maybe not being a mage. When he'd walked in earlier, the guy had been at the bar and he hadn't seen the guy move - just over near the bar, then right near him in a flash. Even Torys didn't surprise him like that.
Ria walked over and stood near the others. "Tone, you were warned the last time -" Of course she could finish reminding him, he'd already launched a hit at the new guy. Only for Ronan to dodge it. Hit after hit, dodged faster than Ria could believe. Tone was fast even without amplifying it with magic. She had no desire to fight him, and knew if she did she needed to keep her distance least she get seriously hurt. But the way Ronan dodged...Gwen didn't move that fast. She'd seen Holly and Gras fight, and she was fairly certain those two couldn't keep up with Ronan. "Stop before -"
Kaden shifted ever so slightly to fully put himself between the scuffle and Jasper. Tone could get carried away, and he wasn't going to be taking the blame for if the dolt hurt the kid. That was what he would certainly tell them if anyone noticed him move. He could handle a hit from Tone - even likely handle stopping a hit if Tone managed to use this Ronan guy to hit him. He doubted Jasper would fair near as well. But swing after swing was dodged by this guy and Kaden was starting to grow more suspicious of the one eyed man's ability to dodge the strikes. But even with a strike fast enough that Kaden - though he'd never admit it aloud - barely could follow, Ronan not only dodged, but reversed it into an arm bar that could have seriously messed up Tone's ability to fight for even a little while. It was clear that wasn't the new guy's intention.
A smirk slid onto the S-class's face while the water mage frowned and crossed her arms. Kaden found the whole thing entertaining - Tone was always a fair deal more entertaining than the brat whenever he went to instigate a fight - while Ria was debating on giving them both a scolding for their antics (but largely ready to ensure nothing was broken and nothing came close to injuring the others in the room should it get too wild). Luckily the patrons that were around had moved back to keep from getting involved, and it seemed most were entertained too. If it wasn't clear this all wasn't just in gest, then perhaps there may not have been so much ogling and perhaps a bit more excitement from them.
"Help make it more of a scene? Great job. Really saved me the trouble of actually having to acknowledge the hothead before he landed a blow." The smirk on his face only grew as he lounged against the back of his chair. "Maybe next time you try to not make much of a scene, you just don't bother getting involved, yeah?" He may have been smiling, but there was a clear threat behind it. Kaden looked at Tone. "But so that was what you were coming to ask earlier. Well, I guess since Akemi is out with the wash-up, I've got time for a match now." He stood, shooting a look over his shoulder at Jasper. Might do the kid some good to get out of the crowded guildhall. "Wanna tag along? You could stand to learn a few things about fighting - if this chump doesn't lose too fast." He shoulder checked Tone as he started past toward the door.
"If you all are quite done..." Ria's tone was far tamer than what she felt inside. She looked around and a soft smile slid onto her face as she focused in on Ronan and Tone. "Tone, why don't you just ask Kaden next time instead of attacking? You know Torys doesn't like you doing that while we have customers at the tables. Ronan, thank you for trying to assist. Why don't you head back over to the bar to wait for Torys? I'm sure it won't be long now." She turned with a larger, more apologetic smile to the table closest to the rabble. "Terribly sorry about all that. Everything alright for you?" With everything settling and the patrons all fine and resuming whatever they'd been doing before, Ria finished setting the tables before heading back into the kitchen.
She finally headed into the kitchen to put stuff away she didn't need to finish setting tables. "Tone? Oh he was just looking to fight with Kaden. Apparently he figured he'd just get the drop on him and challenge him after. He has some issues sitting around idle - he's either out training or doing jobs - so I'm not terribly surprised. He misses some nuances of, you know, actually just asking people to train. Though I think that's because his initial attempt to ask Kaden for a match was foiled by whatever Akemi was drinking today."
Ria listened to the music Trinity played and hummed along quietly while she scrubbed. So far, she wasn't willing to call it quits on this last pan, but it was getting close. There was another pan that was beyond repair as well. Not terrible. Easily replaced. In fact, she was doing a bit of the math about if they needed to get any other cookware or dishes to make one trip instead of realizing they needed more and needing to make several trips. She'd just need to do a full check on everything and evaluate the food supplies before heading out.
She put the dish to the side and finally dried her hands. It was certainly going to be all she could do to get it fixed. Two out of all those pans? Not terrible. Not terrible indeed.
The humming continued as she moved to the pantry to take stock of those supplies, then headed to the walk-in to verify their cold stock. She was pretty sure they didn't need anything from market - it had just been stocked this past weekend, wasn't it? Or was it only two or three days ago? - but it didn't hurt to double check. After all, Lavinia might have used more food than necessary, or even the wrong ingredients, in her attempt to make her cookies. It didn't seem they needed to do much to restock the supplies lost in the venture, though. Not enough to need to include in a run to the market today - which meant they likely wouldn't need her to run out to get a replacement tray and bowl until they went to restock again anyways.
The water mage finally ventured over to where Damian was working on the soup. She took a large sniff of the air, absentmindedly close to brushing right up against the older mage, before leaning back. "That smells delicious. That's definitely going to be a hit with customers!" She offered him a cheerful smile before gathering up the stack of menus from the holder near the door. "I'm going to get tables set if you don't mind keeping everything handled back here." He seemed like he had everything under control though.
She offered Trinity and the new guy a smile as she passed, heading to the tables to start placing menus out and taking mental count of how many still had place settings from the breakfast rush.
"Hmm...That's - unnerving..." Carver adjusted his glasses as he looked around. He was certain he had mapped out around the territory of most monsters. Perhaps he'd been mistaken. It didn't sound like it was anything terribly big. But even little things in great number could be deadly. "But I don't believe we are in any real danger. It sounds like - "
A small rock hit him in the forehead.
The historian fell flat on his butt, dropping the food bar that he'd been holding. The rock hadn't landed hard, and didn't sound like it had. He picked up the pebble and looked at it.
The chirps and squeaks turned to loud chittering. Several of the bushes shook and rattled, close to the same loud ruckus whatever hid in them was making. Then, a large (at least for something typical the size of a raccoon) goblin stepped out. It chittered and squeaked, motioning with it's spear - a crudely fashioned stick not much longer than the creature was tall, with a rock tied onto the tip with vines - toward Carver's feet. The other cacophony of complaints from the bushes and shadows around them died down, as if to give the creature before them more preference in its demands.
Name: Anthony Forrest Age: 22 Birthday: January 24th
Magic: Air magic and Card Magic, Witch of Shu Magic Level: A
Shu is a god of air, wind, lions, the protector of the sun and a god of light, a judge of souls, and a keeper of peace; acknowledged as a creator god, it is said his support of the heavens to hold the sky from the earth and his breath gave life to living creatures on earth.
As part of his pact, Anthony has found his Air magic has been amplified with effects lasting longer or being more powerful.
The pact requires Anthony to attempt to overcome his nurturing and strive to maintain a balance of peace and protection in his life and the world around him. If he intentionally seeks to sow strife or animosity with others, or enacts vengeance rather than seeking to protect the natural order, he stands to lose both his magic gifted by Shu as well as his Air magic. Thus far, Anthony has done well at maintaining peace in his life in the form of calm breathing meditation with Kyros each day, even when traveling for jobs or to investigate claims of wayward spirits.
His patron has tasked him with sending wayward souls off to judgement, as well as the souls of any that may die at his hand, in a ritual that involves touching the spirit with a blessed ostrich feather - which will cause both feather and soul to vanish.
Calming Breeze: Summons up a gentle, cooling breeze (reminiscent of a perfect breeze for a warm day) into a large space (about 100 meter diameter) to help calm tempers of those within it. It is a subtle effect that does not happen instantaneously. The longer one is within the area, the more calm and reasonable they may become. This does not make anyone open to being friends, but at least no longer hostile and looking to act on their anger. The area of effect lasts for 10 minutes longer than the caster maintains concentration on the spell; the breeze will gradually fade away in that time, and the cooling effect may fade as well.
Breath of Serenity: Blowing air over one’s hand directly at another’s face while in close (arm’s reach) proximity can set the target in a mild daze, sapping strength and anger away in mere seconds. Effects can last for up to 10 minutes, but also have the potential of leaving the target with the desire to no longer pursue a fight if they were not particularly hostile in the first place.
Air Barrier: Thrusting forth a hand with a blessed ostrich feather, air takes shape into the form of whatever the caster desires at the time of creation. Lasting for as long as the caster can concentrate on holding it, each time the barrier is hit, it has a chance of breaking the caster’s concentration. The larger the barrier, the more concentration it takes to maintain and the easier it is to break.
Divination: While Anthony has lost his ability to magically divine with his cards, he has found he can make predictions on a broader scale, levels that can affect a group of people instead of individuals.
Lions (Favored Animal): Anthony can communicate with them, but has no control over them. While he has an affinity for the beasts, he hasn’t met many and needs to build a relationship with them in order to properly make use of their abilities. Through this connection, though, he has developed a roar much akin to Kyros’s - used to help act as both a way to scare off threats and a warning signal to guildmates.
Kyros (familiar): A white lion of standard size, he is Anthony’s companion and, until recently, mentor on how to utilize his new craft. He can communicate his feelings to Anthony, and they have limited ability to communicate telepathically by doing this. Mostly, Anthony talks to him, and Kyros responds with varying vocal responses.
Lion’s Might: Channelling the strength of lions into his body, Anthony can land faster, and more powerful, strikes than he previously could - especially if they involve leaping to cover distance. This can be used in combination with Lion’s Leap to gain most effect of the two, but it is not necessarily exclusively used for it.
Lion’s Leap: The distance able to be covered by jumping is greatly increased by channelling a lion’s pouncing ability. This can be used in combination with Lion’s Might to gain the most effect of the two, but is not necessarily exclusively used for it.
Mist Body: The caster transforms their body into mist allowing them to roam around freely at high speed and teleport. While in this state, all physical and magical attacks are negated; caster cannot attack while in this form.
Aeria Dome: The caster creates a dome, lowering the oxygen within the affected area and as a result, suffocating all inside due to the lack of oxygen in the environment; as the pressure has been altered inside the dome, those within it experience a sharp pain in their ears.
Piercing Blast: Caster points their hand in a direction and closes it into a fist, then points like a finger-gun at a target. Upon dropping their thumb, a blast of air shoots forth from their finger tip in a straight line. It has the piercing capacity of a 9mm bullet, and will travel until it comes into contact with an object; it will disperse after impact.
Concussive Blast: Caster forms a hand into a fist and then thrusts the hand out, sending a large blast of air at the target. Can cause bruising, and even break bones, upon impact - depending on how close the target is to the caster. Has the ability to break apart large rocks if targeted correctly.
Aerial Bomber: The caster fires a series of blasts toward a target, which detonate around the target to inflict moderate sonic damage. Can also be fired at multiple targets, but does not have the same damage power as a single target.
Destructive Vortex: Caster sweeps an outstretched arm toward themselves, pulling their target towards them, before enveloping themselves in a sphere like cyclone to inflict damage to their target as well as destroy any surrounding obstacles.
Expelling Vortex: Caster creates a tornado of wind that pushes out from their palm. Lasts for only a few moments but has enough force to launch someone a few dozen feet into the air or just send them tumbling backwards.
Levitate: Spell allows caster to adjust the density of the air to either lift something up or slow the falling speed of a number of targets. The larger something is or the more targets there are, the more energy is needed to lift or slow the object(s) in question. Spell will last for as long as energy is directed into it, or until the target has reached its destination. Spell ends immediately should the caster fall unconscious, or run out of magical energy. *Anthony has found since making his pact with Shu that he is able to maintain his levitation abilities for longer if he does a small ritual or prayer to his patron before casting the spell. If done in a reaction to protect others, he can also do it for longer as gifted by Shu, but will lose some potency from his other air spells for up to a week if he does not pay tribute (meditate and pray) after all are safe.
Compriseds of a multitude of cards, Anthony’s main deck has become more of a supportive tool than a main weapon. Cards that call upon elements of fire, air, and light channel into stronger abilities, while those that oppose them are weaker; he attributes this to the pact he made and the domains that the god controls.
Anthony also has a standard tarot deck he drew all the artwork for himself. He can use these to do standard fortune telling if he so chooses. Trying to use his cards to divine magically hasn’t worked out since making his pact.
Cloak: Allows user cast a spell that makes a target invisible for up to an half an hour, or until the target uses magic - holder or caster - or comes into contact with another living being or (magical source not present at the time of the casting.)
Mirage: Allows user to cast a spell that creates an illusion. Illusion does not hold up to much investigation, and is just a temporary visual trick typically used as a distraction.
Summoning Series: (not listing out all the cards, so here’s just a quick overview) Allows user to call forth an item imaged on the card. Examples: sword, shield, pen, pitcher of water, feathers. Items summoned in such a manner share standard durability with items of that nature (i.e. a metal shield will hold up like a standard steel shield. A pen will snap as easy as any standard pen. So on.) and will last indefinitely unless placed back into the card. Summoning cards are called Holding Cards, and are interdimensional space like Card Conversion but can only hold inanimate objects.
History: Few things are so instrumental in setting one down a bad path as being the cause of a parent’s death. Much is how it was for Anthony, who grew up resented by his father and older brothers for the fact that his mother died as a result of complications from his birth. The doctors had done everything they could to save her, but their efforts weren’t enough. That stigma is a weight on his shoulders Anthony was forced to bear.
His father led a cult of fanatical dark mages working in the shadows and accumulating power in any ways they could in order to bring about the end of times. From an early age, failure wasn’t acceptable and weakness was not an option. You either were strong enough to survive, or you were dead. For him, the trials and tribulations of the group were worse than his brothers - something he saw as punishment for something he couldn’t have prevented. He grew and adapted with each shift to how they tested him, both resentful of his family and their followers and ambitious to be greater than they could handle.
When he was old enough, he started venturing off to see what else he could learn. Time away from the family helped temper him away from the bloodthirsty path they were setting him on. On one such excursion, he met a girl - innocent and sweet and oh so damaged like him. That first time, they sat and talked - it was all superficial but she seemed excited to share when he asked things about her and the way she talked made him realize he could have nice things in his life that weren’t about power or destruction. So he made a plan to meet with her again and gave her a card to reach out to him when she was available.
And so it went, little trysts to meet with a girl as broken as he but so full of life he wanted to keep her with him. Her magic was beautiful, and powerful, and could surely change the way the world for him was shaped. He used it - he used her - but he told himself it was to build something better for the two of them. But the more he thought of ways to secure the future he wanted for them, the more they needed; that, in turn, meant taking more and it led to hurting people. He was okay with it, and it seemed she was too.
It was the final time they met up, he’d made arrangements to get them both away from there. Everything they stole had been sold, and he had the jewels to pay for them to get anywhere and remake themselves to whatever they wanted. He hadn’t counted on her being nervous about the prospect; her family made her miserable just like his did, they abused her just as much as his - he had trouble understanding why she wouldn’t want to run. It had taken time, and he’d nearly convinced her, until she spotted an eavesdropper. Her brother had overheard and took off to get others to help stop them.
The two of them raced off to catch up with him, hoping to convince her brother to let them just leave. They didn’t catch up in time. What happened next was chaos in his mind. Her father and brother argued to make him leave and never see her again, while he refused to abandon her to their torment. He refocused his attention to the only thing in his life that mattered - trying to convince her to cut them off from her life and just escape with him. She seemed so torn, all he wanted was for her to focus on him and cut out the noise around them so he could make her realize what was best.
Then she let out a magic attack in her confused frustration. One minute he was shoved back through the air by a powerful tidal wave, the next he was plunged into complete and utter darkness. It was entirely surreal floating in nothingness - stretching on for eternity and yet not existing at all. A voice spoke out to him, everywhere and nowhere at once, and offered him a second chance at life if he were to agree to serve. What he saw wasn’t a bent knee in service to a patron, but the state of the village around him and the souls lingering - of his father and the others continuing their plot to obtain more power unimpeded - people that needed to be sent to the other side for judgement and their own eternal trials.
There wasn’t even a second thought to this offer.
Anthony’s eyes shot open and air pressed into his lungs as if he’d forgotten how to take a breath himself. As he sat up, gasping lustfully for air, the world finally came into focus. Eerie silence, save for the way the wind moving ice shards over an icy landscape sounded like chimes, greeted him. His eyes took in the damage. Bodies strewn in unnatural ways, homes demolished and hiding others. As he got to his feet he finally could see the haunting visions of spectres walking the village. That was when he noticed a white lion watching him. It was almost as if on eye contact with the beast, he knew what he needed to do, and set about sending the spirits off to be judged.
It felt weird, once the village had been cleared. He had lost signs of where his friend had gone - she wasn’t among the dead so she had to have survived - but now he was left torn. He’d survived, her family and everyone else in her life was now sent to judgement, and he felt both empty and full of purpose. After sitting for a bit with the lion, he finally found his bearings. He knew what he needed to do next - the path cut out for him that was not entirely what he planned when the day began.
Kyros - the lion - and Anthony traveled back to his home to set things right for his path. His father and the others had already turned him into an effective weapon, and he used that against them. Each new death sent another ill fated soul to be judged, and removed one more dark mage from the world. But these were just the ones he was set to judge. It felt like they walked aimlessly for a long time, but every time he started to think that - he would find more spectres needing help being sent along for judgement.
Eventually, he found his way into Fiore and further to the Silverbranch Glade. In the months - going just over two years - since he had started on this new path, he had grown in understanding of how his magic tied with the gifts he’d been given alongside his original magic, but not in how the gifts of Shu could be used to their full potential. He waited with Kyros for a short time - mindful to not do more than make the patrolling wolves aware of their presence - while seeing what his cards had to tell of the new undertaking. Eventually, he ensured it was safe to meet with the guild within the glade - or, rather, the master of the guild - to discuss joining to gain better understanding of his gifts and the proper way to utilize them and this chance.
Personality: He prefers to wear a smile like a mask, and has turned it into an unreadable one at that. Anthony strives to be a calm, neutral, almost care-free presence for most things, but that sometimes fails; when it does, he will - sometimes without communicating - attempt to remove himself from a situation where he may lose his calm persona. He never shows outright signs of hostility unless someone is insulting/hurting a friend; if that happens he’ll jump in to defend the friend and end the confrontation - in whatever manner will get it to end. When it comes to protecting someone, he has been seen to be ruthless in how he fights - willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate the threat and keep his charge safe.
Extremely intelligent, Anthony is generally able to see how things connect together and details others may miss. He tends to use these kinds of things to his advantage, something he was taught from an early age and never broke out of. His manipulative charisma is something he tries to avoid, and does that by trying to seem apathetic at this point, but some things will never change. Years of manipulating odds into his favor and people to what he needed aren’t easily pushed aside.
For as much as he likes to figure things out and try to come up with plans, he also has little issue reacting on instinct and impulse. Plans, then, are generally fluid and made much like one might play chess - with several ideas of how things can go depending on how others might react so he is rarely left at a disadvantage. It makes it hard for him to wrap his brain around working with someone else that he doesn’t know very well, and he has a dislike for working in teams in general, but he will manage if necessary. When it does come to teamwork, he prefers it best to not take the lead, but instead let someone else take the forefront on that and make it known he will end up doing his own thing.
Guild and guild mark location: Wolven Pyre - right bicep, light sky blue Team Members: --
Strengths: Charismatic:
Calculating/Cunning:
Perceptive:
Intuitive:
Skilled Combatant:
High Endurance to Pain, Tireless, Deceptively Strong and Agile:
Energetic:
Weaknesses: Impulsive:
Manipulative:
Moral Ambiguity/Pragmatist:
Fearless/Daredevil:
Over Protective:
Ruthless:
Confined Spaces/Trapped:
Appearance: 6’ and has multiple scars all over his body. Has a branding on his left shoulder blade of the sigil used by his father’s cult.
Additional Details: Anthony has some issues with reality - in that there are times when he’s not entirely sure if what he is seeing is real or just in his head. Since making the pact, it has only gotten worse with being able to see lingering dead when others cannot.
He is fond of drawing and playing standard card games. If required to sit around, he will likely play a solo game or start sketching.
Ria hummed softly to herself as she scrubbed, then power washed, then scrubbed the pans some more. She was pretty certain that some of these were completely done for - too much scrubbing or pressure washing and the bottoms would surely be worn away to nothing. For now, she was set to trying to salvage what she could. There were glass bowls with cement - oh, right, this was supposed to be cookie batter - hardened in it that took some extra concentrated blasts, but they seemed to be coming up now. A few of the pans were set to the side, soaking in soapy water to help loosen bits up.
She glanced over her shoulder at Damian when he asked how things were going. A smile spread on her face, wiping away the focused concentration she had taken on in her task. "I think your soup will be ready before I have even the mixing bowls cleaned." She laughed softly. "Some of these are beyond saving, but I won't know how many until I'm finished. I'm not entirely sure what she used to make the cookies, but I'm starting to think they wouldn't have been edible even if she hadn't caught half the kitchen on fire. Lavinia must have just been too shy to ask Zenith or I for cooking tips." She looked back at what she was doing to make sure she wasn't scrubbing through the pan. "Maybe Zenith or I can do cooking classes for people interested in helping but uneasy about keeping up with orders. Would you be interested in participating? Having someone else willing to cook and help might encourage the others too."
Neil blinked when Ariel - he assumed it was Ariel, considering it looked exactly like her except she now sported tails and ears like the girl on the other side of Dalton - showed up. In a swirl of partial chaos, she swept away the third member of the team away before Trinity could even receive the food Markovis had headed off to make for her. He shrugged to himself. It was certainly going to be a fun thing to explain to their sometimes obtuse friend. He doubted Markovis would believe him if he told the whole mess, so he figured it would be better to stick to the basics.
His gaze instead fixed on the woman that had approached looking for Markovis. That was certainly a name he knew his friend wouldn't enjoy, but he certainly did. A smirk crossed his face at the thought. A drinking contest? That seemed right up his stoic friend's alley, but he was pretty sure the request wasn't to compete with each other. It was to lure out a potential threat - that meant it was better for someone to be in the crowd than the pair to both be contestants. "Well -" he started before it seemed she broke off to an internal debate.
And then Perry was speaking. Though that didn't quite seem right. Unlike Edarn, who didn't have much of a choice, Perry seemed to be incapable of switching back to the proper body. He knew the light mage had a body - he'd seen the transformation before. It was another thing entirely to see that this Elana could switch bodies and minds and all that without Perry being able to do much about it. "Well, I'd say that's a new one, but I suppose you're in the same bucket as Edarn and Karn. Tough break. But, you know, this little minx you're bound with - not sure you were aware she wants to take a job with Markovis, or if she can hear me right now like sometimes can happen with the Karns but - I'm not entirely sure would end up getting a yes out of Markovis for this job she's looking to take. He's not much for the, um, playful sort." He did look sorry to say that, but maybe it was in everyone's best interest to break some hopes before Markovis shattered them.
Nyssa's ears flicked with the ruckus around her, but kept redirecting to Jarvis. All the new people around threatened to steal her attention even though she was determined to keep on task before getting distracted. So if she found a job she was interested in, she could bring it to him, or the woman Jamie that was in a meeting, or one of the S-Classes. Her gaze shifted a moment when the man that stood near a table with another female at it called out for the S-Class mages to leave, and two others left with him. Oh, Ariel's not-mate Nolan is an S-Class. Interesting.
That glance to the side distracted her more than she anticipated, with a swish of tails that caught her attention. She thought it was Ariel but since when - OH!. Right, Ariel's magic...Nyssa had forgotten about what the older girl had said about her magic when she transferred energy to her to repay for the food and travel. The shift in appearance looked good on the model, but then - all the shifts in the mage's appearance she had seen had looked good. She seemed a bit more playful in this form than the others the kitsune had seen, hopefully that wasn't too problematic for her friends. Surely they were used to it.
Her mouth opened when Ariel swept up the girl that had been introduced as Trinity and carried her away. How was she going to meet this Karn person now? She looked at Dalton beside her. "The girl that was going to show me where this Karn person lives just left with Ariel. Do you know where he lives? And, if so, would you show me to his place?" Once she was a member, she reminded herself.
"Oh, right. First things first." Her attention turned back to Jarvis. "So does this mean I am a member? Or is there more to it? And - Oh, what is that?" She pointed to the stamp. "And how do you determine skill level?"
All things considered, it was the prep that took Markovis the longest to cook. Prepping the ingredients for - what he'd counted quickly was about twenty-five people - for both dishes wasn't something he could just use his magic to fast cook. He was sure he could figure out a way to do it with his newer magic, but that likely wouldn't go as well as just having standard Earthland food. Besides, he enjoyed cooking. It didn't come as a surprise to him when Jasmine said his name. She had been bound to show up eventually, and he didn't have to hear Rajah to know the entitled Exceed was with her. "Hello, Jasmine. Hello, Rajah."
Much to his chagrin, the sentient cat - perhaps the kindest definition of the dragon slayer's companion - perched atop his head to oversee the meal prep. If this were the first time, he may have bothered trying to protest. Instead, he simply adjusted his stance to accommodate the excess weight rather than fight it. "I am - oh." When he noticed Jasmine trying to reach the flying cat, he stooped down a little to assist. Jasmine brought her away and he focused back on finishing up the Bosco Rice. A large platter of sweet potato cakes sat on the counter with a few set out on plates to serve up already. Small cups of cinnamon cream sat on those plates, with a larger bowl of cream and more serving cups set beside the platter of cakes.
"I have made sweet potato cakes with cinnamon cream to dip, and am finishing up Bosco Rice now. This should be enough to feed the guild present. Trinity was upset and I decided to cook her something to help lift her spirits, and with so many returning - comfort food is supposed to be good for helping with gatherings like such. At least, that is what I have read." He retrieved a spoon from a drawer and took a small scoop of the rice. Cupping his hand under it as to ensure none fell to the floor, he approached Jasmine and offered it to her for taste. "Tell me what you think."
It took more time than Ria liked to get the charred bits off the oven and stove respectively. It was cute Lavinia wanted to learn to cook. Maybe next time she would agree to allowing Zenith or herself, or maybe even Damian, to help walk her through it. Well, that would be for later to figure it out. For now, she'd gotten the worst of the mess power washed off. After drying it off, a quick check revealed it was all still working.
"Perfect," Ria chirped. She clasped her hands together and turned to face Damian. "Thanks for getting all that put back away. I just have to get the dishes done and that shouldn't take me long. Do you know how to make minestrone or onion soup or any soups in general?" As she spoke, the water mage headed to the sink to try to power wash the charred bits off the baking sheets and clean up the excessive amount of bowls dirtied in the process of attempting cookies this morning. She organized everything and started washing the easiest to clean first after setting the worst to soak. She continued speaking, "We offer a soup of the day and when I'm cooking I usually make minestrone or onion soup. But if there's a soup you know how to make and want to help out with by cooking it up, that'd be appreciate. Or just keeping an eye out for customers, that would also be helpful."
Kaden walked into the guildhall, gaze quickly taking it in for a moment. Huh, Gras still isn't here. Weird. Maybe she'd show up later - or not be out on the streets at all to avoid the crowds of the festival. Not that he cared. She was just more of a mainstay out of everyone in the guild. It was just weird walking into the place and not seeing her brooding in the corner.
But there was one person that he'd grown accustom to seeing lurking in the hall that he would go hunting for if the guy didn't show up. A soft smile cracked on his face as the S-Class mage crossed the room. It was definitely out of his way, but he didn't mind. The kid was always too nervous to approach others first anyways.
He ruffled the boy's hair as he took a seat beside Jasper. "Hey, Kid. How was the coma? Musta been nice. You weren't in the hall yesterday," he said with a laugh. "Up to anything today?"
"That's the spirit. Right, now keep up, everyone," Carver called in a delighted tone. The historian led the trek up the footpath. He kept the map out, looking down to reference it and the compass every so often and correct their path. Unless one requested it, it would only be ever few hours they would stop for a drink.
The sun sank well below the trees and the sky was turning dark before he finally had them stop in a small clearing. "Right. So we should stop here for a brief break to eat, then - if you are all up for it - we will continue on." Hoisting his pack off his shoulders, he set it on the ground and pulled a flashlight from within it, then spread the map out on it. He pointed to it as he spoke, "We are roughly here, which puts us needing to go still about fifteen or twenty miles following this trail." Though the trail in question was just ink on the paper. The path went up at a far steeper incline than the previous hike. "We could just do that part tomorrow, or we can hike the rest of it tonight and make camp when we get to the ruins, but it is likely this will be the flattest part of our trip until we reach the ruins I'm looking for.
"Either way, we should all eat something and take a short break to recharge our batteries." Carver folded up the map and tucked it away into a pocket. Then he dug out some of the meal packs he had brought along and offered them out to the Fenixtear members accompanying him. "Eat up."
* * *
Small feet scurried through underbrush and hopped from tree branch to tree branch. Not quite close enough to be heard but for on the wind, squeaks and chirps murmured between them. The first time a light was shined toward the sound, there would be nothing but the forest coverage to be seen. If one were quick enough, they might catch a glimpse of a bushy tail or a small spear in trying to figure out what the noises were.
Name: Astoria “Ria” Ocenade Age: 19 Birthday: June 9th
Magic: Water and Water-Make Magic Level: A
- Water Bubble: The user creates bubbles of water with oxygen trapped inside that enable those who put their heads in the bubbles to breathe underwater.
- Water-Make (structure): This is mostly used as an unnamed spell. User is able to create structures out of water, the top layer of which is condensed to be solid enough to support weight.
- Rejuvenating Waters: The user conjures a ball of water into their hand and offers it to the recipient. The person that drinks it will feel their magic restored like they rested, as well as minor injuries will be completely healed and they’ll feel generally well rested and relaxed; moderate to severe injuries are also healed to a degree, becoming less severe than previously, but it is not healed much. The amount of healing done by this spell is dependent on how much magic the caster directs into the water. This cannot be used on the caster.
- Rainstorm: Unnamed magic, that allows the user to summon up rainstorms. The duration, size, and strength depend on a lot of factors, not the least of which are caster's magical capabilities and intent. It generally syphons - though if nature decides to keep the storm going, it can linger for longer naturally - from the user's magic and can allow for it to be shaped in size and power. Casters that aren't well versed in controlling the storm can only summon smaller ones that are barely useful for watering plants. The more practice that goes into it, the larger and more powerful the storm can be.
- Water Lock The user creates a large sphere of water that can be used to attack their target while they are trapped inside it.
- Water-Make Decoy: User generates realistic looking facsimiles of a person/persons out of water. Decoy(s) cannot move or make sound, but can be generated in any pose. If physically interacted with, Decoy(s) will disperse into a puddle of water.
- Undertow Water thickens the air and pulls at the target(s) making it more difficult for the target(s) to move and stay upright. This can even affect the ability to cast magic, and at the very least slows the target(s) down.
- Water-Make Barrier: Whereas Water Dome is for camouflage, this spell creates a barrier out of water that remains in place and carries an extreme current. The current is strong enough to prevent weak magical attacks from penetrating it, and makes it extremely difficult for things to cross the barrier. It is not impossible to break through, and it requires dedicated magical energy to maintain. If the caster falls unconscious or runs out of magical energy, the barrier will fall. Barrier can be made into many different forms, but generally seen as a wall or dome.
- Obscuring Mist: Through concentrated focus on condensing the water molecules in the air, the caster creates a fog cover to obscure vision around them and their allies. Range grows with practice, use, and magical force applied and can vary from a 20 foot radius to a 50 foot radius. With effort, the caster can allow individuals the ability to see through the mist clearly, but it is extremely strenuous and exhausting to do so. Mostly used as a diversion to escape dangers.
- Water-Make Cage: User creates a cage out of water sized to trap the target(s). The bars are extremely high current water cycling around the structure, making it difficult to break out and can lead to injury if one tries to escape.
- Neptune’s Dance: Two or more waves of water rotate around each other and form a helix that blast the opponent into the air with tremendous force.
- Water-Make (weapon): User concentrates water into the form of a weapon. Water weapon can deal damage like a normal weapon of that type, but only for as long as user has hold of the weapon (in the case of bow/arrows, user must continue contact on the bow). If contact is lost, weapon disperses.
- Geyser: User shoots boiling hot water from hands at target, which can hit to cause blunt damage and potentially scold the target.
- Water Slicer: By swiping their arm, the user sends scythe-like blades of water at their intended target, which are powerful enough to cleanly slice through solid rock. It can also be used as a form of defense to intercept an attack.
- Cyclone: The user forms a circular torrent of water in front of their hands and uses the cyclone of water to attack their target. The size and power of the cyclone is dependent on how much magical energy the user puts into the attack. Attack can knock the target off their feet, but is mostly aimed to do blunt damage.
- Tsunami: The user curls in on themselves, drawing water from the area around them, or just simply creating it themselves. After a few seconds, they unfurl, raising their arms up high. A wall of water rises before them and moves forward in a massive wave of destruction, knocking over and washing away anything in its path. This spell consumes a lot of magical energy and has the potential to level small towns.
History: Ria didn’t just grow up with a family, or in a village. The village was populated by a single clan - the Ocenades. Everyone had a role to play in the village - from farmers and bakers to guardsmen that took shifts patrolling to make sure the village was safe. Those of the clan not born with magic were relegated to menial tasks such as being the farmers or seamstresses or craftsmen or educators of the clan, but everyone had a purpose. Children went to school and learned, and they helped their families with tasks when schoolwork was complete.
Her father was the head, the direct descendent of the original founding father of the clan generations ago. As such, it was expected his children would take over and lead when it was time. Born the older of two, it wasn’t a surprise that her brother was the one expected to fill this role. He was strong, smart, charismatic, and an ice mage like their father and mother - just like pretty much every other mage in the clan. Except her.
Ria wasn’t just the female - and would have been passed over for leadership of the clan should her brother have been born second anyway - but she also couldn’t use Ice magic. While being gifted with water magic should have still been fine - she was still born a mage after all - her father was disappointed, and thus her mother was too. She was raised to be prim and proper - the best thing she could do for the clan was to learn all she could about being a good wife and mother after all - in hopes she would marry another strong line of the clan and bear powerful offspring. Regardless of what the task was, she never performed it right as far as her parents were concerned. No matter how skilled she was at her magic, she would never be as capable as one of the others. She tried and tried to do better, to be what they wanted her to be, and every time kept coming up short. Never good enough no matter how much better at her lessons or her trials than the other children she was.
She struggled with a lot of issues as a child, and clung to validation wherever she found it. One of those places was an older boy. She was 12 and he was 15. He made her feel special, made her feel like she was actually worth something more than just someone to marry off. Moments she could steal away from her lessons were spent going out to their meeting spot and hoping to find him, letting him whisk her away to other towns and helping in tasks. Was it wrong to make keys to open doors when he said he had misplaced his? Yes, in hindsight she should have asked some questions. But he was nice and she was happy when around him. She had confidence in her magic when around him.
So it went, helping with petty crimes while naively believing they weren’t just that (or, as her mind tells her in her dreams, refusing to admit it was wrong to just do as he asked.) The older they got, the more she wanted to believe these worse and worse things were okay. She let herself get swept up in the feeling of someone actually giving a crap about her. He encouraged her to grow stronger with her magic, practiced with her and gave her the motivation to improve. He trained with her to be able to fight - showing her all the things others in the clan might be learning to fight and defend themselves and others - helped make her a fierce combatant. She never realized in all his encouragement, her friend was shaping her into a weapon that he could wield with little effort. And wield her he did, with Ria willingly helping with worse and worse things; burglary stepped up to actual larceny which stepped up further to assault and worse.
Until it all came to a head when she was 16. Unbenounced to her, her brother followed her on one of her rendezvous with her friend. When they realized she’d been followed and had been found out, she followed her brother as he went back to the village. She needed to explain, to try to make things right at least with him, but by the time she got there she saw him already talking to their father. It was when her friend suggested it was time to completely cut ties. She’d never gone so far as to what he suggested next - to completely rid herself of the judgement once and for all. Torn, conflicted, confronted...She didn’t realize what she was about to do until she saw the aftermath. The village destroyed, bodies - including that of her father, her brother, and her only friend - scattered among the debris as she had unleashed a tsunami upon the village that leveled it as far as she could see.
Ria had lost - no, destroyed - everything, everyone, she ever cared about, and that ever cared about her. She was aimless for a while, until she was found by an elderly woman. The woman took her in; kind, gentle, the woman didn’t question what had happened to leave the girl so destitute. All the woman seemed to care about was helping her out. And she wanted to do the same in return. She helped with chores, ran errands, and learned to garden with the woman. The woman was getting on in years, and appreciated the help - especially when it came to gardening. Ria’s water magic was a great help, and cut the labor in half from what it used to take her. The two lived in mutual happiness.
A few months ago, her elderly friend passed. Ria hasn’t figured out what to do with herself yet. Minerva had left her home to the girl she took in, her entire estate left to the girl she’d only known for a few short years. For now, Ria continues the routine - gardening, tending to the house, talking to Minerva’s urn about things she’d read or learned or heard in the local market just as she would before. She isn’t sure what else to do, but she’s sure she’ll figure out eventually. For now, selling the produce at market like she had started once Minerva couldn’t make the trips, and just keeping up the house seems best.
Personality: The first thing most people notice about her is that Ria tries to always be courteous and cheerful, loving to be around people almost as much as she likes wide open spaces and anything shiny or brightly colored. A fan of anything upbeat, she can often be seen dancing or heard singing to herself as she goes about her business, and generally moves with a skip in her step. She’s generally reliable, cares about the wellbeing of others regardless of whether she knows them or not, and is willing to do anything for her friends. She doesn't like to see people upset and will often go out of her way to try to cheer someone up.
She often seems like a bit of a ditz - forgetful, aloof, and perhaps even a bit naive. There are still simple things that are common sense to others she often overlooks - like privacy and personal space; some see it as her ditzy ways, but it’s more the childish naivety of not understanding other people may have different comfort levels than her, and her desperate desire to be around others. While not everyone gains automatic trust, Ria seeks to find the good in people and will often trust those that are shown kindness/trust from those she is friends with. She tends to give chances to people that many don’t believe should get chances, and has been led astray by kind words and gestures even if they are given with ill-intent.
Guild and guild mark location: NA currently Team Members: --
Strengths: Hydromancer: Her water magic allows her to manipulate water around her as well as magically generate water. That is not the sum of it though. There are a few water spells that come naturally to her, casted like flexing a muscle. Spells of note for this are mostly just self-impacting ones, that help her swim deeper and stay under for extended periods of time. Water responds a bit more fluidly to her than other water casters, and with a bit of studying of the mage’s spells she can eventually manipulate water cast by others too; she hasn’t had the opportunity to see if she can manipulate Celestial’s or Dragon’s water magic, but she’s interested to see if that’s the case too.
Friendly: Ria loves to make friends, and just generally be around others. Whether it’s seeing someone looking down and wanting to cheer them up, or just giving them a person to be with, she doesn’t like seeing others alone. She likes to do things for others, and generally enjoys participating in whatever activity friends or those she chooses to associate with at the moment are doing.
Supportive/Helpful: She likes to help others, whether it be with supporting them in difficult decisions or sticking to getting better with spells. Despite her ditzy/aloof appearance, she understands a lot about the core concept of how different types of magic work, and techniques to make a particular type of magic work better. She’s not as effective at teaching, say, a wook-maker mage at casting as another wood-maker mage might, but she certainly knows enough to help the other wizard improve. She also just generally likes helping out and working with others, whether it’s just dealing with day to day things or a job or whatever. She feels it’s everyone’s job as part of the guild to help one another out, and it’s just being a good citizen to help when help is needed.
Upbeat/Positive/Cheerful: Believe it or not, like it or not, Ria is a metaphorical ray of sunshine. It isn’t just being friendly. She rarely is seen without a smile on her face or a bounce in her step. She always tries to look on the bright side of things even in the most dire of circumstances. This energy she does try to share with others, and is ever willing to help with figuring out what’s good about a bad experience.
Skilled Combatant: Trained for many years to fight alongside her family, Ria is just as skilled in hand to hand as she is with weapons and magic. She can improvise weapons based on her environment, use the terrain to her advantage, and is quite skilled in using her lithe and agile figure to her advantage. This skill allows her to strike fast, in vulnerable locations, and use her opponent’s attacks and mass against them in her own attacks, dodges, and counterattacks. As a molding mage, she’s developed upon this further to create a fighting style mostly unique to her and her creative style of magic.
Weaknesses: Ditzy/Trouble Focusing: She appears to be an airhead. She generally has a lot of things going on in her head, that she can be a bit forgetful. She means well, and definitely doesn’t want to forget important things, but some things just slip through the cracks. Not just dates and times of important things, but maybe not paying attention to her surroundings (not necessarily to trip, but not notice someone flirting, or being uncomfortable because she got too close, etc). She usually apologizes, but it doesn’t keep it from happening again. So she leaves notes to herself, and - while there is an organizational system for everything she writes down - it kinda looks just as chaotic as her thoughts. While she does know a lot about a lot of topics given how much she reads, it’s not always reliable for her to relay the information she has stored in her head. Most of the time it just seems like she’s full of useless or unrelated information when she offers up things that come to mind during a particular topic she didn’t realize people had moved on from - or connected in her own head without when it apparently didn’t seem to connect to anyone else. When she’s on a roll with a topic that she’s interested in, if no one keeps the conversation focused, there’s a chance she’ll lead whomever she’s talking to on several different tangents before getting back on topic. Then there’s times where it seems like she can’t pull a thought from her head, despite having talked about something with a person already.
Insomnia/Nightmares: She doesn’t like to talk about it, to the point of refusal if someone won’t allow her to just brush off the concern, but she has trouble sleeping. She’s always had trouble sleeping ever since she was little, and while it got worse since she destroyed her home, Ria avoids dealing with it given when she does manage to sleep it is generally plagued with nightmares from her past.
Repress the Bad: Negative emotions and misbehaving wasn’t acceptable from her; she had to be the good child, the quiet one, the one that no one had to think about twice. Good wasn’t because people were looking at her, good was because the focus was somewhere else and there wasn’t time to deal with a child being a child. So she suppressed sadness. She made herself believe that she was happy. She won’t let herself dwell on the negative and buries anything that makes her feel anything but happy beneath layers of telling herself it’s fine. It’s second nature to her at this point, to shrug off a wrong done against her with a smile and a carefree “don’t worry about it”; what’s one more thing buried deep down? Because of this, she doesn’t allow herself to cope with her own negative feelings. Whenever something starts to creep up, feeling angry or sad, she shoves those feelings down into the “doesn’t bother me” zone. There, all the bad feelings go to - well most would hope - die, but really they just fester. Sure, one day they may break through the carefully crafted cage, but for now - it’s holding strong so no need to try to process the bad.
Workaholic: Perhaps workaholic isn’t the proper term, but Ria doesn’t like to sit idle. She constantly pushes herself to stay busy, whether it’s helping a neighbor or friend, gardening, drawing, reading, cleaning...she tries to always be doing something.
Selfless/Low Self-Worth: While some would find being Selfless a strength, she understands it’s not. She puts others before herself, and sometimes (okay, most times) neglects her own wellbeing while being concerned over how someone else is doing. Whether it’s making sure everyone else has eaten before she finally serves herself, or helping someone even if she really should probably sit and rest, or pushing herself beyond her limits to stop someone else from getting hurt. Some of this reckless behavior could be mitigated from others noticing what she’s doing and convincing her to think of herself first, but it’s been a long time since anyone’s noticed. But if she smiles, it means she’s fine, right?
The Yips: For as skilled as she is, all her other weaknesses tend to creep up on her and as the stress builds up, she starts to lose touch with her ability to function in combat. This is most common when she is fighting in front of a group, particularly if she knows that the fight isn’t a matter of life or death - that there are no stakes aside from winning and losing. Even if it’s a matter of life and death, there’s still a chance she’ll freeze up and not be able to perform.
Appearance: 5’3 She prefers skirts and dresses to pants; in fact, she only has two pairs of pants and two pairs of shorts in her entire wardrobe. Everything else is skirts, dresses, and nice blouses/tops to go with them. She generally avoids dark colors, but not to the point of exclusion.
Additional Details: She collects shiny stones, and enjoys gardening.
Her favorite food is strawberries.
She likes to paint and draw, and enjoys reading even if it’s not to avoid dealing with her insomnia.
A plan was coming together for a wonderful experience. The guild getting more foot traffic and jobs and such was starting to really help the cash flow. It could even mean that they'd soon enough have the funding to just hire a cook and waitress rather than the guildmembers themselves being the cooks. Eventually, maybe. They did have a lot of fast jobs and plenty of members. She could always hire out someone if they needed, but if it got to the point she considered hiring someone, she'd certainly be running that by Torys first.
She was startled from her thoughts with the sudden shout of 'steak' from Damian. Blinking, she looked at him with a bit of surprise while he rattled off about cooking a steak dinner after helping clean. The smile spread back onto her face with a soft laugh. "That sounds good. A steak dinner would certainly be appreciated by most everyone, I'm sure. I know I definitely appreciate the help cleaning, and would love to help you cook. If you wouldn't mind getting things organized, I should be able to get the dishes and the oven cleaned."
Ria was almost in the kitchen when she heard Trinity shout out her name. She turned and smiled at the other girl. "I'm fine. Just got back from sparring with Felix. Now I'm going to clean the kitchen and cook up lunch with the help of Damian." She paused for a moment when she finally took in the flustered appearance of her friend. "Is everything okay? You seem flustered" Glancing over her shoulder for a moment, she looked back at Trinity. "Get something to drink and once the kitchen is in order, I'll be back out to chat between taking orders and such. Okay?" With that and an encouraging smile, she turned and headed into the kitchen.
"Right, so if you could just get this all organized..." her voice trailed off as she looked over the unorganized catastrophe that was the counter space from the various ingredients still being splayed about and the charred remnants still haunting the pans. "While I deal with the charred mess that is the pans and oven." She didn't bother waiting to see if Damian set to his task, as she opened the oven and used a torrent of water to start cleaning the charred bits out of it.
Kaden wasn't entirely sure where he was going. He didn't have anywhere to be for hours, and he didn't exactly feel like going back to the guild right now. Maybe in a little bit for food. Maybe. Loathe as he was to admit it, the others in the guild definitely were decent cooks. Better and cheaper than most of the places around the city. Right now, he was still kind of disappointed Damian had cut in on the fight - that was shaping up to be a good work out.
His gaze followed the purple haired girl he'd seen around the guildhall lately as she ducked into an alley. Huh, that was unusual. She seemed like she was a bit panicked, almost like she was...Then he saw some guy duck into the same alley she had. It didn't take much to correct course and enter the alley just as Trinity disappeared up onto the roof. A smug smirk slipped onto his face as his hands disappeared into his pockets. "Tough break, huh?"
"Pfft, I know who she's with. She ain't gettin' away with stealin' our work." The guy scowled at Kaden. "What do you care anyway?"
"Ya know, you're right. I shouldn't. Except - " Kaden shifted his shirt to show the guildmark on his side before dropping his shirt - "She's one of mine. So if you got beef with her, you got beef with me," he said as he started closing the gap between them.
* * *
That shouldn't have been so easy. Really, it was more disappointing than satisfying to beat the guy. At least Salvis and Teague had actual fighting experience. It seemed that guy only had experience in intimidating and beating up defenseless people. Unbecoming, really, but it explains why the guy was looking to go after the fix-it girl instead of take it up with the girl. Intimidation - something Kaden knew a bit about. Maybe now this guy and his guild would think twice about going after one of theirs. If they weren't independent, the repair guys wouldn't mess with them, but then again - they'd have more issues elsewhere.
Still, beating the guy to send that message barely took any time and certainly didn't satisfy his desire to find something to do. With a bit of a sigh, the mage finished wiping the blood from his knuckles and started slowly on his way back to the guild. He wasn't hungry yet, but maybe if he took his time he'd be hungry by the time he got back.
Jarvis repeated the same sentiments. It was always good to know he didn't just sound like he was pandering. Of course, then again, he couldn't blame someone for thinking he was pandering to the hottest member of their little team; for someone in Trinity's position, it was understandable to be depressed about everything. But that was the point of their work together. That was the reason he'd managed to invent Second Wind in the first place, and the main target of his brainstorming recently. She'd get back up to power - and be giving Markovis a run for his money - in no time.
Neil listened to Trinity, but was still caught off guard when she suddenly shifted to be closer in height with him. He shrugged lightly, leaning forward to make up the difference. Sure, it was a bit of a surprise when Trinity grabbed his face; he didn't realize what she was going for until she finished off the Second Wind she'd nursed this morning and touched their foreheads together. Feeling a barrier go up in his mind was odd but less intrusive than the first time he'd felt the other presence in his thoughts. Considering he had avoided getting within twenty feet of the sword since that first time, it had slipped his mind to warn Trinity about it. The fact Mark didn't seem to be bothered by it slipped his mind too - then again, Mark wasn't bothered by most things so there was no surprise there.
"Thanks. Don't push yourself too hard in trying to help me keep a telepath out. Though, ya know, sorry I didn't warn you beforehand. I thought maybe I had but that could have been back when she joined the guild and I don't even remember when that was." That should have been something he remembered and mentioned and now he felt awful for neglecting to remind his teammate of that fact. Well, now she knew and perhaps she would at least remember without him having to try to remember to remind her.
Then the woman that shared bodies with Percy approached them. Looking for Markovis? To say he was confused was an understatement. He could name on one hand all the people that ever looked for Markovis. Or, rather, Markovis would like to know were looking for him. Interesting. Perhaps his friend wouldn't mind too much.
When Trinity's gaze carried past him, Neil turned his attention over his shoulder. It was meant to be just a glance, but the man ended up doing a double take upon seeing the amount of fluff just beyond the Exceed delinquent - or at least that was the personality Dalton tried to exude. The fact the girl beside him seemed too bright eyed and - both literally and metaphorically - bushy tailed, he doubted Dalton had been told he had to accompany her. It took a few blinks before Neil managed to stop looking like he was gawking just like Trinity beside him.
The look melted away to a more friendly smile. "What she also means to say is hi, this -" he motioned to Trinity - "is Trinity." He dropped his hand. "I'm Neil."
His attention turned back to Elena. "Markovis is busy at the moment and likely wouldn't want to be interrupted. He'll be back around soon enough though. What job is it you were looking at? I know he's been eyeing one or two for Smokin' Bottle."
Location: Phoenix Wing Guildhall
Interactions: Dalton @hatakekuro, Jarvis, Trinity, & Neil
Nyssa's tails swished as she listened. One rested on her lap, and she idly brushed her fingers through the fur. Her ear twitched at the bit of ruckus that happened back toward the door but for the most part - especially because the music was done - it was easier to focus on what the people she was talking to actually said. Like that there were places around town and here. "Oh, well, I suppose if I need to sleep inside somewhere, here is better than on my own. But I have not actually spent a night in a town since coming to the mainland."
Her ear flicked a bit toward Trinity. Oh, but someone had offered to show her to a place someone they knew lived. As long as the other person was okay with someone new potentially coming into his territory, then that was probably best. The kitsune turned to face the other girl, grinning with delight at the offer. "I would be thrilled to meet another that enjoys sleeping outside the bustle of such big vill- erm - cities. Living out in the forests is not much of a concern, personally, but I do very much prefer groups. So if you think he would not mind - that would certainly be preferred. Thank you very much."
When the man beside the purple haired girl spoke, she giggled lightly. "It is nice to meet you both - Trinity and Neil. My name is Nyssa. I look forward to meeting this Karn person, too." The girl turned back to the man behind the counter. Jarvis, that was how they had addressed him. He was the one she needed to pay attention to right now, wasn't he? Wouldn't do to go making arrangements to live with a guild member if she wasn't part of the guild. "But before I go off to meet someone or really settle into accommodations with the guild, I should join, yes? What do I need to do to join?"
Ria nodded in response to the question for a moment. Her gaze drifted up to the sky, watching the clouds move across it. "Yes, I have. The village I grew up in was absent of light pollution." Her smile turned a bit sad, but she quickly shook the thoughts from her head. Though one might mistake it for stop wistfully watching the sky if one had not seen the shift in her look. Just like that, the bright smile was back in place and she'd returned her attention to her traveling companion of the time.
"A trip out to one of the borders sounds like fun. I'm sure others in the guild might enjoy that as well. I haven't been out near Bosco in....well, many years. Not quite as long than the last time I went fishing. Though I think my way of fishing is a bit different than yours." She laughed softly. It wasn't an understatement. It could be fun fishing with someone that did it traditionally. The last time she'd been fishing, it was in an ocean instead of a lake - as she assumed he was talking about - and it wasn't with a rod and tackle. She liked her way well enough, but learning to traditional fishing sounded fun too. "Maybe sometime you could show me how you fish. Even if it's just around here."
For now, that would have to wait, as they'd arrived at the guild already. She held the door for Damian to enter, an absentminded motion she was more than used to by now. "Shouldn't take long, hopefully, to get the kitchen back in order. Just in time for the next rush."
A few voices of being ready, but it was the less refined man that spoke up, echoed quickly by the other man. Ah, yes, provisions. The enthusiasm to get going was wonderful to see, but at least two were concerned with the means of eating. If it had not been brought up, it was very much true that he would have completely have forgotten about that need. "Ah, yes. The need for sustenance over the travel time. Excellent you brought it up."
Carver turned away from the table, looking around a few stacks as he moved deeper into the room before he finally found an overstuffed pack with a multitude of precision excavation tools handing off it along with a few pans and water canteens. He carried it to the table and dropped it atop the map, then deftly unlatched the top and flopped it open. "I believe I have enough provisions, should you lot not mind canned beans or REMs. Should have plenty of water too, hopefully. But there are streams along the route and should be clean enough." As he spoke, he rummaged through the pack to verify the count of items it contained. There were more people than he actually anticipated, but he had overstuffed the pack so it seemed there might be just barely enough for the three. He packed everything back into the bag and hoisted it onto his back. "We can stop if you want, but the sooner we leave, the sooner we will get there. Theoretically." He folded up the map and slipped it into the breast pocket of his vest, and the book he had referenced before slipped into an interior pocket of the vestment.
With everything he needed, he rounded the group and opened the door, gesturing for them to head out so he could close up his office. Short of anyone wanting to stop to pick up other provisions, the trip out of Crocus to the start of the trail was easy enough - navigating through alley ways and side streets to get around the bulk of the crowd to the other side of town. It wasn't until they were clearing the last bit of city that he pulled out the map and a compass to ensure they were going in the right direction. "Right, so this way," he said as he started up one of the many foot trails into the mountain range.
I'm an adult with a family and responsibilities that take priority, as well as mental health issues that can cause me to not get on this site for periods of time. Just know I will get back to you - [i]hopefully [/i]within a few days. Right now my schedule is in flux until I get everything figured out properly so I cannot make promises to respond quickly.
If you've come here looking to RP, please note right now I'm not accepting any new projects. Thanks for the interest, and I wish you luck on your quest.
I recently started working on getting published, and have self published one story so far. Check it out on Amazon - Into the Night by Alexia Wynd. You can also check out more of my work - short stories and the like - at my recently started Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storiestocaptivate
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I'm an adult with a family and responsibilities that take priority, as well as mental health issues that can cause me to not get on this site for periods of time. Just know I will get back to you - <span class="bb-i">hopefully </span>within a few days. Right now my schedule is in flux until I get everything figured out properly so I cannot make promises to respond quickly.<br><br>If you've come here looking to RP, please note right now I'm not accepting any new projects. Thanks for the interest, and I wish you luck on your quest.<br><br>I recently started working on getting published, and have self published one story so far. Check it out on Amazon - Into the Night by Alexia Wynd. You can also check out more of my work - short stories and the like - at my recently started Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/storiestocaptivate" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">patreon.com/storiestocaptivate</a></div>