Vodius

{Kittenlover} Strange Acquaintances {Vodius}

Kendrick would have let out a wheezing cough if she hadn't just literally kicked the wind out of him, instead he chose to grimace in pain silently for a few moments until his chest stopped throbbing. "I'm not..." he started, the words straining to come out, "exactly certain what to call you until you introduce yourself. Please forgive me." His eyes rose up to meet hers as he apologized, icy blue orbs that seemingly held a gaze intense enough to see through her.

Sighing in relief as she untied his bindings and freed his arms from the very awkward position of being strapped to the arms of a chair, he managed to sneak in a twisting stretch before she shackled him again. The prince pushed himself off the floor with only a sharp inhale to signal the pain from her kick was still lingering in his chest and did his best to dust off his hunting leathers, which really did very little to make himself presentable. "And, I know you must be thinking it'd be easy to double cross you and come after you once I'm safely inside the palisades, but honestly, ask yourself, do you really think you're the first person to come up with this little plan?" He shook his head slightly, a slight grin on his face as though he were recalling some embarrassing story from his youth, "It's all... Pretty routine by now."

Grunting from her shove, he made his way towards the door, offering very little resistance and shrugged, "It's more expensive than it's worth to try and hunt you down." He stood a few steps away from the door, as if waiting for her to do something, "Between the mages that will poke through my head to see if I recall anything about you, or this place, or how to get here," Kendrick paused for a moment, looking back over his shoulder at the woman, "you should really cover my eyes or something, by the way. But yes, between the mages and the inquisitives and the mercenaries, ugh," he scoffed. "Especially if I'm returned in a timely fashion and... Mostly intact. What would the point be?" Shaking his head, the corners of his lips curled down into a slight frown, "Better just to satisfy you. Cheaper, usually. And generally it ends up that if you're happy with your demands, then you won't be so hostile towards the crown anymore. So it's really advantageous from our perspective, don't you think? I go home happy, you go home happy, and if you're happy enough, you stop plotting to kidnap the prince, you see?"

He waited for another moment, still standing by the door, awaiting a blindfold or a bag or something, "So what is my father doing to upset you so now?

Steampunk Pirates (Voduis and Megara)

Sebastian tilted his head at the little automaton, still unable to hide his interest in the creation of it and approached slowly, as though it were as skittish as a real fox found in the wild. He knelt a few steps away from it, on its path so that it would approach him, rather than he approach it, and with one hand outstretched, palm up, he waited for... Something? He couldn't expect the little thing to sniff his hand like a friend's dog might. Lost in his own thoughts on the proper etiquette and decorum of how to "meet" something with a positronic brain, he almost forgot his surroundings until Engine was almost upon him.

Bonded (Vodius and Luna)

The voices murmured incoherently for a brief moment, as if chatting among themselves to decide how to proceed. "You dare summon me?" they responded. The runes pulsed again, brighter, but quicker, as though the summon's agitation was being transmitted through them. The corner of the thing's eye rose slightly, as if it were smiling just out of the mage's view. It held the advantage now. The two were to bargain, to make a deal, a binding contract that would spell out the summoned's service to the summoner.

Raven probably recognized the summon's expression from the last horse dealer he'd spoken to. Even if he didn't, the notes scribbled in the margins of the book would have detailed the mannerisms of the spirit: greedy, manipulative, defiant, powerful. Along with her name, Alverdine. Just glancing over the script seemed to chill the air around the young man, though this wasn't the time to be impressed with her display. Elsewhere on the page, also scrawled in by hand were instructions on how to keep her under control: be firm, be strong, don't let her see weakness, offer time.

Time? How could anyone, even a mage, offer time?

The partially visible, still shifting creature at the center of the runic circle stirred, its many voices quieting, silencing extraneous ones with each syllable until a single feminine voice spoke alone, "Who are you? And for what purpose have you summoned me? Why have you ripped me from my home and brought me here? Surely you know the contract that binds us now, the ramifications if you do not name your terms?" Alverdine's voice was neither melodic nor harsh, it lacked the pitch of a young girl's tone, seeming to favor the registers of a woman. It wasn't sultry, but carried a smokey sense about it with every word.

{Kittenlover} Strange Acquaintances {Vodius}

The prince groaned, face twisted in an expression of pain from his landing. He could feel the heat rising up to the surface of his skin, though he doubted he'd be around long enough to complain about a bruising. Opening an eye towards his kidnapper, he simply sighed. "You elves sure are a vindictive lot..." With a final tug at his restraints, he decided that he wasn't going to be able to burst them like in the old stories his nurses would tell him when he was a boy. "But kill? Be serious," he scoffed, letting his head lull towards the ground. "I'm the prince. You're going to ransom me for... I don't know. Money, or policy, or whatever it is that you have in mind this time."

Kendrick let out a short chuckle, "What would killing me do besides instigate martial law and a determined hunt from my father to find and kill you all in return?" He tried to raise his hand to wave away the thought, having the habit of talking with his hands, but continued on anyway with only minimal frustration at his inability to maneuver so, "Aside from being a very well-dressed page, I have little to do with... Whatever is upsetting you towards the crown. So here's how this works. You send my father a message saying you've got me, and then he'll send someone to come pay you for a trade. It's win-win, you see? I get to go back to..." He paused for a moment, his eyes falling to the floor, "The palace, and you get... Hm..." He looked around briefly, "A new house? Bows maybe? I know you elves do so love your bows... Money, land, maybe even a title if you can convince me to speak on your behalf. Anything you want. Nice and clean, and no one dies."

{Vodius} The Dragon Egg {Dragon princess}

The prince, still somewhat groggy from his sleep and the troubled dreams of the last evening simply scowled at her as he passed. He rubbed his chin as his frown deepened, the normally clean-cut beard, trimmed to a picturesque perfection had grown out a bit, softening the angular lines that lent to a look of crispness he so enjoyed. Kendrick's feet crunched in the snow as he made his way to the campfire, the little blaze burning bright and hot despite...

He looked around curiously, realizing that no one else had awakened yet, except the woman. Icy blue eyes fixated on her as he tried to will away his sleepiness. Had he invited any of the court ladies on this expedition? His brow furrowed as he dragged the memories back to mind. No, he'd remember that. And no lady would trouble herself with relighting a fire in this cold, much less wear nothing but a dress in it. The prince subconsciously let his hand fall to his belt, where the hilt of his sword would have been had he been dressed for the day. Feeling nothing but the cloth of his bedclothes seemed to unnerve him slightly, though it did shake off whatever hold sleep still had on him. Sobered and serious, he called out to the stranger, "Who are you?" His features hardened and she could see the agitation and aggression rising within him, even if it was only by detecting the heat rising in his body. "Where is the dragon? If you've taken her..." he growled, fists balled as he started to close the gap between them...

Steampunk Pirates (Voduis and Megara)

Sebastian let one of the corners of his lip droop into a half-frown, fidgeting slightly as if torn over what to do. It certainly wasn't a crew member's place to get involved with the captain's eating habits, much less one as new as him, or as green as him, but he felt something urging him to say something. The expression on Dante's face and the insistence that she get some food down left the young man with the sense that skipping meals wasn't all that uncommon for her. He took in a sharp breath, put on a light grin and pointed at her plate, "Looks good, Captain. Enjoy your meal." And with that, he offered both officers a respectful nod, flipped his hat back onto his head, and headed out onto the deck.

Bonded (Vodius and Luna)

Runes of purple and silver formed a circle before the man, each one appearing in time with the mage's chants as a chill wind kicked up from nowhere, sending his hair flapping like a sheet in a tornado. Traceries of arcane logic were drawn over, around, and among the runes, forming an odd network of angular, harsh patterns as the markings began to radiate, their illumination growing in intensity until the camp was aglow with a metallic purple tint. The ground at the center of the circle of runes rippled as though the soil had suddenly taken on the properties of water before smoke began to creep from the unstable ground, swirling about the little clearing and hugging Raven's ankles in particular.

The portal rippled one last time before falling still, accompanied by the chiming of a clear bell and the sense that the human was no longer alone in the forest. He could feel the pressure of something there, though he couldn't yet make the other presence out. Part of a scaly, crimson leg drifted in front of him, only visible in the runic circle. Then another. Then part of a whip-like tail topped and tipped with plates and spines. And then, a single eye, about the size of the mage's head, with yellow where his own would be white. Its pupil glanced about lazily before focusing, narrowing its piercing gaze on him.

A host of voices rolled into his consciousness, his senses telling him that he was surrounded by a crowd. Voices of men and women and children and... Other things all spoke at once, as one, "You... Dare?"

{Kittenlover} Strange Acquaintances {Vodius}

Prince Kendrick Burson groaned in a groggy stupor, subconsciously bringing on hand to scratch his stomach as--he struggled to bring his hand to his stomach before his eyes shot wide open, the realization of what had just happened sobering him like a slap in the face. He tried tugging free, once, instinctively, gritting his teeth and grunting against the bindings before sighing in defeat. His shoulders and back were sore, his head throbbed, and his stomach was turned in a knot, an overall unpleasant set of circumstances that blurred his vision a bit as he tried to take in his surroundings. The floors looked like packed dirt that had been sprinkled with dust. Dust on dirt, who could live like this? A few threadbare blankets hung from brown, moldy lines drawn between the dilapidated walls. He'd seen nets with fewer holes than some of these covers. Rays of sunlight slipped in through cracks in the walls, but so did the occasional gust of a chill wind, pushing up little goosebumps over where they brushed against the man's skin.

And it stank. Mud and sweat and filth all colluded to make some horrible stench to assault his senses as he sat there, tied to a chair. He glanced down as best he could before letting out a sigh; the chair had to be the most solid piece of carpentry in this place. Swearing, he decided to take his chances busting out. With as quiet a grunt as he could manage, the prince began hopping, while bound, chair and all, as best he could, slowly inching closer to the ramshackle exterior walls. Unfortunately the creak of the chair's joints, the creak of the ropes rubbing against each other, and the thud of his landings were more than enough to alert anyone in earshot that Kendrick was conscious and trying to get loose.

{Vodius} The Dragon Egg {Dragon princess}

Kendrick hadn't forgotten that dragons were "kill on sight" for the realms of man, but it did little to dissuade him from his quest. After all, he originally sought a creature that was large enough to swallow horses by the handful and could melt stone on accident by sleeping too close to it, who would even be willing to try and raise a hand against her? His sleep was troubled this night, and it was evidenced in his restlessness. The hatchling wasn't a pushover by any means, but it wasn't the invincible great red that he was expecting to take home either. The scowl on his face while at rest voiced his displeasure, though he showed no signs of it while awake. Measures would have to be taken to ensure that the little dragon would make it home, much less survive to adulthood. For even the slightest chance to make it... He'd have to be the only living human to know that there was a dragon within the borders.

He was almost remorseful that he'd brought some of his best men with him. Almost.

The prince mumbled in his sleep, something harsh but unintelligible, even to the dragon's keen senses. His fingers curled and extended against her scales casually in slumber, gently scratching behind her ears as the little creature nuzzled herself against him. Whatever filter he was able to mask his true feelings and emotions with when awake, it was clear he did not take it with him to the dream world. Stringent then soft, with only a few seconds between the two moods, he must have been having a particularly emotional ride during his reverie right now.

Steampunk Pirates (Voduis and Megara)

"Aye, ma'am," Sebastian replied with a little nod. As the little robotic creature departed, he couldn't help but crane his head around to watch it. His mentor always had a few positronic brains lying around in various states of construction, but he had never mastered the skill to... Create life, as such, despite his fascination. It wasn't for lack of interest that held him back, the lad just had a tendency to gloss over the multitude of fine details required, as the rest of his creations displayed. Surely Professor Trimble could have put together a device to scan the woman and automatically adjust its potency so as not to leave her weakened, but Sebastian's... It only had one setting: full blast.

It was always all or nothing with him, which occasionally brought him a bit of guilt, but more often brought him a bundle of trouble, if Dante's reaction wasn't evidence enough of that.

"Did you want anything else from me? Or should I... Uh... Find a bunk?"