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Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Oct 20, 2016 0:22:25 GMT -5
(Im sorry, i just can't keep up with this)
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 20, 2016 0:44:12 GMT -5
Arade couldn’t tell if she was frustrated by him, or just trying not to laugh. He decided that she was covering up a smile when she turned away, but it was actually rather difficult to be sure. After all, she could change herself to look like anything to anyone; surely she could change her expression? The man understood her point. He hadn’t actually thought about how hard it was going to be to find space for this many people. If it was just him, he would probably sleep under a tree, or maybe try and find a tiny rocky outcropping. By with this small army? That was going to be a pain. And food was another issue he didn’t care to be thinking about. Who had planned this, anyway? Surely the kings had given it more thought…?
Serena spoke to him again, so he looked back at her. Ah, Arade, always making eye contact. “I’m just the pack mule,” the man told her. “I’ve got everything that nobody else would want to carry.” And then he held out the bag as if to prove that, like she wouldn’t even need to doubt him. Of course, that wasn’t really why he did. He used the movement to distract, and by the time he had the bag open, he’d already slipped the knife in his pocket. Smooth and quick, so fast nobody would even think to notice. Such was his grace.
Sometimes he didn’t know what he would do without his… well, he didn’t like to describe it as sneakiness, but that’s what it was. But it was interesting to imagine how different things would be if people noticed him, if people heard him coming. What WOULD he do in a world like that? ...Certainly not slip knives into his pocket, that was for sure. It wasn’t that he was trying to hide it from them because of malicious intent; it was that things got boring if he didn’t do stupid stuff like that. Besides, he wasn’t so sure how he felt about handing Serena a knife. Though they were on the same side here, he didn’t want to tempt her to stab him. He meant that it the most polite and joking way, of course.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 20, 2016 0:46:32 GMT -5
Oh, sorry! That's what I always worry about in big group RPs. We can probably slow down a little!]]
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Post by ValkoinenLeuka on Oct 20, 2016 0:48:30 GMT -5
(I'm completely lost and my interest isn't holding. I don't want to hold you guys back, so I'm stepping out.)
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Post by centuries on Oct 20, 2016 9:52:16 GMT -5
{ aw alright ;-; if that's what you want }
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Post by centuries on Oct 20, 2016 10:11:40 GMT -5
Though Serena could change her expression with her grace, she found it pointless. Why manipulate someone just for the sake of looking a bit more convincing? So, she rarely did it. However, it was still rather hard to figure out what she felt at times, like whether she was angry or amused. That was always a difficult one, considering she didn't allow herself to laugh, so she ended up looking annoyed every time she wanted to.
No, the kings had not given it more thought. They expected them to figure everything out by themselves, which, though irritating, was typical for the kings. Why should they care where they slept or how much they ate? As long as they completed the mission, they didn't care. They, like most kings, saw them as simple pawns. Nothing more.
When Arade made eye contact, Serena looked extremely uncomfortable, and was more than happy to look down into the bag when he held it open. Which meant she wouldn't have noticed him slipping the knife into his pocket anyways, regardless of if he had his grace or not. When she found out, though...well, she would still be absolutely furious. She didn't like it when people kept things from her, especially weapons. That just made her think they were planning on hurting someone in the group.
"Yeah, you got some of the same stuff I did." The bit of money was about the only thing Serena was interested in at the moment, though, because it was good to know that at least other people had been given money as well. "Except this. However, I think they're just trying to tell me something with it." She held up the makeup, which was actually rather dramatic stage makeup meant to change your appearance drastically. "I'm not sure whether to be more offended over them doubting my grace, or them thinking I am ugly enough to need this." She shrugged, tossing it to the side as she continued to search through Arade's bag, even though he hadn't really given her permission to do so. "Why did they give you paint? I sure hope your grace isn't being good at painting, because that's pretty useless."
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 20, 2016 13:24:20 GMT -5
Of course they all had mostly the same things. Other than what was relating to their grace, they still needed money, they still needed… well he didn’t need books. He didn’t know nor care why he had been given a bunch of books. It was just extra weight for him to lug around. He was one thing, the others were another. It would slow them down to drag books with them all the way there. And jars of paint. It would be even better if those two combined. If the jars broke, the books would get covered and everything would be a soggy mess, with some extra pieces of glass for good measure. He couldn’t wait. He might even throw a jar at someone’s head. If the opportunity arose, he would welcome it with open arms.
He looked at the makeup, then back at her wordlessly. “Oh?” he asked, completely straightfaced, and looked at the thing in her hands. It was a questioning sort look, as he took a moment before speaking. Then his expression melted into one of mock realization. “Oh! I think that’s mine!” He reached out and took if from her (carefully, as to not drop it) and slipped it into his pocket. Not particularly sneakily; enough that she could see him do (after all, he’d just obviously taken it from her) The man slowly looked back up at her as he and the signature amused smile crossed his face.
Arade raised his eyebrows at her words, indicating his mild surprise. Well, maybe not surprise, more than just acknowledging that he had, in fact, heard what she’d said. He let her rummage through the rest of it; stopping her just made it look like he was hiding something. Not to mention how rude it was. Annoying or not, he still knew his manners. He was going to at least TRY to be a gentleman, even if gentlemen and him had almost nothing in common at all. “It's their way of telling me I’m ugly?” he offered. “Or MAYBE I’m carrying someone else’ things?”
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 20, 2016 16:12:36 GMT -5
RIP laptop. And that's alright, I totally get it. Thanks for letting us know!]]
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Post by centuries on Oct 20, 2016 16:54:30 GMT -5
{ that's fine! I'm in the process of moving anyways, so I won't be that active either ^^ }
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Post by centuries on Oct 20, 2016 17:19:30 GMT -5
Serena didn't mind carrying the books, she just found it weird. Did they really think they would stop to read? She sure wouldn't. Even if she did, she wouldn't be able to learn an entire language, or learn anything useful about the culture, in the time it took for them to get there. So it really was just extra weight, though she didn't want to toss them out. She might use the language one as a translation guide once they got there, and the culture one...well, actually, she may throw that one out.
For a second, the woman simply stared at him. Then, she covered her mouth to hide a snicker, but once that passed, Serena rolled her eyes. "Yes, they obviously made a mistake. That is clearly for you." She allowed him to take it, though wasn't sure why he bothered. Did he actually want it? Weird...
"Perhaps it is." She looked him up and down for a few second, but did not say anything about that suggestion beyond that. "I don't think it was meant for someone else, actually." She was almost positive it related to his grace, considering the one weird thing she herself had gotten was related to hers. She looked over the paint for a moment, frowning when she noticed the colors. Camouflage? Was that his grace? No, that was far too similar to hers. They wouldn't stick two people with nearly the same grace in a group. It would be wasteful. "Are you good at sneaking around?" She asked after a moment, because that would also explain why every time she stopped focusing on him, he seemed to disappear. "Stealth? Is that your grace or something?"
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 20, 2016 17:51:53 GMT -5
The look she gave him made him think -for only but a moment- that she didn’t realize he was joking. An explained joke wasn’t funny, but he certainly was even less so if she didn’t know at all. He considered opening his mouth to say something, but the eye roll and quiet, short laugh (as well as the hand over the mouth) gave him the confirmation that he needed. Relieved he hadn’t made himself look like a crazy person (then again, he probably had managed that by doing some other weird, very Arade like thing), the man sighed.
Really though, now that he had the makeup in his pocket, he didn’t know what to even do with it. This was life when you were willing to do such stupid things for the sake of humour. Of course, he had a very simple solution for such a problem; one that had yet to fail him now. He couldn’t exactly get it in her bag when she was looking right at him, though. It was too big a movement, even for him. He took the makeup back out and turned it over in his hands.
Arade looked around the room at a nonexistent audience, gesturing at Serena as if he simply couldn’t believe she had figured him out. He took the movement that as an excuse to set the makeup on her shoulder. It actually balanced, thank goodness. “Obviously not,” the man said, “if you’ve already figured me out.”
He wasn’t going to actually deny it (at least, not in a serious manner). Even then, he wasn’t going to outright confirm it, either. Yet another wonderful example of how annoying the man tended to be. It was clear to him that he wasn’t going to have to worry about this one dragging him down. Slow people were not his thing. At least one soul among them was at his level of intelligence (or higher; he wasn’t afraid to admit that sort of thing). He was just average, anyway. No mastermind, no genius. Just Arade.
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Post by centuries on Oct 20, 2016 18:15:47 GMT -5
Though Serena wasn't always the best on picking up on jokes, she had gotten that one. She wasn't that dumb. However, that didn't mean she didn't think he was crazy. At the moment she didn't, she just thought he was...interesting. Which coming from her, could be a compliment or an insult. It was hard to tell, as her insults and compliments usually sounded the same. Perhaps that's why she was so good at angering people.
"Ah. So it is." She took the fact that he wasn't going to deny or confirm that it was his grace as a sign that she was correct. Which meant if she was wrong...well, that would be kind of embarrassing, now wouldn't it? She didn't like it when she guessed something, and it turned out that she was not right. That was one of the most mortifying things in the world to her, as she liked to think of herself as a smart person, and thought that being incorrect was always going to make her look stupid, no matter the situation. Which was rather silly, actually.
She jumped when she felt the makeup on her shoulder, not having noticed his movement, then sighed. "Very funny." She did look mildly amused, though, even if she tried to cover it with a look of annoyance, and even though she took the makeup and tossed it far away from them. She didn't exactly need it, after all.
"Anyways, be useful and help me figure out where we should stay for the night." It was surprising that she was asking for Arade's opinion at all. She usually just decided everything herself, and if anyone disagreed, well, they could suck it up. However, she wasn't exactly sure what to do, so she had to get a second opinion. She asked in a rather harsh way, though, because she was embarrassed she needed to ask at all. "A motel might be a little expensive, considering they barely gave us any money, but sleeping out in the open isn't a good idea. There are plenty of wild animals and bad people around here. So, do you want to try stealing some money or something? Or I'm sure I could convince some loser to give me at least a couple coins." It wouldn't be the first time she had done it.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 20, 2016 18:43:44 GMT -5
She could assume whatever she wanted. Didn’t matter if she was right or wrong. The only thing that bothered him is that he would actually have to try (although not all that hard, admittedly) if he wanted to get away with anything. Having them aware of what him made it harder to do dumb, stupid Arade things. Like putting things in pockets. And making people realize he’d actually been standing next to them the whole time. Now he might actually have to pay attention, and be less sloppy in execution. While noticing him was still going to be a pain, having them watching for it was a whole nother story entirely. He hoped that humour was going to be appreciated, because the only times he ever bothered to socialize were when he was given opportunities for sarcasm or bad jokes. Really, there was not much more to him than that.
Him, useful? She had to be joking. She had proven herself to have a sense of humour, after all. But she had missed the point; Arade was going to be about as useful to them as a mop with no handle. Yes, the most important part was there, and yes, one could certainly work with it, but it was still going to be annoying (and not mention pretty damn inconvenient) for everyone involved.
But now was time to get serious. No more silly faces and no bad jokes... at least for the moment. He understood why, and decided he couldn’t kept joking forever. He had plenty of time to drive them crazy. They could wait. The man crossed his arms and thought her points over, and couldn’t help but agree. He didn’t want to try stealing anything just yet (surely the kings wouldn’t wish that? Did they?) and he certainly didn’t want to have to sleep out in the open. “I could ditch the books and carry some sort of tent,” he said finally. “Of course, we’d need to buy two, but that would take care of that problem for the whole trip.” If the kings wanted this done, it was a wonder they hadn’t made it easier for them. Really, he would have liked horses, or anything. Anything useful. More important information would have been nice, rather than the nonsense they were being given.
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Post by centuries on Oct 20, 2016 19:17:31 GMT -5
At least Arade wouldn't be caring too much about whether or not Serena was correct in her assumptions. If anyone ever bothered to point out that she was wrong about something, she would snap at them before they could even finish their sentence. She really, really hated being wrong, but she hated people pointing it out more than anything.
Arade better be useful in some way, because if he wasn't, Serena would not hesitate to take the group and leave him behind. She wasn't going to bother with useless people. She'd give him money and ask him to go on his own first, however, if he didn't, she would simply ditch him. What was the point in having an extra mouth to feed if the person with that mouth was not helping? It's not like they had any food to spare. However, so far, he seemed very useful, so she had no intention of doing so. Yet, at least.
"Yes, but we have to have money to buy tents, and we probably only have enough to get one small one," Serena pointed out with a soft sigh. She understood not wanting to steal, but it was still frustrating that he wasn't going to. They needed the money...but she wasn't going to force him to do anything. Unless they had no other way of getting money, she would put that as the last option. But if it was the only option, she would kick and scream and beg until he agreed. "You're right, though. It would take care of the problem." She took out her money to count it, figuring the other three people had about the same amount. "We may have enough for two...we can see. If we don't, I'll figure something out. Also, we'll need to have someone on watch at all time, because tents take care of wild animals, but not people."
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 21, 2016 0:26:37 GMT -5
It was just common sense that the tents were going to cost money. They weren’t gonna cost goats, and they weren’t going to be free. He wondered briefly if telling the vendors that the seven kings had tasked them with a mission would convince them to just hand them over. And then he got real. Of course they wouldn’t. They still needed money; they were going to be paying in some way or another; Arade knew that just as well as Serena did. He would have hoped that they could get the kings to give them a little more than what they had. He didn’t want to have to spend all his money now.
It struck him then that she probably wanted him to do the actual stealing. Of course, because of his grace. Because she knew that now. Great. This was exactly why he didn’t need people finding out. He was left feeling a tad bit sour about it. (Although, when the image of him stealing a tent popped into his head, he couldn’t help but smile a bit. Rather than take money, just picking up an already constructed tent and marching off down the street as inconspicuously as possible. It wasn’t that easy. Carrying something so large was going to be difficult, especially if he didn’t want to be caught. Even he couldn’t exactly sneak away with a fully constructed tent. If they did need tents, they’d be paying for them with stolen money, not taking the tents outright. Still, it was funny to imagine trying it like that.
“I’m well aware.” He watched her count the money, noting the amount. Surely they all had about the same amount. Spending all of their money on tents, though, did not seem like the best of ideas at all. “And if we only get one, I’m not opposed to sleeping outside.” Because he didn’t worry about people noticing him. While he certainly couldn’t be perfectly silent in his sleep, he still was just as hard to notice. All he needed were some particularly warm clothes. Then again, more money. He would just have to tough it out and not let it get to him. Besides, he suspected he would be taking watch a great deal of the time, anyway, like she mentioned. No need to give him a tent he wouldn’t be using all that much. Others wouldn’t be nearly as willing, but there was no way four people were going to fit in one tent. Nor would they want to all crowd together, he suspected. Still, sleep was important, so that they could have everyone thinking clearly.
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Post by centuries on Oct 21, 2016 17:10:10 GMT -5
{ I'm so sorry! I've been extremely busy }
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Post by centuries on Oct 21, 2016 17:24:28 GMT -5
If Serena had thought about it, she would've brought some of her own money. She worked for the king, so obviously, she wasn't exactly poor. However, she assumed they'd give them plenty of money. How stupid of her. The kings never made anything easy for anyone, and she should've been thinking ahead. She mentally scolded herself for a minute, then let the thought go. There was no point in beating herself up over something she couldn't change. Yes, she wanted Arade to do the stealing, but she didn't expect him to just go and grab a tent. That would be amusing to watch, yes, but it wasn't very smart to try. She didn't want to have to break the idiot out of jail or anything. So, she would ask him steal money, though she doubted he would say yes. If he didn't, then she would do it herself. There were always men dumb enough to pay for a bit of a girl's time, and Serena could certainly make herself pretty enough to be worth enough to get what they needed. Still, she didn't like doing it. It was humiliating to have to sink down to that level, as she was very proud, and liked to think she didn't need to be one of those dumb chicks who relied on looks for everything...even if it wasn't technically her looks.
"Neither am I." Thinking for a moment, Serena sighed. "But I don't think anyone else is willing to sleep outside, and four people in a tent won't work. Three might, though. We could always both sleep outside, since you're hard to notice and I can disguise myself, but we'd have to take turns being on watch. We could either sleep every other day, and trade off that way, or switch halfway through the night. I don't care either way, but since I can't do anything while I'm sleeping, and we would still need someone to be on guard, we couldn't both sleep every night, but neither one of us can go without sleeping for days like that."
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 21, 2016 17:47:09 GMT -5
[Don't stress it! Take all the time you need. And I myself have a lot of work to do, too.]
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Post by centuries on Oct 21, 2016 20:24:54 GMT -5
{ ok ^^ also because people have left/haven't roleplayer at all, I think imma accept anyone else who wants to jump in - tho they'd probably have to a.) come across them when they're traveling or b.) be a graceling/human/monster in the Dells. Or one of the royals there or something idk }
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 23, 2016 14:55:01 GMT -5
She had a point; the sane one he’d been making to himself. He wouldn’t have any problem with taking watch at all. He would miss out on a little extra sleep, of course. While that wasn’t exactly something he was eager to do, some sacrifices would have to be made. If he lost a few hours to make sure his little team here didn’t meet an untimely end, so be it. Times and situations like these only served to remind Arade how much easier this mission would be if it was just one person. Though he understood why the kings might have wanted people with varying talents, the more people they had the more cluttered the group became. “I’m not against trading off,” he said, because he did have to say something. Really, he didn't care what the solution was, just so long as they had one. One that worked. That was the whole point of a solution anyway; it worked.
“I would rather leave now.” It would be better to go get them a tent (or maybe two) so they could discuss the plan while they talked. It saved time. “And decide when we get somewhere that we can buy a tent.” Standing around wasted what time they had. Of course, they couldn’t head off on the actual mission until they had a plan, but that didn’t mean they couldn't get a tent. Or money, for that matter. And any other supplies that they might need; stolen or paid for. Arade had a sneaking suspicion that they were going to have to get the money the hard way. Or easy way, depending on who you asked. But he didn’t plan on asking anyone. He planned on getting it over with.
The man glanced back at the others expectantly. He didn't know if they'd been listening, or if they cared, but he hoped they were smart enough not to disagree. Arguing would only slow this down. And by god, they did not need to be slowed down any more. Much slower than this, and time would end up going backwards.
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Post by centuries on Oct 23, 2016 16:32:19 GMT -5
{ yeah, right now they're just discussing tents and money and stuff. You can just have your characters start talking or something, and say that Arade and Serena were walking ahead of the group so they couldn't hear }
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Oct 25, 2016 21:28:39 GMT -5
“I’m listening,” Arade said, looking at Ajax when the graced woman spoke. He hadn’t really been expecting more input on the subject; they’d seemed like quieter souls; the kind that didn’t do a lot of talking, not the kind he was. Arade did plenty of talking, mind you, and he knew it.
He considered the thought, trying to determine about how much a tent would even cost them, and if they even had enough. It would cost a lot, he guessed, giving up on that; even more for a good tent, for the cheaper the tent, the lower the quality. That being true, the man wasn’t going to be all that concerned about the quality of the tent he wasn’t going to be sleeping in. That was their problem, really. He wasn’t going to deal with it (nor pretend to) more than necessary. Of course, it was good information. The kind of information that was all the better when it was being shared among a group.
He shifted the way he was carrying his bag and turned back to face them. It almost looked like he really cared. Other than the look on his face, anyway, which read quite the opposite. He couldn’t even pretend to be interested. Arade really didn’t want to listen; he much rather wanted Ajax to lead the group wherever the heck she was talking about and simply hope she wasn’t wrong (or lying), for that would be unnecessary walking and certainly a waste of minutes. Maybe Serena was right; stealing was just so much easier, so long as you weren't caught. And he wouldn't be. He was never caught, if he wasn't trying to be.
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Post by centuries on Oct 27, 2016 6:18:18 GMT -5
{ I'm sorry guys! My 3G is awful, and I just get wifi at my new house today. I'll respond either around 3:30 (forum time), 6:00, or 10:00 (all pm)}
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