Location: Fairy Isle- Coast near Rega Tag:@Holy Soldier Mention: Grimjet Summary:Devan struggles with the reanimated skeleton of Gluttony
The thing-- the remains-- whatever it was-- was not exactly sneaky with falling and rattling and somehow talking and trying to walk through sand.
Normally, she probably wouldn't have had much chance hand-to-hand with the human Sin. He had size, strength, and reach against the tiny fairy woman… when he was whole. The skeleton, however, she figured she could handle.
As it bent to bite her shoulder, Devan quickly reached back and grabbed the skull, careful to avoid the mouth, and dropped to the ground instead of fairy-floating for extra momentum and leverage to throw the thing. At least in theory, the move should have levered the skeleton over her shoulder and slammed it on its back in front of her. In reality, it just pulled the head from the desiccated corpse which just kind of crumpled behind her. The head was still chomping its jaws angrily though.
With a little shriek of disgust Devan tossed it into sand a few feet away and nudged the body with a toe. Hopefully it would stay there. She looked back and forth between the pieces, partly making sure they weren't coming after her again, part trying to figure out what she got herself into.
”Okay, you groaned something about food,” she said to the head, keeping a little distance. ”I'm not sure why I'm doing this, but I'll get you food... IF you behave. No biting or eating... anything that's alive. Just stay still unless you want to be executed again. It's only a few minutes to the market and back.”
Devan whistled for her pony and rubbed her forehead. She had a feeling this was going to come back to-- bite-- her, so to speak.
Location: Fairy Isle Tag: [@HolySoldier] Mention: Grimjet Summary: Devan travels to the coast to visit Grimjet.
It was a beautiful day on the island. Devan decided to travel a little without her cart- sort of a vacation, though she still had a small tailors' kit with her, just in case. The sun was shining; a few stray clouds seemed to know exactly when to shuffle past for a quick, cool shadow. The breeze from the ocean was light and kept the day from being oppressive. So why did the hair on the base of Devan's neck just stand up?
The fairy woman reached back to run her fingers through her white locks in hope of shaking the sensation and a cloud clearing from the sun seemed to help. Her pony shook his mane; little bells woven into the hair chimed and banished the last of the uneasy feeling. Devan patted his shoulder and turned down the road toward the coast.
Reĝa was the largest city on the island, though by human standards it was barely a village. The population there essentially tripled when it hosted a market. According to rumour, it was also where another of her fellow Sins had ended up. Unfortunately, he was not fairy, so he had been executed. Still, something told Devan that she should go.
Children's laughter drew her attention as she approached. On the beach the children were decorating a scarecrow with flower chains and shells. It took a moment for Devan to realize it wasn't a scarecrow or effigy, but what was left of a human. A few fragments of memory confirmed that this must be the remains of a Sin.
“Shoo! Go on, now! You don't where that's been!” The children scattered, giggling, and Devan called after them, “Be sure to wash when you get home!”
The Serpent Sin sighed. If only she could remember more than glimpses of a face. She avoided looking at the remains as she folded a small cup from a leaf; the fairies didn't decay like humans when they died and the desiccated husk of her old compatriot was a bit unsettling.
Still, she had come this far and felt she should make a small offering for the dead, memories or not.
The little cup finished she pulled a wineskin from the saddle bags. The leaf held barely a sip. Carefully pushing off with her toes, Devan levitated as her race was wont to do so she could reach and carefully tipped the small offering into what was left of the human's mouth.
Devan landed, set the little cup at the base of the pole, and and started her way back up to the road.
Tinker was a bit nervous. Too many people out and about in town- especially men since she was so used to solitude and mostly-female Arlington. She'd have to get used to it, though, so took a deep breath and forced herself not to edge away from the trooper escort. At least she looked masculine enough, even cleaned up, that he didn't try to take her arm or offer a hand on the gangplank like men seemed prone to do; that would probably have been too much for the hermit.
Initially, Tinker felt a bit guilty when they boarded the boat and she saw Lorna, but eavesdropping a bit, she felt better. Lasthope was sending engineers and others that would more than replace her. It sounded like the town would soon be like a whole new city. And preserving and resurrecting technology always made her techie heart happy. She grinned and waved to the mayor as the older woman left.
A faint blush rose, obvious on pale and not-smudged-for-once cheeks, when Jain called her cute. It was one thing for some of the girls in town to tease like the androgynous tech was their brother; it was another coming from a pretty outsider. She murmured an awkward “Thanks…” then gave a little shrug in response to the ‘personal’ questions. Tinker had never seen the point of hemmin’ and hawin’ around silly stuff like bodies and their functions. She liked that “the boss” was fairly direct about it.
“These clothes are just convenient, Ma'am. It's hard to get into the guts of a machine with frills--or honestly, boobs-- in the way. The ruse is just a bonus since bandits aren't so civil as your folk. You don't have to worry about me keeping up, wrapped or not, though.”
The tall tech straightened up a little bit and absently hooked a thumb in her suspenders. “I'm no stranger to work or putting walkers back in the dirt… Though I wouldn't claim any military prowess; I mostly just blow ‘em up anymore. When and where should I find Ms Petra?”
Tinker buttoned up a pale blue shirt over the bindings that gave her a more masculine figure and adjusted her suspenders. Normally, the androgynous girl kept a nice patina of dust and maybe a smear of grease or two to help look more boyish on trips to town, but she decided to clean up this morning. Besides, Summer had mentioned that the Captain of the troopers wouldn't take kindly to deception.
She brushed the fluffy dogs and checked their paws before buckling the harnesses on them. The tall tech checked the little revolver before putting it back in its hidden compartment in the cart. A bag of hard candies joined a few tools in a case which was pushed up to the front, right behind the dogs. A full canteen and pan for the dogs was last, though Arlington wasn't terribly far.
She lead the dogs to the bunker just as the sun broke the horizon and checked the locks and camouflage before heading for town. Since the hermit had taken the same path yesterday, her trip into town took less time than usual. She had already scavenged what she could from the area. Outside the gates, troopers were teaching some of the Arlingtonians fighting. A knot dropped into Tinker's stomach; she'd always relied on traps and tricks rather than actual combative skills. Hopefully that wouldn't count against her when she met with Jain. Shaking off the anxiety trying to form, she waved to some of the kids that were taking a break and gave a handful of candies for them to share with the ‘class’.
Once in the town proper, Tinker parked the cart in front of the general store again. She filled the pan with fresh water for the dogs and looked around the rooftops. When she didn't spot the ravens, she wandered back toward the gate and the sparring class. If nothing else, the troopers there could point her toward Summer or Jain.
Sorry it's kind of crappy, but I don't want this to die. And someone *coughDNAcough* didn't post when he said he was. :P At play Tinker is back in town so no one can blame me for holding up the show.
@Poi@Mara I was just wondering since Holy Soldier didn't seem satisfied with those options and HokumPocus sounded like a similar suggestion to the tab, but I may have misunderstood. I think I got linked in to this thread by mistake, but thought I'd share the idea anyway.
Would a tab in the RP thread (like the IC/OOC/Characters tabs) be a viable compromise? Could be 'References' tab? Can be used for world-building, linking to other RPs in the same "series" or world, linking to outside references etc without needing a new sub forum/section.
@Italicized what Loki said. :) Holy Soldier mentioned in the interest check that if there was more than one interested in a particular Sin, he would pick the the best match for the RP.
Age: Appears to be in her early 20s Sin: Envy Height: 4’9” Weight: 95lbs Hair Color: Silver Eye Color: Vibrant green Gender: female
Written Appearance: Shoulder-length silver hair curls into a cloud around her head, softening rather sharp features and contrasting with tanned skin. Her mouth often curves upward in amusement- usually at someone else's expense. Polycoria (a second pupil in each eye) makes her emerald eyes disconcerting for some. Of slim and delicate build, she is very much a typical fairy. She usually wears very fashionable, but not necessarily practical clothes.
Brand Appearance: A serpent constricting around an (anatomical) heart on her chest, right over her own heart.
Personality: She is strangely mellow and even tempered, even to the point of seeming unconcerned or dismissive. Usually this would seem like an indicator of confidence, however, Devan never actually feels self-confident or ‘good enough’, leading to a couple different things.
She strives to better herself in various ways: learning new things, training, etc. but is often secretive and nearly obsessive about it. The lack of confidence also makes her a bit of a bully: condescending, if not downright cruel, toward those that pique her jealousy-- especially if she feels they didn't earn the advantage. On some level she knows that's not exactly fair, so she puts effort into being professional when she's working and distant if anyone tries to become more friendly.
Background: ”Oh, hunny! You think I'd be here if I knew?”
Current Story: Devan rather fortuitously landed among the Fairies where she makes a living travelling around the smaller towns and cities with new fashions and tailoring.
Though she can hold her own in a fight and trains occasionally to maintain that ability, she simply isn't built for head-to-head physical confrontation. She prefers her quiet life under the Knights’ radar and away from their influence until she can figure out how to get her memory back.
Weapon: If she had an Arc, it was lost when the White God banished them. She doesn't exactly recall. She does carry a pair of push daggers that pass as scissors if they aren't examined too closely.
Ability: Evil Eye- the target aspect (single trait eg strength or charisma or height etc) withers so long as she focuses- it returns gradually if she is distracted. Intangibles like charisma can be drained away faster, but if the person realizes, they can resist the effect more or reverse it faster. Physical things like height take more time and energy to affect much change, but it's nearly impossible to resist or reverse before the effect naturally wears off without magic. Devan thinks she could use her ability on a negative (like illness or depression) to help someone temporarily, but she hasn't tried it...at least not that she can remember.
Sample: This was written before we had info about the Fairy Isle, so it is not canon.
Tinkling bells gradually added to the din of the marketplace as the pony wearing them pulled a small cart into the plaza. The woman leading it smiled absently at greetings from other vendors here-and-there and scanned the area with vibrant green eyes. It had been a while since Devan had come to the larger city, but she had a few-- certainly not friends, but friendly-- acquaintances.
Finding a good spot, she gave the pony his feed bag and lay her shawl over his back, then tied her silver curls into a pompom on the back of her head. A couple of stones kept the wheels of the cart from rolling as the small woman efficiently started pushing and pulling and turning various pieces of the cart, slowly transforming it into a stand with an awning and dowels to hang her merchandise.
“Wrath is a sin, you know, miss,” a deep voice chuckled from behind her. Devan whirled, diaphanous skirts billowing and fully intending to rip the smartass a new one, but emerald eyes widened when she found herself face-to-- another part of anatomy- with a Holy Knight. If the white armor and being a human- or giant! on the Fairy Isle wasn't enough indication, the man's sword-hilt and pommel were a stylized silver Tree of Life.
Uh oh... She backpedaled into her equine companion and saw the Tree was etched into each pauldron as well. Snatching her shawl from the pony’s back, she hastily wrapped it around herself, hopefully before he could get much of a view of her cleavage-- and more to the point-- the dimly glowing brand nestled there.
The knight must have written her reaction off as simple surprise of him being so close combined with modesty, because he just chuckled again and stepped around the tiny woman to examine the offending support. He tugged on it. He wiggled it. He leaned to look around at the rest of the cart. He tugged again. He tried putting it back into its ‘closed’ position and pulling it back out, only to get stuck in the same spot again. He growled and smacked it with a gauntleted fist.
“What was that about Wrath, sir?” Devan drawled with the tiniest smirk. She rummaged through a drawer of the cart, taking the chance to surreptitiously use her gift. The secondary pupils in her unusual eyes dilated as she peeked at the knight through a fringe of silver that had escaped from her hair tie. He didn't seem to suspect anything unusual at all, but that quick peek would make him slightly more naive for a little while. She wasn't going to take a chance.
Blinking a few times, her eyes returned to normal and her hands pulled a small tin of oil from the drawer. “This should help.”
The knight laughed; a few strategic drops did wonders and the awning was up in no time. “So how long are you in town, little Wrath?” His wink didn't ease the knot that dropped into her stomach.
What a twisted sense of humour… Surely he doesn't actually suspect, wrong Sin or not... Devan covered her discomfort with her own laugh that tinkled not unlike the pony's bells. “You saw there's no brand on my neck, Sir Knight-- Is that the right one? I'm only here for the day.”
“That it's Sloth; Wrath's is here,” he said, laying his right hand on her left shoulder, “but that Sin is a man, so you're safe. A pity, you're not here long, though; I could use a new cloak. I'll take my leave, then, miss. May the White God watch over you!”
Devan watched until the Holy Knight was out of sight, then folded her cart back down. She kicked the stones from the wheel, took the pony's nearly empty feed bag, and left the market, then the city. It would be quite a while before she returned.
