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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Jan 23, 2024 15:57:47 GMT -5
Parker wasn't ready for the morning. Well, he was ready to hurry up and get as far away from the royal family (save for Sol's youngest siblings), but he wasn't ready to brace the cold. Honestly, he was going to be fine. He was used to it by now, but complaining about it had just become a habit he created to annoy his siblings. Of course, he also tried to use it as an excuse to keep Sol to himself for a moment longer, which worked… for a few minutes. Eventually, he was forced to get up and get ready for the long trip ahead.
It didn't take long to pack all their stuff and leave the room. Parker, dressed in the warmest outfit her could that didn't hinder his mobility, followed his lover through the halls of the castle for, probably, the last time in a long, long while. If he never came back, he wouldn't be upset, but he also didn't want to rule it out. After all, this is where Sol's family lived. Even if he didn't want to see them often, he would probably come and check in occasionally. They were still his family. So Parker didn't want to hope for never returning just for his selfish opinions.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Jan 25, 2024 17:51:19 GMT -5
Morgan didn't need to be told twice. Moving quickly so she didn't change her mind, he entered the stall and opened the trap door.
Or, tried to, anyway. Turned out, it was locked.
Morgan grumbled under his breath, but he didn't let the lock stop him. Pulling on his reserves of magic, he unlocked the door, and then opened it.
A hole stretched down twelve feet or so, with a ladder attached to one wall. Morgan saw and heard nothing from below, so he started down the ladder.
At the bottom, he found a small guard room. It was not empty.
A cot occupied one corner... with an off-duty guard sleeping on it.
A small kitchenette and dining table took up the other wall. Two more guards were sitting at the table... also sound asleep. A door stood opposite the ladder.
Morgan scratched his head. "How... odd." Especially when it became apparent to him that this was not natural sleep.
☆~☆~☆ Sol was up before the sun, as usual. He managed to get out of bed without waking Parker, and stayed out long enough to take care of some correspondence and pack his things. Then he let himself be persuaded back into bed, if only for a short while.
When they both got up for real, Sol dressed quickly in comfortable yet practical traveling attire, and then saw to his dogs while Parker packed. The moment they were ready, they set off for the stables.
Sol was nearly finished securing his things behind Aztec's saddle whr the twins found him.
Cleo's head appeared over the stall door, Kylo behind her. "Trying to escape without saying goodbye?" The words were accusatory, but her tone was teasing.
Sol fought a smile. "I wouldn't dream of it. I knew you'd get here in time." It was tradition, after all.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Jan 25, 2024 20:40:50 GMT -5
Kyra, even more suspicious about this place, climbed her way down into the dim underground room. Once there, she paused beside Morgan to take in the sight of the guards. "Magic?" she asked, wandering over to the two sleeping at the table. It was either magic or poison, but seeing as all the men were still alive, magic was the more believable cause for their slumber.
~*~*~
Parker just smiled and went back to finishing his own last minute checks. When he was done and leading his horse from its stall, he made it in time to catch a brief glimpse of the telescope in Sol's hands. He said nothing, however, not wanting to interrupt the siblings' moment.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Jan 25, 2024 21:17:07 GMT -5
"Yes. Not Rider magic, though." Morgan went and checked on the man on the bed. He seemed fine, just asleep. Morgan nudged him. No reaction. "Powerful nonetheless."
☆~☆~☆ Kylo stepped forward, pulling something from his pocket. He offered it to Sol and Sol accepted it.
It was smaller than Cleo's gift, and wrapped in a silk cloth. Sol lifted the cloth, revealing what looked like a large locket in white-gold, with flecks of obsidian. There was a barely noticeable bulge on one side, and when he pressed it, the locket sprang open.
"It's a compass," he said, surprised and impressed. "Thank you, Kylo."
Kylo looked down, bashful compared to Cleo's gleeful toe bouncing.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Jan 25, 2024 21:28:21 GMT -5
"So a Magician? Great, just what we need," Kyra muttered. Had it been a Rider who cast the spell, then that would at least confirm who might have been behind it. There weren't too many Riders who were acting on their own right now. One or two, but most were either fully under Genevieve's thumb, or completely against her. Magicians were different. They were free agents. Most hardly did anything. Some focused on using their magic to help others or perfect their crafts. And she had even heard of at least one city having a guild for those looking to hire one for odd jobs. Either this was someone's personal attack, or someone who was hired for the same purpose. "Is there a way to remove the spell?"
~*~*~
Parker couldn't help but smile. Had they been on the ship or anywhere else, he was sure that he would have kept the show of emotion to a more contained reaction. And while he wasn't exactly pouring out emotions, he wasn't trying to keep it under wraps as much as he usually was. It was good to see him like this, and he only wished that Sol could have more time to enjoy visiting with his younger siblings without the stress the rest of their family brought.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Jan 26, 2024 9:19:13 GMT -5
Morgan slowly shook his head. "Not with my magic. I don't have enough is reserve for this kind of spell. We'll just have to find the person who did it and make them reverse it." He moved toward the door and reached for the handle.
☆~☆~☆ Sol safely tucked his gifts away, then pulled both siblings in for a hug. They squeezed back tightly.
"Take me with you?" Cleo asked quietly, like she always did.
Sol kissed the top of her head. "One day," he promised, like he always did.
With a sigh, she pulled back. "Stay safe," she told him. Then she went to give Artemis pats and kisses before heading for the exit. "See you around, Parker," she called without looking back.
Sol sighed and went back into Aztec's stall to bridle him.
Kylo sidled up to Parker. "Don't mind her," he said softly. "She always gets like this when Sol leaves and this year isn't the 'one day' she's hoping for."
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Jan 26, 2024 16:02:42 GMT -5
"Ready when you are, Charming," Kyra replied, and while she added the nickname for teasing effect, her tone and demeanor were serious and focused.
~*~*~
(I can't remember if he mentioned being a twin himself or not while they had lunch/dinner with Sol's mom and the twins. I feel like he might have said he had a sister too, but as far as her being a Rider, he wouldn't have mentioned. After all, he doesn't know who all might be after her and Seth, so he's not going to be talking about it freely with just anyone. And I think the only reason why he even mentioned this much to Kylo was just because 1) the twins are the sanest out of Sol's family, and 2) he can kind of see himself and his sister in small parts of Kylo and Cleo's personalities. If Kylo asks for clarification, he can probably vaguely say how Anya left for adventures without giving away she was a Rider. XD)
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Jan 29, 2024 20:01:14 GMT -5
(Okay. XD)
~*~*~
Parker gave a small smile and nodded. "I am," he confirmed. "My sister, twin I should add, left earlier this year to go elsewhere and study. I wanted to go with her. It's always been a dream to go explore the continent, or even just a few towns that aren't in the immediate area from where I grew up. But I wasn't the one luckily enough to get picked. Anya was, and even though I was, and still am, ecstatic that she was chosen, a part of me couldn't help but be bitter towards fate for not letting me at least join her. Even if I was just to go to make sure nothing bad happened, I would have been okay with. I would still be traveling and seeing the world. I'd be doing more than simply plowing a field. But," he gave a small shrug, "there's not much I could have done, and there were responsibilities I couldn't just drop and leave at the time. So regardless, I just had to wait. In the end, I managed to find my adventure, even if it started out in less than ideal ways."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Jan 30, 2024 17:44:01 GMT -5
This door was locked, just as the trapdoor had been, but a bit of magic had it swinging open anyway. Inside was a large bunker. Cubbies with small, screened bedrooms lined one wall, with various seating areas taking up that half of the bunker; a kitchen and dining area took up the space opposite. On the far side from the entrance was a pair of grand double doors. Normally, those doors would be guarded. But just like in the antechamber, every single person in the bunker was fast asleep.
Some were in chairs or beds, but many seemed to have simply lain down wherever they were standing and gone to sleep. It was eerie.
☆~☆~☆ "Huh." Kylo didn't ask questions. "Thank you for telling me. I should go catch up with my sister. I hope we meet again, Parker, and that you have reunited with your twin by then." He gave a nod of farewell, and then hugged Sol once more on his way out.
When he was gone, Sol brought Aztec out of his stall. "Are you ready?" he asked Parker.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Jan 31, 2024 8:13:36 GMT -5
Morgan shook his head. "Two people aren't enough to surround a magician, especially when one of the two doesn't have powers — no offense. And for that same reason, he's more likely to fight us than escape. He's going to want to kill me if he finds out I'm a Rider. Defeating a Rider is, like, the ultimate challenge for a magician. Doing so will boost his power and standing considerably."
☆~☆~☆ ( Okay, I checked the doc, and we should definitely pause these two. Currently, as of the day they left, they are only one day behind where Morgan and Kyra are. And since we'd need to skip two weeks for travel time, I say we just pause them. HOWEVER... Sol's birthday happens while they're traveling. But, if he hasn't told Parker about it, nothing will happen. Although, I'm petty sure one of his siblings mentioned the date to Parker. Don't know for sure, though, so maybe one of us should go back and check. xD If Parker does know, then it's up to you/Parker if we do anything with it, or Parker can just wait until they get back to surprise Sol with something. )
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