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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2017 7:47:35 GMT -5
wa s coran ranked below his dog on kain's list because that's c o l d )
"Ralif and Sonal should be finished up their path soon, and if Camilla and Coran have half a brain between them, they'll have finished up ages ago and should already be back on board." Whetu had nothing but total faith that her friends had managed ot barely skirt the outsides of the town and get away relatively unseen. What were the odds they'd be questioned? Well, she'd never been good with numbers, and she wasn't about to start now. "I know we've only known each other a few months Kain, but I feel like we've really bonded. Which is why I'm guessing that that expression," she pointed at his face, "Is suggesting that we should've made sure that guy didn't say anything. Ever again. Now, despite my devil-may-care, rakish attitude, I am not actually in the business of breaking the skull of everyone I cross. Odds are that he's avoiding the royal guards himself." Again, she wasn't about to get into the numbers (give her a sheet of paper, a quill and five minutes and she could work it out no bother. It was the mental arithmetic that got her) but she was fairly confident that they'd never see that man again. "And, dear Xavier, being part of a posse was one of the most flamboyant and decadent experiences of my time. We had matching jackets. Then we had a big party, bigger then normal, we all got horribly drunk, I argued with the leader about something (probably his hair, he had stupid hair) and I woke up the next morning with a thumping headache surrounded by bodies." She sighed and shook her head, "All in matching jackets."
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Post by ✦ ┇ W ι ɳ on Jan 13, 2017 9:49:59 GMT -5
(He sure was haha Kain is cruel that one has no chill "If Coran and Camilla had half a brain between them" hahaha meanwhile..)
It was hard to tell if Kain's grim and judgemental expression was a product merely of bad mood or just His normal sour face. However, Whetu had excellent judgement and apparently she was able to recognize his differing scowled because she was absolutely correct that he was still irritated they didn't just kill the man. He couldn't blame her or Xavier for not wanting to, he supposed, but sometimes he felt making a hard choice earlier on prevented catastrophe later that could have been avoided. Then again Kain had been in situations where people had begged their silence and stood at their knees pleading for mercy he just couldn't bring himself to risk. It was better to have them checking him or anyone who looked at them wrong would be dead at this point. He gave a short shrug, "You're right." He responded flatly then sighed a bit. "But what's done is done." He agreed without much further thought on the matter. Kain was a fairly paranoid person. At Whetu's recount of her posse days Xavier's eyes widened to two golden suns in his skull, so wide and curious he looked like a child. He had to put one hand over his mouth in excitement and he watched her like she had just preformed an incredible circus stunt right there with no safety net. "Whatttt no way that is literally the coolest thing I've ever heard. You automatically have the most interesting past out of any of us. Can we be a posse instead? I think the matching jacket thing would work on us y'know? Conall could even have, like, a little bandana." He spoke a mile a minute with all the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas Day. "Oh pleaaaaseee tell me you've still got your jacket? That sounds like the best thing ever I don't know why I've never been in one." He complained. He was pretty sure he would be excellent at wearing a matching jacket and getting black out drunk constantly. The boy really loved a party.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2017 11:39:54 GMT -5
why is kain such a s a v a g e I'll reply later, have to go to work experience :L )
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Post by Happy on Jan 14, 2017 0:47:30 GMT -5
"A smug Whetu would be a rather heavy burden to bear, though I doubt she's any more immune to bullets than a harpy. I don't plan on testing that theory anytime soon, not as long as she keeps that insufferable look off of her face." Ralif wasn't serious about hurting the captain, he didn't really work that way per se, though it'd be a lie to say there weren't times when it was tempting. A firm hand was kept on the handle of his revolver, ready to introduce it to any would be threats as they traversed the hostile landscape. "I suppose, Sonal, that depends on what you define as mystical. If you're speaking of solely fantastic beasts then yes, this is my first chance at getting to know them, though I've seen plenty of things that would make a superstitious individual quiver in their boots. I'd suggest you don't go peeking into the private sanctums of the wealthy who call Whayvania their home any time soon." He stopped for a brief moment upon finishing his reflection, his eye narrowing. "Sonal stop. Something's wrong. Tell me, do you hear any insect life?" Their conversation had droned out the fact that everything had grown entirely silent, far too silent.
"I'm hardier than I look... I promise..." Kerro's mumbled words were all but lost to the wind as he glanced towards the ground, still intimidated by the humans around him. He was excited about the prospect of a new pack, but he was simply too shy to make any grand showing of his positive emotions. Especially when he felt the gaze of the scary human burning a hole in his side. Being useless was exactly what had caused him to be kicked out of his first pack, he hoped he wasn't about to suffer the same fate sometime down the road. Still clinging to Xavier for dear life, he looked up at the party when their conversation turned away from him. It was hard to tell whether that was a good or a bad sign, but he decided the best thing to do for now was keep his mouth shut. No need to say the wrong thing and test the limits of the mercy he'd been shown. He risked a glance over to Kain, almost immediately flinching from the coldness in the man's gaze.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2017 12:48:58 GMT -5
should I introduce Herschel?)
She stopped mid step, her left foot on her toes, before slowly lowering it to the ground. "Now that you mention it..." It was very, very quiet. Even in this wasteland, there had always been sounds around; the occasional bird, a lizard and, of course, the insects. Now it was so silent she could've sworn she could hear the sweat running down her neck. Her gun was loaded, so all she had to do was flick off the safety, and the click sounded awfully loud, echoing off the stone walls. In the same way that your voice lowers when entering a library, or an already quiet room, Sonal's voice was considerably lower when she grimly spoke again, "Either we're very close to where we should be, or we're very far away from where we want to be." She'd relied on her size for most of her life in fights, but she wasn't stupid enough to assume that a fight with anything subhuman would end well without some kind of weapon. Her arms couldn't compete with claws and fangs.
"Then let's start now." She turned rather promptly on her heels, heading back the way they'd came, "You know, all this has nearly made me totally forget about me being so close to the scum of the earth." The cheery tone of her voice was betrayed by that wild look in her eye again, "For a couple of minutes there, I didn't want to shoot anything. Magic." What would Iratus do with a selkie? Eat it, probably. Stupid brute. Or stuff it and hang it over his fireplace. "And no Xavier. That jacket was sadly destroyed because it was covered in someone else's blood, and I'd only just gotten out of jail. I felt like going back so soon would make me seem clingy. The thing is, posses just aren't as threatening as crews, I'm sorry. With 'crew' you automatically assume 'pirate' but with 'posse', what? Cowboys? Dancers? Nah, not for us." She turned back briefly to face the men, "But I promise that when we find the Fainne Mor Oir, I will buy you as many matching jackets, and throw you as many extravagant parties, as you like."
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Post by ✦ ┇ W ι ɳ on Jan 14, 2017 14:44:40 GMT -5
(Should have the man run up to where Iratus his guard and Camilla and Coran are?)
The disappointment was not hidden in Xavier's expression, he had desperately wanted to see that posse jacket and he although he understood the logistics of why their own crew could not be called a posse, he still wanted matching jackets. His eyes lit up when she spoke of the Fainne Mor Oir and even more so at her promises of plenty of jackets, but his excitement really came from the hope of truly amazing parties. "Thank the gods. You'd better throw in a few sweaters too, I do love a good sweater. I cannot wait for these parties. I'm almost sure I can take more shots in one hour than you." He grinned devilishly, it was unclear if he truly believed he had that power, or if he just wanted to spark her competitive side and get them both incredibly wasted. "I wonder what Kain would be like drunk. Are you a fun drunk because that would be shocking." Xavier grinned brightly in direction, his arm still comfortingly draped over the little selkie. Kain did not look so amused, but that wasn't unusually for him. "Do you ever shut up? I wonder that as we walk through this monster ridden area with a useless little seal and the royal guard, who wants our heads, is somewhere on this island searching for us." Kain snapped and Xavier frowned then put up a hand in surrender and mutter something involving a curse word and his newfound certainty that Kain was not a fun drunk.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2017 9:14:39 GMT -5
Yeah, probably. )
Alcohol and Whetu was an explosive mix, and not always a pleasant one. It didn't make her any 'one' kind of drunk, just heightened what she was typically feeling. It normally ended her up in a strange bed the next morning, or with strange blood on her hands a few hours later. It wasn't that she couldn't handle her drink, it was just that she did everything in large measures, and never seemed to know when to stop. The challenge of a drink-off, not matter how far into the future it may be, was enough to light a spark of excitement in her, "Ohhhh, those are dangerous words, my friend. If I wasn't a pirate, I'd be a professional shot-taker. Sure, maybe you're at a physical advantage with your height, but women like me were born to get smashed." That wasn't what her mother had told her, but Mama Cynwrig wasn't here right now. If she was, the selkie would probably be dead. Awfully pragmatic woman. "Alright Kain, we're fine. Iratus couldn't find a black rabbit in a snowstorm." She muttered, not mentioning how she herself had been supposedly 'found' by him then. "And Kerro's not a seal, he's a selkie. He's also a friend now, so be nice. Well, nicer."
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Post by Happy on Jan 17, 2017 1:38:20 GMT -5
(Yeah, introducing Herschel would be cool! I'll also bring in the random guy up to the guards now. XD)
"Or an entirely unfortunate combination of the two." Ralif stowed the map in one of his pockets, no need for their only way back to be destroyed by whatever had given the air around them such a still quality, and drew his revolver from its holster. It really was a beautiful gun; some noble must've missed it dearly. However, in spite of its entirely impractical appearance, it was a finely crafted large bore revolver that wouldn't be breaking on him any time soon. Whoever was so unfortunate as to be on the receiving end of one of its blasts would not be getting up again. His one good eye darted around them, blinking every so often to keep the sweat from obscuring his vision, though nothing in the smooth rocks around them spoke of danger... That was almost worse really. He'd much prefer to know where the threat was coming from. It was so much easier to plan an escape or fight when you heard the creaking of stairs in the dead of night after all.
Kerro stayed right next to Xavier, doing a wonderful job of hindering the man's walking as he pressed his weight against him with every silent footfall his bare feet made on the jungle floor. He was still nervous beyond all belief, apprehensive about his future with this group of humans who were apparently willing to take him in. Well, two of them were at least. It would likely behoove him to never be alone with the scary one, he seemed the type to sell him off for gold. When said scary man snapped he flinched further away from him, only just daring to peak past Xavier to look at him with wide violet eyes. Yep, he was dangerous alright. Not knowing what to say to any of them he took the safe approach. Keeping his mouth shut.
Once he'd finished scurrying back to the port of Kydos, still a generous description of the wasteland's little town, a certain rogue started looking for the shiny armor of the royal guard. He'd always thought it made the bunch of 'em look a gaudy block of shiny cheese but such thoughts were best kept at bay when one needed their "help". Now, a fan of their work he was not, though they had their uses. He had a feeling that when he reported a crew of pirates scouring the jungle the guard would be off like ants who'd had their hill stepped on which meant the selkie would belong to him again. Exactly what he needed at the moment. It was an easy task to find a cluster of them, conspicuous as they were. Without hesitation he strode up to the group, only slightly cowed by the big brute who appeared to be their captain. "'Scuse me, but I have me a suspicious persons report to make."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 14:17:27 GMT -5
"I hate to sound unnerved, but I am becoming unnerved." Sonal saw something pale and off white on the ground. A bone, sticking up out of the sand. Probably a bird bone, given the size of it, but it was the state of the bone that was unnerving to her. It was licked clean, not feathers, no blood and no spare meat. What animal other then a human cleaned bones to precision? What animal was smart enough to know not to waste? "Are those feathers?" They did not look like feathers she knew, from out at sea, or in the wood cutting forests of Scaii Shen, or in the dense city of Lat Sanang. They were huge, at least the length of her own hand, or close enough, and the bigger the feather, the bigger the bird. This wasn't a nest, she's robbed enough eggs in her time to know that all nests shared similar traits, no matter what they housed. There was bedding, evidence of food, claw marks on the sticks or walls simply from using the space, and dirt left behind by the creature. They were close to a nest, if whatever lived here ate nearby and was here so frequently it could shed this much, but no creature made their nest out in the open. It was a harpy, wasn't it? She sighed and tightened the grip on her gun. It felt like it was always harpies.
Herschel did not like humans. They never had. Kydos was far from ideal, but it was also far from most people. And the occasional fancy boat, always having plenty of goods to pillage, if the harpy dared to get so close to the ocean. The odd selkie would wash up, excellent food, and maybe every now and again, a child would wander too far from their pathetic home. Though the children here rarely had good meat on them. Once a moon or so, the monster missed the high stone towers of Leibonia, with it's shinning cities and it's incredible libraries. The books were what Herschel missed the most. Definitely the books. Books were the only thing humans seemed to do right. Herschel was old, so much older then the two that had wandered so close to their nest, but they moved with all the stealth and discretion of a harpy half their age. That was the bright side of Kydos; it made you relearn everything. And Herschel loved learning. The scrap of claws over rock had to be adjusted, the soft noises of dislodged sand must be avoided, the few shadows to be found had to be exploited; none of these things had been problems before. And they were not problems anymore. Moving on all fours, the harpy watched them from above, white eyes staring starkly out from the dark of the shadows of the stone hollow, huge black wings and skeletal antlers merely smudges against the black. Some humans thought they were thieves, that they could become shadows, and few become very close in their lifetime. But it takes a real monster to fully master the dark. They were armed, that was cute. Nearly. Odd pair, those two. They hadn't come up here to breed, the climate was too harsh, and people didn't come up this far to do that anymore since Herschel had had a field day on those teenagers. No food for humans, no water, nothing worth hunting either (hey a harpy's gotta eat) The one with one eye had a map, and they both had guns. Pirates. That meant a ship, with possible treasure. And books, for sure. This day was looking up.
Chrysanta turned with frightening speed and accuracy to face the man. Her first thought was scoundrel. Unwashed, poorly dressed, and going by his accent, uneducated. She didn't want to stereotype but it was part and parcel with the job. Plus, she'd put enough men like this behind bars by this stage to know one when she saw one. But she couldn't just arrest him for looking shifty, even if she did make a mental note to get his name before he left, and how he got here, so she spoke instead, "Suspicious persons?" That was interesting. This island was full of undesirables, but on a day like today, you kept an open ear. Taking a guess, She unrolled two of the posters again, Cynwrig and Aster, "Did they look anything like this?" If she wasn't wrong about him, then this man had more chance then she did of running into Cynwrig. Like calls to like, after all. Those pirates were far more likely to reveal themselves to one of their own. Coran wasn't certain that this guy could've bumped into Whetu and the others, or maybe even Sonal and Ralif, but his gut feeling was trouble. Though he was just glad to be out of the firing range for now.
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Post by Happy on Jan 18, 2017 14:36:19 GMT -5
Hey Sappho, I'm working on a reply now but I wanted to ask a question really quickly. Would it be alright if I created a cook character? I have the inkling of an idea for a big and boisterous man who'd be laughing while cracking heads in a bar fight. In short, I think he'd get along well with the crew. XD)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 14:43:07 GMT -5
that'd be great!! we need a cook lol and yes, huge cooking man would be 100 )
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Post by Happy on Jan 18, 2017 14:46:29 GMT -5
Alright perfect! XD I'll get to a work on a character form for a big old jolly cook. I need a character who isn't anti-social or scared of his own shadow after all.)
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Post by ✦ ┇ W ι ɳ on Jan 18, 2017 15:02:37 GMT -5
(I just started school again amend my schedule is exhausting boo)
Xavier rolled his eyes at Kain again, but shot one last brilliant grin in Whetu's direction. "Oh, I don't doubt it at all Cynwrig." He replied cheerfully. The thing about Xavier was he hated losing in all other aspects of life, but he felt you didn't ever truly lose in a drinking game. Both parties would get tanked and that was a win win in his book. He stood a definite chance against Whetu, partying was a definite vice of his and he wasn't a stranger to waking up with no recollection of the night before. He wouldn't consider himself on the straight and narrow currently, just focused on more exciting matters. He kept a long arm around Kerro and leaned close, "Kain is chronically quite grumpy and scary, don't you worry about him now. Whetu says you're good and the rest of the crew will have to agree." He gave a charming wink and straightened back up. Despite their exciting find of a selkie, he kept his eyes open for anything unusual, there were still monsters about of all variety and he was not looking to get caught in one of their traps.
Kain pinched the bridge of his nose a moment in irritation. This wasn't an adoption company for orphaned selkies, they were on a mission with real stakes and danger, they were pulling the kid out of one situation and right back into another one. But that wasn't of his concern if the kid wanted to join pirates than that was his business, who was he to care what happened to him. He frowned a bit at Whetu, he knew she had a rivalry with Iratus that was much more personal than she was willing to let on, but he didn't like underestimating an enemy. That was incredibly dangerous. "You don't truly believe that? He's an excellent tracker. I've seen his fireplace I should know." He shook his head. The fireplace had been lined with beasts and other animals the man had hunted. Some were incredibly rare. Kain had been in and out on a quick job, but the security has been so high at the mans home he had almost been caught several times not that he would admit that to anyone. Either way he did not want to give any opportunity for the royal guard to find them.
Irstus turned on the man and glared down at him, his own expression mirrored the judgement Chrysanta felt as he sized the guy up in a somewhat suspicious way. But to be fair, he had been suspicious of nervous Coran and sweet Camilla which could only mean the man was incredibly untrusting and paranoid. He was glad his paladin was quick as she asked the man about Cynwrig and Aster, his primary targets. He could feel the adrenaline course through his veins, it had to be her and her crew, the whole is And looked suspicious, but they would be the only ones worth reporting to the guard. He cleared his throat and uncrossed his arms from his chest, one hand now rested on his sword. "Where did you encounter these persons." He demanded, his cold stone eyes narrowed and his focus off the two fiancés for the moment since his real goal was Whetu and her wretched crew. Camilla's green eyes widened when the man approached, she looked from him to Coran and she shook her head a little. She has a bad feeling, but she knew there was nothing they could ask or say without drawing suspicious. They needed to sneak away as quickly as possible, they had exhausted their believable story and wouldn't be able to help the rest of the crew anyway, they had done all the distracting they could.
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Post by ✦ ┇ W ι ɳ on Jan 18, 2017 15:03:39 GMT -5
That sounds awesome happy! Yay for a jolly cook
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Post by Happy on Jan 18, 2017 15:09:52 GMT -5
Thanks Win! XD I'll get that up and reply as soon as possible, school's really busy for me as well.)
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Post by Happy on Jan 19, 2017 2:05:48 GMT -5
(Still working on Mr. Chef Man. Defining feature has to be a mustache. I will figure the rest out in the near future. XD)
"Quite frankly it is time to withdraw. We've no clue what or how many this nest holds and to die in a pointless fight would do us a great dissatisfaction." Ralif was suddenly decidedly aware of simply how exposed they really were and that the home territory advantage lay with whatever was stalking them. Oh yes, he knew they were being hunted, he'd been the subject of many a manhunt and once the target of one of the giant bats that called Whayvania home and this felt so decidedly like the latter. Too much so. He was scanning the rocks and looking for any sign of movement, but his search was turning up mostly fruitless. At least, it was until he remembered what had saved his hide from becoming a bat's dinner. He did something most humans never thought to do and looked up. "Sonal." He could only barely make out the difference in the shadows of the hollow, but once he saw the four specks of white standing out against the blackness he couldn't take his one off of it.
These humans were quite the odd bunch, making merry while there was danger afoot. Selkies, speaking in an overly general manner, did not have the luxury of lightheartedness with their many predators trawling the ocean. Perhaps because of that, Kerro's species was had an almost mystical quality of hardiness and craftiness, perhaps why they lasted so long despite being at the bottom of the food chain. It obviously extended to him, somehow managing to get a gun off of a pirate and turning what should've been his certain death into a standstill. Said gun had even more magically meandered between his rope-belt and pants, quite the wonder with how he'd been hanging off of Xavier this whole time. There was a possibility, and it was only a possibility, that Kerro's survival instincts would mean he wouldn't be quite as much of a burden as Kain was suspecting. Maybe. He very nearly squeaked in surprise when Xavier leaned in close, nodding at his statement. "R-right... It's only that he's so mean... He won't eat me if we're alone, will he?" This tall man and the one they called captain he trusted, but he didn't know his feelings on the rest of the humans... not yet.
A glint lit up in the eyes of the man as those posters unfurled, his time for revenge had come so much sooner than he'd expected. "Now hows about that? As a matter o' fact, those two were the peoples I saw." He grinned, a thoroughly awful look when combined with his shabby clothes and the seafaring grim that covered his weather-beaten skin. "I reckon the ones I saw were a might uglier though, also had a couple more guns and pointy things too." He turned his attention to Iratus as the captain spoke, nodding to the man while scratching his chin. "Aye sir, they's was in the jungle. Robbed me point blank they did." He looked over his shoulder, gesturing vaguely to the path he'd returned from. "They was in there some, I'd say take your best boys and flush 'em out. Nowhere they can go 'sides for deeper in the jungle and ain't nobody here stupid enough to do that for long." This man was, charitably speaking, not bright. He obviously had something to gain by reporting the pirates and was making no effort to conceal that, nor was he showing the guard the respect most would. Quite frankly he was an idiot and no doubt a criminal, but there were bigger fish to fry at the moment.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 14:17:35 GMT -5
ahh school ;-; i have not missed thee i would love to see ralif vs giant bats)
His voice had changed again, but this time into one she did not always associate with a man of such easy confidence. Slowly, she raised her gaze upwards, something that ironically, as a tall person, as rarely did. It took a second, but she saw what he saw. Resisting the urge to fire right away and blow a hole in the stone cavern, she licked her lips, mouth suddenly very dry, "What do you say to a very slow retreat, Ralif?" She asked out of the corner of her mouth, not taking her gaze off that smudge up above. She was not a woman who ever grew accustomed to be hunted. Yes, she'd be chased with everything from a warrant to a long sword, but the feeling had never become natural to her. It certainly didn't feel natural right now. This must be how a mouse feels when it spots the cat.
Herschel watched them with a bored disinterest. The male spotted them first (was it male? Humans all looked the same, and gender was no concern to a harpy), and he was wise enough not to do anything rash. Sudden movements brought out the more primitive side of Herschel's personality. And these two looked interesting, they might have a story or two to tell, before they died. Walking down towards them along the vertical walls, arms out in front, claws finding holds, for a few steps, before leaping down to a lower ledge, just above them. Up close, they weren't much more exciting. The monster stalked along to the edge, and blinked at them slowly, each eye going at a different time. The exist was just off to their left - they were probably thinking of how ot get to it. They weren't faster then Herschel. No human ever was. "You are in my home." Their voice was raspy, and flat, like it hadn't been used in some time, and even when it had been used, there was never any feeling behind it. "I did not invite you. Humans are so inconsiderate." Their tail flicked in annoyance, but other then that, they were motionless. Humans seemed to find that unnerving. It was almost funny.
"Yes, yes, Kain, we've all seen his fireplace." She wasn't really listening, if that wasn't obvious. Normally, the loud and somewhat scatter brained act was exactly that - an act. But letting herself mention that wretched man again had spun her head around, and memories were blurring somewhat with the present day. Whetu wasn't found of this occurrence, and did her best to keep it under lock and key. A captain's mind is as valuable to a crew as the ship. It could not afford leaks. She was on Kydos, it was late summer, her crew consisted of Sonal, Kain, Xavier, Camilla, Coran and his dog, and she'd just been arrested for arson- no, wait. Focus. That was a long time ago. Get back to ship, one step at a time, get back to the ship without getting caught. She'd done that a million times before in a million different situations, she could do it again today. Why was it different? Because if he catches you, he'll kill you. It wouldn't be quick. Telling her own conscience to shut up, she let out a deep, quiet breath before taking up her chatter again, "Look, we'll be careful. This is what we do for a living, Kain. Get in, get out, don't be seen. And don't worry Kerro, Kain's a vegetarian."
Chrysanta's whole body changed when he nodded, shoulders tensed, muscles contracted and mind cleared, "They're here then." The posters had been crumpled in her hands, but she shoved them to the fiances, new posters could wait. The reward for handing in such people had gone out of her mind at this moment, as had the two stranded peasants from Egring, and the blistering sun that was slwoly cooling. "Sir, permission to take a patrol and flush out the jungle." Excited was the wrong word right here. Excited was happy, and joyous. Her heart was pounding and she felt like she was on fire at the thought of catching such notorious criminals, but it was not happy. It was justice, and it was unforgiving. She even almost forgot to salute when she addressed her Captain (almost). If the paladin was so hyped up at the affirmative Cynwrig and her gang were close by, then the Captain must be... well, very hyped up.
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Post by Happy on Jan 19, 2017 14:59:47 GMT -5
(I agree, I have not missed school all that much either. Haha yeah, it'd be quite the sight. I wonder if bat fur would be fashionable lol)
Ralif gave a slight and nearly imperceptible nod to Sonal though his feet weren't carrying him to the exit just yet. Rather he stayed locked in position, not breaking eye contact with this... thing. He certainly couldn't make out any kind of gender, that was for sure. "They tend to be yes, it's unfortunate we've fallen in with the same lot." If there was one thing Ralif could be counted on, it was not losing that silky-though slightly artificial-tone to his voice even when under pressure. Being stared down by a harpy undoubtedly qualified as pressure. As pressing as the idea was to raise his gun and take a shot, he didn't want to engage this... thing in its own home. No doubt others had done the same and met with unfortunate ends. "Pardon the intrusion please, we didn't know the significance of this place." His mind was racing, thinking of anything to say or do that would distract this creature and let them escape or kill it. Not to say he didn't entertain the notion of diplomacy, but the monstrosity he was looking at didn't seem like the amicable type. He wanted to take the pendant around his neck and rub it for luck as he often did when he was nervous, though movement seemed unwise in their current situation. No comfort from Crebhan this time around.
"O-oh... That's good." Kerro didn't risk moving out from Xavier's comforting embrace, not wanting to open himself up to Kain in any way, shape, or form. Despite trusting the captain's words he was very much scared of her first mate. He swallowed hard once, braving just a bit more speech to hopefully sate his own worry. "Who... um... is this man you all speak so lowly of? Should I know of him?" If these people were frightened of somebody, goodness knows what they'd do to him. In the back of his mind a creeping seed of doubt was already being placed, warning him about being useless again. Asking so many questions, relying on their protection, that was hardly what a good packmate did now was it? "Do you... should I... Can I um... erm... help maybe?"
Soren's heart skipped a beat when Chrysanta offered to lead a patrol out into the jungle, he couldn't let her do that on her own. Not that he thought she was weak by any stretch of the imagination, Soren was in possession of a strong sense of respect for the opposite gender having four older siblings and not a brother among them, but he didn't trust some of these men to watch her back. Simply put, if harm came to the paladin and he wasn't there he'd feel responsible. "Permission to be a part of the patrol sir and ma'am." He wasn't quite sure how to ask that, but figured using honorifics and a crisp salute was really the safest bet in that situation. A glance was sent over to the two fiances who they'd been speaking to, nodding his head away. It was time for them to get the hell out of there, no one would be spared his captain's enthusiasm in dealing with Cynwrig. The man who'd so ingratiated himself to the guards looked between them all for a moment, his dull eyes not realizing the significance of what was happening, and he noisily cleared his throat to draw attention back to himself. The fool. "Now, um, I sees that you lot is busy, but I couldn't help but notice there was a reward on those posters? Both of 'em? Any chance I could go about gettin' that?"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2017 9:11:59 GMT -5
So they could talk. Not all humans could. Normally the little ones were quite mute, but sometimes the adults seemed to forget how to form noises too. "Of course you didn't. I'm not surprised. You're not the first." Herschel really didn't like eating humans. They were dirty, and more tough muscle and bone then meat. Normally, he just flay them about a bit, and use them as bait for more succulent prey. Kydos was crawling with scavengers. These two probably wouldn't be lunch, they weren't nearly plumb enough. "But that doesn't matter because you're still here. Humans don't normally come this far, I've made sure of it." Four eyes flickered to the map rolled up in Ralif's belt loop, "If you're here for hunting, you've made big mistake. I'm the only living thing for quite a stretch." Yes, this was meant to be intimating, but it was also pure fact. There was no help coming for these two. Sonal's past experience with harpies hadn't been so talkative, it was more violent. There was no reason the mood couldn't change to that, not at all, but this start was a surprised. The harpy was a lot bigger then she'd pictured. Was this the one Whetu had told them about? The one with the memory? If she hadn't been so tense, she'd probably be annoyed that a thing with antlers could read better then she could, "We're not hunters, we're just passing through."
Despite herself, she let out a short, sharp bark of laughter. The idea of the little selkie going up against Heath Iratus was highly amusing, really. She could see him now, staring down the captain of the guard, sword in hand, your money or your life. "Little man, Iratus could knock you over with a glance. He's head of the Royal Guard of Cleorus, and he's here, looking for us." She gestured between the three pirates with one finger. Talking helped her mind to focus a bit more, to stop that awkward back-and-frothing between then and now. It didn't stop her form imaging a whip every time her foot hit the ground, or the blistering clamp of chains around her wrists as she involuntarily clenched her hands into fists. Forcing them to relax, she started to pick up the pace a bit, listening to the rhythm of boots against the ground, reminding herself that they were her own, her's and her crew's, and not the falloff of military grade standard shoes. The sun was slipping further and further down, lighting the horizon a bright orange. She could remember the flicker of the amber flames as she set their miserable station on fire, how quickly it went up, and the fight after that did not end well for her. Iratus had looked like a demon of Morrigan herself, half in shadow from the fire, half alight and red. "But it's alright, because we're going to get to our ship, meet up with the others, and get out of here."
gonna wait for win to reply to that one ~ )
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Post by ✦ ┇ W ι ɳ on Jan 23, 2017 2:02:56 GMT -5
Sorry friends for not being on much school is really stressful I'm going to get some sleep but I'll reply when I wake up!!
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Post by ✦ ┇ W ι ɳ on Jan 23, 2017 15:08:44 GMT -5
Captain Heath Iratus wasn't a man who expressed many emotions and the were rarely ever worn so directly on his face. But as he looked from the posters off into the jungle his eyes were bright with a fire dancing in them, the one from his headquarters so long ago. He was a good soldier who rarely made any criminal in counters personal, but Whetu Cynwirg was an entirely different story. She had made things personal. He was going to hang that woman, once he made her watch as he killed her crew one by one. It was not unjust, they were foul people who deserved to die for their crimes, well most of them, and if they put up a fight, which they would, than he had no choice anyway so it was simple really. No matter what, he wanted Cynwirg alive. She would pay for her crimes and it would not be pretty. His attention snapped back like the crack of a ship and he grinned sharply at his Paladin. "Yes. We will go, and you." He pointed at the grimy man who had given them their information. "Don't make me laugh. If your information holds than you may get a fraction of the rewards, yes, but you will lead us to them so we do not search blindly. Chrysanta you will take point and Soren you're behind incase they try to sneak off. Let's go there is no more time to waste!" He roared then remembered the two he had previously been dealing with. "You two stay here I need my whole team for this. We will deal with your matter when we return." He said shortly then motioned for his guards to follow as he headed into the woods.
Kain rolled his eyes with irritation. "You can help by staying out of our way." He said flatly and continued after Whetu. Something was off about the woman, there was a distance in her eyes and she seemed less focused on their current path and more on something unseen. He didn't know what she was thinking about, but he just hoped she was still occupied as to how they would get through the jungle back to the ship. Xavier grinned a little and shrugged. "Oh, maybe not with fighting Kerro seeing as you're quite small, but maybe you'd like to help us with other tasks, I'm sure you're quite good at something." He encouraged and moved a rather large branch aside before it smacked him in the face.
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Post by Happy on Jan 24, 2017 1:57:19 GMT -5
Ralif was watching Herschel's body language with the utmost concentration, finding it likely to be the best way to measure this creature's intentions. It was vaguely humanoid enough to compare it to humans after all. No muscles were tensed, nor was it angling its body towards them in the way big bats of prey often did before swooping down. Violence was off the table... for now. "Hunting was of no interest to us, nor is it now." This was a situation as tense as any Ralif had been in, matched perhaps only by the time he'd broken into a noble's house during the performance of a cult's ritual. Those were images that were never going to leave his mind... Focusing on the situation at hand, he collected his thoughts. "The map I'm holding is, in theory, supposed to lead us to a great treasure. You're welcome to take a look to verify our authenticity should you so desire." This was a delicate negotiation, though in all honesty the man had little hope for it ending peacefully. "We would not have come to your home had we known about it." The grip on his revolver loosened slightly, color returning to white knuckles.
Kerro flinched away at the laughter, his expression looking downcast as Kain continued on the scorn. Those dark whispers he'd been pushing down for the better part of a year were entering his mind again, reminding him just how small and pathetic he really was... A useless, weak selkie who's best contribution to society would come in the form of a coat. "I didn't mean fighting, just something..." He only barely heard Xavier's words of encouragement, nodding slightly as they went in one ear and right out the other. He'd survived many a dangerous human, he wouldn't have any problems escaping from this Iratus they spoke of. Humans always underestimated him, always. Just some dumb animal. He might be useless to a pack, but he knew how to take care of himself. Speaking of survival instincts, he could feel the hair on the back of his neck starting to stand up. "Captain..."
The man's face fell noticeably, a sneer taking up residence where a greedy smile had once been. "Now, that ain't how you should treat a law abiding citizen who just wants 'ta help out the ol' royal guard. You'se just gonna get me killed in a gunfight when you encounter this lot." At the not so subtle threat one of Iratus's underlings levied at spear point he held up his hands in surrender for the second time in as many hours. "Fine, fine!" Grumbling unkind oaths, he turned and began trailblazing a path through the jungle. Soren nodded, slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be in the main action, but knowing the role of a lone sentry was an important one. He just didn't like the idea of leaving Chrysanta unprotected, not that she needed to rely on him. It was just good form to have a trusted partner watch your back. "Understood sir." He followed them to the jungle's edge, stopping there and watching as the rest of the guard disappeared into the undergrowth. Hopefully his position would prove redundant.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2017 12:37:04 GMT -5
When she was younger, some men in her street used to race very fast, skinny dogs up and down, to see which one would win. There was a bloodier alternative to the game where a poor rabbit was chucked in, and it was to see which dog killed first. It was a horrible sport, and had upset her a great deal when she was younger, but she'd never, ever forgotten how fast those dogs were. There ran like horses, like the wind itself, just grey and brown blurs, and they always ran even faster when there was a rabbit out. She was beginning to understand how they felt. Chrysanta was off after her captain the second the order was given, foot after steady foot hitting the ground at an alarming rate. It was always disconcerting to see the royal guard run in such heavy uniform, but boy, could they move fast when they had to. The rabbit was out and the dogs were on the chase, and suddenly coming to this miserable island was worth it, all the while. Several of the guards came around her at the front, and she was only faintly aware of herself shouting instructions at them to apprehend where they could, but to kill if necessary. She only hoped none of them were stupid enough to try and kill Cynwrig before the Captain got his hands on her.
Herschel took the map without speaking, unfurling it with surprisingly delicacy. A map was a book, after all, a simple book, yes, but, nonetheless, a book. It deserved to be treated with respect. It took a few minutes for their eyes to adjust to the language and the handwriting, it was a graceless scrawl, but Herschel had been reading since before this map had been made. Or at least, that was their initial thought. But there was a reoccurring symbol, time and time again, in the corners, and on the paths that looked awfully familiar... "This map is very old." They spoke, their voice terse with a slow growing excitement, "Where did you get this map?" They glanced up once, then back down again, "Did you steal this? Who from?" The Hoop. Everyone had heard about the Hoop. And everyone wanted it, or at least to know if it was still real.
"What?" She asked, snapped out of her blurry daydream of fire, and smoke, and blood on steel. She looked back, in time to see Xavier get a face full of tree (again. Poor guy), but the selkie looked pretty pale. Paler then before, which was saying something. "Are sick or something?" She was not bringing some weird magic sick onto her ship, even Camilla had her limits.
sorry for short answers, gtg)
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Post by ✦ ┇ W ι ɳ on Feb 1, 2017 14:07:15 GMT -5
"I want them all alive if possible. Cynwrig will be brought to me alive without a hair harmed on her pretty little head or everyone will be punished. Aster keep alive, keep her crew ALIVE. Do you here me? Harm if you must, but do not touch Cynwrig, I've got plans for her." Heath growled and snapped orders, his eyes alight with the same fire of a wolf who finally got the scent of their prey after a few starved months. He was built like a warrior and somehow despite his muscle mass he was faster than one would expect. He didn't want to full out sprint though to avoid exhausting himself before the fight even began. "Chrysanta I want you on whoever looks to be the most dangerous accompanying her we we make sure we have the two biggest threats covered." He commanded than remembered they had a civilian with them. "If your information is good then you take cover immediately once we reach them and you will have your reward." Iratus barked at the man leading them to Whetu and her crew. He turned back to yell to Soren. "Soren get up here! I want you following Chrysanta's commands since I see myself being occupied in the near future." He ordered. This was it. He could feel the fire coursing through his veins and lighting his soul. The wretch would finally pay.
Kain was already tired of this selkie, he felt like nothing but dead weight and not work biting the bullet for, yet the Captain and Xavier seemed to think he would be useful. He glanced back at Kerro and sighed, ready to just be more annoyed with the kid, but something about his expression struck Kain as odd. He frowned a bit, but it was his thinking face rather than a scowl. He looked alert and selkies had excellent hearing. "Did you hear something..?" He asked Kerro slowly, the first time he didn't have ice in his tone when addressing the little guy. Xavier glanced down at Kerro who did look a little pale, he really hoped he wasn't sick, but that might be better than Kain's question. He really didn't want to encounter some monster since it was harder to fight when you had to protect someone else, specifically the little selkie at his waist.
Camilla nudged Coran once the guard had left and she exhaled the breath she had been holding and shot him a look. "Double fiancés?? Honestly Coran." She rolled her eyes then grabbed his hand. "Let's get out of here we need to find Sonal and Ralif, maybe they can help Whetu and the others? I don't see us exactly contributing to a fight and I think it would be good to keep ourselves off the guard's radar incase we encounter then again." She bit her lip with concern. If the whole guard was after their friends then Camilla didn't really see how they would escape without capture that was at least ten large men in addition to the captain and a very scary woman. Not good. She was glad she had brought medical supplies she had a feeling someone was going to need them. "That was twelve guards, I'm worried they'll be captured or killed, maybe we can wait to ambush the guard before they get back to the ship?" She suggested, but she had no idea how they would do that. She wasn't anywhere near the good shot the others were but an explosive might help if they didn't hit their friends in the process.
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Post by Happy on Feb 1, 2017 14:28:08 GMT -5
The "good samaritan" who was leading them grumbled an oath under his breath but said nothing more as he moved through the dense undergrowth with far more ease than most of the armored guard following him. He shoulda just given up the selkie, even if it woulda given him enough gold to last a month. They weren't just taken for their pelts - though that certainly was their main draw - there was quite the slave market for them as well. Quite a few noble houses wanted something a bit more exotic serving them, plus the average selkie was too timid to ever put up a fuss. Whatever happened to them from there wasn't his concern, not as long as he got paid. Soren looked over his shoulder, a bit shocked to hear that the captain didn't want to leave behind a sentry in case one managed to slip by, but he wasn't about to argue with his superior when he was in this kind of mood. No, he quite liked his head right where it was. (Not that the captain was likely to murder one of his own men.) "Yes sir!" He deftly moved to catch up to the head of their party, falling in line next to the paladin whose orders he'd be following shortly.
Ralif watched carefully as Herschel examined the map, not moving so much as an inch while the creature looked it over. Causing the harpy to start when it was so close was not the way to survive this. At the questioning he raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. Well, here they were. They had a chance to get out of here with the interest this harpy had taken, slim as it may have been. Every word from this point had to be measured carefully, metered out precisely. Maybe if he could take advantage of the monster's curiosity they could make it out of here unharmed. "I'm afraid that I don't know. Neither of us stole it, but it was given to us by our captain. She may have taken it by force from another human, but it's more likely it crossed into her hands in exchange for gold." He paused for a moment, still ready to fire at the harpy if it came to that. Suddenly, he had a thought. Maybe their mission could still be accomplished? "Why do you ask?"
"There's... There's just something wrong..." Kerro was frozen in place for a brief moment in fear as his chest tightened and his heart started thumping against his chest. At the realization that three sets of eyes were looking intently at him he swallowed hard, forcing himself to speak despite every word catching in his throat and threatening to choke him. "Iron's in my nose... a lot... and I, I just know when things aren't good...." Perhaps his survival this long was based on luck and nothing more, but the selkie really did have quite the intuition. It had saved him from a pack of a mermaids (if only his older brother had listened to him, he might still be around), had him find shelter before fierce storms, and even led him to food when he was hungry. He might've been putting a bit too much stock into his sixth sense, but that really was the only thing he had going for him in his mind. "We need to hide.... P-please..." The way he was pressing against Xavier, the hushed tone as if they would be discovered any moment, and the fact that he was pale as a ghost had to be indication that he was either serious or much more prone to fright than he had originally seemed.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2017 14:56:03 GMT -5
"Yes sir!" She answered back, louder than normal, but she doubted anyone would mind. They were all running, either terrified ot letting down their captain when he was agitated, or eager for revenge against any one of the felons they were stalking. It was just Cynwrig with a bounty on her head after all. She saw the familiar head of hair that was Soren out of the corner of her eye and turned to him, "Take Demos, Racos and Nini to flank down closer to the water. We don't know where their boat is, and I don't want them escaping on some gods forsaken dinghy!" She pointed out the soldiers in question she'd named, a decent mixture of fast ones and strong ones. "I'm trusting you on this one, Soren. If you've got a shot, take it." She knew she didn't have to spell it out for him, he was a great solider, and one of the few ones she really, truly trusted, it was the adrenaline pulsing through her. The thrill of actually giving orders in an actual situation, not invented ones as tests and procedures, the knowledge that they were so close to putting away some very dangerous people; it was intoxicating.
"Why do I ask?" This was the most animated Herschel's face had been in decades, a picture of exasperation and superior indignation, "Are all humans so dense? You understand what you're after, yes? The Fainne Mor Oir. Only a fool wouldn't be interested." They went back to the map, eyes constantly darting over it again and again. Hershcel's huge claws were holding the paper so delicately they barely made a scratch against the sheet, something they had thought they were no longer capable of doing, "A genuine artifact of the gods." Their voice sounded a little breathless, "I can still remember when they used to roam this earth like mortals, when they were real, tangible beings. You do not understand how powerful the thing you are looking for is. There is nothing that corrupts and destroys like it." They sounded excited by that, a cold fire lighting in each of their four eyes. Sonal was starting to feel a little uncomfortable to say the least. Anything that made a harpy happy was bound to make a human miserable.
"I'm sorry." He squeaked, letting himself be dragged along by Camilla, "I panicked! I had no idea how intimidating that man is." Coran felt like he was going to faint, but it felt good to be moving. Ideally, he would be lying somewhere cool with only his dog to keep him company right now, but he had to focus, "Well, we need to do something, but I don't think anything digressive would suit us right now. We have to be smart." His hands were shaking as was his voice, but he kept speaking, "We need to split the guards up, a distraction. Something to get Iratus to turn around." He probably wouldn't, not for anything. Unless... "Could we fake a sighting of Whetu or something? Tell people we've seen the crew somewhere that's not over there?" It was a long shot, but he couldn't think of anything else.
She knew selkies were famous for their inhuman sense (she used to laugh at that - of course they're inhuman, they're not human) but how good were they, "Are you sure it's gold?" Her voice was a lot tenser when she spoke than she liked, "Certain it's iron?" A lot of iron could mean anything, but a lot of gold typically meant one thing. She glanced quickly at Xavier and Kain, going by their faces, they were having the same thoughts. Trying for a strained joke, she sighed ruefully, "Y'know, maybe I should've killed that guy. Alas." Even her own sterling humor wasn't enough to make her feel any better, and when she couldn't cheer herself up, then she knew it was dire. "Xavier, how long do you think you could carry Kerro because we're going to have to run for a bit." Was it her imagination or could she hear branches breaking? Or was that the snap and crackle of fire? FOCUS. "Kain, I hope you're as heavily armed as ever."
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Post by Happy on Feb 2, 2017 2:40:56 GMT -5
(Sorry for the super short responses)
Immediately Soren nodded to her, rounding up the men she'd pointed out and heading to the shore with them. Splitting up the party might not have technically been the best idea, strength in numbers and all that, but they couldn't let these people escape. They were criminals, the real kind, the type Soren had signed up to stop. His heart was pounding in his chest with adrenaline, knowing that he very much was walking into a life or death situation. Mercy had no place here.
Ralif was about to shoot a barbed comment right back at the harpy, he wasn't the dense one in the situation if the harpy didn't understand the nuance to his question, but a glance towards those claws made him hold his tongue for once. "I do tend to have the vaguest notion of what we're after, yes, that's why we're after it." He wasn't directly insulting the monstrosity before him, but it was highly difficult to keep a tinge of sarcasm out of his voice. He was silent after that, letting the harpy's interest grow, and still trying to figure out a way to survive this encounter. Wait, had the harpy really been around when the gods themselves walked the ground? This creature truly was old... Absently, though slowly, his free hand drifted towards the pendant of Crebhan - a fox face in regards to the trial he'd suffered - holding it almost reassuringly. "You've taken an interest." It was a statement of fact, not a question.
"I... I don't know, I thought it was iron but it doesn't smell quite the same... It's all metallic though. There's just a lot of it." Kerro's voice grew quieter and quieter as he spoke, trailing off as his stomach churned more and more with every passing second. Something was so wrong, he felt even worse now than he had right before those mermaids had taken Zekki beneath the water, never to be seen again. At the mention of his name he looked up again, his hand going towards the gun that had found its way back onto his waist. "I... I have a gun... I don't know that I can hit anything but I'll try, or you can have it..." He just wanted to be useful somehow to his new pack. They were taking him in, he had to do something.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2017 12:01:12 GMT -5
Well, I'd prefer someone comfortable with their ability to keep up with the others, so I odn't really know if this is the RP for you)
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