BlackRoseSiren
Carlyle
Crimson Flame
Aeolian
Chrys
AWildSquirtle
sovlereign
Silly
Noctis
TokyoPewPew
Event: Ransom Demand - Chapter 1 & 2| Location: Belleville
Oksana found herself pairing up with Captain Skugvaar who had a finger on the pulse of the investigation, along with Little Johann, and Niallus Scarlet, accompanied by the two swamp dragons. Unable to pronounce their names, she settled on the merry monikers of Masha and Misha.
Deciding to keep her distance from the group, Oksana reasoned hanging back made sense as it made her look inconspicuous, rather than accompanying them directly as part of a motley crew. Besides, she could easily keep track of them, as they stood out like sore thumbs like this, with many people giving them a wide berth. Opting for a natural approach to gathering information, she engaged in routine inquiries while sought property in the area.
Her first stop was the Buudvuud restaurant. The aroma of the food assaulted her senses as she looked hungrily through the shutters at the wide selection before her. Her eyes settled on a juicy, cheese-filled parcel topped with melted cheese, oogling how the strands of between the slices stretched like long thin strings. The appearance and the smell definitely beat anything from Vossoriya as she bartered with the teen behind the counter using the Cheburashka Jamboi method of diligently counting out bennies in a slow manner until he was satisfied with the amount. Taking her prize, she eagerly took a big bite, only to find her mouth filled with steaming hot cheese, almost scalding herself if she hadn’t quickly drawn back. She blew gently on it as she devoured it outside the shop.
While eating, she noticed others looking in her direction, speaking in hushed tones. Originally thought it was about her, but soon realized they were addressing the shop. Approaching a nearby couple, she inquired about the food. Though not understanding their gestures entirely, she gathered that the shop was deemed unsavory. It seemed to be a bad place with bad people. Despite the service being decent, the teen boy was that not terrible, only greasy looking, she asked if there were alternative places she could visit in the future, but there was no such luck as they muttered something and left. It seemed this particular establishment had a monopoly on tasty cheesy slices.
Continuing her inquiries, Oksana asked about the local area, focusing on important details like whose palms needed greasing and who and where to watch out for. She encountered varying responses, from quiet reluctance to share information, to attempts to extract wealth from her. Some were stubborn in their stance, others were eager to express their opinions to an audience. A lot of locals expressed sentiments against refugees, a sentiment she had encountered before in her past, but noted they made it clear that she was more welcome than others, with comments like ‘knife-ears’ presumably directed at Yasoi. When attempting to speak to the yasoi, she found them less understanding and suspicious, but managed to tease out some names to watch out for due to recent negative experienced. A big player was the Rollers, a group of Yasoi who made a lot of dough, and renown for their beatings. With the indicated hand gestures, she assumed the name came from their rolling pins used in baking. They seemed to have a connection with a group called the Paws, a group of human animal lovers who behaved similarly to their namesake, known for being woof in their dealings. Across town, there were the Boozers, known for frequenting beer halls and causing trouble as they grew rowdy due to alcohol.
She discovered that the Flying Lion had a notorious reputation for various incidents recently, finding herself surprised as she couldn't recall any disturbances outside of her own bedroom whilst she stayed at the tavern. Delving deeper, she uncovered that the establishment had undergone a transformation, previously known as the Crying Lion before being acquired by the Arslan-Mercador company. Intriguingly, the confusion was because locals had taken it upon themselves to repurpose horse stables near the port, laying the stonewalls as a foundation for a new establishment painted in goluboy hues, aptly named the Cryin’ Cyan. Its proximity to the port allowed it to serve as a hub for backdoor activities, including under-the-table jobs and smuggling. It was also a hotbed of political activism amongst the yasoi, with some striving to amass funds to topple Tarlonese dominance, whilst those on the bottom rungs of society were only out for themselves.
During her investigation, Oksana was surprised to hear talk of Penny, her one-legged friend, as her incident during Mano e Mano challenge has led to urban myths that she is rumoured to be making visits to Belleville, allegedly for summoning aberrations over the town, including a recent large one at the tavern.
Eventually, she caught up with the others after receiving a tethered tug signal from Captain Skugvaar. They surrounded a property where the owner of the missing finger was located. Oksana suggested she could knock on the door with the finger and offer to bind it back on the hand, though her idea was not popular with the others. Instead, she was sent around the back of the building and to blend in, with the goal to catch any escapees by surprise. She followed the instructions, leaving negotiations to the experts in the motley crew.
Oksana, who had snuck around back of the property, was left with little to do but track the movements of the people inside through their energy signatures. Presently, however, she noticed a small silhouette appear in one of the windows. It was a child - a rather cross-looking child. She sat by the window pouting with her arms crossed until she noticed Oksana out there. Her eyes widened in fear and she appeared about to bolt.
Oksana grew somewhat bored as she found herself relegated to waiting at the back, her presence seemingly startling a little girl who promptly fled at the sight of her face. Puzzled by the reaction, Oksana pondered whether her appearance was truly intimidating, though she conceded that her distinctive face markings might be unusual for the locals. To occupy herself, she decided to while away the time by sculpting a miniature elk out of ice along the short wall at the rear. As she worked, she noticed another figure inside the house, but her attention was soon diverted when the little girl reappeared. Offering a friendly wave in an attempt to reassure her, Oksana returned to her sculpting, focusing on the delicate details of her creation.
Around back, however, Oksana's efforts - aside from frostburning the shrubbery, began to bear fruit. The child smiled back but didn't wave, glancing warily over her shoulder into an area of the house that Oksana couldn't see. She continued sitting on one of those puffy yasoi-style teacup chairs, glancing over every once in a while and occasionally saying something in rapid Mycormish.
Finally, the girl grinned and sprung off the couch. She was small and blonde a bit on the chubby side. She scampered over to the rear door and drew a little sad face into the frost that now coated the window. She opened the door just a peep. "Don't come closer, 'cause I don't know if you're bad or not," she warned. "I'll scream if you do." Still, she was clearly curious.
Oksana didn't catch what the girl said, but she noticed the sadness reflected in her frosty expression. Offering a sympathetic smile, Oksana returned her focus to her task. She employed a touch of binding magic on the shrubbery, coaxing it to sprout little offshoots which she deftly snapped off with a pinch of kinetic magic. Using these, she began crafting a miniature home for the elk, fashioning the offshoots into trees and using frost to mimic the appearance of snow. As the elements came together, she created a charming scene. "My home," she said softly, gesturing proudly to the completed display.
The child was enraptured, watching Oksana build. "Wow, you're really good at magic." She tilted her head admiringly, holding back a question. "I guess you're from a really cold place." She blinked. "Do you go to Ersandenize?"
Oksana focused intently on the girl's lips, trying to follow her words. She tapped her ear and offered a smile. "Me Deaf," she explained, gesturing to herself. "Yes, cold place, Vossoriya. Lot of snow. Brrrr!" She mimicked shivering, wrapping her arms around herself. "From St Yuri, come to Ersandrise, seek to refuge. Bad people at home, fled them." With gentle hands, she moved the elk out of the scene and away from the snow.
"I'm Lalomen. How about you?" the girl was asking, the door having opened a crack wider. Then, before Oksana could answer, it slammed shut and the child stumbled back, alarmed. A yasoi woman hurtled into view, radiating fear with each step. "Malo! Pathiir yil elaz!" She scooped the girl up. "Tuum'a dax. Tuum'a toil tox pa Colas!" Malo! Away from there! They're bad! They're working with the Colas!
Lalomen looked upon Oksana with horror as her mother spirited her away. Then, the woman stopped, realizing that she was surrounded. The enemy was at the front door and had snuck around the back, trying to bait her child. "Mama, elei'ya weix?" Mom, what's wrong?
She was placed on the ground. "Malo'semprii, pa Colas el'liic pa yaniixa. Eluumen seldii tuum muul luum'o ilac rey nax seldii tuum duun'it juu stiip joila aluu rey moi'aluu." Malo precious, the Colas paid these yaniis. I think they want our money and I think they will try to hurt your father and uncle.
The girl was panicking, crying. "Mama..."
"Yax elden, semprii." She whirled, drawing to capacity, and turned her fury on this woman who had come to harm her daughter. "Mama westa'l pa dax lelan. Joi yash juu let'o doin dain. Eluumen felix'al joi duul zoap stii." Be brave, little one. Mama will distract the bad woman. You run to our safe place. I'll meet you in a few minutes.
There was a sudden burst of panic, as the mother seemed to scoop up the daughter as the conversation continued in another language, Oksana remained attentive, though she couldn't understand the words. One term caught her attention, the Rollers. She glanced around, scanning the area as if on guard. "Rollers bad, they take dough and beat. Stay away from Rollers," she warned, looking toward the pair. Pointing at the sad face in the frost, she added, "No cry, we brave."
Somewhat ironically, Oksana's words fell upon deaf ears. A mother had seen people come to her door with honeyed words, her brother-in-law's severed finger, and then threats. She had seen another sneak in from the side, in the direction of the neighbour's house. Finally, to her horror, one - a 'nonthreatening' woman - had slipped around back and was tempting her daughter into opening the door! "You get away my child!" she screamed, "Cola bitch!!!" She was not so much of a mage, but she had raw power in the Gift. She burst out the rear door behind a massive wave of kinetic force.
Oksana swung her cloak around like a makeshift shield, freezing it and reinforcing it with her own kinetic magic. The shield's shape deflected the gust of wind around her as she crouched behind it. "shcho za diavol," she exclaimed loudly, followed by a rapid-fire response of [colour=dcf3ff]""Ne vykorystovuyte taku nebezpechnu mahiyu, khtos' mozhе postrazyaty." She paused for a moment, gathering her senses. "Stop! No hurt to people." Lowering the cloak so her eyes could peer over it, she observed the situation more closely, checking to see if anyone was caught in the crossfire.
Oksana, meanwhile, was dealing with a somewhat different sort of threat. She'd been pushed back a bit, past the yard an through the fence, and the yasoi woman had rushed out to occupy that space, interposing herself between Oksana and Lalomen. The little girl came scurrying out and ran past, into an alley. "You no hurt me girl!" the mother screamed. "You fuck off!" She gathered energy for a blinding blast of light.
It seemed that Oksana had stumbled upon an angry parent, and she was no stranger to dealing with such situations and their overprotective nature. She couldn't fathom even laying a finger on the girl; if anything, she would protect the girl herself if the situation warranted it. All she could imagine was that the boys had somehow messed up, and now there was an overly defensive family involved. Knowing when to withdraw, she realized there was no role for her here.
"No harm, I'll leave," she said, ducking behind cover as she sensed tension rising again, slowly stepping backward under her cloak away from the property. "Just misunderstandings here." She had no appetite for a fight, but the same couldn't be said for the other party; she knew she would need to keep her guard up.
Oksana, meanwhile, had recognized that something had gone very wrong. The girl's mother stood there, brimming with energy and shouting at her to leave in yasoi as she backed off. It had all been a misunderstanding: a terrible misunderstanding. The child ran. She ran out of view of her cautiously-advancing mother. She ran and then, suddenly, she tripped and fell. She landed hard on the ground and she did not rise.
Oksana blinked in shock as she saw the little girl on the floor, not moving. What kind of cruelty is this? She cursed under her breath, “Zvernit' uvahu na dytinu,” she stood up, pointing towards where the little girl lay. “Girl hurt!”
A little girl getting hurt on her watch was unforgivable. There were a couple of ways to deal with this, but only a big gesture would probably work. She raised her hands in a surrender posture as she indicated again. “Binder. Girl safety first, I'll go.” There was also a plan B, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that.
The girl's mother cried out and began running there. She made no move to stop Oksana, for she had sensed no draw from her: nothing that could've caused her daughter's mishap, and she knew the word 'binder'. It was a major leap of faith on her part. When Oksana got there, it was unclear what had happened. The girl had fallen as if her foot had caught on something, and her hands had failed to shoot out and stop her fall. She had gone unconscious on impact with the ground due to head trauma.
When Johann asked him to check up on Oksana, Niallus nodded "I'll get her, hopefully she hasn't got into too much trouble." once outside, he walked off into the direction where Oksana went.
Upon arriving. It seems a lot had happen, he didn't want to jump to conclusions. Standing next to the Girls mother, "We are about to go."he said to her politly. Then asked her, "What can you tell me aboutthe resistance?"
Once the mother had backed down, Oksana swiftly approached, her heart racing with concern. She carefully tended to the child, giving her a once-over before moving her into a more suitable position for a thorough inspection. There was a clear graze on the head, bleeding profusely from where she had hit it hard against a stone. With gentle hands, Oksana applied a cloth to the wound, then began using her binding magic to seal it. This was the easy part; the face tended to bleed a lot, but it was the risk of concussion that concerned her most. She began to reduce the swelling, little by little, taking her time to ensure the best outcome.
Anxiously, the mother watched as Oksana tended to her daughter. Did her rage cause this? Had she neglected her precious little girl? Her mind was flooded with thoughts and doubts. Suddenly, she sensed a presence behind her, and instinctively went to cover her ear, her fear palpable. Whirling around, she spotted Niallius approaching from the side of the house. Acting on instinct, she positioned herself between him and her daughter, a mix of protectiveness for her child and silent pleading in her eyes. Though his words were foreign to her, she understood the meaning of resistance. “Velluum! Yim joi ezei,” she responded, her voice trembling. “Ilac’se mitoip fo hax’olop vel. Temoip’hoam seno stiip. Dax’aspaa qeil’pol. Poiret?”
Meanwhile, Oksana finished her ministrations and breathed a sigh of relief. Turning her attention to Niallius and the mother, she noticed the woman looking intimidated. Furrowing her brow at Niallius, she silently questioned his actions. Gathering the sleeping child in her arms, Oksana approached the mother and gently presented the girl to her. “Girl sleep,” she gestured, pressing her hands together against the side of her head. Overwhelmed with emotion, the mother sobbed as she cradled her baby girl, covering her face in kisses and muttering softly in the yasoi language.
With a tug on Niallius's shoulder, Oksana led him away. “Don’t be bad,” she urged quietly, hoping to diffuse any tension that lingered in the air by leading him away.
In the event, neither Niallus nor Oksana understood much of anything that had been said, but they would soon enough be filled in by Johann and Abdel. The true nature of the resistance, this family's devil's bargain with the Cola Brothers, the thugs' names, and a rough location of their base of operations - close to the warehouse they'd been directed to in the first place, and some dirt on the Doridaxes: it all came out.
Eluumen scurried in through the back door, having managed a small, vaguely grateful nod in Oksana's direction and a fearful look in Niallus'. Lalo looked back with wide eyes and managed a shy little wave goodbye at the Vossoriyan.
Oksana heard everything being said, or appeared too as she nodded her head. She turned to look in Niallius’s direction, as she tilted her head to the side, encouraging him to speak up.
"Oksana, my friend? They are the bait, we come up from outside and ambush?" He turned to her when speaking. "Does this work for you?"
Oksana gave him a thumbs up and rested her hand on her sword hilt. She wondered about Abdel and Niallius in the plan, though the former being tethered spoke for itself. As for Eskandr, she considered, “He go in the rear this time?”
Niallus nodded to Oksana, "I'll be ok with that." Looking to the others of the group "You guys should be ok, especially when we get the other group here." he trailed off as he sensed something odd.
Oksana saw it as an opportunity to expand their plan with an arrival of an insider. “Why not let her show you in the back door?” she asked Niallius, as she gestured toward the redhead that had arrived and spoke frantically with them.
Their plan accelerated when Xiuyang blasted open the doorway.
With Abdel and Johann occupied, she followed Niallus's lead and headed toward the roof of the building. Her intention was to make her own entrance, but she halted when she noticed the vent being slammed shut, with the red-head closing it behind him. Sensing the arcane energy, she recognized that the red-head spelled trouble, and not the kind she welcomed. Turning her attention towards her, she watched carefully to see what her next move would be as she drew her blade.
Lunara slowly stood up, and glanced round to see what was happening, she noticed Oksana was on the roof, but she could see someone with her, but they didn't look like anyone from the other group. Lunara decided she would head up there she as had a bad feeling and didn't want Oksana to be alone. "Miray this way."
She sprinted to a ladder that led to the roof, placed Miray over her shoulders and Made her way up towards the roof. When she reached the roof she made her way to Oksana, however she was weary of the strange woman in front of her. Miray then jumped off her shoulders.
Lunara glanced at Oksana, she then glanced back at the woman in front of them. Lunara then glared at the woman when she noticed that she couldn't see Niallus, she shouted. "What did you do to Niallus bitch, where is he?" Lunara's chakrams began to charge and move around the two of them, Miray also started to hiss, when she noticed her owner getting angry.
There was a fiery blast coming straight for her, but Lunara was too busy posturing and speaking to manage much more than a reflexive half-dodge. The attack sliced through her defenses, burning and scalding her, and she staggered back, her clothes on fire. A quick blast of howling cold from Oksana's direction put it out before it could do worse, but a message had been clearly sent: less talking, more *doing*.
"Why don't you jump in there and find out?" the yasoi mocked in belated response, arching an eyebrow. "Or if the little taste you got was a bit much, you can send your cat ahead to scout for you."
Oksana unleashed a frigid torrent towards Lunara, as the girl was caught off-guard by Cherii’s fireball. Whilst While those two were locked in a battle of words, a presence lingered at the edge of Oksana's awareness. She evaded the sudden thrust of a rapier by a hair’s breath, as the illusionary figure faded before her eyes.
Now on the roof stood another figure, a male Yasoi known as Arsii to others. He executed a graceful flourish as he drew his rapier, assuming a poised stance with a smirk playing on his lips, betraying his eagerness for the challenge as he spoke those unheard words.
Wordlessly, Oksana had drawn her blade and lunged forward, her katana slicing through the air as Arsii had danced aside with a fluid, blurred motion. His movements had been graceful, akin to a leaf dancing on the wind. He had countered with a series of quick thrusts towards her, illusion magic creating the appearance of multiple blades, forcing her to draw back.
Undeterred, Oksana had flicked her wrist, coating the ground beneath them with a thin layer of frost. Arsii's footing had faltered for a moment, and she had seized the opportunity, closing the distance between them with determination.
As she had approached, Arsii's illusions had danced around them, twisting and distorting reality in an attempt to disorient her. His smirking expression had seemed to surround her as the illusionary rapiers had feinted towards her. However, she had remained focused, her senses honed by her time in the Vossoriyan wild.
With a swift movement, Arsii had plunged his poison-coated rapier into her shoulder, claiming victory with his smile. In response, Oksana had grabbed the rapier and encased it in a sheath of ice. He had staggered back, surprise evident as he had struggled to free his weapon. Seizing that moment of weakness, she had slashed with her blade, shattering the Yasoi's sword in two.
Pulling the blade free, with the poison now frozen, she had cast it aside where it had clattered to the ground. Using her binding magic, she had patched up the wound, then pressed her weapon against his neck, his defeat evident as he had gazed at her. "Stand down," she had called out loud enough for Cherii to hear, signalling her desire for the fighting to cease.
"Why would I not?" the swordsman replied, eyes flicking toward her shoulder. "Go and sense down below. Your people have taken their target, all without paying for him and are now trying to murder our people. I've nothing to do but run if you'd be so kind."
Oksana did not object to this course of action and lowered her blade accordingly.
Cherii, meanwhile, was too busy to stand down. Lunara appeared to be just a hair shy of a murderous rage and it was all that the sneaky yasoi could do to dodge her unschooled but very powerful attacks.
Having been bested but not slain, Arsii knew that he was beaten and, at this point, escape was his only real option. He nodded in respect. "Thank you, and thank you for a good duel." He flicked a small salute her way and backed up a couple of steps. "You should see a binder for that poison, though. Even the cold can only hold back so long." With that, he turned and made his escape.
Cherii was not so fortunate. Somehow, through a varied illusion with eight different versions of her rapidly tumbling and eight different goma cats attacking, through the chaos, and in split seconds, Lunara had picked out the genuine Cherii and managed to alter the edge of the rooftop to stop her escape.
Meanwhile, Oksana was hard at work on binding the poison away. Her quick thinking and cryogenic magic had halted its freeze but, now, some had slipped through. She began to feel woozy and took a knee rather roughly, world starting to sway and spin. A couple of deep breaths steadied her. She had been through worse, but this was also a display that Lunara could not help but have missed. Two binders would be better than one…
Lunara noticed that she had caught her, and saw that Miray had jumped away. "Got you, and clever girl Miray." After catching the Yasoi girl, she turned to check on how Oksana was doing as she was worried, about her. on turning around she noticed that something was wrong and began to run to Oksana, when she got there she gestured to her, how Esmii had taught her to. "Oksana are you ok, what's happened."
Oksana blinked at Lunara as she pointed to the wound on her shoulder. She had intentionally frozen the blade to prevent the poison, but it seemed like she had failed. She was using her binding to attempt to neutralize the poison in her system as she cursed under her breath.
On the roof, as Oksana and Lunara worked together to successfully draw out the poison, Cherii made a break without hesitation. She was a survivor, not a team player. Arsii did much the same.
