The Grand Plaza was bustling with folks of all walks of life in the morning before The Dragon. The large notice board didn’t just appeal to those craven for money or the usual suspects of Mudville, but also to the lordlings of Ersand’Enise who sought new experiences and opportunities to land the rare quest for a unique artefact. Many of the postings were relatively mundane with many offers for jobs that flew over the heads of the elite majority of the school, some others were simple tasks with varying levels of rewards. Only a handful offered what most dreamed about and were inevitably fought over.
There were, however, jobs that couldn’t simply be posted out in public. Even the boards in the questionable alleyways of the Workman’s Quarter did not advertise more than recruitment offers for ethically challenged small jobs. If one wanted to rake in the big bucks and experience life on the edge, they had to have connections or the will to put their nose in places few would willingly want to. The arrival of the Century made the opportunists from the underworld all the more wary of those who caught wind of their machinations, but the offers were nonetheless still there.
The Century wasn’t the only thing that had come to the Free City as of recently. The exotic and powerful individuals from across the world ushered in sinister interests that greedily rub their hands at such a golden opportunity to exact their agendas with limited obstructions.
One such interest was represented by a notorious name among the Twin Continents’ underworld: Sinn’ulen’luunetar, commonly referred to as simply “Sinn”, was a well-known broker for affluent parties. Trust is a very difficult and expensive thing to gain in this line of work, and Sinn is one of few that had earned it with his credibility never being questioned in the twenty-odd years he had been operating. What exactly he was looking for was unknown - dissemination of information was not a thing among these people - but the select few given a rendez-vous through their own means were given “600 Magi” and the possibility for much more with the promise of no blood needing to be spilt.
Ultimately, four were vetted by one of Sinn’s envoys and provided with a location and time: The Docks, “The Birch”, 5 Eshiran. It would be dark by then, with a convenient few patrols. The ship baptised “The Birch” was an old Caravel ship parked in one of the end rows with access made easy for any intruder who would care enough to board it. Upon setting foot onto the creaking floorboards of the deck, the four interlopers who had been seduced by either the compensation or the mystery of the meeting would be greeted by the infamous broker himself.
”We will keep this brief,” Sinn’ulen’luunetar’s deep, masculine voice beckoned for their attention before he spat the jamb’ysp he had been chewing, ”or the Century will find you with me.” they had a lot to lose if they were found associated with such a man. He was sitting on the stairs leading to the quarterdeck and seized the brown, leather bag by his feet. The boat was poorly illuminated, which made his Yasoi features difficult to distinguish until he got closer. Clearly, he wasn’t a Constantian by his features, and yet he spoke in perfect Avincian, ”All you need is here.” he set the bag onto a convenient barrel that was tied to the mast. A general glance was given to the four teens, with Silas warranting a squint and further scrutiny. He didn’t say anything.
Sinn then pulled a vial from one of his pouches and made sure the group got a good look. Beyond simply being glass, it had a very specific mark on it. A learned Blood mage would recognise it as the fruit of forbidden magic, and by the shape of it, likely served to preserve whatever was contained inside, ”One drop of blood”, he traded the vial for more jamb’ysp, ”or five hairs in these vials. That is the minimum expected.” Inside the bags would be another container with six of these vials, a pair of peculiar leather gloves and a simple envelope.
”All you need to know,” he paused to chew, ”is in there. Play us, and we will know. And so will they.” not once did he smile or raise his voice. The man kept himself unreadable and level-headed. There was no desire to drag this encounter with children.
The students were dismissed barely two minutes after stepping into the boat without being given an opportunity to speak, lest they be shut down by the broker. Once they opened the envelope, they found a folded parchment with only a sketch of a face and a phrase written below it:
The blood of the Lamb, or the Wolf’s pelt.
You are now involved in a very high-risk mission. You will get your chance to interact with Sinn as a reward for completing this quest. Brother Wolf has been known to patrol the following locations: -The Auction House -The Merchant Dormitories -The Workman Quarter You can choose to look for him and employ whatever strategy you wish in order to get your demanded quota. Feel free to employ whatever comes to mind, however be warned that he is an absurdly powerful foe and force isn’t always the answer. Or maybe it is!
It is also known that Team Covenant currently resides in the Grand Cathedral, however further investigation is necessary to know where Brother Wolf/Lamb sleeps.
Velles 5th
Location: Distillery in Crafters’ Quarters - Ersand’Enise Day of the week: Taldes Time: 4:30 HE Characters: Abdel Saqqaf Aziz, Evander @RezonanceV, Khaliun, Leander @Creative Chaos, Leon @Animus, Ymiico @Salsa Verde, Yuliya @Suicharte
On the other side of the face of illegality lurked the most fickle and questionable types that desperately sought out manpower to exact their goals. The Burning Order was not going to benefit from using its name for publicity, even among thugs. It also didn’t have the monetary means to get prize candidates - or at least it pretended that it was the case - leaving space for only those that had a good reason to go after a Sanguinaire. Or the morbidly curious. It was their funeral.
Khaliun was one such person that knew of the Sanguinaire, of the Burning Order and how to deal with them. Naturally, if any bloodsucker hunting were to occur, she would be one of the first to know, and so would Yuliya be informed as well. It wasn’t to say that rumours didn’t spread, as the young but valiant Abdel Saqqaf Aziz of Waking Nightmare made his recent close encounter with such a beast known to the authorities and those around him. It would come to no surprise that he too would attend this wild hunt.
All those that entertained the rumour of a Sanguinaire hunt would eventually know of the meeting spot: A distillery in the Crafters’ Quarters at 4:30 HE. The instigators of this buzz were late, taking at least an hour to attend their supposed “event”, ”لماذا هم بطيئون جدا؟” (What’s taking them?) groaned a restless Abdel, eager to deliver Vashdal’s justice to the monster he had encountered before whilst obliviously glancing toward Yuliya from time to time. A few others had gathered, a couple not even from the school, and waited. Some eventually left, thinking it all a hoax, but eventually their wait would be rewarded.
Two men, both above average in height and wearing matching dark cloaks with their hoods lowered. Their rifles were also very easy to notice on their backs, with the darker skinned one also carrying a longsword on his hip. ”Pardon me, mein Freunde!" an extremely Kerremand man with blonde hair and ginger stubble jovially greeted the group of people in the establishment, ”Precautions, precautions. Can’t have enough, ya?” he beamed toward them all and exaggerated a shrug. ”Yes, thank you for waiting,” this man’s accent wasn’t as thick as the Kerreman’s, but a fine ear could pinpoint an accent from Sakenga, ”what you have heard is true: A Sanguinaire is among us. To ensure the safety of every man, woman and child in the Twin Continents, the Burning Order has, is and will investigate all information on these creatures and cull them.” this one didn’t lack any enthusiasm, but the humour was absent and his posture was stiffer than his laid back partner.
”You may call me Lissanon, and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.” he closed his hands before his abdomen and gave a general glance to all those that had decided to stay, ”Und Ich bin Viktor. Pleasure! I will be joining the hunt with you.” his pearly not-so-whites were flashed to the public. In general, they would explain the basics of a Sanguinaire, their lust for blood and how they “assimilated” power, albeit in somewhat vague terms. Certainly not enough to prepare them for what was to come.
”Если то, что вы сказали, правда, (If what you said is accurate,”) spoke Khaliun as she leaned toward Yuliya with the softest of tones her naturally deep voice could muster, ”это может быть истинным или даже высоким. (it may be a true, or even a high.)” the Tethered gave the same passing look Lissanon had given to the group, ”Если это так, используйте их в качестве корма. Не рискуйте разоблачением. (If that is the case, use them as fodder. Do not risk exposure.)” light steam escaped from the shadows brought by her hood, ”Эти двое не знают, с чем имеют дело. (These two do not know what they are dealing with.)”
5:30 HE
Finally, they were let out, with the simple instruction to patrol the night with forged Lamplighter identification as to bypass curfew. The Century didn’t help, but the lack of direct affiliation to the Order made things easier. Viktor led the hunt, often gathering a little congregation before spreading out.
”Help! I found someone!” Abdel called out, concerned for the recently injured teen girl over the perpetrator. She had been bitten with the telltale signs of a beginner Sanguinaire: Sloppy, visible markings and leaving the victim in the middle of the street in the Workman Quarter near the Queensgate. ”Ya, das a Sanguinaire attack. I have seen this each time.” he tended to the girl’s superficial wound, ”Get her somewhere safe, ya?” he nodded at one of the volunteers to carry the girl.
”Another one, further east.” muttered Khaliun in Avincian, which both Yuliya and Abdel could hear at the very least. Abdel furiously jetted himself with the help of his powerful arcane magic until he found the next victim, an elderly citizen with no real mana-value, ”... это не нормально.” (This isn’t normal.) and again, another hunter called out an unconscious individual, this time a student with a RAS any Sanguinaire would be attracted to, ”This monster must be stopped! فاشدال يحفظهم جميعا بأمان! وتعطيني القوة! (Vashdal keep them safe! Give me Strength!)” Abdel took to the air, only to notice the same pattern Khaliun had.
”This is trap.” remarked Khaliun as she reached out to keep Yuliya back, far less concerned with what the others would do, ”Don’t rush. Don’t overwhelm prey. It will run if it feels in danger.” and then she let go once she had imparted her wisdom, taking to higher altitude too and shadowed her own Sanguinaire.
The body count didn’t climb until the hunters would inevitably find a trail of blood leading into the Proving Grounds. A gate was left conspicuously opened with torches burning strong and ambers flicking about within the tunnels that led to the colosseum itself.
”It’s there.”
You are on the Sanguinaire’s trail, although it seems it WANTS to be found. Feel free to seize this chance or branch off to find other clues if this is just too spooky for you. How you approach this is crucial. Khaliun has hinted that bullrushing with overwhelming force is a great way to get the target to flee, and it is FAST. You are expected to kill this thing to get the reward. Be ready for a very bloody fight if you’re going through with this. Abdel, Viktor and Khaliun will be assisting.
Posts are due Sunday, November 13, however should I get the posts earlier, we can begin the next part of the mission earlier! In both cases, they will likely take place on Discord whether for fights or interactions. For this cycle I expect regular posting (you may collab) to explain how your character got into this, what they do during this introduction (if they have questions in High Stakes I’ll have Lissanon answer them live if needed) and what they’re going to do from now on. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me!
Location: Zarina’s Quarters Day of the week: Taldes Time: 1:40 HE Characters: Kaspar @Wolfieh, Zarina
“So I’ve been thinking, like, being able to replicate the melons would be key here.”
Zarina was sitting at the end of the dining table in her merchant dormitory with the cage containing her recently acquired Blueberry dragon sitting on it and at arm’s length of her. Beside the cage were plain melons commonly found in the market for dirt cheap as the event was coming and many commerces were capitalising on the hype. The little dragon was hiding the makeshift wooden house she had made for him, only making the occasional clicking noises but otherwise quite discreet, “Issue is, you don’t know what they would look like or how the, errr-” she raised her hands next to her head to mimic quotations, “elemelons truly work. How do you think we can go about it? Can’t train these little guys without at least a good replica, after all.”
Kaspar’s eyes were on the small Blueberry dragon as his teammate spoke. He didn’t reply immediately, head tilting in a way that indicated the boy was considering her words despite his silence. Eyes drifting to the melons present, he offered quietly, “The most difficult part is the whole… structure, of a melon. The innards and then the rind and the very outer skin. Making something of different parts, it takes more…finesse.” His hand reached out, palming one of the plain melons and rolling it closer to him. “First, we find someone who knows what the melons are like. Then it’s simply practice.”
Zarina was also eyeing the cage when it was her turn to listen, although the little critter still refused to emerge. A knife was taken from behind the cage and used to cut open one of the melons in half. The presentation of such an easy treat had the blue reptile poke its goofy head out of its humble abode and sniff the nearby treat, “You’re right, we need to know more. Someone who actually did the derby, yeah?” she mused for a moment whilst watching her little avian approach the opened fruit until it could wiggle its head between the thin, metal bars. Mercifully, the Virangishwoman nudged the fruit closer for it to enjoy, and it did with big, wet chomps and rapid chewing, “But before we get any targets, could you replicate this melon you got there? Just a perfect copy, or close enough.” she nodded in Kaspar’s direction with her attention oriented to him as well.
“Who did the derby, or who grows the melons,” he responded, watching as she sliced a melon in half. He reached out, sliding the unused half towards himself and trying to be careful of the juice. His crimson eyes scanned the object, taking in its constitution, and he began to draw heat from the air around him—slower than drawing one of the melons, but he’d need the subjects whole. Focusing, he pulled the cherrywood wand from his vest and began to cast. The progress was slow, but in the end the melon was… more or less correct. A bit sloppier than Kaspar would’ve preferred, the proportions perhaps a bit skewed and the color a touch too grey, but a good start for practicing.
Zarina checked on the process and the results, albeit with her attention alternating between her new pet and Kaspar’s endeavour. The dragon was just too cute to ignore, especially with its wide eyes and fruit slop leaking from its maw with the occasional lick from its iguana-like tongue. When the strange melon came to be, even the little avian was captivated by it and just observed whilst taking a whiff of the different aroma that came from it, “Huh. Looks kinda … Not fresh.” she crossed her arms and let her back sag against her seat, “But I’m no melon expert, he is. How about we let him judge?”
Kaspar nodded, taking the knife Zarina had used earlier. He sliced into his counterfeit melon and found the inside was a little more…wet than he’d been expecting. Not tragically so, but certainly something requiring more practice. The rind was thick, likely within the bounds of normalcy—he was no melon expert either—but pushing the envelope. He slid half the melon to the edge of the cage, and the dragon inside was quick to scamper over, squeezing his head through the bars and sniffing at the melon presented. He took a bite—or several, rapidly—chewed, and swallowed the flesh of the fruit. The little creature did not explode, or keel over dead, or regurgitate his consumed portion. He took a few more bites, pulling his head back through the bars as he swallowed, and simply returned to the treat Zarina had offered.
Kaspar watching, nodding like he expected this outcome. Then he sliced his own half into wedges, brought one to his mouth, and bit in without reservation. He chewed, thoughtfully analyzing his creation, and pushed a wedge towards Zarina in case she wanted to test it as well. “It is not rotten, at least,” the boy spoke as he swallowed. “It is… damp. More than it should be. But it tastes fruit-like, and I would not call it a ‘last resort’ meal.”
Zarina was very hesitant to take a bite after Arlo’s deliberation on the matter, though with Kaspar still living after a bite she went for it, “Eh. You’re right, could be worse.” one bite was enough, as were three gorges of melon for the little critter. She didn’t want him to get fat. The fruits were shoved to the side and the little blue animal retreated in the cage to curiously explore its surroundings now that it was exposed, “So, if we wanna make good fakes, you’re gonna have to practice a lot, right? What about just basic replicas? You know, the plain one-pointers. How easy do you reckon it’ll be to just make loads of them?”
“Once the basic concept is grasped, it should be more reliable,” he offered. “Practice until the day, and the concept should be grasped.” He sighed, mulling something over for a moment. “The most difficult part is having the energy to cast. I am… slower, drawing energies instead of materials. But… we will have plenty of material around to draw from,” the Binder reasoned, raising an eyebrow towards Zarina. “What are the lower bounds on acceptable melon size, do you think?”
“You’ve got five days for the special melons.” she was quick to correct her colleague while adjusting her posture, “I need to be able to train our little ones before the due date. It’s already a tight fit with just under two weeks.” using the same knife that split the melon, she cut a small piece and offered it directly to the blue reptile but from her hand. It was hesitant, at first, but the delectable was just too much to ignore, “Smallest melon would be the smallest you’d find in the market, probably? I feel like you’ll have to be careful with that, since every binder ever probably has had this idea. Might need to be subtle and settle with small margins.”
Kaspar nodded as she spoke. “Then I practice with the special melons for the next five days. After, I will practice with the plain ones.” She had a fair point—he could not be the first Binder to think of this tactic, though he wondered how many of his peers would focus on creating protections rather than using the melons to make more melons. It was a question for another time—if no one else was doing it, it would provide an edge. If others were… He would need to make sure their team didn’t lose that edge. “We may know more by the Derby. But even if it’s simply turning one melon into two, it still doubles our count.”
Zarina squinted, “Wouldn’t that kind of make the melons too small if we go for double?” her crossed arms unfolded with her right hand drumming its fingers over the wooden surface before her, “... Try making a melon that bursts into flames. Just to test.” a second, uncut melon was rolled toward Kaspar. Zarina watched attentively, leaning forward a little.
Kaspar eyed Zarina, unsure what exactly she wanted with a flaming melon, but obliged. Concentrating, he redid his previous attempt with a slight adjustment—lacing miniscule trails of sawdust and powder into the rind and a little deeper into the flesh itself. Chemical magic set alight one of the trails on the interior, and in a few seconds glowing red lines surfaced on the melon, indicating where the materials burned hottest.
Unanticipated, though, was the heat that would build up, trapped in the rind—and the expansion of the material caused by it. After perhaps fifteen seconds of this burning, the first crack of rind could be heard. Near instantaneously, the pressure of the expansion released with a loud pop, exploding the crafted melon into small bits that shot out in all directions, flinging juice and flesh with pure abandon.
Zarina observed with great anticipation Kaspar’s creation. Being a chemical mage herself, she could begin to distinguish oddities in the melon’s composition, although the details eluded her. But this remark troubled the tall female, prompting her to cross her arms again as she continued to observe. It worked, of course, but it was going to pop. The fire itself caused the little Arlo to retreat in his shelter, and Zarina thought it wise to hide the cage under the table as melon-popping was inevitable. With a quick duck, only her hair would be covered in melon-goop, “... You’re cleaning that.” she emerged, hands passing through her hair to get the debris out, “Now I’m kind of thinking, like … How do they put LIGHTNING into a melon? Is it a chemical process, or is it some sort of special magical storage system that unleashes a spell?”
Kaspar required less thought before answering this time, having encountered such concepts in study. “Binding magic can create stored spells in objects to be activated later,” he offered, continuing, “It is typically a little higher-skilled, and triggered by both drawing from the object and speaking a command word. Theoretically, though I’ve not learned personally, a nuanced Binder with perhaps some other specialties could store a spell using this basic method and a different type of trigger. Usually, too, the object is consumed, but… If the melon itself is not the triggering object, or the mage is quite skilled, this might not be the case.”
A lot of words came from Kaspar, giving Zarina time to give her hair a proper scrub and a chemical cleanse, “So what you’re telling me is it’s pretty damn hard and would need some big knowledge.” a third melon was rolled over toward the budding Binder. Yes, she had stocked up for this occasion, “Make one, even if it kind of sucks. Try … A lightning spell, actually. If you need someone to cast one, I can help.” then she paused and tilted her head, “Wait. Isn’t that touching the realm of the not-so-legal binding sort of magic you may have informed me about, hmm?”
Kaspar shrugged, pausing for a moment. “The Promises of Aun-Shune and Shune-Zept are well-established binding magics. The legality would likely be much more tied to the stored spell itself.” As he spoke, he grasped the melon and began to focus, trying to tie in the capability for holding a spell. Nodding towards Zarina, he indicated her turn to cast her choice of lightning spell into the target.
At first Zarina seemed just about ready to unleash a flurry of electricity from her fingers but she quickly snapped out of her delusion, “Okay, one sec.” she got off her seat and went to seize her prized obsidian shamshir, Il-Kabus, and began to run her digits through the flat surface of the blade, “Yeah, uhm, be ready. This is lightning after all.” she warned before wordlessly thrusting her blade in Kaspar’s direction, causing a weak bolt of electricity to lunge and strike whatever was in its way. It definitely wasn’t enough to critically hurt anything, but failure could lead to burns and a toasted melon!
Kaspar shifted so he wasn’t between the melon and the dark blade as lightning emitted from it, striking the melon directly. A bit of the energy arced off, unable to be held by his spell, and left small singes in the wood of the table. One found its home in the gold ring on his left hand, something he had not had the foresight to remove. The shock was minor, though the skin beneath was somewhat branded and the boy exhaled sharply at the pain. Satisfied that all the energy was contained, he pulled his hands back and quietly twisted off the still-hot jewellery, setting it on the table and sparing only a short glance to the circle of red on his hand. Just a minor burn, not properly cooked—something that wouldn’t be difficult to fix.
Zarina blinked at what she was seeing. The poor lad had burnt himself doing this operation and she hadn’t even gone full force, “Okay, I’ll admit, maybe lightning was a bit ambitious as a first attempt.” she raised her hands in concession after having dropped her catalyst onto her mistreated table.
He gave the melon a moment to settle, this time having the intelligence to undo the gold necklace that rested just below his throat. Satisfied that he was less likely to be roasted now, the boy reached out, touching the melon, and drew a little. “Gå, melon,” he spoke in Eskandish. He felt the electricity creep up his skin, markedly less powerful than it had been. Like static, the hairs along his arm prickled and raised, expending the spell Zarina had cast, but… weaker. Brows furrowing, the boy concluded that his magical container—in whatever capacity it existed was simply too small or too porous. More work would be needed.
Zarina’s focus was on the melon itself: What did it smell like? Was it deformed? Overcooked? It was important to get it right, so as to keep the smell of a melon but also keep the energy of a spell within to make it more alluring to creatures that also drew energy. “At least it didn’t blow up this time.” she remarked, walking over to Kaspar’s side of the table to get a closer look of the fruit, “... Because that’s a two thousand-pointer, my dude.” she gave a congratulatory tap onto the binder’s shoulder. He had made a good first attempt, after all.
Kaspar nodded in agreement with his observations, a quick glance toward the hand on his shoulder before refocusing on the deformed melon. “It would perhaps be better to make the vessel a small object on or in the melon, or a thin coating of something. Less likely to damage the melon in the process. I… do not know if they were accept counterfeit melons of a higher point variety, but when we obtain any… I will be sure to leave them untouched, just in case.”
“I heard there was something like that, actually. A thing they keep inside to recognize some melons.” Zarina added to Kaspar’s proposal, essentially agreeing with him, “I do think it’s best we stay cautious. The dragons,” she peered down at the cage, with Arlo only sporadically peeping out, “will handle the bigger values. You will be our fallback with the commons, plus a potential decoy for other teams. We should maybe even preemptively make some with some intel, scatter them and make sure their smell is something the dragons want to avoid.” she smirked, raising one leg over the other.
“Will you be okay, love?” she nudged her chin toward the lad’s hand, taking notice of his wound, “Hate to see you beat up before the trial even begins!”
The hour was used as efficiently as possible when we were speaking of teens and language barriers. Zarina was consistently the one to blather on and let others in on the plan while Olga did her best to unify the ideas with her own team’s strategies with Kol serving as translator for more complex formulation. Yuliya was an important, unifying figure, and yet she would be absent for a time, leaving the squads to find common ground on their own.
“Alright, that’s how we’ll divide ourselves. Olga, Kaspar, Vieri and Khaliun will man the house,” the Virangishwoman’s index then pointed at Jomurr, “You’ll have your red and speedy dragons so you’ll be our scout along with …” she grinned as she saw Kikimoras, “With this handsome fella.” this earned her an enthusiastic “Bep” along with Anna’s happy giggles with simple one-word replies. “I’ll go with Vasily with two three dragons, Yuliya and Kol can take the last two, yeah? Good.” she clapped her hands together just as the missing duo returned.
“It’s showtime. Look alive. Remember, the big goal is to get points, not collect all the shiny ones. We can easily make the top if we remember that.” Zarina announced just as they began to go at it, with her dragons already catching wind of a rare melon nearby, “Of course, get the rare ones if you can!”
The first big fight of team Afraval would be with team Colloy over the earth elemelon. A fight where they’d end with Colloy securing it, but a curious interloper named Penny seizing the opportunity presented. A chaotic battle ensued with Marljin nearly escaping with the melon for herself and Vasily barely catching her. However, a wave of cold hit both of them hard. A tall figure wearing a parka picked up the Eskandish runner and casually hurled her to the lake after claiming the melon. Vasily froze and just watched the all-powerful being grin in his direction.
"Wanna make a deal?”
A lot had happened between losing the Supreme and narrowly missing out on the earth melon, and after retreating to the Afraval home for the remainder of the third hour, Zarina emerged with a determined look. There were no dragons with her - they needed some rest after all the mess they've been through - and she was off to search for something that definitely wasn't a melon. Scouting the walls of Ersand'Enise, she sought out a being that stood out among even among the Gods that walked this land. His chilling aura was impossible to miss, and soon she would attempt to be granted an audience with the Ice King himself.
It took Zarina an entire half hour to find him. He had covered an entire section of the wall in frost, but it had been outside and, strangely, there did not appear to be signs of an energy draw. He sat there, perfectly still as she drew closer, making no secret of her approach. With startling suddenness, he turned, smiling with his wide wide mouth and perfect white teeth. His eyes, where they peeked out from under his hair, were upside-down crescents. "Been waitin' for you,” he said, voice disarmingly casual.
It was so cold and yet the sun was still up, coating Zarina with what was supposed to be its warmth. Luckily, she could still draw from it and generate her own warmth, but still, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience for a Virangish. Soon, she found him, as tall and monstrous as she remembered him. That smile in particular - It just didn’t seem quite human. Still, there was a big difference between her demeanour and Vasily’s. She did not falter or recoil into defensive postures, and instead set her hands on her hips as she tilted her head up to stare the parka-man right at the near-lidded eyes, “Really? That’s … I want to say weird, but I guess some girls would find that charming.” she replied, returning a cheeky grin to the frosted enigma.
“I just heard of your deal with my Vossoriyan Colleague.” she started, peering over toward the direction of the city where her home base was, “Little shits doing you wrong, and you’re willing to give up a melon to get back at them.” she chuckled, “And I thought I had a bad temper.”
"Justice,” he practically hissed, "not 'temper'. Justice.” His smile fell away and he looked at her with his wide blue eyes. "This world is pretty short on that, I think.” There was an uncertain certainty in his voice. "Now, you're not here 'cause you wanna chat.” The smile was small and toothy now, and he seemed like some great cold cat looking for a mouse. "So, if I'm the devil, what's your deal?” His eyes flicked out over the city with a brief flash of eagerness.
Justice. Zarina did not expect that at all. This caught her enough off her guard that she was left blinking a few times in reaction, "I can't say I disagree." she replied back, turning her head again to face the city as he did, though she didn't share the eagerness. Not yet anyway. "Like you, I- My team and I have been wronged." she said with confidence, "Strong-armed by people with far too much power, over the flimsiest of pretexts. Seriously, one tried to douse me in chemicals over a practical joke." she scoffed, "I want to level the playing field. And make a point that neither I, nor my team, are to be fucked with." she then turned her head back to the titan a few meters away from her, "So, I came to ask you for help. The same way you helped my friend. Which would involve kicking this unholy alliance hoarding the supreme melon down a notch." she nudged her chin forward, facial expression neutral and lips pursed to dampen them after being exposed to the cold air, "And what does the devil want in return? More assholes put in their place?"
The boy, a peer in age and, while tall, not as imposing as his moniker might have made him out to be, still exuded... something. He gazed intently at the city, his eyes pausing on where a dozen future leaders had battled ferociously for a fruit some forty minutes earlier. It was so funny! Inexplicably, it made him start laughing. He laughed and laughed, though it was not hysterical, he did not double over. He just... kept laughing. "Sorry,” he announced, smiling the girl's way. "I had a thought. That was all.” His eyes were slitlike again in his amusement.
"Anyhow, the devil wants you to flip a coin.” He produced one in his palm. Both sides were the same. "Pick,” he said, taking her hand gently and placing it in her palm. "Heads or tails.”
Zarina was just staring at the hysterical lad not too far from her. At some point she even felt almost obligated to force a giggle. Thankfully that eventually stopped and she could actually let out a genuine titter, "All good."
With her hand taken, her heart actually skipped a beat. There was still something unnerving about this individual, even if in the end his demeanour didn't suggest any sort of hostility. The coin was held between her index and major fingers, only to notice a lack of differing sides, "Huh." she cocked a brow with a playful smirk, "Alright I'm game, heads." and then she flipped it, palm flat to then catch it.
Predictably, it landed on... heads. The Ice King tilted his head to one side. "You knew it would land on heads,” he replied thoughtfully. "Why'd you go along with the farce?”
Zarina kept the coin in her hand, letting it flip between her fingers playfully as her eyes shifted between it and the Ice King, "I asked what the Devil wanted in return. And the Devil said he wanted me to flip a coin and pick a side." she shrugged, "I obliged. You trusted my associate with the melon, I'll trust you'll deliver your side of the deal if I play along." she smirked playfully once more, "Can't make these sorts of deals without being good faith actors, yeah?"
"But if I'm to be fully honest," she closed her hand around the coin, "I was just super curious to see where this would lead, Ice King. Do your friends call you that too?"
He merely grinned at her question. His eyes met hers briefly with a tilt of his head, but there was no answer. Wind stirred the lick of yellowish hair that stuck out from his parka and he turned back to face the city, eyes roving across it. "I'll see justice done,” he decided. "The justice that I ask for in return is simple and absolute, as all justice is: the next person you encounter under bondage, you will free them, no matter who they are or what the cost. Do you agree?”
Zarina chuckled and nodded at the lack of response from the Ice King. It was to be expected, and so she turned her attention to Ersand'Enise as well with her idle hand pressed to the frosted stone before her. She wondered what could pass through such a peculiar being's mind when he so consistently watched over the city. Then came the cost, and one that had Zarina's mind running. Slavery, indenture servitude - A normalcy in her life, and yet now a touchy subject that ushered in the ugly of the Refuge mixed with the rationalizations inherent to her origins. Was this deal worth the cost? Zarina was not brilliant enough to consider all the facets here, but in the end she had to give an answer.
"Yes. I agree." she turned her head to face his. No more cheeky smiles, the contract was signed and she will have to deliver, one day. No matter the cost.
He held out his hand, smile gone, and there was not so much as an inkling of mirth or, for a moment, even so much as movement. Within his great jacket, one could not even see his chest rise or fall, though his breath let a frosty sort of steam. "I know which teams you want me to hurt,” he stated. "Who among them first?”
Zarina exhaled from her nose and contemplated the question, "We can start with the team that wronged me. The one with the four eyes." she chose, "No need to, well, hurt them." she clarified, the recent thoughts having had a bit of an effect of her volatile mood, "Ass kicking without rule breaking." she felt a strange need to clarify that, "The next with the supreme ..." she paused for a moment, and then chuckled to herself, "I actually have an idea."
"Speak,” he commanded. "I am hearing.”
She gestured for him to come closer, and she leaned in to whisper, as if greater beings could hear them. Given who she was talking to, this may not be all that farfetched.
The Ice King planted a kiss on her forehead, out of nowhere. It was... cold, as one might expect. Then he backed away, smiling. "JUSTICE,” he agreed, gathering a fantastic amount of energy and leaping free. He rocketed away into the distance.
Zarina blinked. This definitely caught her off-guard. But then came the final salute, which prompted her to shake her head in laughter, "What's with me and these crazy, crazy superhumans." maybe she was developing a type.
On a bench near the Cathedral, Zarina was peacefully witnessing the upcoming chaos that the frosted calamity was to usher in. One leg over the other, Zeno Bucks cup in hand and little snowflakes sticking to her hair from the King's arrival, it looked as though she had no worry burdening her at this point, "Ahhh, hot or cold, Justice sure tastes kinda good. Or is that revenge? Oh well.'' She sipped some of her hot café au lait and continued to watch while eyeing the Firebrand abode from time to time. The Afraval house had the loose order to keep tight security, although they were their own individuals and could do what they thought was right.
Marching down past the side of the Cathedral was a squad of eeaiko marching, their arms pumping up and down as they called cadence as they marched in Avincian, believe it or not.
”We like melon, we like gold!" The five of them chanted in unison but Yaufin was at the head of the small column leading the other four while his trusty companion Eek bounced around happily on all six of his appendages.
Yaufin continued with the verse solo, "Eeaiko are on the roam!" The five joined together and repeated, ”Eeaiko are on the roam!" They continued as they turned the corner and marched. ”We want your melon, we want your gold!" "Better be smart or be scold!"
Eek, having been the team's mascot and well nose of the team had caught something interesting in his senses just ahead. A human that reeked of an interesting smell of coffee and perfume. He bound on all six legs in a sprint, long tongue dangling out of its open mouth, smelling the trail in the air that led right to Zarina. Eek naturally huffed and puffed through his mouth while his tongue darted around, pulling in closer to the coffee with great interest, even willing to hop up his frontal half up on Zarina to get closer!
What was this amusing little fanfare playing behind the sounds of destruction and chaos? It was upbeat and resonated so well with the feelings that ran through Zarina as she witnessed Justice be delivered in all its cold ruthlessness. Her attention deviated from the two star hours of the hour and focused on the group of fish people she had only noticed in passing. But now they were here and quite the sight to behold - And a tune to admire too! The way she had turned her head left a consistent blindspot for Eek to capitalise on Zarina's intrigue.
"Oh my!" she wasn't quite startled as the aquatic beast wasn't exactly being discreet, but a little gasp of excited me escaped her when she saw that thing, "Who. Is. THIS handsome lad?!" she made sure to keep the coffee at a distance while the shrimp dog attempted to hop onto her with at least a couple of his limbs, "Hey, hey now!" she presented her index finger right before his eyes and took on a tone of authority, "If you wanna taste, you gotta be a good boy now!"
Yaufin and the rest of the team came to a halt as Eek attacked a poor meeiko. "Eek! Hakkani wah!" He hollered running over to where Zarina was. Eek had gotten his command and eased off, plopping down in a laying positon, curling his limbs right next to himself much like a cat would. He watched with a vested interest as Yaufin finally caught up. "Sorry you have no melon." He spoke in the meeiko language. "We train Eek to be better than that." He explained before turning to his shrimpy companion and blew air through his teeth, making a hissed whistling sound. An eeaiko scolding sound which Eek understood, lowering his head but not taking his eyes off of the coffee Zarina had.
Zarina perked up at the call made by the Eeiako owners, "Eh, no worries. First time I see an animal liking coffee, though." she chuckled whilst peering down at the submissive beast, "I guess you guys don't get much of that where you're from?" she took another quick sip from her cup before presenting the beverage to Yaufin, "Feel free to try. On me." she flashed a friendly smile to the fish person, "I also trained a few creatures to sniff melons. Very hard thing to do."
Yaufin and the others eyed the hot beverage, heads turning and tilting in interest. He finally took the offered cup and took a sip. "Lak!" He exclaimed, shaking his head while passing the cup to Tiakah without a second thought. Tiakah took a sip and made a similar sound although she didn't shake her head. She passed it Memaru who then did the same and so forth until Wenkak handed it back to Zarina.
"So much hot. Taste like something we know. Better ice cold." Yaufin spoke, not just to Zarina but to the others as well. They five of them all collectively sounds, different, but they all sounded in agreement. "What is?" Memaru being the most curious about what they just drank.
"Coffee, with milk." she answered plainly after gauging the responses. Zarina actually seemed amused by their reactions, as if she expected it. Most people didn't like coffee the first time around. She would then lower her cup and shake it a little to get Eek's attention, "Hey, Eek," she probably didn't pronounce it perfectly, "want some?" she held the cup as to not let it tip over if he did taste it, "Cold coffee ... Maybe if it was made very cold, not just lukewarm, it could maybe be good, yeah?" she pursed her lips and nodded at the thought, "Like a sort of dessert, you think?"
"Korffee" "Koffee" "Cawfee" They all tried the new meeiko word to see how it sounded. They were all learned in meeiko speak since no meeiko could speak eeaiko fluently... Their language relied on too many clicks and unique vocalizations so it was much easier for the more friendly eeaiko communities to just learn meeiko speech.
"Ice coffee." Memaru spoke, bowing up and down in an exaggerated nod. She gasped suddenly and the team looked at her. "Takats dip in ice coffee." The team all gasped and began bowing up and down in a similar exaggerated nod. "Coffee takat may be good!" Yaufin added and the team continued to nod.
Meanwhile Eek perked up and shot his tongue into the offered cup hastily and due to the small tongue, felt it was too hot and instantly retreated. He gurgled twice, spurring the offered drink with a turned head.
Too hot for the doggy too. Zarina sighed and opted to exact the innovative idea of just freezing the stuff, or at least getting it cold enough. "Takat? What's that?" she inquired, a bit mesmerized by the near-synchronized choreography of nods going on here. It got to the point where it was almost contagious and Zarina found herself caught in the hysteria, "Maybe this is better? I made it colder." she offered up the drink, "So, wait, you guys actually live in the water?"
They turned to Memaru when Zarina asked the question as she had brought it up and an explanation was required. That was typical in eeaiko culture. "Takat is good. We make together with sugar and sweet. Big and stretchy!" Memaru threw her arms out wide, shaking them before snapping together like the was a glob of gum that pulled them back together. "Eeaiko grab and pull to eat."
The offering for colder coffee had caught their interest. They passed it around although this time each chirped ”Hah!" before going back to a few exaggerated nods in agreement. They liked it.
"We live with water." Wikooroh replied after taking his drink and offering it back to Zarina.
Very little of the drink was left, so it would be offered to Eek as consolation for the likely stinging tongue, "Ahhh, with sugar, huh?" an opportunity, "I'd love to try Takat, actually. Maybe in exchange for ... Maybe a Brioche?" she smirked knowingly.
"Eek is very cute and well behaved, by the way!" she got quite chipper when focusing on the animal, "Is he also typical of where you're from? He does look funny to us, but his personality is just so ... Radiant~"
"Breeo?" "Breeoak?" "Bree...?" They tried that word but with less success. "We trade?" Tiakah piped up, showing interest as she had scored quite a few interesting fabrics. Pretty fabrics. Shiny fabrics. Rare though they were. "You give us try of Bree-oo-ke. We give you try of Takat. If we like. We trade."
Eek considered the offered cup. His feathered flaps, twitching as he brought his full nose up to the cup. He couldn't fit his muzzle in but he was close enough to smell and feel if there was heat. There wasn't and he stuck his tongue in swirling it around before withdrawing. He shook his head, remaining uninterested.
"Eek is good." Yaufin began to explain. Eek perked up, his tail flapping up and down patting the ground, believing something good was coming for him. "Eek fastest swimmer. Eek get most food. Eek protect kelp. Good Eek." Yaufin reached down to tickle his feathered flaps with Eek responding with a low-pitched clicks, his eyes closed.
Zarina reached for her messenger bag and ruffled through a few items until she found a leather pouch containing one small slice of brioche remaining. The smell was still strong with a few crumbs falling onto the pavement and Zarina's lap, "Here you go, courtesy of Zeno Bucks~" she flashed a smile as the sweet bread was given.
The cup was then put away in her bag once emptied and she then adjusted her posture as the Eeiako assessed the value of her treat, "Ahhh, so he protects your crops?" she inquired, quite interested. Her hand reached out, hesitant at first, toward Eek, "May I?" she asked, clearly eager to give some scritches to the critter, although that beak looked a little intimidating.
"Zeno Boocks." "Zeno Baucks." "Zeno Buhcks." They all tried the new word on their mouth, finding it rather easy to say. They took the slice of brioche and carefully divided it among themselves, and all ate it. ”Hah! Hah!" They all huffed, seemingly pleased. "Like Takat. Sweet. But not Takat. Soft." Memaru commented and all the eeaiko nodded vigorously.
Yaufin gestured towards Eek, who looked around expectedly between the two. "Yes. You can. Soft touches." He advised and left Zarina the chance to 'pet' the critter as it were. Eeks head tilted, watching Zarina expectedly.
A bit eager, Zarina reached out toward Eek and began to give very light scritches onto the critter's 'ear'. The texture was unique to say the least and the smell far more noticeable from up close and without coffee steam to help mask it, "Who's a good boy? Mmmm?" but it did little to deter this animal lover. And soon, her own natural gift when it came to gaining their favor began to target Eek.
"So, is it good enough for me to try a Takat?" she smiled and tilted her head expectantly, "Oh, and ... Where do you find an Eek, actually?"
Eek remained still, lowly clicking from the attention to really the only externally sensitive part of the armored animal.
"We bring no Takat." Memaru responded though she looked to be considering something. "We can make. Need right material. You part of team. We all make Takat. Big Takat. Good?" The eeaiko all nodded, even looking excited to have a project and to make Takat at that. They all turned to the meeiko, watching her expectantly, unsure as they have never worked with a meeiko before.
The scritches continued, and Zarina tried to get a little creative with the animal. Eventually she got off the bench and just crouched to give both ears an equal amount of affection, "Ooohhhh, you like that, don'tcha bud? Yes, yes, yes!" silly faces ensued.
"Make it together, huh? That's ..." she paused for a moment and then grinned a toothy smile, "An amazing idea, actually. Would you be fine if I brought maybe a friend along, for that? She is good with making delicious things!"
"Friend? Yes bring. All work together. Eeaiko way." They all nodded but it occurred to Yaufin that they had other things to do. Like finding melons. "Come new day. We make Takat. Here." He pointed to this spot and then turned to start speaking in his native language to the others. They all moved away but not without a ”KuuKuu'' offered in their native tongue, collectively as a farewell.
"Eek. Takkan!" Yaufin snapped and Eek hurried off to rejoin his master by his side. He cleared his throat and began to march with the others following in step. ”Better hide your melons because we come to play." "Better hide your melons because we come to play." "Eeaiko are here to stay!"
”We should just grab the melons from the neighbours, I don’t get this peace.” Vasily scoffed at Vossoriyan as he just finished discussing a sort of union with Ayla under Zarina’s orders, ”They have TWO elemelons. You could probably grab them, Kha.” Khaliun was sitting quietly by him, locking onto a strange energy that had been bothering her for a while. She did not appear interested in entertaining the de factoleader's strategic perspective.
The silence got awkward for the nervous thunderchild, and at some point he’d make what appeared to be a random observation, ”That girl from Vossoriya,” Khaliun perked up just a tad, ”it’s strange that she is here. Few ever leave home, even for this school.” he shook his head, and speaking of the devil, Yuliya came out from the back yard and performed a brief lookout, ”When I think about it … I remember that first name. And those eyes.” Khaliun’s hand emerged from the cloak, fingers idly wiggling in little waves as if she was about to pick something up, ”And with you being put on our team just last month- Is that why you chose this te-” Vasily found it very difficult to breathe, ”Kha-li …”
”When things are uncertain and the stakes high, you always keep your piece, Gredenko.” a hush voice came from under the hood. Khaliun’s fingers hooked, as if she was trying to tightly grasp something on her palm, ”And yet you decide to break silence now of all times.” the thunderchild couldn’t utter a word. His hands seized his throat, although the lock Khaliun had on him was purely internal. He tried to draw at capacity, but each time his energy levels were too high, his body would violently jerk in place to interrupt his focus, ”Olga won’t protect you from me. Nor will I hold back for the sake of this game, Gredenko.”
Vasily was released, leaving him in a coughing fit and a very sore throat, ”Do yourself a favour and avoid even looking at her from this point forward.” she turned to look down at the curled up male Vossoriyan, ”Utter one word even alluding to her family, and I will be taking permanent action.” her still hooked fingers suddenly balled into a fist, prompting a random flower pot in parade street to burst, ”Do you understand?”
Vasily nodded frantically, with the same look he had given to the Ice King once the terms were set. A minute later, Khaliun and Yuliya would be tracing the energy signature, right toward Benedetto …
Justice.
Zarina wanted to see what this Justice, ushered in by a force of nature wearing the body of a boy, would look like. The impression he had left on had completely changed her priorities. It did not seem like she cared about the supreme itself, but rather what would happen once the Ice King would find it. Trypano was stalling, the team was anxiously waiting outside. Something was off, but tunnel vision was strong in this crucial moment.
Benny and Jocasta were long gone, nothing could stop the Ice King as he walked unobstructed in the Mozaru home. “Here.” she called out, and the disappointed Ice King with the plain melons in hand manifested himself at the back of the house where Zarina stood. Just a half-minute remained. It was as if time was still. The Virangish girl stared in anticipation at the calamity’s reaching for what was believed to be a hidden melon. But just as he reached down, a familiar voice called out.
Carmillia stepped onto the lawn, along with Dante. The former held a single terramelon in her hands, smiling beatifically. Then, the Ice King was there. He placed his hands around the melon. "Justice," he said
In the distance was Silas. "It's her!" he shouted. "She has the supreme!"
Zarina, panicked, dashed toward the voice that called out, "Justice!" she huffed! Words echoed in her mind as she exerted herself as much as she could to witness the end. That single phrase she whispered to this God among men just over an hour prior.
“Do what you think is just.”
The Tall, frosty figure looked Silas' way. He nodded. He looked Zarina's way, meeting her eyes. He nodded. "Strength alone does not win this game."
He took the melon from her hands. There was nothing that she could realistically do.
He stood there as the bells began to chime.
Zarina simply nodded. She understood. "If that is what you see as just." she approached the King and then flashed a wink at Carmillia, "Good game." Then, she struck a quick, dramatic pose, "Justice!"
Trypano walks out onto the lawn, small bruise on her cheek and a cup of coffee in her hands. "Care to stay for a cup?" She wore the rare small smile. Zarina turned on her heel and clapped her hands together as she faced Trypano, "Me?" Trypano gave a nod. She meant the Ice King but back in the kitchen was a couple more cups for who remained. With that, she handed over the cup to Zarina. "Of course. As well as anyone else, if we're staying the moment?"
Yuliya breathed once more. She wanted more.. but a moment of clarity struck her as the bells begun to chime. She realized she was in front of others. She returned her hearing, and let out an awkward but obviously bitter laugh, attempting to brush off the previously violent interaction. She shouted in response to Zazzy from the lawn.
"Justice."
Zarina got giddy, "Oh my, don't miiiiiind if I do!" she rushed in, although not before turning to look over at the Ice King. She actually turned back briefly and approached him, "I've uh, got your coin, by the way." she presented the coin between her index and thumb, both faces still the same.
The Ice King smiled. "Strength alone is not Justice." He pressed his right hand to his heart and took the coin with his left. Then, he paused, both his hand and hers on it. "Actually," he said, "you keep it." He smiled. "Good luck in the coming trials."
-Zarina and Kaspar worked to understand how the melons worked to get an edge and train the dragons prior to the Derby.
-Team Pravda and Team Sunbeam make their plans known and get into some trouble for the earth melon, leading to an encounter with the Ice King and a deal to be made with him for the melon.
-Zarina meets with the Ice King to make a deal with him as Vasily spills the beans on the deal. She wants team Luna to be messed with a bit, and leaves the fate of the supreme a secret until the very end. In exchange, she must free the next person she meets in bondage.
-Zarina meets the coastal guardians, and their mascot Eek! They promise to meet again to make their famous delicacy known as ‘Takat’ in exchange for some brioche.
-Khaliun threatens Vasily as he pieces together that Yuliya is the princess. There is no nuance here, she will kill him if he speaks a word of it.
-The Ice King deems it just to let team Mozaru have the melon, and it was the secret request from Zarina that he decides the Justice today. It ends on a happy note!
My first day with the little blueberry. What a mess! I thought the blue ones were supposed to be cute and obedient. But then I forgot this was a wild creature. Damn! This is going to be harder than I thought, especially with all the babysitting I’ll be doing with the other ones on the team so I can train them all. This little one has been hiding the whole time in the little house I made for him, and when I open the cage, he cheeses it! Clearly, this isn’t love at first sight!!! New strategy: He’s gonna only eat when I’m around with the cage open. That’s how I got that stray cat to like me enough once. I really liked that cat. Mother didn’t. I was thinking of a name for a while. I gave up on a meaning, just want something that sounds nice. So, why not Arlo? It just fits the blue colour. Also, he’s just SO CUTE!!!!!
The beginnings went alright. Every afternoon I’d pick up the dragons to supervise and train. The blues were surprisingly easy to handle! Tactically placed scritches did the trick once they got comfy with me being around. The Grape was feisty, but easily pacified with food. Nearly bit my finger off. Not as clever and cute as the blues, but also such an easy baby. The reds can suck my ass. Fuck these fat shits. Sometimes they’re a-okay with tummy rubs, other times I need a binder for my arm! And I’ve had them steal from my kitchen more than once! Assholes. It’s gonna take FOREVER for me to get this going anywhere. I need something extra, like that thing we’re learning at school. What’s it called again? Oh yeah- Magic! Thank the Six for Sienna Afraval, got me in a good spot to actually learn the stuff. I wonder what bottle I should bring next time …
Assani 19th
Location: Sienna Afraval’s Home Day of the week: Lepdes Time: 3:30 HO Characters: Zeno Afraval @Force and Fury, Zarina
The week following the events of the St. Agustin Refuge had left Zarina in a slight crisis of identity - one she had kept under wraps without arousing any suspicions. She had a slight understanding of her situation, that the magic she used resembled something that ran commonly in her family and yet the only examples she truly had of it weren’t enviable. Guidance was necessary and pride wasn’t going to get in the way, although she was careful to ensure her colleagues wouldn’t be around when she’d come by her Zeno’s residence for some orientation.
As usual, the door was unlocked for any of Sienna Afraval’s students to step in and conduct academic work with her supervision. It wasn’t uncommon for students to hang out - usually after doing some actual work - making it a sort of common room after a long study day. Instead of taking a seat, the Virangish teen stood stiff at the centre of the study room, awaiting her teacher’s acknowledgement of her presence. She was wearing a dark, trumpet-sleeve satin dress with her hair tied and her face mildly caked in makeup. Over her left, flexed arm was a Virangish handbag, big enough to hold a couple of large and round objects.
“I suppose I could let you keep doing your best statue impression for a little longer,” the zeno addressed her after a little while, not yet looking up from her work. “You fairly bleed discomfort into your surroundings, Zarina.” Now, she finally twisted to regard her student. “What can I help you with?”
“Sitting and crunching numbers all morning will get me to do that, yeah.” Zarina answered with a titter, her posture relaxing a little now that her teacher addressed her, “Well, Ms. Afraval,” she began to pace toward the nearest surface where she could post her bag and then leaned her shoulder against a wall, arms crossed, “I’m afraid I’m in a bit of an academic orientation conundrum. I was hoping you could help enlighten me.” her voice lacked the usual sarcastic or playful intonations she’d have even with authority figures. It was all to-the-point, “It involves my initial choice of magic schools. Recent events have brought me to believe I should reconsider them.”
Sienna scowled. “You want to switch your courses now? This far into the year?”
“Yes.” Zarina answered bluntly, “I’m not afraid of the workload.”
“I’m inclined to approve it,” the Zeno replied after a quiet moment, “but ‘inclined’ doesn’t mean ‘yes’.” She forestalled any premature celebration. “It’s a lot of work and, though I know you can handle it, I would like to know why.” It was clear that Zarina now had the Torragonese’s full and undivided attention.
Zarina considered her words carefully, for she wasn’t exactly known for her silver tongue. Her lower jaw shifted side to side and her gaze peered downwards, “Uhm, how to explain it …” her eyes return to her teacher’s form, “I’m fairly certain I’ve been mistaking my questionable binding skills for something else.” she admitted, bracing herself for remarks, “But I’ve come to realise I’m actually not too bad at what I’ve been doing anyway. So … Why not explore it further?”
“Mmm,” murmured Sienna, crossing and then uncrossing her legs. “Mistaking Chemical for Binding, right?” She quirked an eyebrow. “You got me.” Zarina raised her hands in surrender.
“It’s funny,” the zeno snorted, “they specifically told us to watch out for that one during training. Your first Zeno should’ve caught it, to be honest.” She pursed her lips disapprovingly. “Who were you with again?”
“Maybe I’m just that good at it.” Zarina lowered her hands to cross them. She smiled at her teacher, and a shit-eating grin it was, “Uhm, it was that super chill one - Born-on-Solstice. Or Sunny. I guess. She was nice.”
“Hah!” barked Sienna. “Should’ve figured.” She smiled knowingly and rolled her eyes. “Sunny’s a lovely person and a damned good mage, but maybe not the sort of person who knows how to say ‘no’.” She let out a giggle. “Her sister and I - that’s Luna - always used to try to get her to say it when we were biros.” The zeno was wearing a shit-eating grin of her own. “Part of it was the language barrier - she was still new here - but she always used to say ‘not yes’.” There was another giggle. “Oh Dami, I have stories. One time, when I was a bit down, she told me to ‘find your inner butterfly’. Great at making you feel better; terrible at real advice.”
Oh fun, stories and good moods, Zarina was happy to see where this was going. So much so she slowly slithered into the comfort of the couch her colleagues would usually sit on to study together. It was comfortable, very soft, probably terrible for the back, “Y’know, you gotta keep these friends close. The feel good ones. A lot are taken for granted, because you’re right, it’s all just feelings talk.” she could use some wine right now, “But fu- ahem, Eshi, am I sick of people trying to explain things logically when I feel like shit. I just wanna be told it’s all gonna cool, embrace your inner pink. Or something.” she snorted, “Luna’s the one that’s a tad scary-looking, right?”
“It was a phase,” Sienna sighed, lips closing into a petite smirk. “She thought it’d make her look cool and mysterious and - not gonna lie - it kinda did. Thing is,” she continued, “She became so well-known for it that when she tried to stop wearing the makeup, nobody knew who she was.” She smiled at the memory. “Now she just takes it off when she doesn’t wanna wear her ‘teacher’ hat. Anyways,” Zeno Afraval stood and straightened her dress a little bit. “You wanna have some wine and cheese, I’m game, but let’s do your forms first. You’ve got them, right?”
“Yep.” right on cue, Zarina whipped out the dossier with all the information of her enrollment and new forms to go with them. It did cost more than she’d expected. With a little bit of Kinetic magic, she had the whole thing drift over to Afraval, “So you had a goodie two-shoes, happy-go-lucky type, and a mysterious edge-dark type. What fun niche did you fill, Ms. Afraval?” she smirked, head tilted ever so slightly to the left.
“Look in the mirror, sweet cakes.” She grinned. “Now, think you can hold it still in midair while I sign?” She raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Wouldn’t want me to mess up the ol’ seal of Afraval, wouldja?”
Grinning confidently at the challenge literally dangled before her, Zarina straightened her sitting posture and pointed both index and major fingers from her right hand to keep the document steady. Jocasta’s teachings were being applied, albeit on a far lighter specimen with little external influences such as vertigo - Although there was some pressure to be felt, and it couldn’t be half-assed, “What you’re saying, as I look in the mirror, is that you also managed to mess up Binding and Chemical? Heh.”
“Only two schools I never cared about, hun.” She put the finishing touches on the paperwork. “Nice gravity looping by the way. Good thing you’re in Kinetic too. Now, this should handle it.” She gathered the forms up and handed them back. Leaning forward, she squinted outside. “Balthazar’s open for about another half-hour, I’m guessing. Hurry, and you might be able to make it.”
“Thanks.” Zarina stored the new documents back into her overcrowded bag and stood up, “Want me to stop by the cheesemaker and nab some goodies? And by goodies I mean cheap wine.” she closed her handbag and glanced at her Zeno, expecting an answer.
“Sweetheart,” Sienna replied, posting a hand on her hip. “Look who you’re talking to. I don’t do cheap wine.” Her coinpurse floated over and a magus removed itself. She was so approachable that it was sometimes easy to forget that Afraval was the royal house of Torragon, even if she was but a distant branch on that mighty tree. “Go get something respectable.” The coin sailed through the air and landed in Zarina’s outstretched palm. “Now don’t just stand there lookin’ at me.”
“Well damn.” she blurted out at the mere sight of a magus floating about. She had seen priceless pearls and hills of scales that could match this value easily, and yet it was always surprising to see folks casually whip out such values. She caught the coin and dexterously let it flip between her fingers, “Top shelf, got it. Red? White?” as she placed these options she was already power walking out, essentially threatening a potential rosé if the Zeno didn’t decide.
“Get us a nice Verdejo… or two.” She paused as Zarina was standing in the door. “Swing by Sunny’s too.”
Shopping List:
Tomatoes
Grapes
Melons
Apricots
Chicken thigh
Salt
Sesame Oil
Update: Little shit Grape caused a small fire and burned the few papers I had left. No choice but to use this notebook for my grocery list. Jomurr’s gotta lear Applied a reward system for retrieval of melons: Reds are the best at tracking them, so if they point in the right direction, they get a reward. They kind of just hiss when they smell the goods. Blues kind of suck at actual tracking, but if I send them in the right direction, they can Grapes —-- than blues, but don’t seem to care what. Training to favour melons is … A work in progress. Reward —- d a tinge of magic akin to what I used to poke in the heads of the an– Torragon. That, too, is a work in progress. Still, even the Reds are liking it!
Note: Burned the pages too. ESHIIIIII!!!!!!!
Zeno Bucks is Celebrating the Melon Derby, and YOU are invited! With melons from the derby, you can win yourself free STARS on your Zeno Bucks Cup! These are special, limited edition GOLD Stars that will remain on your cup forever and valid for prizes after the Trials!
10 Melons = 1 Star 5 Large Melons = 1 Star 3 Very Large Melons = 2 Stars 1 Elemelon = A Special Prize! 1 Fake Melon = You Don’t Wanna Know!
Just under a week away from the Derby. Good progress. Stressed over results. Kaspar provided interesting copies of the unique melons. Tried to have the dragons differentiate them. Middling results. Issue: The items inside don’t emit anything until touched by magic. Only the Reds can sort of sniff out the strange melons and I try to reward that. I guess the reds are like that Froabas we took down - can sniff out stronger energy source to consume. The Blues can detect the bigger melons if close, but the elemelons are a problem since they’re generally the same as regular melons to them. Will need reds to point and it falls on us idiots to find. When the very big ones were activated, all the little dragons lost their shit and went for it. Can be good. Can cause issues. Smells good.
After a long day of classes, Zarina returned home to resume her dragon training regime. Riesco was tended to first and even prepared as she had no intentions of walking all over town. However, just as she was ready to go, Arlo looked up at her from her dining table and simply uttered an adorable ”Mep.” with large, focused eyes that closed with scritches.
“Awww. Mep.” she replied, engrossed by the sight, “Mep.” the critter continued, a change from the usual chirps and clicks, “Mep.” they were stuck in a loop for a while.
I was twenty minutes late for training. Oops. Tomorrow is the big day. These little scoundrels make me proud. Arlo now has the cage open all day and hangs on my shoulder sometimes. But often he’s on my head and tugs on my hair. That hurts! I didn’t actually train them and instead rewarded them with a little feast I made of different fruits I could get. Arlo loves Peaches. So I got him a few slices, and stored a few for tomorrow. Gotta be sure my associates have the proper rewards for the little ones. I hope all the chaos won’t be too much on them. I know Arlo will be scared, but I’ve yet to see how the others handle it. Here’s hoping!
Velles 4th
Location: Ersand’Enise Day of the week: Victendes Time: An hour before the Melon Derby Characters: Jomurr @Force and Fury, Kaspar @Wolfieh, Vieri @jdh97, Yuliya @Suicharte, Zarina
The guest teams from other schools had entered the fray and many stood out. Some for their notoriety, others for the stunning display of power they immediately flexed. Some were simply very peculiar such as the sea people with a Sea Dog - A Sea Dog? Very little could captivate Zarina more than such a bizarre creature. Luckily, something even flashier would come along to sweep the girl off her animal-loving feet.
Some well read individuals called it a Great Wulluweid, but the term “Murder Penguin” became far more familiar to the leyman for a reason. Many eyes were on the monster of an animal that slowly waddled behind a team of five, all seemingly dressed for the cold, apart from maybe two.
”It’s warmer than I thought. We dressed up for nothing.” the tall, dark haired teen standing before his team uttered in his mother tongue, looking a tad exacerbated, ”Heh, now you know how it feels to overdress. Woe is me.” replied the one hidden in pale armour that nearly covered his whole body. A chuckle resonated out of his helm and the gear didn’t seem to hamper his movements at all.
Among them stood out one member that hid the entirety of their features and moved in an unnatural manner - like they were not actually walking. Those that had seen Jocasta levitate before could recognize this sort of movement. They wore but a white cloak and their eyes barely shined through the shade of the hood. As the group was chattering and open season was declared on teams, the hooded enigma immediately twisted toward Yuliya direction and appeared to narrow the two orbs that barely reflected light. A gloved finger pointed right at the blonde Sanguinaire’s direction before the Vossoriyan team approached.
”Khaliun, I don’t think that’s …” Vasily hesitantly reached out without taking any action. His hesitation brought Olga to seize the initiative, ”We go, Vasily.” she gave his shoulder a shove to get him going as she beamed down at the indecisive leader. Following behind Khaliun, Olga was second to greet the team, meeting Kaspar with a hand extended to him, ”Hello. I am Olga. You look for team, yes?” the tall girl - slightly less than Zarina - beamed down to the pale bloodchild with a big smile on her face.
Khaliun still awkwardly tilted their head over toward Yuliya, now being an arm’s range of her. Wordlessly, she offered her hand the same way Olga did. ”I think we can make good team, Khaliun is good uhhh -” he tapped his nose, ”nose for this, da.” he claimed as he approached Jomurr, the tall male that definitely looked like the leader, the same way Vasily was dressed for the occasion. Even if his line of nobility was remote, Jomurr could likely discern some traits and mannerisms that placed Vasily into such an exalted status. Like Olga, he offered his hand.
”Hi there, friend! Team up?” Kol’s Avincian seemed a little less broken than the others’, although the accent remained strong. His armour made him look almost taller than Vasily, although not by much. His big, metal hand was extended toward Vieri with his visible eyes indicating a smile that rivalled Olga’s.
Finally came the wrangler of the intimidating beast that slowly followed the group. A small girl with ginger hair and clothes that attempted to simulate the image her peers gave but were clearly “cheaper”. Chipper and full of energy, she offered her hand to Zarina, ”Friend?” she inquired, her Avincian poor enough that she truly couldn’t formulate more than the simplest of phrases. Still, it didn’t stop her from reaching out.
Zarina, on the other hand, was completely taken by the gigantic Penguin the little teen dragged around. The scale of the thing got her to zone out and desperately look for the voice that addressed her, looking down as her last resort to notice Anna, “Oh, by the Dreamer, hello! This is your friend?” she asked, shaking the little lady’s hand while pointing right at the animal with the other. Anna nodded enthusiastically, ”Kikimoras. That Kikimoras!” she also used her idle hand to tap the belly of the beast, ”Hey, Kiki, say hello to our new and weird foreigner teammates! And don’t eat ‘em.” she ordered her familiar in Vossoriyan, or rather a dialect that was somewhat close to old Eskandish. Zarina was just in awe, figuring the words were pure gravy if they could command such a magnificent beast. Kikimoras, standing so tall and adamant to the endless uproar in the background, merely peered down the whole time without a single bend of the neck.
Location: Zeno Afraval’s Abode - Some Vineyard outside Ersand'Enise Day of the week: Victendes Time: 4:30 HE Characters: Jomurr @Force and Fury, Kaspar @Wolfieh, Vieri @jdh97, Yuliya @Suicharte, Zarina
A lot of noise could be heard from the cellar below Sienna Afraval’s home. To some it would be cause for worry, but for those of team Sunbeam it was to be expected. Zarina and Marceline had been tinkering with random objects down there for a week now and were now using it as storage space with the blessing of their teacher. The silver lining from this incessant vacarm was the smell of freshly grounded coffee that came with the daily visit.
With Marceline gone, the tall Virangish teen joined the home’s living room with her apron still on and her hair crudely tied into a bun. In her arms were not cauldrons or pans, but a bird cage and a couple of bug nets. Her golden, squinting eyes scrutinised every living participant of a relaxing Zeno-day. Something was coming, and she took her time to announce what machinations were being concocted in that mind of hers.
“... So, who wants to win the melon derby?”
“I take it you have a plan, and don’t just enjoy tired arms?” Vieri said. This still could be some elaborate joke, no matter how earnest Zarina might seem. That was called paranoid thinking.
“Yes.” Zarined replied. One of the nets was hurled toward the one courageous enough to speak up, “And you will be instrumental in exacting this plan.” she smiled.
“I was afraid of that.”
”So, what is plan Zazzy? Don’t think melon fit in cage.” Yuliya spoke, confused. She was sprawled out on one of the chairs furthest from the window, enjoying the shade of the room. The sun of Ersand’Enise had been getting to her recently, but this was a nice reprieve. Besides that, her brain was wracking. Zarina wasn’t the type to walk around with impractical clothing or equipment. There always seemed to be a method to her madness, and she was excited to see what was about to be proposed.
It was Yuliya’s turn to catch a net flying her way, “Oh we won’t be storing melons, Yuli. I’ve got something more … Exciting in mind.” she posed the cage over a nearby surface and slapped her hands together to brush off the accumulated dust, “And yes, I’m aware, I’m purposefully withholding this to draw out suspense. I promise, it’ll be cool.” she paused for a moment, eyes on the Vossoiyan looker, “And by cool I mean awesome. It’s actually getting hotter outside these days. How hot does it get back home, actually?” she asked her blonde friend. Luckily, dusk was approaching.
”Nothing like over here. Much cooler. Hard to move.” said Yuli, exasperated by the climate and fanning herself as she caught the net in her other hand. She could keep her secrets, she was always down for a surprise. She couldn’t wait for the sun to set. Days were longer here and it annoyed her. Longer to feed and longer to walk the streets. “So, anybody have idea? I do not.”
There was something about the sheer… forwardness of Zarina that irked Jomurr, but equally something about her moxie that intrigued him. He had no idea what she wanted with that junk and some part of him rebelled at the thought of meekly going along with her plan, but there was ever a tiresome spark of curiosity in him these days.
From his place on a divan, where he was lounging most luxuriously, nursing a glass of cabernet, Jomurr merely shrugged. “I imagine you’re about to find out,” he ventured, swirling the wine once before taking a sip. “And far be it from me to ruin the suspense.” He winked in Zarina’s direction as if to say, ‘your secret’s safe with me,’ counting on his masterful control of his face to sell the lie.
“I won’t say no to playing along with a well made plan though.” added Vieri.
Jomurr had a wineglass in his hand and the two nets were already distributed, so he lucked out. Zarina did a final head count before clearing her throat, “Well, looks like Red’s gonna miss out.” she shrugged, “Okay, to unravel the first step of my plan.” she twirled on her feet and ended up facing the entrance door of the Zeno's home and opened it, “We’re going to the local vineyard!” she exclaimed in a clumsy display of showmanship, arms gesturing to the outdoors, “And, no, we’re not getting piss drunk to cope with our inadequacies.”
She did not speak for Vieri.
“Why else would go to vineyard? We catch grapes instead of melon? You are such a tease.” said Yuli, pouting jokingly at Zarina. As much as she wanted to hear the answer, she could appreciate the theatrics of the situation. Regardless of that, there was a hint of annoyance at the fact that she would be going out with a net to the fields when she was certainly not dressed for it. At least dusk was coming and she didn’t have to worry about the high noon sun staring her down, but it was still an inconvenience enough to make her want to sigh. And so she did, as she stood up ready to hear her pal’s plan.
“I’ll let you get one guess. What is so interesting in a Vineyard that it’s worth our time?” she kept a toothy grin on her visage as the group followed her lead. Cage in hand and the sky orange from the sun setting, it would take a good twenty minutes for them to get to the edge of the city, and with proof of their tuition in Ersand’Enise they were allowed out, albeit before it got too late, “A small hint, it’s not for the pretty views.” she added, while sticking close to her Vossoriyan friend for idle chit chat and mentions of novel clubs they may have found. This one was a fan of the new girl.
They would eventually get to the location with raisins beginning to mature into blue, Muscat grapes. Everything appeared somewhat normal with nobody in sight, as the field itself was quite isolated with rows of trees surrounding it and a single road brushing East, “Shhhh, don’t wanna spook ‘em.” she said as she began to crouch a little. Some would begin to notice very quick critters flying about and diving into the plants with brief flashes of light emerging from their supposed point of impact. Burning smells were becoming more obvious with frequent clicking noises coming from the rustling grape plants.
‘What the fuck was that’ was the first thing that came to Yuliya’s mind before she saw more of them bounding around. The foliage made it hard to get a clear look, but she did not have nearly as hard a time seeing in the dark as her team members, so she observed. Little wings fluttered in the sunset, and occasionally she would see the fire that spewed from the holders of those wings. She sighed again, knowing what would have to be done. ”I won’t ask why you want them. But I name them when I catch them. And if them burn clothes, you pay.” she whispered only half jokingly, as she began to get into a position better suited for stealth. She’d done this to humans before, but animals were notoriously harder. Especially flying ones. Then again, she didn’t expect things to be easy.
Kaspar wasn’t sure if his apprentice group had noticed him catching up on their way out of Ersand’Enise, but he watched from a few feet behind at the small, swooping dragons. He eyed them passively, watching the small bursts of fire and half-listening to Yuliya’s words. This will be good practice for Varmkorv. Though… the size is inaccurate, he mused, pushing the sleeves of his tunic away from his wrists.
Stepping back and glancing around, he noticed one clinging to a group of grapes just below eye level. Its skin was a little more saturated than the fruits around it. Moving slowly, Kaspar pulled against the small cloth tucked into his vest, gripping it by the edges as he closed in. The dragon glanced up, eyes blinking several times as it seemed to stop, searching for the threat.
The Binding mage was slow enough to evade detection—and fast enough, as his hands darted forward and swaddled the small creature. Calling on his Chemical skills, remembering the way he’d assisted Zarina with the alpha Froabas, he soothed the small creature as it struggled against the bond. After a few seconds it began to calm down, breathing heavily but still in his hands as he cradled it against his chest, unsure what to do now.
His attention was captured by rustling around the bottom of the vines just to his side. Tucking the bundle grape dragon into the top of his vest where it formed a curious lump and peeked out overtop the buttons, the boy leaned down, pulling back the trailing greenery.
A red face and rather rotund body stared at him, before springing towards him. Small but sharp teeth clamped onto his fingers and the boy grunted, pulling back sharply and dragging the drake into the open. He grabbed at its tail, causing the creature to whirl and breathe a bout of flames that licked against his skin, burning the upper layer of skin.
With new determination, Kaspar grabbed it around its bountiful middle, pulling it off the ground and facing away from him as it twisted and snapped. Thrashing, its tail disturbed the vines and sent several groups of dragons scattering loudly away. It also lashed across the noble’s face, leaving several red lines that would fade in a few minutes.
It did, however, throw Kaspar off balance, and he tipped backward to land heavily on the dirt, focus only partially dissuaded from the task at hand—persuading this creature to cooperate. Aided by Chemical Magic, it calmed enough for him to turn around and the two regarded each other with concerningly well-matched pouts. “You are feit og sint. But you do not know these words. Fat and angry, the Avincians would call you.”
Sitting up, another shape slid into view clinging to his bangs. Trying and failing to scramble up his bangs, the small Blueberry Dragon was plucked from the boy’s scalp and seemed to shake in his grasp. It was easy enough to see the thing was afraid. Soothing it with chemicals, the boy stood, now cradling three of the creatures.
Zarina quickly twisted to find Kaspar had actually joined them! And the loud mess he made agitated a few flocks of little dragons, prompting them to take flight. Just as she was readying herself for a catch before most of the critters would retire for the night, Vieri appeared with their own magnificent beast.
“So why are we here, Zarina?” Vieri asked. They were weaving their arms to keep a plump little dragon forever running along them towards their hands.
“Woah. That’s a thick one.” she blinked and leaned over a bit to observe the grumpy creature somehow not mauling its new owner, “We’re here because our first trial involves fruits, and finding them.” she grabbed a raisin from a vine and tossed it over to the raspberry dragon, and it promptly ate the treat, “Am I making sense?”
The dragon carried on along its eternal path. “I don’t think grapes count.”
“... They eat fruits and bugs. Grapes are just readily available in vineyards.” yet another grape is offered to the red, chunky beast, “This is a Raspberry dragon. Notice the lack of raspberries in its mouth!” she said with a toothy grin, content with having this animal around.
“You want to use the dragons?”
Zarina gave Vieri a dull stare, “No, I want to collect them all.”
“How droll. What of each peach, pear, and plum in the city? Or every raspberry? Are you a dragon tamer? A whisperer?”
The Virangishwoman smiled confidently, “Kaspar as my witness - Because he helped me - I tamed an Alpha in the desert! You were there. But, yes, I have an idea on how to train them. Sort of.”
“Sure… I was there…” Could a memory smell of fear? “Do we get to know your idea?”
“Well that’s precisely the idea.” she crossed her arms, “Train them to sniff out specific fruits. These buggers in particular,” she nodded at the direction of the red dragon Vieri had claimed, “have a powerful nose for those. It’s just a question of technique and patience.”
Vieri sunk into silence. That was indeed the question. Vieri just wanted the answer.
Jomurr, meanwhile, was occupied by his own efforts to collect a tiny dragon. He had ample experience with the larger varieties, of course. He had three of his own back home and, soon enough, they would find their way to Ersand’Enise. Though this may have been - literally - a different beast, he went in with wholly-justified confidence…
It was immediately crushed. His attempt to lure one of the little beasts over with a particularly large and ripe grape and some chemical magic resulted in his hair nearly being set on fire. The creature bit at him next, but then it tipped its hand with a predictable stream of fire and, miffed, Jomurr drew it all away and launched it right back, scaring the scaly little devil away.
Already tiring of this fruitless endeavour and, after taking a moment to cast about to ensure that he wasn’t being watched, he pursued a second, his shirt being clawed at before he managed to dodge its flaming breath, lune forward, and… trip on an outstretched root. “Blast it,” he hissed beneath his breath, manain to prevent a faceplant. He whirled on the pint-sized terror and… it landed on his forearm and licked at the grape juice smeared all over it from his near fall. Jomurr blinked. The grape dragon blinked. “Did you really need to make it so hard?” he inquired. He tilted his head to one side. The grape dragon tilted its head to one side.
While the others went off, Yuli had taken her time. There were many dragons in the field, but she had one particular target, a rather chunky specimen adorned with raspberries and lacking wings to fly. Perhaps it was the uniqueness that had caused her to go for it, or perhaps it was the fact it was apart from the others. She’d always been better at going for solitary prey, and today was no different. Slowly, she crept through the bush she’d found this one in, and slowly, she made her move, waiting for the moment it’d be distracted and caught unawares. A few minutes passed before she felt confident, but she quickly snatched it up, dispatching its senses with the ever so handy blood type she’d taken from a friend, and shoving it in the net given to her by Zarina. Perhaps these creatures weren’t as wily as she initially thought. It was heavy, and she thought the net might give way to the struggling at times, but the job was done. She went to rejoin the others, only to find that everyone had caught at least one, and there were more than one of her chunky type specimens. She felt a little deflated that she hadn’t caught some outrageously rare specimen like she previously thought, but perhaps confident that her teammates seemed to be extremely competent.
“Good work! Are fat dragon useful? This one grumpy, I have to turn their senses off to stop it making racket.” she spoke as she emerged from behind the group still keeping somewhat stealthy without even realising it.
“Alright, alright, good job.” Zarina congratulated her team after supervising their approaches, and definitely making note of Yuliya’s peculiar means of keeping control over the beast. “I’ll tell you guys how we’re gonna handle training after I get myself a cutie too.” she rubbed her hands together and posed the cage to let the others put their recent catches in there. It was time for Zazzy to claim her prize, and it seemed most of the little critters had since left. Luckily, some vines were still bustling with activity.
First was a pack of four Grape dragons, and in her confidence she failed to actually catch any with one of her sleeves catching fire and a particularly feisty dragon biting her finger, “Agh shit!” by the time she regained her composure and put out the small flame on her arm, they had flown away. However, the commotion scared a couple of Blueberries that, due to their proximity, reacted with some aggression. Being relatively frail and unaggressive compared to Grapes, the result would be a couple of scratches from and a blue little critter in the cage, put to sleep by Zarina’s potent chemical magic she had arrogantly withheld from using initially, “Eshi …” she huffed before turning her attention toward Kaspar, “Hey, Kaspar. Mind helping a girl out?”
Shifting his grip on the animals he’d collected, the binder made his way to his companion, red eyes already taking in the minor injuries she’d managed to accrue. None of them were particularly large or worrisome, so despite his student status the boy was able to repair them with the Nourishment of Oraff-Zept, a skill he’d only recently begun learning. Leaves disappeared off the vines around them, subtly plucked by his bloodchild Gift and lending their being to become part of the Virangishwoman. “Are there any others that bother you?” he asked, giving a cursory glance to check for obvious wounds.
The process prompted Zarina to briefly hiss, mostly from her expectation of it stinging rather than the healing hurting at all. “All good, thanks bud.” she responded with a grateful nod and a playful wink, “Okay! We've all got our little buggers.” the teen clapped her hands together to get the attention of the group. The sun had set and the sky was getting dark, with all the little critters now gone to their nests, “Plan is simple: I'll babysit them every afternoon. Kaspar here is gonna find ways for us to maybe replicate some higher value melons so I can train these guys better. We'll be discussing strats soon at Afraval's soon. Good?” she didn't give much room for anyone to interject, “Good.”
Team Sunbeam catches little dragons. Some are chunky.
Events: Clothing Commission and The Student Faire Locations: Merchant and Commoner Dormitories, The Faire, Ersand'Enise
Assani 24th
Location: Merchant Quarters - Yalen’s Place Day of the week: Lepdes Time: 2:10 HO Characters: Colette, Isabella, Yalen @pantothenic, Zarina
Zarina had it easy this semester with Lepdes completely free. A long weekend with unfortunately few people to enjoy it with on the first half of the day. But luckily for this restless Virangish entrepreneur, the one Quentic Clergyman she’d likely ever seek out had a free period, and so she capitalised. It wouldn’t be hard for a Tethered to capture the echoes of a familiar voice humming a tune just like the one Jocasta had provided them during their first arrival in Torragon. And if that wasn’t enough to get one’s attention, the three levitating ceramic cups behind the tall figure that simulated her jug from that exact same time frame were there are helpers. The contents were still hot and steaming, just wanting to be enjoyed.
As she stood before Yalen’s door, she began with her usual ‘Tap-tap-taptaptaptap-tap. Tap-tap’, followed by, ”Special delivery for one Mini-Padre.” she announced her presence with a sonorous and playful voice. She was wearing a humble but still quality dark sundress with her hair was damp, likely recently cleaned with a strong odour of lavender permeating her being. A light powdering was done to her face with equal amounts of eyeliner to go with it - She wasn’t trying too hard to look pretty. Her smile, however, lacked the roguish nature she had a tendency to let out with both strangers and friends alike.
The door opened after a short delay, but the face that Zarina may have been expecting did not materialise. A blonde woman appeared in the doorway instead, with a large sword clipped to her waist. Her plate armour was decorated, yet practical, and her indigo blue cape was embroidered with the regalia of the Holy See - the highest Quentic authority on the twin continents. The soldier looked at Zarina appraisingly with her hand resting loosely on her sword hilt.
”Good morning ma’am. To what do we owe the pleasure?” Colette asked, her eyes doing a double take at the sight of the floating coffee set.
Zarina was expecting a lad a tad shorter than what she’d be met with, leaving her golden hues to awkwardly stare down at the mystery-woman’s armour. Surprised, Zarina’s wide eyes darted around various focus points to assess Colette’s figure and making quick deductions, ”Uhm,” she gave particular attention to the sword, ”Hello.” she seized control of her distracted mind when she felt her hold on the cups falter a bit and shook her head. By drawing with the gift, she could sniff out another presence and made some deductions, ”... Yalen, you certainly got prettier.” she grinned a sly, toothy smile as she looked over the knight’s shoulder, hoping to find the young priest, ”Coffee, love?” she proposed one of the three cups to the welcome party.
”That child wishes he could be as pretty as me.” Colette plucked the cup out of midair and took a big gulp, seemingly unphased by the possibility of there being poison in the coffee. ”Thanks for that. If you’re looking for Yalen, he’s inside.” The knightess stood aside to open the way for Zarina. ”He’s concentrating pretty hard though, so don’t startle him.”
The ceramic cup was still quite warm, although far from scalding, and it had a peculiar logo on its otherwise white surface. It was a Zenobucks prototype with the usual green/white colour distribution but the Zarina portrait was quite amateurish. The drink itself was a café au lait with no added sugar, ”Thank you kindly, love.” Zarina nodded at Colette as she entered with the two cups still floating by her. The room was plain, like its owner, and for some reason all the lights were off. Yalen was tucked into the corner at his desk staring at a pile of notes. He was struggling to read his handwriting in the dark, with only a channelled orb of light to serve as illumination.
She knocked a couple of times against the doorframe leading to the room Yalen was studying in as a warning, ”Already deep in homework on a Lepdes morning?” she remarked to make her identity known. The second cup drifted slowly to Yalen’s desk for him to indulge in whenever he wanted to, ”Nerd. How’re you, mini-padre?”
The light ball flickered as Yalen’s already divided attention was made to acknowledge his friend’s presence. He let it sputter out as she approached and got up in a hurry to open the curtains. ”Zarina! Hi! I wish you’d told me you were coming. I could have cleaned up a bit.” The flustered priest scurried around the room picking up various bits of clutter. Some blank papers, an empty bottle or two, books, someone’s underwear… he was quick to toss that last one out of sight. ”Would you like some - wait nevermind, I suppose you don’t need a drink.” He politely picked up the coffee he’d been offered so it didn’t go to waste. ”What brings you here today?”
Zarina chuckled, ”I’ve seen worse. Although then again, I’ve seen rural brothels. Not a great standard.” she reached down to pick up a stray sock and tossed it over to the unseen pile where the underwear supposedly disappeared, ”Well, I’m here to- Actually,” she was back to leaning against the doorframe and looked back to get a glimpse of Colette in the other room, ”I wanted to see how you were doing, but it looks like you’ve got good company. Is she a relative?” she squinted, ”I can see some similarity … Or maybe it’s just her shining armour rivalling your halo of goodness and compassion.” she turned her attention back to Yalen, ”I was also wondering if you were up for a little bit of, y’know, doing that thing friends do in their free time. Which may involve walking and eating. And maybe get Isabella to join us if we can?”
”Oh, thank you for thinking of me. Yeah, Colette has been helping me with various things since I got back. She’s my older sister, though I wish I could say we shared the same parents.” Yalen almost looked sad as he peeked over at the older woman, who was busy rummaging around in his pantry for some unknown purpose. ”I should be practising magic right now, but I’m sure she won’t mind me taking a break if it’s for a friend.” He picked up his book bag and slung it over his shoulder, then poked his head out to holler at his sister. ”Colette! I’m heading out for a bit! I won’t be needing lunch today!” Yalen looked back towards Zarina. ”Isabella’s room is in the common dormitory. Since it’s almost the dismissal period, maybe we can wait for her there.”
They were off, so long as Colette didn’t come down on them, and before long they were outside, ”Have you ever had Thalakan souvlaki, Yalen?” Zarina inquired as she led the way in this friendly excursion.
”I have not. Those are the meat skewers right?” Yalen replied, and Zarina enthusiastically nodded. The sky was clear, the temperature relatively hot for the region and a gentle breeze kept them company.
”Yeah, so, that sister of yours. What brings her here? Is she going Tan-Zeno or something?” Zarina questioned with arms crossed - she leaned ever so slightly toward her blonde friend as they entered a more crowded area between the Merchant and Commons area. There were many small businesses to be crossed, many of which were preparing foods to be sold for luncheon, ”She kind of looked a little more … Extra for a student, though.” she remarked. The cup was brought to her hand and had since cooled down, though she still didn’t drink from it, ”Do you like the cup, by the way?”
”Colette says the city summoned her to bolster the garrison. She’s part of the Century knights. I don’t know who they are, but apparently only one hundred magi can join the unit. I’m guessing they’re pretty strong.” Zarina blinked and quickly inquired, ”Anything to be worried about?” Yalen shrugged in response. ”For us? Probably not. Do you remember the kings from the assembly of thrones? Apparently someone tried to assassinate a few of them, right here in the city. I think we’re fine as long as we don’t aspire to take the crown…” Zarina clicked her tongue, ”Well shit, there go my plans.” she added in jest.
Yalen turned his nose up to sample the aroma of someone grilling sausages. When prompted for input, he bent his head down so he could look at Zarina’s cup more closely. ”I like the color scheme. Is your face part of the appeal? Putting your likeness up for sale?”
Zarina raised an eyebrow, ”You don’t like it?” her tone was as loaded as the question itself. Her free hand rested on her hip and her gaze remained fixed on his being, ”I thought it’d make it, y’know, recognizable. Maybe it could use a little bit of a professional touch …”
”Oh, so your eyes aren’t painted that way on purpose.” Yalen looked somewhat relieved. ”Well if you aren’t selling yourself as an art piece, what is it for then?”
”Hmmm.” she gave the cup a good look and frowned, ”Yeah, the eyes are actually a bit off. Hmm, actually …” a little more high-intensity staring followed before she made up her mind, ”Eh, it’s fine. But, no, not art. I appreciate the notion, though.” they were nearing the mentioned Thalakan establishment with the smell of cooked chicken reaching both of them, ”It’s a sort of emblem or crest for a little business idea Marci and I came up with. Just got the cup part of it nailed down, which was one of the harder parts.”
”A business! How amazing, I had no idea you were preparing something like that. I think Isabella is better with a sewing needle than a paint brush though. What did you need her for?” They were now approaching a surprisingly long line of people waiting for skewers.
”Dami give me strength …” she groaned at the sight of the line. The smell was just so alluring and the tummy gurgles were just starting, ”You talk as though I just wanna hang out with you two to get something.” she put up a vexed look but her growing smirk made the jest more obvious, ”But I was thinking that having some custom clothing for our brand could be a good idea. So, why not ask the pro, y’know?”
”You have a point. We’ll see how much she warms up to the idea though. She’s already given up one of her free periods for more magic training.” Zarina sucked in her cheek and pondered for a moment, ”... You gotta be a tad insane to take three magic courses. Right?” Yalen nodded. ”She has a lot of catching up to do though.”
It took several agonising minutes of waiting and shuffling forward until finally, the two teens reached the front of the stall. An extremely chiselled man in an apron greeted the two through an overly bushy beard. His Thalakan accent was just as thick. Yalen was immediately stricken by indecision and looked to Zarina awkwardly. ”What do you think I should get? I don’t want to hold the line up.”
Zarina licked her lips and sucked them in as she laid eyes on the many skewed meats on display, ”Two options. Skewed or breaded. The rest is just not the true Thalakan experience.” the burly shopkeeper kept himself stoic with the only pressure applied to them coming from the loud crowd behind, ”One Souvlaki and one in a bread pocket, please.” she asked politely. The meals were served up with stunning efficiency, although they would have to hold their meals without any plates. Zarina took the loaf stuffed with chicken bits and a few cooked vegetables while Yalen would be given the stick. Seven crows were given in exchange, ”And now you eat it like an uncivilised Callanasti!”
Yalen held his stick of meat up like a wine glass. ”If you say so!” He chewed off the top most piece of meat without hesitation, leaving a line of grease covering his lower lip. ”Oh… oh my.” There was a pause as he had to swallow his bite before speaking. ”The meat is perfectly tender, and this marinade is so complex. I taste oregano and… citrus? There’s a lot going on here.” He took another bite while watching Zarina’s reaction to her own meal.
Zarina didn’t waste any time and took a large, unlady-like bite from her Ensollian sandwich. A good bit of munching later and she had a verdict, ”Mmm, definitely a bit of sourness, yeah. And some coriander.” another bite for good measure, ”Gotta hand it to the Thalakans, they know how to cook some chicken.” her lips were covered in a thin layer of grease and small spices, with her tongue sweeping by from time to time to ensure no flavours were wasted. They were nearing the Commoner Quarters, and classes had finished a good ten minutes ago, although the first students hadn’t arrived quite yet. There was a bench nearby and Zarina invitingly gestured for Yalen to take it, ”Wanna rest those legs a bit? You forgot your cane, I see.”
Yalen plopped down on the bench and stretched his ankles. ”I don’t think I’ll be needing the cane anymore. I am pretty tired though. I don’t have that many breaks in my schedule since I have to do morning training even on the weekend. Today I was carrying a sack of flour around the Proving Grounds.” He punctuated his statement by hammering his shoulder with a fist.
”What.” Zarina twisted to stare intensely at her bench neighbour and then scrutinised his form, ”You’re telling me you can walk normally with a daily workout? Have you found a miracle treatment?” eyebrows furrowed and her half-eaten meal stuffed back in her mouth, she patiently waited for an explanation.
Yalen shook his head. ”I wouldn’t call it a miracle. The monastic orders have this medicine that helps strengthen the body, that’s all. Colette also helps me recover using her magic. It hasn’t been that easy to keep up with her gruelling schedule though, let me tell you.” After one more bite the skewer was gone. The young monk looked at the wooden stick forlornly.
The two finished their meals at about the same time, with Zarina tapping her hands together to brush off some of the crumbs and flour that remained, ”Sounding like it’s worth it. And you’re still alive.” she leaned back to let her back sag against the bench, ”Every morning, huh? I bet early, too.” she mused for a brief moment, ”Maybe I should tag along, one of these days, since everyone else is asleep when I’m up. Provide ‘Motivation’ to my good, Quentic friend.” an exaggerated, sinister smile took form on her visage. She mellowed quickly enough, ”Have you seen Jojo recently, by the way?”
”We see each other in class of course, but it’s been hard to talk to her recently. She seems conflicted about something. I do hope she’s okay.” Yalen looked around like he’d spotted someone, even though the street was mostly clear. ”I sense someone coming. Let’s see if it’s her.” He pointed to a barely visible group of students who were strolling down the main road. One of them was very obviously rolling along in a wheelchair. As the posse came closer their faces grew more recognizable; luckily, it was indeed Isabella, as well as the other tethered students from the refuge. One of them pointed to the pair sitting on the bench, causing the pigtail girl to visibly perk up. The group exchanged their farewells and went in their own directions, leaving Izzy to greet her expectant chums. She waved both her hands at them as her wheels continued to roll, their momentum sustained by kinetic trickery.
”Well well well! It looks like I’m pretty popular today! What’s up Yalen, Zarina? What brings you fine fellows to my neck of the woods?”
Zarina straightened her posture when Yalen picked up on the flock of tethered youths. All but one moved on and accosted the two who had been waiting for her, ”Hey Izzy.” the Virangishwoman greeted the chair-bound teen with a joyful smile, ”Ipte! That top! And you’re wondering why you’re so popular? Hah.” she reached out to gently brush the back of her hand against the fabric, ”You gotta tell me where you get this stuff, love.”
”That, my dear, will be impossible. This is something I was working on in Torragon. It takes a while to finish a single piece I’ll have you know. It was a lot of work.” Isabella soaked in the praise with a smug look on her face. ”Jeez, fabric is way too expensive in this city! It’s a good thing I traded up for your friend’s dragon pearl. When I’m finished with school I might use the money and turn this into a business.”
”Actually…” Yalen trailed off, allowing Zarina the opening to bring up her proposition. After a fake pout, Zarina grinned at the opportunity Yalen was giving to her, ”I mean, if you’re confident in your skills, I MIGHT just know someone who’d be interested in working with this sort of business, actually.” she reached her other arm out to offer the coffee she had been holding this whole time. A little bit of low-level arcane later and it was back to being hot, ”Coffee?”
Isabella gasped in an overly dramatic fashion and hugged her hands to her chest. ”For MOI?” She giggled at her own terrible performance and hooked her fingers through the cup handle. ”Ooo, smells delicious.” She took a confident sip but then started coughing, having apparently overestimated her tongue’s fortitude. After blowing on the coffee a few times she tried again and found it more to her liking. ”So you’ve come to recognize my greatness have you? What can I help you with?”
Zarina snorted at Izzy’s performance and mannerisms, and even let some of her own mundane gestures get a bit exaggerated to mimic the pleasant energy, ”Well! I can see you’ve noticed the brand, and recognised the brains of this endeavour! … Which is maybe Marci more than me but that’s- Anyway.” she brushed some of her rebellious hair locks over her ear as she cleared her throat, ”I’m starting a business with her. Coffee and pastry business, and one of our investors brought up the idea of a uniform dress code- So a uniform.” she blinked and shook her head at her own redundancies, ”Would that be something your magical hands could realise, Isabella? I immediately thought of you when she brought that up!”
”Welllllllllllllllllllll…” Isabella took half a minute to think about her response. Yalen scratched the back of his head. Given her schedule, he was pretty much expecting her to decline. After finishing her coffee the spectacled girl tapped a finger on her chin while looking sideways at Zarina. ”I can’t say it would be easy - I’m a very busy lady. Unlike you two, I just started learning magic last week. BUT,” she pointed fingers at the duo, ”We may be able to work something out. I can free up a bit of my time if you do some of my homework for me. And I’m in charge of the design! I can’t get passionate about a project if it’s too joblike.”
All the time Isabella needed was patiently given by Zarina. One leg over the other and her back sagging again. When the answer was what she had hoped, the Virangish teen clapped her hands together, ”Super! I can agree to most of it. Two things, though-” she freed her hands to gesture though her position stayed as relaxed as it could ever be, ”Nothing too colourful - You’ve got the base colours on the brand on the cup. And it can’t be too difficult to make.” she paused, but before anyone could say anything, Zarina raised her index, ”Also, I approve the plan before launch. Go wild, otherwise. Just tell me the price and the classes you need covered!”
True to her nature, Isabella was already prepared with parchment and pen in hand. The three of them discussed the costs of bulk fabrics and dyes, and also who would be covering what subject. Yalen agreed to take her theology notes for her while Zarina was in charge of mathematics. Though most of the discussion was sterile business talk, Izzy was also quite happy to show off some rough sketches of designs she’d been planning. The drawings were well proportioned if a bit lacking in finesse.
”Oh, what do you think about the cut on the neckline here? Is this too revealing?” Isabella placed a loose sheaf onto Zarina’s lap displaying a summery gown with quite a bit of shoulder showing.
A moment was taken to visualise the first draft. Rubbing her chin, Zarina squinted and let out a few pessimistic ‘hmms’, ”I want some degree of practicality. See, we will be working in a tight workspace, preparing drinks and desserts for many people. I would, at least, like to be able to wear an apron with it, while remaining recognisable.” she no longer was slouching, Zarina got into business with the heavy energy that came with it, ”Revealing, however, is not a big deal, so long as it’s also safe. Would probably help, actually.”
”Meh. This is all I’ve got. I’ll try to draft something more specifically tailored to your shop and show you tomorrow.” Izzy packed her documents back into her bag. ”Say, where were you thinking of setting up? I might become one of your regulars!”
Zarina shrugged, at least happy that Isabella was looking into it, ”Uhm, we had a few ideas but …” she raised her hands to try and illustrate directions, ”So, you see that long road you take while passing Arboretum, yeah? At the very end, by the school grounds near the library, we’re thinking of putting our stand around there. Most students pass through there in the morning, so it’s kind of a no-brainer.”
Izzy nodded along with her arms crossed. ”I see, I see. You should give me a copy of the menu later. It might help give me some ideas.” The tethered student craned her head to look up at the city’s giant clocktower. ”Holy cow, it’s almost time for roll call! We better get going so we don’t piss off our Zenos.”
”Ah yeah. Off to live every boy in campus’ dream.” she got up from the bench, stretched her arms out and prompted a couple of cracks, ”So. Menu. Then invoice. The homework when we got something. All good, Izzy?”
”Yeah, just one more thing. You missed a crumb there.” Isabella poked a finger at Zaz’s collar. ”You owe me lunch tomorrow you cheeky lass.”
”Bruja.” cheeky indeed.
Assani 29th
Location: Merchant Dormitories - Zarina’s Quarters Day of the week: Lepdes Time: 4:00 HS Characters: Marceline @Force and Fury, Zarina
”Final warning, or we will have to leave you with a notice. Please open up.”
”Coming!” Finally, Marceline opened the door for the two D.R.A.G.O.N inspectors. They didn’t enter right away, ”May we come in? We must first ensure the wellbeing of the dragon reported to be living here.” Marci took a step back and Zarina in turn stepped up, arms crossed and her golden hues squinted at the two. They were dressed in very formal clothes, as one would expect from more prestigious civil servant employees, “There aren’t any dragons here. May I know who told you such rumours?” the female replied without delay, ”Confidential, but our sources are reliable. If you refuse to comply, we will bring a warrant to search your home, Miss-” “Al-Nader. Zarina Al-Nader. And this is Marceline Hohenfelter.” Zarina informed them as the inspector was looking for the name in the documentation they held, ”Indeed. Miss Al-Nader, will we continue this amicably? We’re merely here to ensure the dragons are treated with proper care and no illegal traffic is occurring.” responded the male with a disarmingly calm voice, clearly seeking to diffuse the tensions.
Zarina kept her arms crossed and looked over at Marci. After a brief moment of awkward non-verbal movements the Virangishwoman shrugged, “Alright. They’re eggs. Three of them, one Alpha.” she said without adding any unnecessary details, her body language still closed off, ”Where did you obtain them?” the man asked as the group moved to the “living room”, where the eggs were resting on a table near a window, surrounded by soft cotton cushions to keep them safe and getting adequate sunlight, ”A gift from the Duque Frannemas to the Al-Nader family. Zarina has given one to me.” Marci quickly answered to keep things believable. The female nodded without even writing anything down. They were more interested in the eggs.
”These are … Very unique specimens. Dune Sea Froabases and-” the man furrowed his eyebrows and looked at this partner. The Duke explanation made more sense now, ”A reticulated Alpha. You should secure this egg. It is said one of these could buy you a small country.” said the woman as she showed a hint of enthusiasm upon thoroughly investigating the egg. A good ten minutes was taken to get all the information they needed before paperwork was shoved to both girls, ”We will have to fine you for failure to report the eggs. Registration fees are marked here,” he pointed with his pen, ”our training sessions also come with a fee and are compulsory to obtain your certification. The program will provide you with information and access to resources, however all goods are at your own expense.” he informed before nodding to his partner. With nothing else to add and content with the current state of the eggs, they began to leave.
”Full honesty- I thought we were going to lose our eggs. I would not be happy.” Zarina lazily sagged her rear onto the nearest seat and sighed in relief, “I’d lose my mind if that was the case. Busted my ass to put the momma to sleep.” she chuckled, “I’ll pass by their office during the day, get us our papers. Think you’ll be able to handle the stand while I go?”
Location: The Eyes of Vashdal Stall Day of the week: Lepdes Time: 4:00 HO Characters: Unfortunate Urchin, Vashdall Representative, Zarina
“Ahh, The Eyes of Vashdal. For once, obligation doesn’t feel too bad.”
Zarina awkwardly spoke to herself, hands on her hips and her stance triumphant. She thought everyone was too busy dealing with their own things, enjoying the faire with little consideration for others. Her thoughts were voiced involuntarily when she felt this relaxed. She was wrong. Some urchin, potentially Silas-affiliated, just stared at her and snorted, ”Who would obligate you to do anything? No one would want a crazy self-talking lady like you to do stuff for them!” he called her out, though nobody else seemed to care except for the Virangishwoman with the wide, furious eyes.
They narrowed more and more, jaw clenched and the electricity between both gazes became quite intense. And then, after taking quick glances to the sides, she waved her hand upwards, causing a draft of air to slap the child from below. Not only would he flip backwards and land on his back, but also had his creamy pastry smeared all over his face. After a loud “Ow”, he began to whine and people still didn’t seem to care one bit. Now she was conscious of people listening to her, prompting a far less triumphant stance as she slowly made her way to the Darhannic stand.
”Ra'ayt dhalik. I saw that.” the girl behind the stand claimed nonchalantly in Inipori while pointing at the crying pre-teen, “La lam tafeal. No you didn’t.” quickly replied Zarina. Eyebrow raising followed, but then the secretary sighed and presented a form with a table and names written along with signatures. It was in Avincian - likely to avoid any sort of discrimination, ”Dae ealamatan ealaa asmik watawqieik wajtimaeina al'awal hu Victendes alqadim. Mark your name, signature and our first meeting is next Victendes. Zarina filled her slot and signed, lips pursed and definitely feeling the awkward nature of this exchange, “Okay.” she said in Avincian as she returned the paper and pen. The Hexaic lobbyist chuckled, ”Well, at least you’ll bring something new to the table. We don’t get that many people.” Avincian was the default now it seemed. Zarina tittered nervously and nodded.
“Uhh, yeah, see you Victendes, then? Cool, cool.” she finger gunned at the other before taking a step back, “Thanks and uh, yeah see you.” the whole time the secretary had her lips pursed and purposely exaggerated her judgement face to annoy Zarina. At least it was one club down.
Assani 30th
Location: Zeno Bucks Kiosk - Half of the Faire Day of the week: Victendes Time: 1:00 HS - 1:00 HE Characters: Ashon, Ayla @Ti, Desmond @Th3King0fChaos, Ingrid @dragonpiece, Jocasta, Marceline @Force and Fury, Zarina
“Bravo! Give a warm applause to your talented singer, Ayla~”
Exclaimed Zarina at Ayla’s show that attracted quite the herd of customers. Zeno Bucks was generating good business - much better than the previous day thanks to Ayla’s communication strategy and the word-of-mouth that developed. Marceline and Zarina were hard at work servicing all the clients, leaving them wondering if they would have enough stocks to handle the growing demand. A problem that ultimately was very desirable. The large cups they were selling now came with a green circle and white crescent drawn underneath them with explanations made by the two businesswomen regarding the loyalty system they had established. There was also a Help Wanted sign on the side, with a few CV’s postulated already!
While working, Zarina took notice of something strange. Jocasta and Ingrid had so happened to be joining them at this time and the traffic had lowered a little due to many people stopping to enjoy their lunches, “The hell?” she mumbled to herself as she squinted to notice a peculiar distortion at the other side of the street. Ingrid had since gone West while Ayla was making her way to the North-East near the dormitories. Zarina took this downtime to step out of the kioske and investigate the minuscule distortion.
“Ah shit.” she complained upon realising what it was: A small aberration, so small she could barely make out the shape. At first, she took a step back and pondered how to report this, but then she started to notice what was around her. Kids, random pedestrians, animals involved in different stands … A flock of funny-looking mountain goats were being herded and passed by the street to be brought to the fauna stall, and the Virangishwoman couldn’t help but recall what these things had done to the Halassa, and even something as mighty as the Royal Sand Wyrm.
With minimal thought put into it, Zaz took it upon herself to immediately get rid of this problematic element before it caused another Deserted scenario. She extended her hand and drew from it, leading to a very familiar feeling of unpleasantness. The dark apparition was very small, so the result would be nausea, brief loss of balance and generally feeling like shit, “Ugh … Bad idea.” she regretted. Feeling sickly, Jocasta’s calls and disapproval of the action just rubbed her the wrong way, ”Hey, Zaz! I doubt I have to say this but that’s a terrible idea.” Zarina rolled her eyes and flipped off her friend as her back still faced the Tethered, “Yeah yeah, bite me mom. Nagging will make me feel better.” she shook her head and straightened her form while Jojo chuckled deviously at the sight, realising it was just some baby aberration and Zarina got a small lesson from it, since the one at the Refuge didn’t seem to be enough.
After a coffee to gather herself, both she and Jocasta went on a walk to shake off the shit feeling and shoot the shit together. A bit of catching up, some talks about Riesco and how they should go on an adventure again. Before they could go on to discussing the ramification of time travelling, however, Jocasta felt it - Something very different from the usual aberrations. Behind the Innovators' exchange booth was an alleyway, and it felt like it beckoned them. First Jojo, and as they got closer, Zarina as well. There was something almost inviting about it. Silently, the duo explored and eventually found it. A grey form that resembled the old man they had met on that fateful night. The Paradigm himself.
“... Okay, is it the lightning or is that thing actually grey? I am NOT touching that.” Zarina remarked, arms crossed and her heart racing. Even with just eating a single aberration, her body wanted more, although she felt very conflicting things in regards to this one, ”I don’t know, but …” Jocasta was just as agitated about it, but also excited. There was something special about this aberration. As they got just a little closer, the large anomaly began to distort and ‘reached out’ for both of them. However, it never latched onto the two and instead the grey essence merely circled them like it was waiting for permission to be one with the interlopers.
After a gulp, Zarina turned her head to Jocasta, “Should we do it?” she asked, ”I think so.” replied the blonde. The two held hands before they leapt into the unknown and took in this bizarre error in space and time. What they initially felt was like nothing they had ever experienced. It was terrifying yet unfathomably blissful too. One moment Zarina was seeing Jocasta, and then the other she was surrounded by total darkness. The touch of her friend’s palm went from a warm, clammy sensation to pure lukewarm and nothingness. Zaz was somewhere else, where extremes lived together and formed an amalgamation the human mind couldn’t easily comprehend. Before her was an entity shaped like something she couldn’t properly perceive. She knew what it was. Vashdal the Dreamer, exactly how she imagined the God, and yet like a dream the form was oh so fleeting to her memory, except this was every passing second. It was like seeing a blur. She knew she had seen it, but would not be able to ever describe it.
One mighty hand dropped on her right shoulder. It first looked so much bigger than her, but as it dropped it landed perfectly on her shoulder as if perspective and scale did not matter in this dream-like state. When contact was made, Zarina could see the past. All that Was, the bad and the good all put together into a single vision. Whether it was truly visions of the past or Zarina’s own dream was hard to determine. Then came the left, and All that Is to Be was ushered in. An even stranger experience, one full of ambitions being fulfilled and dreams being crushed. It was overwhelming, to the point where, as this fever dream would end just one real-world second after the assimilation of the grey aberration, she fell to her knees in exhaustion, looking as though she had run for miles. Yet, she felt fine with the queasiness from the aberration mostly passed. She kept silent about the ordeal, but Jocasta on the other hand seemed to have experienced something different, ”This feeling-” nothing seemed to have changed for Jocasta from an outsider’s perspective, but she could feel that her Tethering had been halted somehow, along with a rise in power that both girls definitely sensed within them.
The discussion of the tethering being cured or at least stifled by this peculiar encounter was one that would start, but when they sensed yet another aberration, the hope of experiencing something like this again was too much. Both made their way, with Zarina having an easier time making it there. With Jocasta lagging behind, she wouldn’t intervene in time to stop Zarina from taking in a considerably larger black aberration than the one taken near Zeno Bucks. Something just drove Zarina to take it, and it wasn’t a craving. Perhaps she was hoping to reach out to the Vashdal again? Or the size was concerning enough that she wanted to prevent an incident. The grey aberration rustled some perspectives, and with this newfound surge of power, Zaz truthfully felt like hot shit … Until she sucked in the black mass and nearly puked her guts out. She felt powerful, but her coffee wasn’t going to stick around long.
Jocasta reprimanded the Virangish, but it wouldn’t do anything to stop Zarina from ravenously power walking to the next sensed aberration. Again, Jojo could barely keep up, and Zazzy indulged once more, leading to a problem. She went nuts! And with that she’d have little memory of what would go down. Desmond would lock her down, but then would get his shit kicked in, requiring Jocasta to warp Zaz into the Tethered Refuge, right into the pool by the Gran Naranja. She could swear that she saw Escarra there, and he tied her up!
Eventually, a tied up Zarina would be brought back by Jocatsa and before the group was a white aberration! Well, the maddened teen didn’t have much of an opinion on it as she only wanted the black stuff. With the arrival of Ashon the Yasoi, Zarina was brought to take in the aberration with Jojo’s and the Yasoi’s help while Desmond apparently watched. It was a big one! And it sucked in some of the power gained during this binge, but also cleared the mind of the rabid businesswoman.
“Raaaahhhh! Blaaaaah. Bah. Ugh. And I’ve made an ass out of myself, haven't I?” she looked over at Jo, who had once again been blessed with anti-tethered juice. Zarina rubbed her temples, the headache had gone but the overall experience was just making her dizzy, even if now she felt even better than she had at the start of the day.
There would be some Ingrid management that followed, and some Zeno Bucks evening fun to be made. But ultimately, Zarina was brought to mull over the vision she had and what Jocasta had told her. Was there really a way to help this horrible disease? Each time her golden hues met Marceline’s figure, she couldn’t help but think even more about it. Right until closing time.
A good day of business, promising for the coming weeks where they would officially operate outside of a Faire attraction. Sienna Afraval’s home was once again used as storage with Zarina dismissing Marci for the evening, using the excuse of her being absent for a portion of the day during her “binge” as an excuse to clean up their stuff in the cellar all alone. But in truth she wanted to execute a secret and devious plan without her partner finding out! Nets and a bird cage were whipped out from a pile of junk that had a blanket draped over them, along with a bag containing fresh grapes. Everything one would need to go catching some unique avian specimens.
Footsteps could be heard upstairs. Zarina grinned. It’s grapin’ time!
Summary: -Zarina opens Zeno Bucks with Marceline -They get a visit from DRAGON, Zarina handles the paperwork (Seen in collab with Yuliya) -Zarina joins clubs, makes a bit of an ass of herself in Eyes of Vashdal -Other club stalls will be met as collabs in the future! -Aberrations run wild! Zarina takes her first to avoid others being infected like the Halassa were. -She meets a grey aberration with Jocasta, has a vision of Vashdal and emboldens her to take more aberrations. After her second she goes into craving mode, and then takes a small one to go very aggressive. Gets timed out by Jocasta at the Torragon Refuge. -Final aberration is a white one and it "fixes" her. -After a clean up of Zeno Bucks, she prepares a mysterious plan in Afraval's cellar involving nets and a bird cage. -She gained 0.15 RAS overall.
Guild: The Magicians' Guild Clubs: The Eyes of Vashdal, Ordo Draconum, The Fauna Society, The Fingersteeplers, The Society of the Grapes (convinced by Yuliya), Innovators' Exchange, The Mage Hunters' Society and The Cloudchasers as her bonus.
Partnered with the Pumpernickel Clubbe, the stall opposite of this one, Zeno Bucks launches on the very first day of the Faire! Tactically placed to meet the paths of many students, but also captivate those lured in by the more popular clubs, it would come to no surprise that this peculiar stall had gained momentum as the day went on, starting off with fluctuating rates of curiosity. The alluring aromas and promises of readily made goods only did so much, until …
♪Just one coffee, give it to me, delicious elixir, from over sea. Creamy milk and honey dream, give me Coffee, from Zeno Bucks team.♪
Sang the lioness maiden with a variety of instruments accompanying her. Her voice carried the holy word of Zeno Bucks, and many devout followers soon formed. At about mid-day, this surprise opening was considered a success! Albeit, only stifled by inexperience of the duo manning the stations and mismanagement of resources. Nonetheless, the echoes of this cub’s song reached far and wide, right until the sky turned to dusk.
With interest clearly shown by students, Zenos and locals alike, Zeno Bucks promises its return tomorrow, and many, many days after that! Now please, help yourselves with some of our many delights in our menu below!
Do you fancy yourself a good cup of Zeno Bucks in the morning? Maybe a Brioche to go with it? Well, we fancy YOU having a great time with us and want to reward YOU for being so loyal to our cause in bringing coffee to Ersand’Enise in a fast and easy way to make your day just a little bit easier.
Now, by conserving your own large Zeno Bucks cup and bringing it to get a serving of coffee, you will earn yourself a ‘Moon Fragment’ for every day of the week. With five fragments acquired, you create a full moon on the underside of your cup, entitling you to an UPGRADE in additives (Sugar and SpratzComing Soon) for the price of the tier below!
But, what if I miss a day? Fear not, we have you covered! You simply have to purchase a Café au Lait with a pastry the following day to compensate!
And what if I cannot get Zeno Bucks every day? Your fragments accumulate regardless! For example, if you can only buy on Tardes and Victendes, you will be able to earn distinct fragments the next week, equating to four in two weeks! Your loyalty doesn’t go forgotten, regardless of your availability.
What’s this? Stars? What do they mean? For each full moon, the cycle resets and a star is acquired. When seven stars are gathered, a big prize is available to you: A free meal with a large coffee, two pastries and spratz available for every piece. You will also be awarded a free cup. Additionally, with your complete cup, you will be eligible for privileged access in Zeno Bucks events!
I’ve broken my cup, what do I do? Bring the underside and a barista will be able to verify it and transfer it to another cup (Must be purchased). Lost or stolen property is not the responsibility of Zeno Bucks LLC. We are currently working on potential ledgers to combat this issue.
You heard right, Zeno Bucks is currently holding a Victendes special Promotion for its opening month! Every Zeno Bucks product (Barring cups and Spratz) are 30% off! That’s right, come over to Zeno Bucks, the extra effort is definitely worth it to tackle the many things you want to do on your days off. Or maybe, you simply want to relax and one or two pastries are just what you need to really get the edge off?
Come seize this opportunity while it lasts! A great occasion to rake up some Moons and Stars, too!
Item
Quantity
Price
Uniforms
4
4Ỽ
Virangish Grinder (Business Size)
1
20Ỽ
Virangish Ibrik Kits
3
6Ỽ
Building Materials
N/A
4Ỽ
Alqorrah Roasted Coffee
125lbs
22Ỽ
Local Spring Water
1000L
8Ỽ
Perrench Milk
200L
4Ỽ 8⌘
Segonian Honey
110lbs
6Ỽ 6⌘
Imported Sugar
70lbs
8Ỽ 4⌘
Small Ceramic Cups
1000
4Ỽ 4⌘
Large Ceramic Cups
400
4Ỽ 8⌘
Green Dragon Insurance
Yearly
10Ỽ
Property Rent
Monthly
5Ỽ
Documentation Fees
1
2Ỽ
Storage (Small)
Monthly
1Ỽ ?
Total
-
111Ỽ
Treasury
-
89Ỽ
Name: Zeno Bucks LLC
Serial Number:5013
Founders:
❖ Marceline Hohenfelter von Meckelin-Thaudau ❖ Zarina Al-Nader
Investors:
❖ Ingrid Penderson
Employees: 0
❖
Foundation Date: Assani 29, DZ54
Headquarters: Ersand’Enise
Parent Company: Zeno Bucks LLC
Child Companies: 0
❖
Branches: 0
❖
Affiliated Bank:Bluebell's Investment Group
Initial Capitalisation: 200Ỽ
Stock Volatility (Beta): 2.3
Debt/Equity Ratio: Zeno Bucks currently doesn’t have any debt - It is fully capital funded.
Equity Distribution:Undisclosed
Stocks:Private
Estimated Value: 300Ỽ
1- Baker - Pumpernickel Clubb Priority
Job Description: We are looking for bakers capable of covering morning and evening shifts every day of the week. A morning position in Zeno Bucks’ upcoming bakery where you will be expected to prepare the daily pastries before opening and during as well. Hours begin at 1:00 HS. Evening shifts to prepare materials for the morning begin at 1:50 HE. Part-time and full-time positions are available. Pumpernickel Clubb members will receive priority in the selection process. You will be provided with a uniform.
Expected Skills: ❖ Baking Experience (1 Year) ❖ Good Hygiene ❖ Sense of Organisation
Salary: 5✤ per hour - Negotiable
2- Delivery Boy/Girl
Job Description: We are looking for a delivery boy/girl with a keen sense of orientation and in-depth knowledge of Ersand’Enise’s layout. You will be expected to deliver goods to the homes of our customers, either regularly for subscribers or for daily orders. Deliveries begin at 2:00 HS and Luncheon deliveries will vary depending on demand. You will be provided with a uniform.
Expected Skills: ❖ Ersand’Enise Expertise ❖ Good human contact ❖ Punctual and dynamic
Salary: 4✤ per hour + Tips - Negotiable
3- Barista
Job Description: You will be charged with manning the front of Zeno Bucks with the responsibility of greeting, preparing and serving customer orders. You will be trained appropriately making prior experiences not mandatory, however we do expect fast learners and good human contact. As the face of Zeno Bucks, we will hold you to a high standard and in turn will reward you for good work. Hours: 2:00 HS - 3:00 HE (Shifts). You will be provided with a uniform.
Expected skills: ❖ Good human contact ❖ Teamwork and willingness to learn ❖ Dynamic and punctual
Salary: 5✤ per hour - Negotiable
Congratulations on your purchase! You may be wondering, what does Zeno Bucks actually give me? Well, beyond excellent service, you actually do get boons! Each Zeno Bucks product offers different bonuses if consumed with, of course, some rules to follow as well! But first, let’s see what each product does!
First off - Drinks and Meals are treated distinctly from one another, meaning you can get a bonus from each category regardless of limits.
Drinks: Coffees are currently the only drinks in Zeno Bucks barring some rare milk purchases. Coffee, regardless of size, will provide a +1 to ANY roll of choice TWICE (You can stack for a single +2). Coffee gives energy and helps focus if not overindulged in.
Pastries: Pastries are more varied, but also more specialised in what they offer.
❖ Broche: Provides +1 to TWO offensive rolls (can be stacked). ❖ Churros: Provides +1 to TWO buff or debuff rolls (can be stacked). ❖ Bambalouni: Provides +1 to TWO defensive rolls (can be stacked). ❖ Yum Yum: Provides +1 to TWO luck/perception/discovery rolls (CANNOT be stacked).
Additives: Honey and Sugar do not provide any bonuses for now. However, Spratz will indeed offer a bonus to both coffees and pastries. While Zeno Bucks has not yet secured them, they are estimated to either: Add a +1 OR enable a single re-roll on top of the other buffs.
Rules: There are a few rules to follow as to make this reasonable to avoid any sort of powerplaying or maximising efficiency:
❖ The consumer MUST have purchased a Zeno Bucks product during the day of usage with explicit mention of it, preferably with something going on (not necessary). ❖ You may only use these buffs ONCE a day. You cannot stock up on them as they’ll generally go stale and lose efficiency. ❖ Missions are to treat these rules differently at the discretion of the GM. ❖ Zeno Bucks buffs are not subject to any modifiers (positive or negative) from other factors. They are flat gains, a bonus you can reliably use (unless you’re sick or something).
❖ Biro, Ersand'Enise Academy of Thaumaturgy ❖ Tethered / Refuge of St. Agustin ❖ House Bukhari of Virang (Formerly)
The Gift:
❖ [ Magnetic:Offensive & Internal ] – [ III. Adept ] - Abdel was one of the Afortunado, and while still early in his initiation, his position as a Thunderchild made him naturally capable in this branch. He can unleash powerful discharges of electricity that can reach throughout his massive range. He also uses it to enhance his motor functions, making him appear more ‘normal’ than most tethered, with his legs being ‘manipulated’ consciously when needed. He does often get ahead of himself, making way for nastry cramps and minor burns typical of an eager thunderchild.
❖ [ Binding:Defense ] – [ I. Novice ] - Serving as support from range and a good defense to his powerful Magnetic offense. He learned a lot by watching Marceline use this school of magic and wishes to compliment his Magnetic magic with it to cover weaknesses.
Description: Once known as Ali Bukhari, second son of a prestigious family in Virang - One standing at the very top of the Darhannic Clergy of the country - and now a forgotten Tethered in Torragon known only as Abdel. His lineage’s renown for thunder-based divination had at least left him with the uncommon gift of the Thunderchild, offering the abandoned teen at least an option when it came to his new half-existence. He was one of the Afortunado - A group of Tethered youths with enough power to be trained as special assassins - as a unique case of having lower RAS but a blood type that greatly made up for it. He was only about halfway through his initial training before the Ersand’Enise group came and changed everything. He grew close to one in particular: Zarina Al-Nader, a fellow Virangish girl and one that gave him attention that almost felt nostalgic of his forgotten life. After being given a scholarship by the Duque Frannemas, he joined the group in the great school of Thaumaturgy and hopes to find new opportunities in the short life he has.
Abdel was always more trouble than anything else, even before his stay in the Refuge. He likes to show off, puff out his chest in front of the girls and try to get ahead with little tricks or cons albeit with no real malice behind his endeavours. Although behind his confident facade hides the all too common insecurity he feels like many other teens, especially when wits come into play and he often gets too bullheaded to properly handle situations. He holds grudges, and deep down feels a strong hatred for what his family has done to him, even if he hides it very well. He has not forgiven them and intends to confront them despite Zarina’s warnings. As of now, he wishes to attend athletic activities to enjoy the mobility he still has and live out his ‘prime’, while keeping up with some of his usual habits he had since the Refuge. One can often find him running or stretching at the Arboretum if he isn’t hanging out with others of his age group.
Interacting with: Most people in the Wyrm fight, Amanda & Marceline @Force and Fury, Ayla & Thierry @Ti Location: The Desert -> The Refuge -> Hugo's Crib -> Ersand'Enise
Just as Zarina had united with her closest friend, she was to ride off to battle to put it all in peril for the sake of others. Jocasta, the real one, laid out the plan and prepared the additional late arrivals while Zarina got her affairs in order with Riesco. Scrounging up the best light armour she could find in the stables, she was content with just leather protection and a basic helm to go with it. The Camargue breed also got mild protection on the sides, attached to the saddle, and on the head an improvised fly mask. There was going to be sand and loads of light, so protecting the beast’s eyes was to be considered too.
”Hey there, Shooru …” she whispered to the stallion’s perked ear when he got a little agitated. The cries of beasts being transformed into Casii’s monstrosity were stressing everybody, especially the animals, ”Mmm. Smells nice, doesn’t it?” she continued to whisper little nothings to the animal, hoping her voice and proximity could provide the frightened creature some comfort before the battle. She worried about it, they hadn’t fought like this before and the risk of an accident was considerable. But it was lessened by the visible bond the two had. Riesco’s frequent stress stomps began to cease and the calm chewing began, ”That’s my Shooru.” a good smooch between the eyes and a half-apple were given as a reward before she drew the beast out.
In the horizon she could see the sandcloud ushered by the passing of the maddened dragon. Marceline was by Zarina, riding her own horse and serving as a means to keep tabs on the rampaging beast if it were to ever slip underground. Though truthfully, the Virangish wanted to keep Marci close enough to ensure she was safe as the young tethered insisted to her mother she wanted to be a part of this. Zarina was to keep close to the Wyrm, while the younger teen kept a good distance from the group to support.
”Big girl pants on now, Marci. We’re about to make history.” she winked from under her leather helm with a visible grin on her gaze. And then she tapped the sides of her steed with her heels and whistled to get him into a quick trot. Everyone else was scrambling to get into positions and she did the same. The Tethered were the first to halt its progress, allowing for the deer-riding group and Zarina to attempt to corral the rampaging Wyrm away from the nearby town of Hosta.
Froabases joined the fray, adding to the complications, although Zarina attempted to take advantage of the situation. However, Riesco was not having it. The stress of the situation and inexperience was getting to it. She had to focus on her steed before the rest, hoping that Marci would cover for her at the very least.
Hey, hey, Riesco- I’m here.
She couldn’t really utter anything as she wouldn’t be heard through the tremors and frantic gallop of her horse. But she tried to communicate her presence and care some other way. Without truly knowing it, she was reaching out to him through the Gift, and attempted to ‘connect’ with him the same way she did with some of the Froabases but this time with a creature she had formed a four-year bond with. In a way, she knew him in ways none other did. With a little bit of effort, both of them harmoniously felt what the other did. Riesco felt his master so close to him and didn’t see the Wyrm as this terrifying predator that would inevitably eat him. He had Zarina now, the one that had always made him feel safe. And she felt the exact same way.
”I want a Gypsy horse- No! A Mora Metek!” clamoured a little Virangish tot to a very elderly but still kicking tanned man, ”They’re so cool with their manes and and and, Bwaahhhh!” her arms flailed in an attempt to illustrate flaming manes from the unique breed. The old man shook his head, ”Maybe when you become a princess, Zarina.” They were at what seemed to be a farm in rural Virang, with quite a few foals released in a pen for other children to visit and play with. Zarina, being the energetic eleven year-old she was, revelled in this occasion. Like most of the kids, her attention went to the pretty one with the long, black mane. There were many pretty ones, but only one made her smile so wide that she ended up laughing. A clumsy little grey foal, not quite remarkable, came up to her and started to munch at her pocket upon smelling a piece of old carrot in it, ”Oh! Here you go!” she offered the treat to be scooped up almost immediately. The infant horse then proceeded to keep his lips slightly parted to resemble a smile when he got some scritches to go with the meal. She mimicked it, and then he went for the flehmen grimace that got her to laugh her guts out. And then he kind of just … Followed her. To the point where beautiful, legendary horses were a notion she had long forgotten. It became hard to separate them after that.
The Wyrm was successfully deviated from its course and now targeted the Refuge. With Riesco back on track, Zarina could get a better grip of the situation. She started by keeping a steady gallop in close proximity to it while avoiding its notoriously powerful claws. Froabases kept swarming the skies, and with newfound focus Zarina managed to pacify one that put the whole operation at risk. It merely glided passively over the battlefield while the Virangish struggled to keep it under control. Nuclear explosions and deer rammings followed soon afterward.
Now her blade was readied and she waited for her opening. The continuous explosions were bound to stagger the beast. But instead of falling, the monstrous Wyrm casted a mighty shadow over all, reaching even the Refuge as it uttered a loud screech. Zarina lowered herself and- V̶̪͕̦͓͚̭̓͆O͖̗̅̊̌ͥ͢I̷̠̱͖͍̳̺͋ͅD̮̰̮̂̐́̋͞ ̶̜̫̫̝̜̱͍͛ͫ͊i͑̀̄̅͏̯͍̻s͓̤͓̞̩̼̣̺ͯ͞ ̠͇͚̟̤́͒̐͠h͓̹̆ͬ͝ͅe̛̯̺̪̤̳͛͑ͨ̐r̸̙̖̗͈̻̩̜̿̑e̻̫̖͚̯͔͖͉͛͊ͣ͜
What is that thing? On the dead Wyrm …
K N E E L
I’m kneeling. Why am I kneeling?! What is that thing?! Oh fuck. Oh FUCK! I can’t move. I can’t breathe. Help.
It’s moving. It’s going to kill Yalen. It’s so cold. Someone. Anyone. Help! Wait- I can stand. The Yasoi- Everything feels so cold and numb. I need to kill this thing. I have to do it now!
K N E E L
No! Nonononononono! I can’t handle this. I don’t want to die. Papy. Riesco. Ysilla … Mom. Help.
I think I’m going to vomit- Did … Did it just kill that boy?! With just a touch. Is this the Nightmare? Is this our judgement? Vashdal, have we earned your ire?
No. This is not it. I know what you are. Death as we know it.
Ahn-Esh-
Anticipated the coming blast as Riesco leapt over a fissure caused by the loud screech. But just as Zarina survived the onslaught, something bothered her. As if she had the briefest of absences and immediately forgot what had passed in her mind. There was a strange sensation in the air that even breezed through the tremors and storms conjured by the Wyrm and the Froabases felt it too. Some massive energy was concentrated which dragged the dragons away.
The Deer was about to be swallowed by the sands, and as much as Zarina detested its existence, she couldn’t let her colleagues just die. The Froabas she pacified was further influenced to try and go for a rescue, but ultimately ended up devoured by the very sands she sought to stop. Luckily, a blast from a lad she could’ve swore she had seen in a different light not so long ago had delivered a decisive hit. The Wyrm was staggered, and Zarina could seize this opportunity to drill her shamshir into its eyes, successfully gouging it out through the mucosa.
Then came flames. Flames she couldn’t just run from. Zarina, with her heart racing, definitely felt the heat coming close. But luckily for her, someone had her back. She didn’t throw a glance or even a thumbs up, she knew who it was and there would be recognition later. A job had to be finished, and it so happened to be the fool with the gun to finish the job whilst putting himself in peril. The Wyrm was down, but the job wasn’t finished. Some tended to Desmond, while Zarina went to assist the second group with the Froabas pack.
At the nick of time, Zarina intervened to save the imperilled Thierry de Montblaise with Riesco dashing at speed he had never reached before. The Virangishwoman landed right before the black Knight, still on her horse and with a Kinetic shield protecting both from the white-hot flames of the Alpha. She maintained the barrier with similar principles given to her by Jocasta: Maintaining the rotation of the manipulated air and energy in a constant flow and using its own excess to feed it.
”No celebrating yet, bub. I need this thing on the ground.” she responded to one of his charming remarks - more so a thank but still, a distractingly charming thank you - and dashed forward with her horse to keep up with the confused creature. Not letting herself be distracted by the monstrosities brought in by Ismette, she prepared her final strike. Thierry delivered with a suplex, and Zarina finished off with a literal leap of faith, landing on its back and applying a powerful pacification spell from her innate chemical skills to finally calm it. No more Froabases needed to die.
But the job wasn’t finished. The animal could be tamed and Zarina could feel it in her to do something about it. The same way she connected with Riesco, she felt like she could do the same. The tall Virangish stood before the calmed beast, so easily devoured if the beast got aggressive again. Confident, she didn’t budge even as it grew frustrated with her attempts to ease into its system. It was turbulent, at best, with many screeches that likely prompted a few to raise their arms. But the Northern Teen wasn’t done. With a little more, she could just … Just as she seemed to exert herself far beyond what was normal, a friend came to help: Kaspar. With his aid, she could finally appease the beast and establish a new order. Zarina was the dominant figure, and the female Alpha recognized this, and hopefully would see this on other dominant humans too.
”Thanks for that, Kaspar.” she was panting, but had the strength to give him a thumbs up. The Alpha was kept at a safe distance as the next order of business came up: The Aberration.
…
”Pffpfpfpfpf … Ugh, my head.” face in the sad, Zarina awake from the worst high she had ever experienced in her young life. A high so bad and yet she wanted more of it for some inexplicable reason. Riesco was munching away playfully at her hair, trying to get her attention, ”Mmm. Hey you. Gonna bring me safely home? I don’t think I can walk much right now.” with a few grunts of pain, she straddled her horse and slowly paced back to the Refuge with the rest.
Although a new issue came about: The Alpha! She was pregnant, and was just about to lay her eggs. With the help of Thierry and some others, the large Froabas was escorted thanks to Clemencia’s chains toward the Refuge and made to roost under the hot sun. A comfortable nest was improvised by pushing sand away via Force magic. Zarina then gently pressed her hand onto the dragon’s snout - a bold move still - and sought to share the soothing sensation she used to calm her steed.
With little whines, the reptilian began to lay her eggs. It wasn’t a mammal, so the process was rather straightforward, but she would frequently turn around to check the goods. The calls of the other chained Froabases of her flock were also reassuring, and Zarina’s sweet nothings often did the trick. With ten eggs in total, and a sleeping Alpha that needed to recover its strength after all that occurred, the group had quite the bounty!
A bounty that would be claimed in an auction, leaving Zarina with: Ten Wyrm Scales, Eight Wyrm claws, Eight Wyrm bones of varying sizes, and THREE Froabas eggs - One of which is an Alpha and of the rarest breed by the patterns on it! The other two also had uniquely remarkable patterns too, promising rare specimens the day they’ll hatch.
In the midst of revelling in spoils, spending time with new friends and admiring the views the Refuge could offer, there was an isolated burying ceremony taking place. Tavio Ortega, previous warden of the Refuge of St. Agustin de Arenas, was put to the ground with no family present and very little that could be considered friends. Some of his staff, some even Tethered, and one Virangish girl that had never been amicable with the man. A strange decision by Zarina, and yet here she was, not even in the background, head lowered and her hands knitted together in a respectful manner.
You were an asshole, Tavio Ortega. And you tried to kill me. And my friends. Many suffered under you too.
The ceremony had ended. Most that came out of sheer responsibility had since left. Zarina took a step closer to the gravestone left behind, the last any would see of the man.She sighed and knelt before the grave on one knee and supported her weight on the other. Her tired, golden gaze wasn’t perturbed by the frequent thumps from the blaring headache she was experiencing. The tranquillity of the moment was just too good- enough so to shake off the ever-present craving.
Zarina reached out to gently brush her digits over the surface of the stone. Lips pursed and eyes closed, she exhaled a final time from her nostrils before she dropped the flower from the Gran Naranja’s roots among the other offerings given.
But at least you tried, for the sake of the innocent souls living here. A thankless effort, even by your own kin. So, I’ll be the one to say it: Thank you. For the hospitality, and for giving a shit.
She was the last to remain in the isolated spot chosen to bury what many saw as a jailer. Zarina returned with her friends and prepared for their departure.
Piles of spoils were distributed among the proud victors of the battle of St. Agustin. Many fiercely bid against each other, others bidded their time and some went broke at the very start. All in all, everyone walked with a good number of prizes, some even becoming young millionaires! Zarina had her eyes on very specific prizes: The Froabas eggs, and ultimately ended with the rarest of its kind. Needless to say, she was over the moon. A good five minutes of giddiness later and she’d finally grounded herself and turned her attention to Ayla who had also acquired an Alpha egg by trade.
”Well well, Vashdal has deemed it fitting for the Torragonese to raise the pride of Torragon.” she approached the petite female whilst clutching her egg-containing backpack with both her arms. She couldn’t shrug off the massive smile on her face, ”Guess we’re gonna have a lot on our hands in a few months, huh?”
Ayla managed to make herself more modest since the events of the aberration madness, as the somewhat nude dragon-egg clutching charcoaled blonde was not a good look for her. ”Yes, these will become hungry little beasts quickly. Got to work on fireproofing our apartments.”, she has the large egg within her arms whilst the striped one is in a burlap bag, and the small black one in her satchel. “Kaspar passed out during the auction, going to give him the stripy one. Perhaps it would help him find his stripes.” She smiles widely in her tease, as she gives a little ‘woo’ with the big egg within her arms. “Prayed to Reshta for your fortune, you seem to have a special way with these dragons. Would be nice to see it develop. Perhaps dragon-roasted coffee beans will become your new poison”.
Zarina kept her eggs close to her chest for now, clutching them like they were already born and they were her babies. She nodded, ”Y’know, Grape dragons come cheap. Could be a decent proving ground to see if our humble abodes can take the heat. Literally.” she peered inside her bag, and the sight of her uniquely rare egg just filled her with satisfaction she never got sick of. She not only had a big, cool dragon secured, but one very special. Not that these factors truly mattered, in the end, as she never fretted over Horse breeds, but she couldn’t help it either. This was going to be a beautiful Alpha, ”That’s very sweet of you - For Kaspar and thinking of me.” she shot a subtle smile over at Ayla.
Her attention drifted toward Marceline, briefly pondering something that melted her smile from her face, and then focused back on Ayla, ”Although it seems fortune smiled upon you just as much, kitty cat.” she smirked upon noticing the piles of goods under Ayla’s name, ”Maybe I should take some notes.”
Ayla couldn’t help to bring out the charred remains of the borrowed clothes to show off. “Well, until Jo sees what happened to her outfit, that is.”, gives a soft laugh, somewhat oblivious to certain other events which may have gotten her on the blonde’s bad side. “Usually auctions save the best till last, only fortunate the rest were eager bidders and people were open to trade”.
Zarina chuckled, ”Let’s get you some fresh clothes, yeah? Lady Ayla of House Arslan, the Unburnt.” she gestured with her head for Ayla to follow her, and it seemed they were going toward the stables, ”There are some spare clothes I left when I suited up. Might be a bit big on you but I doubt anybody cares.” they would eventually get to the stables, and it smelled like horses alright. Riesco was parked with a fresh batch of feed for him to indulge in, although he still had his saddle and bridle on, as he would be brought with Zarina when the portal would appear, ”Clothes are in the third slot over there.” however Ayla would not find clothes, and instead there would be the one and only: Gina!
Ayla blinks as she finds a Shetland Pony where the reported clothes would be, she was almost tempted to question Zaz about her mistake though fortunately realised before she spoke up and made a fool of herself. She moves towards the Pony as she reaches out with her hands to stroke upon it, “Hello there, what is your name, beautiful one?”. She places her hand upon a nearby carrot as she offers it to Gina for her to snack upon, stroking her fingers through the long white mane.
”Her name is Gina.” Zarina responded whilst tending to her own Camargue horse and posing the eggs on a nearby surface - never leaving her gaze. Gina was very docile, and curiously approached Ayla when she got close to her enclosure. The white pony raises her head and performs a little flehmen’s reflex - and what a funny face it was - before going for a quick scoop of the carrot. Munching away, she continued to sniff Ayla and just kind of stood there, calm and happy to be stroked, ”She came alllllll the way from Virang to meet you, Ayla!”
Ayla tilts her head at the last comment, “It would have taken weeks, how could she have been brought so quickly?”. She continues to stroke upon the pony, lazing against it as she nuzzles her face against the mane, Zaz doesn't have to comment as she puts two and two together. “Did a little blonde lady bring you from Virang? Did she now?”, she does that playful baby speak as cuddles her new friend. “You know, Gina just told me that you've been keeping her all cooped up in here and she would like to trod upon the sand. Isn’t that right?”, her gaze moves towards Zaz’s position in the stalls, tempting her into going out for a ride.
As the calm and happy pony was being given all the love in the world by Ayla, Zarina was making sure to tend to her own beloved steed. Although first she inspected him for any concealed injuries, even if she had done so before, just in case. He hadn’t really been in combat before, and she made sure to give attention to his heart as she examined the noble creature. Overall, he was fine and didn’t slack on good habits: She began to munch his lips over Zarina’s hip, seeking out a potential carrot in her pocket, ”Yeah yeah, hold your horses.” she snorted at her own bad joke before offering a flat palm with the treat to her horse, ”I guess she could use a little exercise, eh? If you can get the saddle behind her, you can give her a go.”
Riesco was brought out of her temporary shelter and the leather padding that served to shield him was stripped, leaving only a saddle, bridle and his sweaty fur, ”She’s not used to the desert, however, so we should stick to the rocky perimeter of the Refuge, yeah?”
Ayla smiles widely as she starts to lead out her new friend, the gorgeous white pony making its way towards the entrance of the shelter. “She is a noble creature, and we are going to have a leisurely stroll to find some sugar cubes together, aren’t we Gina?”. She checks the saddle and when outside, she pushes herself upon the girl as she begins to ride her. She gently guides Gina alongside Riesco and Zarina, though notices the size difference as she looks up towards the other pair, giving a quizzical look as she starts to suspect she is a victim of a prank.
Zarina hopped onto her steed and peered down at the two below. The size difference was beyond comical, ”Can hear me down there?” she even mimicked an echo before snickering. The two made their way out, exposed to the heat of the desert but shaded by the walls of the refuge. A calm pace was in order, especially after Riesco’s exertion during the fight, ”So, given we’ve got some disposable cash, I figured … Why not rent some stables? They’re pretty dirt cheap.” she brought up as they ventured by the shadow of the Red Tower, ”If we’re gonna start raising Froabases too, may as well learn to be a little responsible first, yeah?”
Ayla muses upon the fact, “There are probably lots of places to rent which will look after horses in the city, and there are special areas for flying creatures, though the rent there would be a lot higher. It sounds like you are thinking we buy our own patch of land and hire our own workers?”, she pitches the suggestion back to Zaz for clarity as they continue to trot around the refuge, a few eyes looking upon the unlikely pair as they complete their circuits.
”Eh? Buy land? Neigh. I think we rent a place but care for our animals. No way am I letting some random dickheads raise my babies.” she grimaced at the thought of letting both Riesco and her dragons be handled by others than herself, ”We’ll have like, four months to prepare, so I figured we’d use this time to get responsible and familiar with the rules, y’know?” as they reached the end of their small tour, Zarina’s horse came to a halt and she faced Ayla, ”How are you feeling with Gina, kitty cat?”
Gina looked happy with the stretching of her legs, though more happy when she came across someone’s rogue dessert they had the misfortune of neglecting for a moment. “She rides like a dream, a very gentle girl. She must have been very well taken care of”, Ayla strokes her hand along the pony’s neck, caressing upon it fondly. “Are you going to be sending her back to Virang?”
Zarina nodded, ”We got her when we were like … Eight? She’s used to annoying kids, never got annoyed. You can’t get her pissed even if you tried.” she hopped off her horse and tended to him before continuing. A little kiss on the snout, although Riesco was keen on getting another treat. His lips flapped and flapped over her hand, and she offered her fist which he ended up chewing on. Of course, he had the reflex to not actually bite down and she saw it as a little game, ”Well, that depends, Ayla. Do you think she’ll be happier alone and unridden back home, or with a certain Kitty cat that’ll take good care of her?”
Ayla pondered as she posed the question towards Gina, “What do you say, Gina. Want tía Ayla to take care of you for a while?”. The response was the pony’s lips seemingly wanting to nibble upon Ayla’s face, as Ayla scrunches it up as her nose gets nibbled upon. She backs away as she wipes her face down, “Gina says yes. Looks like we may be together for a while if that is okay”. She offers a big beaming smile towards Zaz.
”Then it is settled!” she grins back at the small Torragonese. Riesco, keen on getting a snack, turned his attention to Ayla. He figured if Gina was giving her attention, she must have something! He extended out to try and suck in some burnt fabric in the hopes of scooping some yums, though Zarina was quick to gently tap his neck, ”Eyyy. You’ve been getting greedy, big boy.” she leaned in to coil her arms around her steed’s neck, and he responded with resting his head over her shoulder. The eggs were still safe with the backpack fastened at the back of the saddle.
“It seems we were not the only ones wanting to go for a trot, that knight over there keeps looking as if he is wanting to join us. Should we leave you to ride alone?”, Ayla teased as she looked back towards Thierry, smiling towards him. The knight would now know he was the subject of their conversation from appearance alone.
Zarina looked over at Thierry whose non-verbal made it clear he wanted to at least exchange with the tall Virangish girl. She didn’t say anything at first, merely trading gazes before she oriented her attention back to Ayla, ”I mean … It probably won’t be long. Could you just check if my claws are not being nabbed by one of the new folks?” she made an excuse on the fly, to try and deflect any cheeky remarks. The claws were fine along with Zarina’s other goods, except for the eggs which she’d nab from the saddle and carry over her shoulder. She approached Montblaise with Riesco walking by her, ”Still in one piece, big man?” she addressed him with the usual sass she naturally oozed with her free hand on her hip.
Thierry tips his head towards the woman, making a characteristic stretching of his shoulders as he is looking rather bruised and tender from the exchange. “Oui. If you think I look bad, you should take a look at the other gars”. He jokingly thumbs to the Froabas Alpha, knowing full well she was a witness to those events, including his sparring match with it. “Though I do need to thank you. I came out of that far less frit thanks to your intervention.”
Zarina looked over at the Alpha. After a bit of patching up and tending when she laid her eggs, she looked fine barring the subsequent chaining, ”Looks fresher than you, and she’s just given birth.” she cocked a brow and crossed her arms under her chest, ”... But we do make a good team, aye?” the smirk she had turned into a warmer smile she slowly raised for him to see, ”That was wayyyyy too close however. Shit.”
Thierry moves closer as he places his hand upon the reigns of Riesco to bring them side by side, “We do make a good team. Ma rose du désert”, remarking upon the nickname he gave her when they first met. “Didn’t expect my talents to include being a dragon’s midwife”, he moves to break up the tension with his jest, turning to look deeply within the girls’ golden eyes.
Zarina forced a titter out at the utterance of her new nickname, prompting a shake of her head and a desperate attempt to hide her blush, ”Zaz is fine too, Thierry.” she said with a strong accent to match the knight’s own Perrench one, ”I appreciate that you didn’t try to downright kill it. These beasts were perturbed by an unnatural thing. Not our place to just slaughter them all because of that.” she sighed, her arms sliding back down along her sides, with a hand kept on Riesco’s bridle, ”And now, as a reward, we get plenty of new beginnings to look forward to.” she first peered over at her backpack with the eggs, and then over at the refuge.
Thierry simply smiles as he pretends not to see her blush, his hand moving closer to her own. “The future has a lot to think about. You should be making your way to the academy soon, non? I would find it regrettable for this to be our final moments together.”, his hand then moves upon hers, lightly, only for a lingering moment. “I am not going to ask to keep you here, for I know where your heart currently lies, but I wish to see you again, sooner rather than later. Would you grant me this wish?” The handsome knight continues to gaze towards Zaz, his hand holding upon hers lightly in that symbol of sincere affection. He moves his head to indicate towards the girl's friend, “You can bring your friends too, the Duque would be a most generous host, an opportunity to see the sights of Northern Torragon”.
Zarina froze as her hand was taken by the bigger and quite handsome Knight. Eyes wide, lips firmly shut and her pulse accelerating ever so slightly. She felt numb, and for a moment didn’t seem too responsive. Although she eventually tightened her grip on Thierry’s hand and nodded, ”Write to me, if you mean it, Thierry.” she raised her head to have her golden gaze meet his, ”Torragon’s also my home. I will be back. And maybe …” she looked down at their hands and slowly retreated her’s, ”We can ride through the cool desert night, hmm?” then she leaned in and gave the man a quick kiss on his cheek before snickering and backing up, ”I should get going.”
Thierry smiles widely, taking the exchange very gracefully as he allows the girls’ friend to approach, now in her more natural colours. He quietly speaks low towards Zarina, “We are still not sure if the Arslan girl is a fool or a genius, perhaps a bit of both. Good to make friends with that one”.
Ayla smiles as she rides upon Gina, looking as impressive and regal as they could despite the small stature of them both. “Hola, we have come to reclaim what is ours”, she flashes a devilish smile and a wink as she pulls alongside Zarina, luring Riesco after her with some juicy carrots, the horse unable to resist the temptation. “Thank you for taking good care of us, Señor Apuesto Caballero”. She giggles as she purposefully attempts to make Zarina more flustered in the sudden interruption of that intimate exchange.
A pouty Zarina met Ayla’s gaze with a glare, ”Missing me already, eh?” she shook her head and gave Thierry a final glance, ”Good friend indeed. And send me a letter, so we can stay friends, yeah?” Riesco was indeed lured in by the carrot, however a quick ‘Tsk’ and firm grasp of the bridle prevented any sort of venturing from the loyal beast. It would only be when SHE allowed it that he’d be able to reach out and syphon the treat from the Arslan’s grasp, ”Very smooth, Kitty cat.” she uttered with immense sarcasm. A final - truly final - glance was thrown behind her. What a handsome and charming knight he was.
Thierry simply lowers his head in a nod, attempting to suppress his laughter. There was bound to be a letter sent at the very next opportunity, and whilst he never confirmed such a thing, he knew the girl would be eagerly awaiting for its arrival.
As for Ayla, the one who is either a fool or a genius, or a bit of both, she simply looks up towards her friend. “If you like him, this is for the best. It will keep him keen~”.
Amidst the gleeful celebrations, flaunting of spoils and commemorations of those that had passed, Zarina took some time to address the architect of this happy conclusion - and the one that saved them. The generally immobile Amanda was a figure she had few chances to exchange with, and now that a final opportunity presented itself, Zarina opted to seize the day on this one, ”Things turned out pretty good, huh?” the tall teen joined the Tethered’s side, arms crossed and her gaze focused on the many children having the time of their lives. Her attention slowly drifted toward Marceline, ”She’ll be far away, and for a long time. Are you ready for that, Amanda?”
"You're Zarina, right?” She blushed slightly. "Sorry for my poor recall; just too many names to remember this past week.” Zarina chuckled, ”Zarina, yeah. Though if you’d ask Jo, it’d be Zamira. Zaz is fine too.”
"I used to have my share of nicknames,” Amanda admitted, "some flattering and some not as much.” She smiled wistfully. "I hope that my Marci will earn her own - mostly flattering, of course. Ersand'Enise will do her good. Having a big sister figure like you will do her good as well.” Amanda turned her head to regard the Virangishwoman. "It is good that she will not be here. There are some who are happy to live their whole lives in the desert. She is not among them. I do not want her wasting her best years fretting over me.”
Zarina tittered nervously at the big sister remark, lowering her head and closing her eyes to shake off the little sense of vulnerability she felt when Amanda essentially called out how the tall teen began to treat the younger Tethered, ”I won’t baby her. She’s a big, strong gal. But … Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on her. Someone’s gotta.” she turned her head to peer over at the de facto matriarch of the Refuge, ”It is better for her. But I’m asking about you. How do you feel?” she paused, pursed her lips and eventually continued with a hushed voice, ”... And, how long?” she asked awkwardly.
Amanda paused for a moment and seemed to do this thing that indicated that the missing gesture was a shrug. “I don’t feel, in honesty. I could last for another couple of years, perhaps, but I’m not all that bothered about it. My daughter’s future is secure, my people are free, San Agustin is safe, and that other little one -” She paused. “Actually, she’s older than you, but she’s a little one to me.” Amanda’s eyes found Jocasta. “She’s in a much better place now, I sense. Basically, I’ve lasted as long as I needed to and I don’t need to go for any longer. Perhaps another year, if you’re looking for a number. How about you, though? How do you feel.”” Amanda looked at her steadily. “You’ve been in the thick of things: likely gotten a lot more than you bargained for.”
Zarina took a moment to think about her answer. Her attention was brought to Jocasta, and she couldn’t help but trail off to different strings of thought, ”Like my head’s about to burst. But also great. It’s … Very strange.” she raised her hand to rub her temple, ”I feel like I’ve done a year’s worth of efforts and accomplishments in the span of a week. I feel like … I can be kind of proud of myself. Even if it’s all hard to, like, explain.” she continued to rub the side of her head, slowly leaning into those working digits as she looked back at Amanda, ”It sounds like you’re content with your life, overall. I kind of respect that. A lot. I’m often thinking about that, actually.”
Jorge, the resident nose picker, rushed by them, prompting Zarina to break off from Amanda briefly and giggle, ”If you want - if this one grows as fast as they say it would -” she gave a gentle pat onto the bag over her shoulder, ”Maybe we can come a visit by the end of the school year?”
“No ‘kind of’ bullshit with me,” countered Amanda. “You can feel proud of yourself and you should. Good deeds don’t erase things in our past we’re not proud of, but they do, to some extent, make up for them. Anyways, come by whenever you like. I’m not going anywhere and Cons- Jocasta can just zip you over.” She smiled with her lips. “Or you can just ride your dragon.” Her face was content more so than intrigued or interested. Her eyes had moved back to some of her fellow tethered, busy saying their goodbyes.
Zarina abstained from commenting further on her feelings and how conflicting they felt, and truthfully let herself accept them for once. She nodded, ”We’ll see who gets the travelling down first - My big dragon’s fancy wings, or Jo’s seaward zipping.” she chuckled and raised her hand to gently tap Amanda’s unfeeling shoulder, ”Thanks for believing in us, Amanda. I hope we can meet again at least one last time, in this lifetime.” and then she slowly retracted her hand, ”I’ll make sure she eats her greens and returns her assignments on time, too.” with that, she gives the woman a cheeky wink before making her way to her peers for the final goodbyes.
Together, as friends, the group made their farewells and returned to the strange world governed by the almighty Paradigm. Their mission was complete and Hugo confirmed their success while alluding to a potential sequel to these adventures. If it weren’t for the daunting task of storing all of the goods that piled up right before her, Zarina would at least be subtly smiling at the notion. She had made such great strides in not only finding herself, but also enriching her life with more than just the material side of it, or the self-contained spirituality she kept to herself.
First thing’s first thought: Coffee! That would be the first thing she’d go for in her quarters that needed a little dusting. Then came the storage issue. Surely her friends had a solution …
Hugo had finished with the notion that they would be seeing more adventures like the one in Torragon, and Zarina couldn’t help but internally smile at the thought. So much had been done and she felt as though she understood herself far more than she did initially. Not to mention what she tangibly gained. But as the students returned to Ersand’Enise and scattered to their quarters, Zarina directed her attention to something particularly precious she had found during her voyage, ”Hey, Marci.” she called out, hurrying over next to the Tethered newcomer and keeping up with her slower pace, “Got everything in order? Need help with anything? Actually, where’d they put you?” she kept herself chipper and radiated energy she had no right to after all that had happened, plus the headache, but she was going to make an effort for her friend.
Marci had sensed Zarina coming from a ways away. She twisted awkwardly on the spot. “Thank you, mom, I’m fine,” she replied deadpan to the first part, but when Zarina continued, the fourteen-year-old had more to say. “Oh yeah, I’m with the commons for now, which is perfectly fine. I’m supposed to head to some place called The Castle. It’s here on this map.” Said map was half-scrunched around the grip of one of her crutches. She stopped rather abruptly for a moment, pointed to it absently, and took a moment to sweep some hair from her face. She glanced about. “Actually, I’m on my way to meet this brother I supposedly have first, beside a statue of Nachaias outside the Grand Library.” She shrugged nervously, glancing Zarina’s way and then ahead. “Manfred’s his name and I don’t even remember it, which is so embarrassing, right?” She shook her head nervously as if to banish the emotion. “I mean… I have the vague idea that I really liked him and we got along as kids, but it’s been years and I could be wrong and he could be just another snooty noble who’ll turn their nose up at me.” Marci stopped once again, pivoting. “I’m honestly considering just not going. Like, why do I care about that family? None of them ever stuck up for me and I’m kind of more into just starting fresh and not worrying about the past.” She scrunched her face up. “Ugh, Zaz, just ugh. Like…what would you do?” She paused. “And no sentimental bullshit.”
Zarina seized the map and took her sweet time to read it over while Marci was digging herself deeper into anxiety and doubt. The Virangish remained composed and even hummed a few ‘mhms’ as the Tethered expressed her situation and feelings toward the matter. The pace continued, prompted by Zarina who was subtly working her way into getting Marceline to go through with it by essentially walking toward the destination without actually saying they’re going there, ”What would I do? No bullshit. Hmmm.” she clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes up briefly, ”Well, I’d hate to have to inevitably meet the guy since we’re both living in the same city and going to the same school at the same year and it wouldn’t be on my terms.” she rolled up the map and presented it to her friend, ”I’d want to get it done, and I mean- The guy mustn’t be too bad if he bothered to reach out, right?” she reached out to tap Marci’s back and shot a confident grin at the hesitant teen, ”Worst case, if he’s a total asshole, his sister’s got a badass dragon to answer to as well.”
Marci blinked. The little shit had started moving again, but then she stopped. “Zarina Al-Nader,” she began, “are you giving me a dragon?” pursed her lips and just looked around to feign confusion, ”I dunnnooooo. There is, however, a weird bump in your bag.” she pointed at said egg-bump. The thing had been snuck in by that sly Zazzy.
“Friend,” Marceline replied, “buddy, mate, pal…” She was using all of the Avincian synonyms that she knew, trying to suppress a massive, unbelieving smile. “I…I don’t even think there’s a word good enough for this.” She stood there, almost unmoving for a moment, before hastily but cautiously unslinging the sack from her shoulder and rifling through it. There, indeed, was an egg. Marci looked back up, wobbling for a moment. “I… can’t accept charity, though, not one hundred percent, at least. I have wyrm claws and scales. They’re yours.”
Zarina sucked in her cheek, ”... How about we just split them? Like, love, I’m dumping responsibility onto you because three of these fuckers is actually pretty intimidating. So … How about we just both use the reserve of scales to finance our dumb shit, yeah?” she shrugged, one hand on her own bag to feel out her own eggs she usually kept close to her person.
“Hmm,” pondered Marci, tapping her bottom lip with a finger for a moment. “Sounds like a plan!” She looked up - but not too far up, for Marci was actually rather tall herself - smiling brightly. “What’s yours is mine, what’s mine is yours, bestie!” She took a couple of particularly awkward-looking steps and made a pouty face. “Was trying to skip,” she grumbled. “Fuckin’ ankles.” She sniffed and swept some hair back as she began walking, but then paused to yawn. “Ugh, I’ll also blame sleep deprivation. You half as tired as me?”
The yawn was contagious and the chronically sleep deprived Zarina even stretched her arms out to have it last a little longer, ”Mmm, nah, ‘tis be the daily grind for yours truly.” she reached into her bag and seemed to search for something. A good moment later and still nothing, so the rummaging intensified until she gave up, ”... And I don’t have my coffee jug.” she looked around her, ”And home’s so faaaaarrrr, fuuuuuuuck.” she whined with her arm aggressively waving in defeat.
“Tell me about it,” commiserated Marci. “Back at the refuge they used to pump us Afortunado full of caffeine after training so we could function the next day. Free cups of coffee just sitting out there on a table for us on our way out.” She yawned again. “Fucking. Glorious.” she concluded. “Wish they had something like that here. The school should offer it.”
Zarina stopped in place, eyes narrowed toward nothing in particular, ”... No coffee readily available, which it should be, near the school. For sleepy, cramming students.” She quickly twisted to her friend, ”Fuck the school, why don’t we do that? For, like, cashish.” mouth slightly agape and her lips tugging at their edges as she tried to contain her growing excitement at the idea.
Marci’s eyes widened as she listened. “Oh. My. Gods.” she squealed. “Yes! We could make a killing.” A grin spread across her features. “Like a… small shop: just large enough to quickly make coffee for a reasonable fee… and quickly, right!?” Zarina clapped her hands together, the enthusiasm clearly as contagious as the drowsiness it had drowned out, ”Yes, a ‘reasonable’” she even did the quotations with her fingers, ”fee. Like, we actually try to make as many as possible, with maybe some yummies to go with it - Downright can’t start the day without breakfast.” Marceline grinned as she spoke. “Reasonable.” The younger girl mimicked her air quotes. In general, there was a lot of gesturing, and the walking pace was all over the place with Zarina going a bit too fast for the tethered at times, ”Okay. Our dragon lifestyles might ACTUALLY be feasible now.”
“Hehe! Dragon lifestyles. I feel like that should be a thing: you know, ‘live the dragon lifestyle. Be a mover and a shaker.’” She pulled upon the Gift a little to keep up. “And yes, definitely some light food too. You can just quickly grab it on the way to class too. All the students will be doing it. We’ll be rich!” Zarina snapped her fingers a few times, ”Okay okay, good idea. So, we need a name. Something that makes you wanna just spend your money on a delicious coffee and pastries …”
“Ugh, I’m bad with names,” admitted Marci, “so that’s all you, hun.” She furrowed her brow for a moment. “Should probably be something that appeals to Zenos too. I bet they’re just as sleep-deprived as we are. Gotta rake in those Zeno bucks too, right?”
Zarina froze, turned to Marceline with a growing ‘O’ where her mouth was. She didn’t say anything at first but eventually she pulled the curtain on what just hit her, ”ZENO BUCKS! That name FUCKS!”
“It bangs!” responded Marci. “Oh my Shune, we should totally do it!” She was grinning like a magpie. “Thing is… where do we get all our coffee?” Zarina furrowed her eyebrows at the question, rubbing her chin as she briefly mused, ”I mean … I usually got mine from Alqorrah, back home. I know a guy or five that move these things around in the sea. Now if they can do so in bulk, we mayyyy have something.” she crossed her arms and nodded to herself, ”But I’ll make something work. We’re known for our coffee beans, and there’s bound to be some asshole wanting to make fat Zeno bucks.”
And, just like that, it had moved from a crazy idea to food for actual thought, to a potentially serious venture that the two young women were going to pursue. “You know,” said Marci, “we should probably sell our takes from the sand wyrm to raise startup capital.” She glanced around almost… surreptitiously, as if the sacred cash cow had to be guarded from the ears of others. “I don’t want to be beholden to the duke or even the refuge and I imagine you’d prefer not to remain in your family’s pocket…”
”Or …” Zarina raised her index finger, ”We get some investors on- Startup capital, where did you hear that?” she squinted over at Marci but then shook her head to continue her string of thought, ”Anyway, you know that tall girl with the glasses for instance? She’s doing some speed dating thing, and she’s STACKED with pearls. So … Why not pitch to her?” she shrugged, the initial excitement mellowing as she kept a slow walking pace, ”No charity. No owing shit to some duke or our families - which you’re right, I’d want to build my own thing - It’s our jig. And we can probably sell a few scales, yeah. Just not all of ‘em, we need stuff to fall back on!” she then snapped her fingers again as something hit her, ”There’s also paperwork. And other stuff that isn’t just coffee. Do you know how to bake, Marci?”
Marceline grimaced. “Sadly, no, though I want to learn. We should find people who can bake, and maybe…” she trailed off, a thought having struck her. “So, crazy idea, but how about we use the Pumpernickel Clubbe to make our baked goods, at least at the very start?” She smirked wickedly. “They’re making all sorts of things, of mixed quality. We take them all and offer free lifetime drinks and treats to members who contribute instead of money. If we have the sort of volume I think we will, it’ll hardly matter. We don’t sell the bad stuff of course. We take it to keep up the cover that this is just a nice little volunteer thing they’re doing and they get free coffee and snacks whenever they want as a thank you. Then, when we have a bit more cash, we employ the better ones outright.”
Zarina was all ears, and what she heard made the most of impish smirks take form on her visage. She felt a strange pride when she saw just how brilliant her new business partner proved to be. ”Thank goodness we got you out of that shitty desert, it’d be such a massive waste to have that mind work for half-witted warmongers.” she reached out to rest her hand over Marceline’s head and ruffled her hair, ”Brilliant. Free labour, and when we get too big, we have the resources to get full-time staff. Although, I will insist, we keep a small selection of pastries. Easier to handle.”
“Only the best,” Marceline agreed, “but unique: ones they can only get at Zeno Bucks.” She giggled. “And addictive. We want them coming back to us and only us.” She furrowed her brow. “If this business model works, it won’t be long before others with more resources copy us. We need to grow, and quickly.” Zarina just kind of awkwardly stared at the young Tethered and was speechless, ”Uhm.” an awkward look to the left, and then to the right, ”Wow. I mean, I agree. Just- fuck, didn’t think you’d be THIS good. Luckily, coffee’s got you covered for the recurring drinking. And I’d reckon we can try out sugar dosage too …” she tapped her cheek with her index and major fingers, ”Maybe even experiment with some of these southern crops that cost a fuck-ton?”
Marceline nodded. “I was thinking that too!” Marci took Zarina’s hands, excited. “Basically, you know how all of these clubs and societies and guilds and stuff have tiers based on social class?” She arched an eyebrow, inviting a realization but not quite waiting for a response. “We do the same! We have honey as a basic sweetener, then sugar, and then spratz!” She released the older girl’s hands, settling hers back on her crutches. “You know,” she continued, taking a couple of jaunty steps, “I think it’ll be effective too because it’s what the warden used to call ‘aspirational’: people will want the more expensive ones just to look good. It’ll be a status thing. Even if they can’t afford spratz every day, just frequenting a place that offers it looks good, and they’ll find the honey and sugar prices - which’ll probably make up almost all of our sales - very reasonable: habit-building, even.” They’d walked a good way now, and Marci took a deep breath and let it out, visibly far less anxious than she’d been when they’d started walking.
It was an understatement to say Zarina was flabbergasted by Marci’s business acumen, and even more so when she realised how brilliant it sounded. Her hand just hovered there as it was let go, “That is … Actually a very good idea. I haven’t actually thought of, y’know, people wanting to LOOK like they’re a higher status. But come to think of it, given nearly half the folks here are nobles, it actually fits. Looking bigger than they really are and all.” the Virangish woman chuckled, ”Aspirational. How about you write an essay on that in the business elective? Wait, no- Write a fat thesis and get tenure, so we get even more privileges around here.”
“Are you in that class too!?” Marci squealed. ”Yup!” Zaz matched the teen’s energy.
“Oh muh Shune!” exclaimed Marci. “We’d better be in the same section or I swear I’m gonna break my foot off in some secretary’s ass.” They were nearly at the library now, and it was about time for them to part. The tethered came to a stop, managing an uncertain smile. “I… uhm, thank you again for this egg. You’ve just given me something worth more than most people earn in a lifetime. I’ll repay it all if Zeno Bucks ets off the ground: your friendship, your… loyalty and generosity and stuff.” She took a step forward and, in one sudden motion, enfolded Zarina in a hug.
”I mean, it’s not lik-” Zarina just fell into that hug and returned it with a tight embrace, ”You’ll be fine, meeting him alone?” she whispered by the other’s ear.
“Yeah, I am.” Marceline sniffed. “A lil’ worried but, if he’s really my brother, I remember him being decent.” After a couple more seconds, she finally released the Virangishwoman. Stepping out to arms’ length, she clasped Zarina’s hands. “Wish me luck?” she chirped.
Zarina looked down to both their hands, a bright smile decorating her visage as she slowly looked back up at her friend’s expression, ”Yeah, break a leg … Not that you really need it.”
“Bruja!” Marci shot back in Torragonese, but she softened it with a smile as Zarina stuck her tongue out and slowly withdrew her hands. ”If things don’t feel too grand, you know where to find me, yeah? Always some space in those fat merchant quarters.”
Marceline released her fully and nodded bravely. “Thanks, buddy! Your couch is gonna have my name on it!” Taking a couple of steps back, she gathered herself, pivoted on the spot, and was on her way.
Zarina has successfully survived and gained plenty of experiences in the Deserted mission! From participating in slaying the Sand Wyrm to taming the Alpha Froabas to helping said Froabas lay her eggs, she has made her farewells to the parted and the living and now resumes her life in Ersand’Enise. She and Marci have had quite the breakthrough, with a new business idea flourishing!
Acquired goods: -Riesco - Her Horse that remained in Virang -Sand Wyrm Claws x8 -Sand Wyrm Bones x8 -Sand Wyrm Scales x10 (+50 shared with Marci) -Froabas Eggs x2 -Alpha Froabas egg x1 -A Knightly suitor x1
Magical Skills: Kinetic Intermediate -> Kinetic Adept - Training with Jocasta on the fundamentals of flight and levitation have encouraged Zarina to practice and better understand the notions of the school of magic. Temporal Neophyte -> Temporal Neophyte II (To be determined if it grows to Novice) - Her exposure to many uses of it with Jocasta have left Zarina with strong firsthand experience with the magic, as well as basic theoretical understanding of it. She definitely gets the ‘feeling’ of it.
Magical Spells Acquired: -Levitation (Kinetic Tree) - Still getting the hang of it but she’s beginning to fly more like Jocasta (with less elegance due to not being a Skyborn) -A Pleasant Call (Chemical Tree, Tiered: 1-3) - A solidified version of Zarina’s peculiar influence on fauna (Mostly of beings of much lower RAS, but far less effective on fully sapient beings). Her body is capable of producing pheromones that quickly adapt to the species she’s targeting to pacify them and render them more ‘tamable’, some even going as far as taking some orders. Strong applications of this spell allow the user to immediately prompt the effects the pheromones have on the body without needing to expulse it (essentially skipping a step). This ability can be enhanced even further when combined with Magnetic to create magnetic fields that are longer reaching and can affect considerable flocks of simpler creatures (eg. Locusts or small birds). (Magnetic Tiered 2-4)
Non-Magic Skills: -Animal Connoisseur (Taming and Riding): Zarina has managed to tame an Alpha Froabas despite her inexperience. She has had some help, of course! With newfound passion in new animal species, her strong Chemical magic and animal-related electives, she is now a better rider and animal handler. -Desert Adventurer: She had prior experience with the desert as a half-Torragonese and young traveller, and her fights in the area have made her more comfortable in surviving and battle in similar terrains. -Patience for the Underdog: Initially easily frustrated over victims and those put down by their unfortunate circumstances, she is now capable of showing more patience for the less fortunate. Still easily annoyed, but she won’t burst as easily if the subject comes up.
Zarina was flabbergasted to say the least. Her hand taken and kissed as if she was a high noble and by quite the looker no less. One that was actually taller than her too. The group had settled before the prison itself, underground and safe from even a Wyrm attack. She had been playing a card game with Marceline and Abdel, with the former ending up being quite the clever little pup. She was standing before the armoured envoy and stuttered her first couple of words.
”Ah, uh- Yeah. Enchanted, Sir.” her body language displayed a level of anxiety she hadn’t often shown before. Maybe she wasn’t expecting this sort of introduction. Maybe it was a ruse? Or perhaps he actually sought to charm her? In any case, her good mood resonated quite well with Thierry’s approach and even prompted a light blush from the teen, ”The prisoners are behind us, yes, through this door. To ensure their safety, and everyone else’s, we’re keeping them here until the Duque settles things with those upstairs.” she rested a hand on her hip, ”Sounds good? No bamboozling? We have enough to worry about.”
Abdel, on the other hand, glared knives at the big newcomer. He didn’t speak, for it wasn’t his place, but unlike Zarina his mood could easily kill the atmosphere if he manifested it any further. Seizing his cane, he stood between Thierry and the entrance to the dungeon and simply eyed the outsider with clear distrust. He would only move the moment Zarina gave the go ahead.
Thierry adorns her with a charming smile at the warm reception of his presence. He squeezes lightly upon her finger tips, “In absence of your name, may I call you rose du désert, for your features liken as much”. His eyes move to watch as Abdel moves towards the dungeon door, addressing the boy as well when he stands up straight. “You’re a sprightly one, jeune homme. Nothing should pass your vigilant watch, even I am afraid.” He gives a generous beaming disarming smile to the boy, shifting a warm expression to the third and quieter one. “They say the wise listen as the fool speaks, jeune fille, pleased to make your acquaintance.” Thierry gives a courteous bow as he offers to take Marceline’s hand in a more reserved manner to place a kiss upon it.
”Ah.” Zarina shook her head, ”Zarina. I’m Zarina Al-Nader.” she had landed back onto planet Sipenta after that charming compliment, ”This is Marceline, and this is Abdel.” the hand that had been kissed was then used to point toward each member of the group.
“Belle, I am charmed. Such strong names for these two as well.” After the greetings, Thiery simply smiles as he returns to the matter at hand towards the eldest of the three, “As stated, I am only to ensure the humane treatment of those inside as a formality. There is no room in my heart for concern after meeting mademoiselle”.
Abdel kept a confrontational stance and an adamant glare. He did not trust these outsiders- they all gave off the air of the staff he so loathed, ”I don’t think we should let this colourful strange man. I don’t like him.” he spoke in his mother tongue, which Zarina was supposedly the only one to understand in the room. The tall Virangish girl turned her body to perpendicular to the two males and gestured calmly to pacify the cautious pre-teen, ”It’s fine. We go as planned, and worst case we’re three on one.” she shot a knowing glance and smile over to Marceline before addressing the Duque’s envoy, ”If you would follow me, Sir Theirry.” a couple of steps passed Abdel and she would open the gates to the dungeon where two dozen of the higher staff were held, ”After you.”
Thierry continued to politely smile as if not phased by the exchange in Virangish. Then interrupting with a cough once it appeared finished, “If you want Mon Grand, I will let you look after my sword whilst these ladies show me around.” He pulls the large two-handed sword from his shoulder, holding it out with a single hand, “But you must be careful with her, she is precious to me. I am trusting you here”. He smiles as he gives Zarina a wink, allowing Abdel to clumsily contend with the weight of the blade when he takes up the offer. Once Thierry moves through the door, he turns and bows, holding out his hand to invite Zarina to take it as she escorts him around the dungeon.
Abdel went from confrontational stoicism to downright scowling at the man upon being given sword babysitting duty. He wanted to speak up, maybe even square off with the knight, but Zarina was quick to intervene, ”I’m sure your sword will be fine by the door. Thieves don’t exactly have anywhere to run, now do they?” she nudged her head toward Abdel, and in turn the young male drew with the gift and used what he knew to manipulate the heavy weapon and carefully place it against the stone wall by the door, ”I do need Abdel for this task, after all. If the Wyrm finds a way in here, only he could save us~” she gave a similar wink to Abdel.
The dungeon smelled of sweat and was quite hot given many bodies resided in it and had a tendency to move out of sheer boredom and a need for exertion. They were given plenty of water to compensate for this heat, with Abdel sometimes drawing from the air to cool down the place. Most shared cells, though the Vice-Wardens were purposely kept separate given their strength, ”Healthy, fed and mostly intact.” Zarina turned on her heels to face the Knight in the middle of the hall with rows of cells on both sides. Her arms opened up, inviting Thierry to investigate for himself.
Marci was finding it difficult to endure through the pleasantries, allowing Zarina to take the lead on the interactions with the enamoured knight. She got the best of herself as she was unable to avoid chiming in on the remark, "A lot better than some of the care we received".
Thierry nodded, offering Marci a comforting smile, “Then I thank you for your generosity, his grace would be pleased”. He slowly walks through the corridor as he nods towards those within the cells, his expression more stern than the friendly overtures he offered the others outside. “I am afraid a few others here wouldn’t be granted that same pleasure.” As Thierry approaches towards the individual cells, he turns towards Zarina, “I assume Vice-Warden Adela would be held with those ahead. May I request the opportunity of a private audience to speak with her? I assure you of no foul play, merely the exchange of words. You have my honour as a knight.”. He offers Zarina that disarming charming smile again allowing her opportunity to respond to his request.
Thierry’s interest in the Vice-Warden Zarina had personally locked up brought the Virangish to lower her arms and gesture for the Knight to follow her. Abdel took the head this time, however, and proceeded to unlock the door at the end of the stoney hallway where four ‘isolated’ cells could be found. They didn’t have bars and instead were completely sealed off by heavy metal doors with air passing through the small gap beneath where food was passed, ”Adela is …” she paused for a moment, only to remark the riding crop hanging by one of the doors, ”Over here.”
Inside, Adela would seem relatively well. Her hair greasy and dishevelled, her attire stained and the latrine likely needed some changing. But otherwise the cell seemed maintained and her health intact. The door was left open, although Abdel and Marci kept their distance, ready to unleash their knowledge of the gift if need be, while Zarina kept to the doorframe to supervise the exchange.
Thierry nodded at the accommodations made, though mentally noted the lack of privacy in the conversation, as a result, keeping the exchange briefer than intended. “Adela, glad to see you are kept well”, he nods towards her before slipping into a more official tone, “His grace received your letter, and to thank you for drawing the matter of the Refuge to his attention. He is most displeased at the situation. Once matters have concluded and you are released, you are to report to him directly.”
With Zarina keeping watch, the two officials could have their exchange without any interruptions. Adela had remained seated on her bed until she recognized the Black Knight himself, Sir Thierry Montblaise, “Sir!” she quickly sprang up and kept a stiff posture while addressing the Perrench knight, “I-” she stammered, the existing sweat on her forehead from the heat of the dungeon accumulated quickly now that she was put under pressure, “It was Tavio, Montblaise! He betrayed the Duque’s trust and tried to use outsiders to resolve this issue!” she then gave Zarina the stink-eye, “These outsiders who have caused this mess in the first place. Locked us like animals when I tried to take their side!”
The Virangish was about to retort but a particularly frustrated Abdel stepped up, ”Shut up! You didn’t say ANYTHING when they went to the desert.” he wedged himself by Zarina to get a better eye of the small cell, ”All you do is lie, lie and LIE. Lie to Luisa about appreciating her. Lie to Zarina about giving a damn about them, Lie to …” he was gritting his teeth, ”Everyone about me! Because you hate me- No, US.” Zarina, upon witnessing the tantrum, was already drawing with the gift. Converting the heat but also the strong winds outside the dungeon itself. If he kept on going, she was ready to subdue him.
Thierry raises an eyebrow at the intrusion of their private conversation, though he expected as much. “His grace will be less tolerating than garçon here if he feels you are attempting to deceive him, Vice-Warden Adela. Choose your words carefully.” He turns to direct his attention towards the others at the doorway, “It appears the Vice-Warden is suffering from dehydration. May I request some water for her to drink, wash, and some clean clothes for when she meets his grace?”, finishing with a nod towards Zarina and Marci.
Marci recognises this as an opportunity to allow Abdel to withdraw, holding her hand upon his shoulder. "Come with me, I will need some help with the water". She glances up towards Zarina, as if awaiting her verdict.
The Vice-Warden was just about ready to defend herself and save face in front of Thierry, but the towering man shut down any hope of a recovery. It was a similar situation to the crop or prison she had faced before ending in the dungeon, and she wasn’t going to blossom with newfound courage after three days in the dark and heat, “... I will be nothing but truthful to his grace, the Duque.” she crossed her arms and made herself smaller, “As I wrote in my letter, Tavio sent these outsiders as sacrifices to purge the Aberracion, but the monster swallowed it first.” her voice was hushed and she gravitated toward the corner of her cell whilst keeping eye contact with Thierry.
Zarina shot a glance at Marci and conferred a nod to her when she seized the initiative to appease the situation. Abdel, still shooting daggers with his eyes, wanted to say so much more, but ultimately couldn’t muster the strength to go against both Zarina and Marceline, ”She’ll be provided with everything she needs.” she raised an eyebrow whilst scrutinising the weather form of the vice, ”So long as you consider the potential emotions and animosities involved, Sir Thierry. We could have killed them, or treated them with the same treatment they’ve given to the minds of every resident here.” she provided perspective as she stepped into the cell, standing by the armoured man and looking down at the older woman, ”It would be quite cruel to do such a thing, no?”
Thierry nods as he nods and offers his arm out towards Zarina to take. “Merci, if you don't mind escorting me out of here. I am satisfied with the condition of the prisoners, Mademoiselle.”, he turns on his charm offensive with the Virangish girl, offering her a smile. “I am sure Vice-Warden Adela has much to prepare for when she speaks with his grace.”
Zarina peered down at the presented arm, and then up at the envoy’s visage, ”I’m afraid I’m ill-equipped to match your splendour, Sir Thierry.” she replied with a smirk pushing on the edge of her lips and a light tinge of sarcasm to her tongue, ”Although I’m sure Marci would appreciate the extra hand to get around.” from a smirk to a downright shit-eating toothy grin, she made sure Marceline saw it.
As the duo brought the water, Abdel would be the first to sense a disturbance that team Yalen had since detected. The Wyrm had entered tethered range, but was not heading for them, ”The Wyrm! Do you feel it too, Marci?” Zarina squinted in slight concern and looked over at the tall warrior by her.
Marci nods in agreement, "I can feel it, just on the edge… it doesn’t appear to be heading in this direction. It seems to be making its way to… … Hosta".
With the response and the revelation of new information, Sir Thierry relaxes his arm. “His grace will be requesting my presence. We can explore this further at a more opportune time.” He brings Zarina’s hand to his lips as he kisses upon it. “Luck for the upcoming fight.”, he offers her a wink as he starts marching past the cells, the sword seeming to lift and pull through the air towards him as he straps it upon his back. He gives a respectful nod towards Marci and Abdel as they come through with the waters. “Till next time.”
Interacting with: King Arcel@Force and Fury Ulfhild @Salsa Verde, All in the Red Table Opportunity: Arnaud is nearly finished by Ulfhild, awakens from a short coma and shows up at the Red Table. He's not very happy to see one is missing. Event: Aftermath of Relouse Location: The Torn Beach -> Medical Ward -> Red Table
It had gotten so cold. As the accumulated water made-instrument of death washed over the entire field and dragged Arnaud’s near-lifeless body through the blood-soaked mud of Relouse, he could only feel the cold air brushing through his damp body. It was unpleasant, and he hated it even in his half-conscious state. The man had not only overdrawn but also went far beyond what his neglected and ageing body could physically allow. Now laid a fat, broken warrior with skin and tattoos that didn’t match the average Parrench. His chest still mightily heaved, making it impossible to mistake him for dead, but it was easy to confuse him for an interloper that had no place in the war now that his recognizable armour had been peeled off by the foe he had vanquished.
The Aheri’s eyes could barely open. It felt like flashes of time passing by. Sometimes he would see a blade swing just over his eyes from a battle between two men fighting until the end. Sometimes he simply saw the smoke-covered skies above.
Am I dying?
He couldn’t move. Perhaps this was the end? And then an unexpected sight: A maiden whose features were blurred. He couldn’t see properly, but his imagination handled the missing details.
I must have perished. It is as some say- The virtuous are granted many wonders after death. The five take mercy even upon a beast like me.
There was a smile, but not one Ulfhild could see. Arnaud was for all intents and purposes immobile and defenceless. As the knife drew closer, his wheezing got louder.
A warrior too. One to mercifully claim my life. In a battlefield where so many die shitting themselves with their entrails ripped out. I am unworthy.
His dark eyes were almost daring the Eskandr huntress to finish the deed, but it would not come to pass. Something stopped her.
“You’ll see me again,
A wondrous thing to hear, Siwa.
I’ll make sure of it, Parrench dog.”
Parrench. Even the Eskandr maiden-warriors of my afterlife recognize me for what I am. Do not leave, please.
The envoy of death left, and Arnaud soon lost full consciousness. His bleeding and massively bruised body left to be claimed by the elements. It would be a few minutes after the semi-delirium that he would be found by one of his last remaining men. He alone dragged the Aheri back to safety, as Maerec and many others that could be counted on were left to confront their own turbulent fates.
Two days passed. There was no Asier visiting the near-comatose Arnaud. The few good souls dedicated to easing the pain of the suffering feared to approach the man. Partially for his unusual appearance, but also for the fact that he did have bouts of delirium in his ‘sleep’. Mumbles of the words ‘Bouzima’ and ‘Ahsal-hama’ were very common, and were sometimes even screamed to the dismay of the staff and the ill alike. It was only thanks to Moustafa, the same man that salvaged his once master, that Arnaud was properly tended after. As his bruises receded and both mana and body recuperated, his mind adjusted too.
He awoke the day Arcel called for a meeting- just an hour prior. Arnaud’s legs were killing him, his back even more. The perforated gut he carried for a couple of years now stung like he had never felt before. It was better for him to stay in bed, but none dared to tell Arnaud what to do even in his most vulnerable state. He was merely offered the only thing he needed to serve his Lord: The Face of the Executioner. Neither he nor his men showed a trace of their person as they acted as the King’s Justice. And today would not be an exception, no matter how many hindrances he would have to endure.
The consequences of war did little to the thuds and tremors that came with Arnaud being nearby. He was no Nashorn, but he was still massive with a heavy armour to boot. His steps were slow but his stride was strong. When he arrived at the Red Table, it was a known habit that the executioner would remain standing, usually close to the king, but he took a seat this time. Which one didn’t matter as it wasn’t like anyone would exactly miss a man like an armoured Aheri.
”I remain your Lame, Your Majesty. Point me in a direction and I shall deliver the Justice of Dami and Parrench onto those who oppose your order. I will be an immovable wall or an indiscriminate storm at your command, Mon Roi.” he recited with considerable zeal. Whether to attack or to defend, Arnaud was the king’s blade and bulwark. He trusted the judgement of the strong, and to this day hadn’t failed in his duties as a loyal ally to the crown.
A silence lingered after his claim, ”Has he perished?” he inquired behind the metallic filter of his featureless helm, ”The Lion Knight. Has he known his end at the hand of a few Southerners?” it was impossible to read his voice as it remained perfectly flat. Behind the veil of metal, Arnaud was grating his teeth. The Tourrare Knight was an asset they couldn’t ignore, and yet he wasn’t here. The Executioner could only deduce a select number of possibilities. Something stirred deep within Arnaud. An anger palpable enough that those with even a slight connection to Force or Essence magic could tell the beast of a man was not in a good state of mind.
pantothenic
Izurich
jasbraq
Ti
Jumbus
Fetzen
dragonpiece
NiraVaren
Lucid Dreaming
